interested in switching to all grain

[luvinit]

is the biab system kits exclusive to the biab process ? or will every all grain recipe work with biab

 

[atoughram]

I believe that all grain recipes will also work with BIAB.

 

[HomebrewCraig]

Just about every all-grain recipe or kit out there can be done with the BIAB method. I am sure there are some complicated decoction mash or step mash recipes that would test the abilities of a BIAB brewer, but as someone who will be new to all-grain brewing, those brews aren't something you'd want to start with anyways.

 

[luvinit]

thanks stoked about going all grain :rockin:

 

[RM-MN]

BIAB is just a different method of doing all grain. It makes a decent way to do the mash because it reduces the amount of equipment you need to buy and eliminates the worry about getting the wort to drain out of the mash tun because you have the large amount of filtering provided by the bag instead of relying on the grain husks to form that filter. With that you never worry about a stuck sparge, even with rye or wheat in the mash. It lets you mill the grains finer which can increase the brewhouse efficiency and reduce the mash time. You have the option of doing BIAB with no sparge or you can sparge just like you would with a mash tun. You can do step mashes if you want either by direct heating or decoction just as a conventional mash tun.

The downsides of BIAB are.... uh, I can't think of any.

 

[Homercidal]

The downsides of BIAB are.... uh, I can't think of any.

I can't think of anything major, but I personally prefer to use my mash tun with copper manifold. I don't enjoy holding a bag of wet grain above the kettle to drain. The cooler MLT is just easier to work with IMO.

Plus, I like to vorlauf, whether it actually makes any difference in the final beer or not.

Again, small things, and maybe not even a downside to some people.

 

[MindenMan]

I have been AG for a couple of years now, and my back isn't what it used to be. None of my BK's have valves, so there was a lot of heavy, hot pots to move. Not to forget vourlauf and fly sparging, both eating a ton of time...
Now, I heat my mash water, drop in the bag, add grain and stir. Sixty minutes later, remove bag, place bag in Zapap tun, add all of sparge water, stir, wait 15 minutes and stir again before draining. Since my first running wort was already in my BK, it was preheating while waiting for the sparge to finish. Was I AG?, yes I was, did I BIAB?, well yes I did, but not in the "classic" sense. For my mind, what I did was save a lot of time, and reduce the amount of weight I had to move. 15 pounds of grain is not that heavy by itself, but, when added to a heavy SS pot full of wort, the combined weight is difficult to move back and forth alone.

 

[Homercidal]

Actually that sounds exactly what I consider classic BIAB...

 

[Rev2010]

Sixty minutes later, remove bag, place bag in Zapap tun, add all of sparge water, stir, wait 15 minutes and stir again before draining. Since my first running wort was already in my BK

So wait, are you not draining the wort from the BIAB first? From your post it sounds like you're simply lifting the bag out and immediately dropping it into your second tun and adding sparge water. Would that not result in a slight loss in efficiency?

BIAB is great, and I would never try to change anyone's mind from doing it - I mean why? It works, is easy, and is 100% all grain. However I too, like Homercidal, prefer to use a mash tun. For me it's just two vessels like you have. I mash in my tun, which provides excellent insulation, then drain into my kettle, then batch sparge and again drain into my kettle. I really don't see much of a difference unless we're talking all in one kettle BIAB, and in that case just one less vessel to clean.


Rev.

 

[luvinit]

BIAB is just a different method of doing all grain. It makes a decent way to do the mash because it reduces the amount of equipment you need to buy and eliminates the worry about getting the wort to drain out of the mash tun because you have the large amount of filtering provided by the bag instead of relying on the grain husks to form that filter. With that you never worry about a stuck sparge, even with rye or wheat in the mash. It lets you mill the grains finer which can increase the brewhouse efficiency and reduce the mash time. You have the option of doing BIAB with no sparge or you can sparge just like you would with a mash tun. You can do step mashes if you want either by direct heating or decoction just as a conventional mash tun.

The downsides of BIAB are.... uh, I can't think of any.

ha ha thanks

 

[thesemicullen]

I think the only downside of BIAB is when you want to do a beer with a huge grain bill. I did an imperial stout with a 25-pound grain bill and that was a chore. My kettle is 10 gallons, so I had to do a pretty thick mash to get everything to fit. Lifting the bag out was the biggest pain – I don’t yet have it set up where I can use a pulley. But these are really minor things. I don’t often brew beers this big and the next time I do, I have devised work-arounds to make the process work better.

 

[dstranger99]

is the biab system kits exclusive to the biab process ? or will every all grain recipe work with biab

Why bother with a kit? Just get you a paint strainer bag from any hardware store, a bag of 4 or 5 will last you a very long time.