Question for those who mash in a cooler...

[AQUILAS]

...and for those who don't have a pulley system.

After the mash, do you take the bag out and drain it in a seperate vessel or do you simply just leave the bag in there and drain it?

I don't have a pulley system in place, so for the moment, I just pull the bags out and have them drain in a separate bucket/kettle. Now, to save myself from lifting that heavy bag (not that I'm weak or anything) and from spilling and wasting wort, I'm wondering if there's even any need to take the bag out when draining the wort from the tun and into the kettle.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

I don't BIAB, but isn't the idea to mash in the boil kettle, thus removing the need for the mash tun?

But to directly answer your question, I would agree that you could just leave the bag in the mash tun.

 

[AQUILAS]

I don't BIAB, but isn't the idea to mash in the boil kettle, thus removing the need for the mash tun?

Yeah, that's true, but I went the cooler mash tun route for the volume to price ratio. A 17.5gal cooler is cheaper than a 15-20gal kettle.

But to directly answer your question, I would agree that you could just leave the bag in the mash tun.

Right on. I just got to thinking about why I didn't do it this way from the get-go and wondered if there was any kind of repercussion in doing so. Thanks!

 

[wilserbrewer]

..
After the mash, do you take the bag out and drain it in a seperate vessel or do you simply just leave the bag in there and drain it?

Either method will work, I would think draining the cooler might be easier, but everybody's set up seems different.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Yes, in your case, it's almost like "double bagging"

 

[AQUILAS]

Either method will work, I would think draining the cooler might be easier, but everybody's set up seems different.

Yes, in your case, it's almost like "double bagging"

Perfect! I think I'll just leave the bag in on my next brew day.

Last brew day I had, I was making a 1.083 OG beer that involved 17lbs of grains dry. Lifting that thing out of the cooler after the mash and into the bucket made a big sticky mess.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Totally up to you but if you want to capture that extra wort stuck in the grains you'll need to something, sparge or lift and squeeze.

 

[bcltoys]

What ya got in the bottom a bazooka screen or false bottom.

 

[AQUILAS]

Totally up to you but if you want to capture that extra wort stuck in the grains you'll need to something, sparge or lift and squeeze.

It's just pure thinking at the moment, but I was thinking after the drain is complete, I'd tilt the cooler a bit (I usually tilt it when draining anyways), hold the bag to the higher end, and push/squeeze on the bag.

What ya got in the bottom a bazooka screen or false bottom.

To be honest, I don't have any of that at the bottom of my cooler. I started off with a bazooka screen, but I didn't really see a need for it, so I left it off.

 

[bcltoys]

So you just pulled the bag out.Might want to stick with that. When I tried to drain with bag in cooler and no false bottom/bazooka it would not drain at all.

 

[pretzelb]

What kind of cooler? Could you rig something up like a colander to hold the bag over the cooler?

 

[msa8967]

I use a voile cloth liner in my cooler with a ss water supply hose braid for filtering. After having as much wort removed from the cooler as possible I use an oven grate from a thrift to hold a white food grade plastic bucket over my boil kettle. The bag goes into the bucket and drains through holes drilled in the bottom. $1.38 for the oven grate at a thrift store and $2.49 for a white food grade bucket from Walmart.

 

[UndeadFred]

I use a rectangular cooler. A voile curtain. I did splurge and I hacked a $6 pex valve into where the plastic drain plug went and did a toilet braid in case I slip with the bungee cords and drop grains in the bottom. You don't need a braid and valve. The curtain does it all for you. But then I pretend I am Denny Conn and batch sparge. If it gets stuck (never need rice hulls) I can tug the bag. Been getting over 80% conversion efficiency on each batch. Works freaking great and you can literally get a cooler, a voile curtain and a couple of bungee cords for less than $30

 

[AQUILAS]

What kind of cooler? Could you rig something up like a colander to hold the bag over the cooler?

I use the 70qt Coleman Xtreme. The colander is actually the route I was originally planning on going, but I haven't found (locally, I haven't looked online yet) for a colander big and long enough to securely hold the grain bag.

I use a voile cloth liner in my cooler with a ss water supply hose braid for filtering. After having as much wort removed from the cooler as possible I use an oven grate from a thrift to hold a white food grade plastic bucket over my boil kettle. The bag goes into the bucket and drains through holes drilled in the bottom. $1.38 for the oven grate at a thrift store and $2.49 for a white food grade bucket from Walmart.

