Water First or Grain First

[afro_lou]

Ok, this may seem super basic, but I’m very new to BIAB. Last time I brewed (first time BIAB-ing), I heater my water to mash temps, then added my grains. This resulted in a ton a dough balls, and was kind of a pain to deal with. In addition, I may have been over zealous in my stirring with my stainless mash paddle, and may have contributed to my grain bag breaking during the mash (this was exacerbated by me running my recirc pump at full bore throughout the mash, pulling the grain bag through the coarse false bottom separating the bag from the electric element).
Anyway, what kind of differences could I expect by filling my bag with dry grains, then adding cold water, then heating and recirculating (SLOWLY) to mash temps and mashing as normal?


TIA, everyone!

 

[doug293cz]

I haven't had any issues adding grain to the strike water in the kettle. I use a 24" whip, rather than a paddle. It has no sharp points to snag the bag, and is much more efficient at breaking up dough balls than a paddle. I also use a Wilser bag made from polyester voile, which is much more robust than paint strainer bags, or other coarse mesh bags.

Brew on

 

[LittleRiver]

I do the same thing as Doug: add the grains to water at strike temp, stirring in with a whip. I've never had a dough ball.

I grind my grain into a 5gal bucket, and use my overhead pulley to partially support the weight of the bucket so I can slowly tip the bucket with one hand while I whip with the other.

I lower the (Wilser) overhead hoist pulley so it's about a foot above the kettle, and clip the handle of the bucket to the pulley. I use my left hand on the bottom of the bucket to slowly tip it up, as I mix in the grains with my right hand.

Regarding your recirculation hassles, try a batch without recirculating. You'll find that you don't need it, and your brew day will have less hassles and less gear to clean.

 

[soccerdad]

I also heat the water and add the grain. No dough ball issues unless subbing grits for flaked maize. That stuff clumps up. Also prefer the whisk.

 

[afro_lou]

Thanks for the tips! I’m sure it was just my inexperience with BIAB that led to my issues. I’ll continue to add grains to my strike water, but much more slowly, and I’ll try the next one without recirculating.

 

[MaxStout]

I do the same as the other posters here. Heat strike water, then dough-in. I add a few lbs. of grain, stir, add some more, stir, etc. Don't add it all at once.

Have you checked your stainless mash paddle to see if there are burrs on the edges? That might be what snagged your bag. It might need a little work with a file to blunt the edges. Otherwise the 24" whip sounds like a good idea.

+1 on the Wilser bags. It'll be the last bag you'll ever need to buy.

 

[wepeeler]

Heat water to strike temp, add bag, add clips to keep bag in place, add grain and stir with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073V227QR/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I've added as much as 13 pounds of grain all at once and never had issues with dough balls. I did my first 11 gallon batch last night in a 15 gallon kettle. Started with 12 gallons of water, stirred in 26 pounds of grain slowly, and it was still fine. About an inch from the top of the kettle, but it all worked out. Added in about a gallon and a half after the mash and still got 80% efficiency.

 

[bleme]

Like everyone else it seems, I also heat strike water then pour in the grains and mix with a whisk. I have been toying with the idea of crushing my grain directly into the water, but I haven't tried it yet. If anyone has, I'd like to know how that went.

 

[balrog]

I grind the night before with an ugly junk corona setup I cannot easily get to hover over the kettle.

+1 on the whisk. Whisk while slowly pouring grain/flour.

 

[afro_lou]

I didn’t think that there were any burrs on the paddle, but there probably were a few small ones on the false bottom. I’m going to go through that with a fine file and smooth everything out as well. I think my biggest issue was the full-bore recirculation. It creates enough of a vacuum that there was a burn hole in the bag from the element (2” below the false bottom). I must be the only person to bust a Wilser bag! But, admittedly, I think I did every wrong thing I could to that bag!

 

[Parkinson1963]

I add my grain to the water and stir with a large ladle, I pump it up and down to avoid the snagging the bag.