Pseudo BIAB: Mash in a Bag (MIAB)?

[ultravista]

I plan on brewing Yoopers Dead Guy Ale clone this weekend; my first all grain brew.

For the mash, I will mash in a bag made out of voile material in a 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler. The bag is large enough to fit inside a keggle and made out of the same material used for BIAB. The grain will have plenty of room inside the tun.

Considering I am mashing (and sparging) in a bag, would I still need a manifold or similar at the bottom of the mash tun to further filter out the grains? While the voile is porous, the weave is tight and should be an effective filter.

This is very similar to DeathBrewers all grain method with the exception of mashing in a cooler vs. the stovetop kettle.

Whad do you think?

Do any of my fellow home brewers MIAB and SIAB?

 

[pdxal]

Heck, why use the cooler when you can just go full BIAB and use the kettle. If it is a space for mash issue there should be no difference from using the kettle, just mashing in the cooler, draining using the bag as a filter, then boiling.

 

[rorygilmore]

I use the mash in the bag method like you describe, but I use a 5 gallon cooler. I've had pretty good success with it. Other than that, I follow deathbrewers method.

I find that mashing in the cooler holds the temperature very steady vs. mashing in the kettle. I *maybe* lose one degree over the corse of an hour.

 

[Hoodweisen]

just do what this woman does and just add your one step of pouring your hot water into the cooler and then pouring it back in the kettle
when you pull the bag that should filter out all your grains
i usually mash longer than an hour i get better EFF from it

 

[pvtschultz]

I guess I don't get too concerned about losing a degree over the course of an hour when I mash in my brew kettle. I get 75% efficiency easily doing full volume mashes and mash out at the end so I've never seen the need to add a cooler to the setup.

 

[McGarnigle]

I use the mash in the bag method like you describe, but I use a 5 gallon cooler. I've had pretty good success with it. Other than that, I follow deathbrewers method.

I find that mashing in the cooler holds the temperature very steady vs. mashing in the kettle. I *maybe* lose one degree over the corse of an hour.

I use a cooler too (usually). I'm sure a lot of people do.

 

[berebrando]

This is what I do... Mash in a bag. My modified manifold is just a tube that pulls water from the middle of the mash tun. I get between 75 and 82% efficiencies. I've also never used rice hulls, even in rye beers, and I have never experienced a stuck sparge. I like mash in a bag because it's easy to clean up and it provides great results.

 

[ultravista]

Hoodweisen - how much "extra" time are you adding to your mash?

berebrando - are you using a bag fashioned out of voile? I just have a large voile panel right now. This will work but not as nice as a bag. Once I befriend someone with a sewing machine, I'll have a bag.

DO you have a photo of the tun manifold?

 

[beninan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk5goLlq8nw
just do what this woman does and just add your one step of pouring your hot water into the cooler and then pouring it back in the kettle
when you pull the bag that should filter out all your grains
i usually mash longer than an hour i get better EFF from it

3:27 - 3:45

The way she was talking, I was expecting her to take her shirt off!




I was disappointed when I found out she doesn't...

 

[MidnightShift]

Nice to hear that other people use coolers with biab. I do it to help me control my temps better. It has worked good so far and I am getting better results with each brew.

 

[SeraphX117]

I know it is an old thread but just in case anyone else looks at it...I do the MIAB in a cooler method because I have 2 4gallon pots that I have to split to do 5 gallon batches. Works wonders

 

[ShadyBrewer]

This is the method I use. I basically use the bag instead of a false bottom. I never worry about a stuck sparge. I also don't have to worry about melting the bag when applying heat like you would (and i have) with traditional BIAB

 

[ultravista]

Me too, I mash in a bag, and have since starting all grain brewing. I also hop in a bag and have no issues thus far with anything. I use a 200 micron bag for the hops.

 

[t-ross]

I am planning to try something like this to start doing PM over the summer. I have a couple coolers, a 5 gal. brew pot and some large mesh bags. I should be all set.

 

[ram5ey]

Yeah the miab methods works great for me as I am doing AG in an apartment in an electric stove. I was never able to hold mash temps before and it was nearly impossible to goose up the temp a couple degrees on my stove.

 

[brew_ny]

old thread but I do just this in a 72 quart cooler with a 4 dollar window curtain

works great, I can do a fine crush on my grain

and my cooler is still a cooler

all the best

S_M

 

[ericbw]

This is how I do it. I have a valve on the cooler, and you sometimes need to pull the bag away from the hole so it flows freely.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[brew_ny]

This is how I do it. I have a valve on the cooler, and you sometimes need to pull the bag away from the hole so it flows freely.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I use a stainless oven grate to keep it off the bottom which works great

I do give it a squeeze to get more wort out

S_M