I use a rectangular cooler. A voile curtain. I did splurge and I hacked a $6 pex valve into where the plastic drain plug went and did a toilet braid in case I slip with the bungee cords and drop grains in the bottom. You don't need a braid and valve. The curtain does it all for you. But then I pretend I am Denny Conn and batch sparge. If it gets stuck (never need rice hulls) I can tug the bag. Been getting over 80% conversion efficiency on each batch. Works freaking great and you can literally get a cooler, a voile curtain and a couple of bungee cords for less than $30

THose are great ideas, guys. I may have to look into that.

 

[pretzelb]

Not sure if it will help with your big cooler but maybe try something like this collapsible colander. It works in our kitchen.

 

[brew703]

You can get a cheap pulley system for under $10 at Amazon. I mash in my kettle and the pulley is nice to have.

 

[cubalz]

I do use a separate cooler for mashing while doing BIAB. My reasoning is that it is easier to hold the mash temp better through the 60 or 90 minutes of mashing depending on the style. At any rate, What I do is after the saccrification rest is complete, I then sparge and pull the grain bag once that complete letting it drain in a colander over a bucket. I squeeze the bag every so often while I am bringing the wort to a boil. When the boil starts, I chuck in the rendered liquid at the bottom of the bucket into the boil kettle. This is what works for me.

 

[doug293cz]

I do use a separate cooler for mashing while doing BIAB. My reasoning is that it is easier to hold the mash temp better through the 60 or 90 minutes of mashing depending on the style. At any rate, What I do is after the saccrification rest is complete, I then sparge and pull the grain bag once that complete letting it drain in a colander over a bucket. I squeeze the bag every so often while I am bringing the wort to a boil. When the boil starts, I chuck in the rendered liquid at the bottom of the bucket into the boil kettle. This is what works for me.

You didn't say you drained the cooler before sparging. If you are not draining the cooler prior to adding your sparge water, then you lose the efficiency gains associated with sparging. You will get the same efficiency (or maybe lower because of the thicker mash) as doing a full volume mash.

Brew on

 

[cubalz]

You didn't say you drained the cooler before sparging. If you are not draining the cooler prior to adding your sparge water, then you lose the efficiency gains associated with sparging. You will get the same efficiency (or maybe lower because of the thicker mash) as doing a full volume mash.

Brew on

Sorry I forgot to add that. Yes, I drain before sparging.

 

[UndeadFred]

Yeah I drain my voile curtain cooler before sparge also but I am a bit impatient about it.. Still works good.

 

[4arrows]

Do y'all do a full cooler/mash tun conversion? or is there another method that works better with BIAB in the cooler? I have been thinking about switching to the cooler mash tun.

 

[msa8967]

I use a converted cooler with a stainless steel water supply braided hose. I have made several voile cloth liners for the cooler as well as a voile cloth sleeve to fit over the hose braid. Never had a stuck mash and never get grain pieces in my wort.

 

[AQUILAS]

Do y'all do a full cooler/mash tun conversion? or is there another method that works better with BIAB in the cooler? I have been thinking about switching to the cooler mash tun.

The only thing I did to my 70qt cooler was added the ball valve in the following order from inside the cooler to outside:

• Flange nut
• rubber washer
• stock gasket (the one that came with the cooler)
• pipe nipple
• Rubber washer
• SS Washer
• Ball Valve with barb

I originally had the SS braid bazooka tube in there, but I don't really see the need for it as the bag I use is very fine and no grains ever fall through it during the mash or after.

 

[UndeadFred]

The cooler with Voile rocks. I will second that.

 

[estricklin]

Perfect! I think I'll just leave the bag in on my next brew day.

Last brew day I had, I was making a 1.083 OG beer that involved 17lbs of grains dry. Lifting that thing out of the cooler after the mash and into the bucket made a big sticky mess.

Yeah I know some stupid ass that tried to brew 25 gallons with BIAB, he had a little trouble lifting the bag too.....anyway....

I would totally leave that puppy in there after mashing to drain!

 

[AQUILAS]

Yeah I know some stupid ass that tried to brew 25 gallons with BIAB, he had a little trouble lifting the bag too.....anyway....

I would totally leave that puppy in there after mashing to drain!

Haha wow. I can't even imagine trying to lift that much out....did his back survive? Haha

It's funny you mention leaving it in the cooler because I did just that today. Brewing up a Belgian wit and when I drained the mash, I just left the bag in there. Worked like a charm. Tilting the cooler and having the bag sit at the higher end drained the wort perfectly. Once it all cleared out, I squeezed what I could and put the bag in one of my buckets to carry to the trash bin. Much cleaner than what I tried previously. No spilled/wasted wort.