What's with the BIAB fan boys?

[wherestheyeast]

How hard is it to pick up a 5 dollar ice chest second hand and build a braid?

I've done both, I'll spend the extra 10 dollars and one hour of time to build it.

I've asked earlier, and I'll ask here again: If you want to do traditional all-grain, don't you need three vessels? I.E., don't you need a vessel for sparge water, your mash tun, AND a kettle for the boil?

I'm asking because I'm curious (I'd like to try traditional AG), but also I want to understand the comparative simplicity.

 

[Krovitz]

Tell me about it. Those a hole BIABers and their stupid 2 cents. They don't know anything. Just a bunch of cheap, lazy, beginners, practicing for "real" brewing. They should save their dumb ass opinions for some sort of forum dedicated to homwbrewing.

 

[Xpertskir]

I've asked earlier, and I'll ask here again: If you want to do traditional all-grain, don't you need three vessels? I.E., don't you need a vessel for sparge water, your mash tun, AND a kettle for the boil?

I'm asking because I'm curious (I'd like to try traditional AG), but also I want to understand the comparative simplicity.

You dont need three vessels it makes it easier though.

I have one 10 gallon kettle and a cooler MLT.

I use a large pasta pot for my sparge water additions

If you dont have that you can always use a bucket to collect your wort while you sparge with your brew kettle.

*Edit you should probably just BIAB, that's what all the cool kids are doing. Apparently the aborigines pioneered it and the kiwis took it international.

 

[unionrdr]

Speaking of saving dumb ass opinions....def a cheap shot.

 

[Xpertskir]

This thread has certainly taken off...and apparently chapped some asses, which wasn't my intention.

 

[unionrdr]

nah,just that #62 was a bit over the top.

 

[Krovitz]

Speaking of saving dumb ass opinions....def a cheap shot.

Woah, Woah, Woah. Please do not take that post serious. I meant to be sarcastic but apparently it was a poor joke. I BIAB and love it. I'm just getting a little defensive. Apologies for any offense.

 

[MMJfan]

Woah, Woah, Woah. Please do not take that post serious. I meant to be sarcastic but apparently it was a poor joke. I BIAB and love it. I'm just getting a little defensive. Apologies for any offense.

I gathered a hint of sarcasm in your first post, but you might want to add an emoticon as it can be hard to gauge sarcasm in writing...

 

[Krovitz]

I gathered a hint of sarcasm in your first post, but you might want to add an emoticon as it can be hard to gauge sarcasm in writing...

Noted.

I'm having a panic attack thinking I just pissed off the guy whose countless posts, advice, and opinions have exponentially increased my beers quality.

Xpertskir: I understand your original point. Some of the other posters I started taking a little too personal. Sorry again. I shall kindly bow out of this debate.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I always read all threads with a grain of salt. When I was a wee lad, I had a conversation with the father of a friend of mine. We were discussing motor oil and he professed that motor oil XXX was the best stuff made since pharoah. I knew he happened to be the regional salesman for motor oil XXX, and I figured I would get a little lesson on motor oil chemistry, so I asked "why is it better?". He looked at me, stunned. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said " I don't know, it just is". Needless to say, I never took automotive advice from that particular man again. The point is that if someone chooses to post information here, I listen critically and look for the answer to the question "why?" If someone is willing to engage in an intellectual conversation, I will listen. If not, i usually remove myself from the thread and move on my way. I started with extract and steeping grains, and made very good beers for quite a while. This past summer I switched to AG BIAB for many of the reasons listed above. There are drawbacks, which anyone that has done a 10 gallon BIAB batch already understands. Personally, if I choose to add a mash tun to my equipment list, I will most likely line it with a bag, not a manifold. That's my choice. Since I haven't done it yet, I do not choose to offer that as a viable alternative. Once I have facts on the method, I may elect to share them here, if i believe it will be helpful to others. To those "traditional" 3 vessel brewers; I have read and learned a great deal from your AG threads about protein rests, to mash out or not, etc., I have yet to find experiences in 3 vessel AG that did not directly translate to BIAB. To me BIAB is "real AG brewing", its just a different way of separating the grains from the wort. I am a bit weary of the discussion of "real AG" vs "BIAB AG" To me we're all brewers, whether we use extracts, bags or 3 vessels. We all have much to learn from each other's successes and mistakes. That's what this forum is for, and quite frankly, threads like this is one of the reasons I will most likely never join a local brew club.

 

[aubiecat]

This thread has certainly taken off...and apparently chapped some asses, which wasn't my intention.

