Squeeze the bag

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jplowe

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I've been doing BIAB for a bit now and I've always squeezed the grain bag in another container after the mash to get every bit of wort out of the grains. its a hot, sticky, painful experience that i wish could be easier. I feel like if i don't squeeze, nothing comes out of the bag even if i let it sit in a bowl with a cup underneath or holding the bag over the kettle.

Is there a better way to have the BIAB drain to save wort? I'm not sure if rice hulls would be beneficial in a bag as they are with false bottoms but i'd try it if it helped.

Also though about buying gloves to prevent sticky burnt hands but that still would not solve the problem of squeezing and getting wort everywhere.
 
There are two approaches that I use. One is to put the bag in a large colander and use a round bottom bowl to press the bag to squeeze it. This eliminates the need to handle the bag. The other approach is to sparge the bag to rinse the sugars out of the grain. I often do both....... squeeze, then sparge, then squeeze again. With the round bottom bowl, I can make a depression to pour sparge water into......... then press again after sparging, or I will dunk sparge, starting out with less than my full volume of water in each case so that I have room for the product of the sparge.
In reality, the cost of the malt is low enough that efficiency should not be a large consideration. I buy two row in 50 pound bags for less than 50 cents a pound.
H.W.

I've been doing BIAB for a bit now and I've always squeezed the grain bag in another container after the mash to get every bit of wort out of the grains. its a hot, sticky, painful experience that i wish could be easier. I feel like if i don't squeeze, nothing comes out of the bag even if i let it sit in a bowl with a cup underneath or holding the bag over the kettle.

Is there a better way to have the BIAB drain to save wort? I'm not sure if rice hulls would be beneficial in a bag as they are with false bottoms but i'd try it if it helped.

Also though about buying gloves to prevent sticky burnt hands but that still would not solve the problem of squeezing and getting wort everywhere.
 
I have squeezed many times but recently have just been gravity draining. I hang the bag over the kettle as I bring things up to a boil. After a few minutes it only drips slightly. Then I place it on a large strainer that I suspend in a pail opening. A couple times during the boil, I pour in the small amount that accumulates (couple of cups?).

Without an actual sparge, I don't see squeezing or draining as actually increasing gravity. It marginally increases volume at the same gravity you have already collected, that's it - by reducing the amount of grain absorption.
 
I use a hoist to hold the bag and when I mash out, I let the bag hang above the kettle and drip into the wort as I bring it up to boil, and will let it continue until well into the boil; no squeezing required. I will, on large grain bills, hold the top of the bag and spin the lower portion, which tightens the bag and "squeezes" the grain without any real contact.
 
:eek: Don't squeeze the grain YOU WILL EXTRACT TANNINS :eek:

JK, I don't believe in that nonsense. It takes heat and pH levels that you are unlikely to encounter.

Make some form of bucket press. Have something to hold the grain bag off the bottom of a bucket so the wort has somewhere to go then fashion something to press down on the bag of grain to squeeze out the wort.
 
I made a cross out of pvc pipe that sits on top of my pot. When the bag comes out, I just set the cross on top of my pot and let it drain during the boil.
 
Recently I started using a cheap hoist to hold my bag in the air while I squeeze. Since then I've seen my efficiency jump 10% because I'm not fumbling around when I'm squeezing the bag.

And I'd definitely buy some long cuff heat-resistant gloves to wear while you're squeezing.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QGXNT4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Makes a world of difference for me!

1. Lift up really slowly with a hoist (so it doesn't overflow)
2. Kick on the heat
3. Squeeze/Twist slowly to drain the rest of the wort
4. Dunk the mittens in the clean-up bucket to get the wort off.

Since I've got 10-15 minutes before boil really gets going, I take my time on the squeezing. It reduces the spilling, and keeps me from getting hot wort down my sleeves.
 
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I just hang over the kettle until most of the wort is out and then squeeze between 2 pot lids
 
I just hang over the kettle until most of the wort is out and then squeeze between 2 pot lids

This is all I can picture...

tysm1969_1.jpg
 
I'm thinking these gloves are the ticket! I'm also going to buy this huge colender as well.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002P6NRQQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QGXNT4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Makes a world of difference for me!

1. Lift up really slowly with a hoist (so it doesn't overflow)
2. Kick on the heat
3. Squeeze/Twist slowly to drain the rest of the wort
4. Dunk the mittens in the clean-up bucket to get the wort off.

Since I've got 10-15 minutes before boil really gets going, I take my time on the squeezing. It reduces the spilling, and keeps me from getting hot wort down my sleeves.
 
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I bought these and feel like they worked really well to squeeze the additional wort from the grain bag, while keeping my hands from getting burnt or sticky. Granted I have only done one BIAB brew so far, so my experience is very limited. What I did was hoist the bag out of the kettle and let it drain for a couple of minutes. Then I twisted it pretty tight and then squeezed.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HLPXL80?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Oh, I like these gloves because they can be easily washed and cleaned. During the brew day I always keep a bucket of water near by. I dunked these gloves into the water just to help keep them from getting too sticky and then wash them after the brew day is over. Good luck!
 
