I just started doing BIAB after several batches of traditional AG and like everyone else I get much more cloudy wort after mashing. I am using very fine voile fabric. Does anyone know what the particles are? I assume it is not large grain husks since the I use voile. What else is it likely to be and is it bad, leading to off flavors?
What makes up the particles in BIAB
- Thread starter ekjohns
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My guess is that it is additional proteins. Biab wort is cloudier preboil, but after the boil is clear with more trub or protein present.
It settles out with time and is not usually an issue IME
It settles out with time and is not usually an issue IME
1MadScientist
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Voile is the 'gold standard' to use. I don't know, aren't they called 'proteins'? I had some solids settle in my test tube samples over night (for gravity testing). Doesn't this happen in a traditional mash too? I'm sure that will be part of what will become the cold break later on.
JoelRabbit
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I've done 5 BIAB batches so far. 4 are in progress but the first finished one turned out great despite the cloudy wort pre boil. It'll be clear after about a week. I'm pretty sure its protein material. It'll settle with the yeast.
Handsaw
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I've noticed that my wort is cloudy (I do BIAB too) and just figured that since we don't have a grain bed as a filter that it is flour that didn't get filtered out. It settled out and hasn't been a problem. I do mostly darker beers where it wouldn't be noticed anyway if it didn't clear up.
Mirkin
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Yeah I'm a long time BIABer, that cloudiness is nothing to worry about, with kettle finings it all drops right out very quickly.
As noted previously this extra crap is due to not having the grain bed to filter all the fine material out. It's all harmless anyway.
As noted previously this extra crap is due to not having the grain bed to filter all the fine material out. It's all harmless anyway.
BIABers also tend to double crush or mill their grain finer, so you end up with more flour in the boil. My beers are clear as can be so I don't worry about it.
christpuncher123
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Why don't you have the grain bed as a filter? It's sitting there the same as it does in a cooler! Put a drain on the bottom of your kettle drain some wort until it starts to run clearer and then dump that wort on top of your grains in the bag.
Mirkin
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christpuncher123 said:
You really need to look into what BIAB is.
The whole concept and application of it is 1 vessel brewing, no sparge and removing the grain from the wort, not running the wort off the grain.
It has no detriment to the beer, just extra trub that drops out very quickly in the fermenter.
I am a fairly new BIABer and the wort is cloudier for me as well....until the whirlfloc addition. I have done 3 BIAB brews so far - two with whirlfloc and one without. The one without took almost a month in the keg to clear up. The other two were crystal clear pretty much from the get-go in the keg. I am a big fan of whirlfloc so far.
christpuncher123
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I have done over 500 gallons of BIAB! I think I have a firm grip on the concept, thanks anyway! Show me in the official rules if BIAB where it says you cant vorlauf, and have to have a fermenter full of trub!
It doesn't. But most people seem to do BIAB as a simpler mashing process and don't vorlauf. Indeed one of the things people usually cite that BIAB makes easier is avoiding stuck mashes or sparges from not running wort out of the grain bed
christpuncher123
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All I'm saying is, if you want to Vorlauf you can with BIAB, everyone has the misconception that you can only do this with the traditional method. I don't do it all the time only about every third batch so I can reuse the yeast, I manage to get hardly any trub in the fermenter!
christpuncher123 said:
How does one vorlauf using BIAB? Are you talking about lining a MT and running off through a valve, or MIAB mash in a bag? I'm curious how this done
Did you make your own bag or buy it? I made mine and my drunken sewing isn't that great so the seams aren't that great either. Some of my grain has been getting through in the last couple brews. Maybe its time for you to restitch like it is for me.
mb82
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Mom helped set up the machine and watched me but I did it. I sewed once, flipped the bag inside out and then sewed again. Good luck grains getting through that. Now about getting grains out of the slot for the rope to tie off the bag and lift it... hmmm.
I've tried this before, I just poured off the wort into a bucket after the usual BIAB procedures, then put a large strainer on top of my kettle and set the grain bag into it (still full of the spent grains). Then very slowly poured my wort over the grain bag using a measuring cup. Didn't notice much of a difference, kind of a hassle, and I thought my efficiency suffered...although I was very new to BIAB at the time and still refining my process so the efficiency issue could have been a number of things.
JoelRabbit
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We vorlauf our BIAB beers but still get a little sediment. It's totally normal. You just can't get all of it out because the BIAB "grain bed" shifts and doesn't "seal" the litter edge of the mashtun.
It's just protein and flour from the grain. Nothin to worry about!
It's just protein and flour from the grain. Nothin to worry about!
christpuncher123
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My Keggle has a drain, so what i do is after my mashout is done I pull my bag of grains and set them on a strainer basket that is on top of a pail. I dig a hole in to the top of the grains, drain the wort from the bottom of the kettle until it starts to clear up, Then I slowly pour the wort into the bowl I created until it's full, wait a bit for it to drain then repeat! The wort at the bottom of the pail is significantly clearer than before, try it. I don't squeeze the bag when I do this, just leave it to drain while I'm waiting for the rest to boil. I have never noticed any efficiency difference by squeezing or not, especially on 10 gallon batches!
