What BIAB brewing actually is (Mythbusting for traditionalists)

[Nubiwan]

Make it easy on yourself. I call this DBIAB - double brew in a bag!

Makes grain extraction much lighter in weight. Use 2 bags - a stainless rod goes over the top, works great for heavier beers that use a lot of grain!View attachment 732649View attachment 732650

Whole new meaning to the double bagger. Runs for cover!!!!

 

[Kornssj]

I died laughing when I got to the BIAB being too heavy.

 

[madscientist451]

I haven’t brewed in a while, I really miss soaking my bag in nice warm water…
(I start low and do a step mash with my lagers this time of year)

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

I am a BIABer. I thought about lifting the bag, allowing it to drain. Then I acquired a second Burco. So I run off the liquid and use 4 litre jugs to fill number 2, and then boil. There is always some very fine solids left in the mash vessel - using the lift and drain approach would mean boiling these - would that affect final quality ?

 

[An Ankoù]

I've never BIaB'd in my life, but not through any prejudice. In fact I owe a lot to the method. I grew up with the idea that the wort had to be clear through repeated recirculation through the grain bed until the runnings were bright. Never really managed to achieve that and couldn't be ahhsed anyway. The beer never seemed to suffer and the affirmation from the BIaB brewers took away the worry of whether my beer could be somehow better.
What other myths have been broken?
- the boil should take 90 minutes (to get full bitterness out of the hops)
- mash conversion takes 90 minutes
- the wort going into the fermenter should be crystal clear and any bit of trub will ruin it (in fact the opposite is true- a bit of trub provides nutrients)

and no doubt there are others.
I think the biggest mistake we make, collectively, as home brewers is to try to scale down industrial systems when industrial systems really can't afford the freedom and flexibility that we homebrewers have.

 

[DuncB]

Also a lot of those all in one brew systems ( AIO) are really 2 vessel systems as they have a separate sparge water heater.
As an AIO metal bag ( malt pipe ) brewer I can't see myself changing to a grain bag until I try an overnight cold mash for a low alcohol beer. This is a plan on the horizon. Although the mash seems to be done in a plastic bucket and then the wort is transferred to the boil kettle once clear.