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Ugh, I keep needing to lecture you people on proper BIAB sparge technique. This is the last time I'll delineate it all:
- place hot grain bag in a separate container with some sort of false bottom, or even just an upside down glass to rest the bag on and let drain. Note that is must be HOT, this is important for the next step
- squeeze grain bag and badly burn hands
- pour cold water over grains to rinse/sparge. Drunkenly convince yourself that the grains are MUCH cooler now
- squeeze grain bag and burn hands once again
- rinse and repeat, literally
 
10 pounds of grains is pretty heavy after the mash and scalding hot. I can't build a pulley system above my stove in the kitchen. The bag is too large for bowls so i was using an old kettle and pizza pan to catch the rest. Hopefully this HUGE conlender will fix my problem of holding the hot bag. I think it will also fit over the kettle so i can let drip and bring the wort to boil.

If i was not brewing in the kitchen, it would be a different story. i'd probably use a keggle with some bag and pulley system. Keeping it simple but easy to clean because its outside. All not possible until I find a new place to live with more space.
 
I mash with 2/3 of the total water I am going to use. The last 1/3 (room temp) goes in plastic container to dunk sparge. It gets some more goodness out of the grains and cools the grains. After a few minutes I remove the grain sack and set on some wire refrigerator racks and let it drain. I do squeeze with the lid of my boil kettle. I try to set a schedule so the brew day doesn't drag out and become an all day event. If time wasn't an issue I would probably let gravity do its thing.
 
in terms of gloves, I've found that a pair of rubber dishwashing gloves from the dollar store actually work reasonably well for keeping from burning myself on the bag and the wort dripping from it.

the setup I tried last time involved suspending my bag from the uprights of my kitchen cabinets over a SS bowl and using that to catch the drips while I twisted and squeezed the bag.

occasionally I would notice my hands starting to get too hot, but it was a slow enough process that I could simply stop for a minute or two before starting up again.
 
I firmly believe that it is a lot easier to just let gravity drain the wort out of the bag. It takes patience, 20-30 minutes but it will take willpower to resist the urge to squeeze. Squeezing early produces wort and seems very productive, but after allowing the bag to drain 20-30 minutes captures as much wort IME.

Take the easy route...gravity ftw
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QGXNT4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Makes a world of difference for me!

1. Lift up really slowly with a hoist (so it doesn't overflow)
2. Kick on the heat
3. Squeeze/Twist slowly to drain the rest of the wort
4. Dunk the mittens in the clean-up bucket to get the wort off.

Since I've got 10-15 minutes before boil really gets going, I take my time on the squeezing. It reduces the spilling, and keeps me from getting hot wort down my sleeves.


Just bought a pair - thanks for sharing
 
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Agree with Wilserbewer. Squeezing is overrated .. gravity will get you 95% of what squeezing does anyway. If you can't hang the bag, set it in a colander over a bucket with a small weight on top (like a pannini press). By the time you are forming hot break, you will have your additional wort.
 
I like simple and BIAB so when the mash is done, I use a nice quality strainer that has a good tight mesh, I get 2-5 gallon Lowes buckets and put a cheap paint strainer bag in each (the large ones) and strain 1/3 of the grain in one pot, 1/3 in the other and leave 1/3 in my mash bag. I have some good heat gloves and I squeeze each bag a few times to get a good deal of liquid out. I never, ever, ever have had a tannin problem. I've done this for over 5 years and it just works for me. My numbers are almost always as per my recipe and that's why I keep doing what I'm doing.
Find something that works for you and stick with it. There's a lot of good ideas in this thread.
 
Any reason why a 5 gallon bucket with a bunch of holes drill in it on a grate above a kettle. Place another bucket in that with a barbell?
 
I squeezed the bag before, but novadays I let it drain over a colander, than put in a secondary bucket and pour my sparging water over it. Then I mix the water with grains to get the last remaning sugar and drain it. This way is a lot easier, faster and more efficient, I get around 85% efficiency this way.
6I9jvHe.jpg
 
Any reason why a 5 gallon bucket with a bunch of holes drill in it on a grate above a kettle. Place another bucket in that with a barbell?

Sure that would work....only reason I have not to do this is you are involving 4 more pieces of equipment to capture perhaps 30 - 40 cents worth of wort vs just letting your grain bag gravity drain for 20 - 30 minutes.

Everybody has their favorite little method....I'm lazy and have a load of grain on hand and don't like additional exercise for little gain....JMHO
cheers!
 
I let gravity drain the wort for the most part, but I still give the grain bag a good squeeze. I see no reason not to - I feel like I'm wasting what I've already worked to get if I don't!
 
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