how do you strain the bag?

[mboardman]

Wondering what everyone's process is when it comes time to lift that big heavy bag of grain out of the water and strain it?

Do you strain it above the pot? If so, what size of strainer and where did you get it? Does some of the wort being strained out go over the rim and down the sides of your pot, to end up burning underneath?

Do you strain it into a large bowl instead, and pour that bag into the kettle?

Is there a limit to the grain bill poundage for your method?

I ask because I have a brewbag, the nylon reinforced one with handles and all that, and its a workout hoisting that thing reliably above the pot until I can insert a strainer to rest it on....and then I get small amounts of wort outside the pot, down the sides, and inevitably into the burner. Im usually working with a grain bill of at least 8-10lbs....is that too much for the biab method?

 

[Smellyglove]

You can strain it into a fermentor. This way you don't need to hold it while inserting the strainer on the BK, since the fermentor is on the ground, you'll lift it "downwards" Then add the collected wort to the boil after a while for instance.

 

[@RoyalGallon]

I've a small block & tackle hooked to the ceiling in the shed and so tie off the bag and let in drain or squeeze it out.
Makes sparging a bit fiddly - need to work on a better way of doing that...

 

[KonservativeJay]

I have a ratcheting pulley that I use to lift the bag and let it hang over the pot.

I just let it hang there for about40 minuets then take it down

 

[ong]

If I’m brewing in the kitchen, I use an overhead pulley and just lash to a cleat (yes, I live alone!). If I’m brewing outside I generally grab an oven rack and put it on top of the kettle, and put the bag on top of the rack to drain.

 

[Beer-lord]

Where I brew, I can't use a hoist but I've got a very fine mesh strainer and use another mesh bag (paint bags are great) in a plastic fermenter bucket and pull out about half of the spent grain into the bucket which makes it easier for me to manually pull the bag out of the kettle only half full.
I've found that not only is this quick, but it has greatly helped my efficiency and that added to squeezing each bag, really helps.
If I have a huge grain bill, I do the same thing but with 2 buckets so I end up with 3 bags that are easy to work with.
And it only takes no more than 10 minutes to do this. I've done this for 5 years with great luck. Others who've tried it agree.

 

[LittleRiver]

An overhead hoist point is not feasible for every brewer, but if you can rig one you should.

When the mash is over hoist the bag, fire the burner for the boil, and let gravity drain the bag into the kettle during the boil. The fully drained bag will be light and easy to handle without making a mess. Another sticky mess that will be eliminated is squeezing, there's no need to squeeze a fully drained bag.

 

[enkamania]

I have a basket. I put a shelf from a fridge over the kettle and push down with a pot lid.

 

[eadavis80]

I lift the bag (filled with about 8-11 pounds of grain, though a lot heavier obviously after the mash) with one hand and with the other hand put a steel crate on my kettle. I then place the bag into the steel crate and sparge water over the bag/crate into the kettle. A little tricky, but cheap n' effective.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I use a rope and pulley from @wilserbrewer to hoist the bag and let it hang over the kettle while ramping up to a boil; after the draining has slowed I squeeze the bag between two stainless pot lids. My pulley setup is suspended from a gantry attached to my brew stand, its made out of black iron pipe and is plenty strong to hold 24lb of grain when soaked with wort; maybe 35lb soaking wet.

 

[mboardman]

holy cow, thanks for all the replies fellas! Lots of ideas here....Im noodling something out from this!

 

[tofuguy]

A hook used to hold bikes from a ceiling... It was there from a previous owner, and figured what the heck, it works for me.

 

[North_of_60]

I have a basket. I put a shelf from a fridge over the kettle and push down with a pot lid.

Same as this

 

[Jayjay1976]

Grasp the bag tightly just beneath the head, squeeze firmly until you can pass a short loop of cord around twice, then hook to the hoisting rope and pull, pull, pull..

 

[GregKelley]

Three buckets. Drill holes in one. Place that bucket in one of the others. Put bag into the bucket with holes. Take third bucket and squeeze down on bag.

 

[mulletmaster]

With a 10-13 lb grain bill i pull the bag out and let it drip for a minute then put it into a 5 gallon bucket on a stainless collander i had laying around. It acts as a false bottom to allow gravity to get more sweet wort while I am increasing temp for the boil.

 

[balrog]

Stepladder.
WilserBrewer bag and hoist
Like Alton Brown's turkey fryer setup.
No squeeze. I use gravity. It is the law after all.

 

[madscientist451]

I crack open a 10% beer, put my feet up and tell my Girlfriend its time to make herself useful....
OMG can I say that and not get my post deleted?
Ok, what I really do, I have a rectangular bucket I got from a bakery, I think frosting comes in them, and I'm lucky to have a heavy duty strainer that that actually looks like a small bucket with holes in it that fits perfectly.
Something like this, but mine isn't as fancy and was only a few bucks at a yard sale:
https://www.tigerchef.com/winco-slo-16-16-qt-stainless-steel.html

Pull the bag, let some of the liquid run out, pop it in the strainer without making too much of a mess, fire up the heat under the brew pot and by the time its almost boiling, any wort in the grain bag has drained to the bucket and I dump it in.

 

[doug293cz]

Three buckets. Drill holes in one. Place that bucket in one of the others. Put bag into the bucket with holes. Take third bucket and squeeze down on bag.

Fill the third bucket with water, place on the bag in the bucket with holes. Sit back and have a beer.

A lid on the bucket full of water will prevent an unintended sparge.

Brew on

 

[wilserbrewer]

A ratchet pulley makes even large batches fairly simple and mess free.
A double 1/4” pulley ha 2-1 mechanical advantage and can handle grain bills of 35-40 lbs, and a five gallon brewer can greatly benefit from using a ratchet pulley above the kettle.

A thread I did a while back...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/biab-hoisting-with-a-ratchet-pulley-rev-1.623808/

 

[GregKelley]

Fill the third bucket with water, place on the bag in the bucket with holes. Sit back and have a beer.

A lid on the bucket full of water will prevent an unintended sparge.

Brew on

I've done that with dumbbells

 

[Kenny wilson]

A hook used to hold bikes from a ceiling... It was there from a previous owner, and figured what the heck, it works for me.View attachment 590998

Hey tofuguy. It looks like you have the High Gravity BIAB system there? I just bought one and planning on using it this weekend. Any tips or suggestions to know? This will be my 1st ever all electric brewing.

 

[tofuguy]

Hey tofuguy. It looks like you have the High Gravity BIAB system there? I just bought one and planning on using it this weekend. Any tips or suggestions to know? This will be my 1st ever all electric brewing.

It's actually a DIY setup with a DIY Auber controller. But I would still recommend doughing in at mash temperature. Don't bother with a strike temperature with a recirculation system.

 

[FlabbyRoach]

I use a wilserbrewer ratchet pulley and let it drain until boil
Works great........thanks wilserbrewer[emoji106]

 

[user 30639]

With a 10-13 lb grain bill i pull the bag out and let it drip for a minute then put it into a 5 gallon bucket on a stainless collander i had laying around. It acts as a false bottom to allow gravity to get more sweet wort while I am increasing temp for the boil.

Same thing. I have a stainless basket from a large pot I bought a while ago. I sold the pout but forgot to give the basket to the buyer. Pop that in a 5 gallon bucket and just let gravity do it's thing.

 

[rjs3273]

No hoist for me. I have a false bottom (stainless steel veg steamer) sitting in the bottom of a fermentor bucket and I drop the grain bag in on top of that. By half way through the boil there are a couple of inches of drippings in the bottom of the bucket that can be transferred to the kettle. And they are conveniently cooled to take a hydrometer reading too.