Really? What did you expect with a title like "What's with the BIAB fan boys"?

 

[aubiecat]

I always read all threads with a grain of salt. When I was a wee lad, I had a conversation with the father of a friend of mine. We were discussing motor oil and he professed that motor oil XXX was the best stuff made since pharoah. I knew he happened to be the regional salesman for motor oil XXX, and I figured I would get a little lesson on motor oil chemistry, so I asked "why is it better?". He looked at me, stunned. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said " I don't know, it just is". Needless to say, I never took automotive advice from that particular man again. The point is that if someone chooses to post information here, I listen critically and look for the answer to the question "why?" If someone is willing to engage in an intellectual conversation, I will listen. If not, i usually remove myself from the thread and move on my way. I started with extract and steeping grains, and made very good beers for quite a while. This past summer I switched to AG BIAB for many of the reasons listed above. There are drawbacks, which anyone that has done a 10 gallon BIAB batch already understands. Personally, if I choose to add a mash tun to my equipment list, I will most likely line it with a bag, not a manifold. That's my choice. Since I haven't done it yet, I do not choose to offer that as a viable alternative. Once I have facts on the method, I may elect to share them here, if i believe it will be helpful to others. To those "traditional" 3 vessel brewers; I have read and learned a great deal from your AG threads about protein rests, to mash out or not, etc., I have yet to find experiences in 3 vessel AG that did not directly translate to BIAB. To me BIAB is "real AG brewing", its just a different way of separating the grains from the wort. I am a bit weary of the discussion of "real AG" vs "BIAB AG" To me we're all brewers, whether we use extracts, bags or 3 vessels. We all have much to learn from each other's successes and mistakes. That's what this forum is for, and quite frankly, threads like this is one of the reasons I will most likely never join a local brew club.

Just about as succinct as you can get on the whole subject.

 

[MMJfan]

Really? What did you expect with a title like "What's with the BIAB fan boys"?

I had to LOL at that as well...

 

[usfmikeb]

You dont need three vessels it makes it easier though.

I have one 10 gallon kettle and a cooler MLT.

I use a large pasta pot for my sparge water additions

If you dont have that you can always use a bucket to collect your wort while you sparge with your brew kettle.

*Edit you should probably just BIAB, that's what all the cool kids are doing. Apparently the aborigines pioneered it and the kiwis took it international.

Umm, no offense, but you're using three vessels there: kettle pot, MLT cooler, and sparge pot.

 

[usfmikeb]

I always read all threads with a grain of salt. When I was a wee lad, I had a conversation with the father of a friend of mine. We were discussing motor oil and he professed that motor oil XXX was the best stuff made since pharoah. I knew he happened to be the regional salesman for motor oil XXX, and I figured I would get a little lesson on motor oil chemistry, so I asked "why is it better?". He looked at me, stunned. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said " I don't know, it just is". Needless to say, I never took automotive advice from that particular man again. The point is that if someone chooses to post information here, I listen critically and look for the answer to the question "why?" If someone is willing to engage in an intellectual conversation, I will listen. If not, i usually remove myself from the thread and move on my way. I started with extract and steeping grains, and made very good beers for quite a while. This past summer I switched to AG BIAB for many of the reasons listed above. There are drawbacks, which anyone that has done a 10 gallon BIAB batch already understands. Personally, if I choose to add a mash tun to my equipment list, I will most likely line it with a bag, not a manifold. That's my choice. Since I haven't done it yet, I do not choose to offer that as a viable alternative. Once I have facts on the method, I may elect to share them here, if i believe it will be helpful to others. To those "traditional" 3 vessel brewers; I have read and learned a great deal from your AG threads about protein rests, to mash out or not, etc., I have yet to find experiences in 3 vessel AG that did not directly translate to BIAB. To me BIAB is "real AG brewing", its just a different way of separating the grains from the wort. I am a bit weary of the discussion of "real AG" vs "BIAB AG" To me we're all brewers, whether we use extracts, bags or 3 vessels. We all have much to learn from each other's successes and mistakes. That's what this forum is for, and quite frankly, threads like this is one of the reasons I will most likely never join a local brew club.

I agree with everything but your last comment. The homebrew club I'm in has brewers of all different levels: extract, PM, BIAB, 3 vessel. There isn't any issue between members, everyone's supportive.

 

[passedpawn]

Woah, Woah, Woah. Please do not take that post serious. I meant to be sarcastic but apparently it was a poor joke. I BIAB and love it. I'm just getting a little defensive. Apologies for any offense.

I read it as irony in the last line. I laughed.

 

[bobbrews]

Because it's like mowing your lawn your entire life without a lawn bag attached to the mower, letting the cut grass spew everywhere, and then buying a mower with a lawn bag attachment. Why go back? It's just easier, more convenient, and makes for quicker clean-up.

 

[jeffmeh]

Sentiments that BIAB is inherently inferior to 3-vessel brewing, or a step before graduation to 3-vessel brewing, contribute to the mythology and tend to provoke a response. QED

 

[Skelator]

This thread has certainly taken off...and apparently chapped some asses, which wasn't my intention.

Well, you called a segment of the forum population 'fan boys' as well as closed minded... I'd say you got exactly what you wanted from your post.

 

[AnOldUR]

Because it's like mowing your lawn your entire life without a lawn bag attached to the mower, letting the cut grass spew everywhere, and then buying a mower with a lawn bag attachment. Why go back? It's just easier, more convenient, and makes for quicker clean-up.

Wait . . . explain this in English please.

 

[tknice]

Sentiments that BIAB is inherently inferior to 3-vessel brewing, or a step before graduation to 3-vessel brewing, contribute to the mythology and tend to provoke a response. QED

Yeah, that is the part I don't get... when people call BIAB a "stepping stone" to AG, they clearly don't know the different variations. I could easily have a 3-vessel system but choose not to. Where is the loss in flexibility? I'm either naive or just don't understand.

If the answer is that it's the same, then BIAB is just another variation of all of the other ways AG brewing is different from one brewer to another (fly or batch sparge etc.) and we should leave it at that.

Brewing is a funny hobby because there are clearly right and wrong ways to do things, like sanitation or temps for pitching yeast as examples, but so much of the process is left up to us to decide that we are bound to have these kinds of discussions.

I bet if everyone in this thread met up and shared a few beers, it really wouldn't matter how each of us brews.

 

[Beer-lord]

Me, I could care less what others do. More power to them. Many years back (in the old days) I did mashing the same way many do now. It was at times, problematic. Granted, some of those problems were based on my pocketbook at the time.
Fast forward to 3 years ago and both my pocket book and my beers like BIAB. It ain't perfect but it works for me. My friends love all my beers (I've been lucky) and I suggest, if possible, that serious brewers try both ways to see what works best for them.

 

[amandabab]

BIAB isn't inferior beerwise.
It excells at simplicity and START-UP cost. Its probably the best way to kitchen all-grain and partials.

but there comes a time when the huge wet sticky sack is a huge PITA. A cooler starts looking good cheap and easy. the 3 vessels don't need to be a big expensive system. boilpot, ghetto DIV cooler and a kitchen pot you already have. I know a "BIAB fanboy", he brews excellent 15 gallon batches. His wheeled gantrys, electric hoists , 25 gallon SS pots, natural gas burners and purpose built reinforced bags cost WAY more than most people systems.

there are shiny high-$$$ toys on the BIAB side too.

 

[goybar]

Stainless Steel or Aluminum

 

[goybar]

I am quite the beer brewing social outcast. I use the BIAB method with an ALUMINUM POT!!!!! OMG...

 

[mb82]

I am quite the beer brewing social outcast. I use the BIAB method with an ALUMINUM POT!!!!! OMG...

Don't worry that makes two of us. And I even bottle my beer... oh gosh.

 

[divrguy]

.........and I love this site because I have learned a lifetime of knowledge in a short time.

+1 well said!

 

[aubiecat]

Yeah, that is the part I don't get... when people call BIAB a "stepping stone" to AG, they clearly don't know the different variations.

BIAB is "AG". If you BIAB with grain you are an "AG" brewer.
What people mean is can be considered stepping stone to a more advanced/complicated brewing system.

For me BIAB is an end game. I really like my system, it works for me, it makes great beer and is incredibly easy to use.
Friends and family dig my beer too.
What else matters?

 

[ArcLight]

>>but there comes a time when the huge wet sticky sack is a huge PITA.

I don't get this. What is difficult about holding a grain bag for a couple of minutes?
Get yourself a pair of $6 chemical/heat resistant gloves from Home Depot and its easy. No mess.
Clean up is easy.

What is hard about BIAB?

Maybe if you are making a 10 gallon batch solo, and have 30 pounds of grain it would be harder, so buy a $13 winch at Lowes, not a problem.

BIAB is pretty easy, unless you are elderly.

 

[amandabab]

For me BIAB is an end game.

yeah, Epic Raid level endgame.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/ready-not-e-biab-here-i-come-312256/