wilserbrewer BIAB bags

[huntb]

There are a few variations of the B/C kettles. Best to give kettle outside diameter and kettle height, as well as height from bottom of basket to top of kettle installed in the pot. When used with the basket, best to install the bag in the basket, and have it overlap the top rim of the kettle by several inches.

I usually advise sizing to the kettle, that way it is a nice fit either with, or without using the basket.

Good to know, that's what I'll do then

 

[JINKS]

After reading the glowing reviews here that I just decided to up and buy one and a spare. Looking forward to my first BIAB with red x malt

 

[JINKS]

Fast shipping I got it today 5 days after ordering. More like 4.1 days as I ordered it at 11pm

My first BIAB is in about 4 weeks when I can bottle the english brown in my carboy

 

[castillo556]

Just ordered one with the SuperBowl promotion. Excited to use it. I think partly my low efficiency is due to too small a back. Hopefully a larger bag which allows the whole space of the cooler to be used will help with efficiency

 

[JINKS]

Here are some photographic quality comparisons

Wilserbrewer seams and weave:


Ld Carlson seams and weave:


Ace hardware paint strainer bag:

From just the appearance the Wilserbrewer seam looks way more durable. The weave is tighter than the others also.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Thanks JINKS for the detailed pics. As the photos show, the voile material is a much finer weave than the other two examples and likely much stronger. What the pics don't tell is the detail constructing the seam. The wilserbrewer bag is sewn initially with a 4 thread machine, then turned inside out and stitched again with very close stitching over the initial seam, resulting in approx 1/2" of the voile being captured in the seam, resulting in a strong and durable finished seam. A bit time consuming, but the results are superior.

This process is sometimes repeated again for very large commercial size bags, 55 gallon and up resulting in an extremely tough seam.

Thanks!
Wilser

 

[JINKS]

Thanks JINKS for the detailed pics. As the photos show, the voile material is a much finer weave than the other two examples and likely much stronger. What the pics don't tell is the detail constructing the seam. The wilserbrewer bag is sewn initially with a 4 thread machine, then turned inside out and stitched again with very close stitching over the initial seam, resulting in approx 1/2" of the voile being captured in the seam, resulting in a strong and durable finished seam. A bit time consuming, but the results are superior.

This process is sometimes repeated again for very large commercial size bags, 55 gallon and up resulting in an extremely tough seam.

Thanks!
Wilser

I didn't know all the technical sewing stuff, but I could tell the seam was superior from the second I examined it.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yea thanks, the pics are amazing....detail I've never seen, and their my own children

 

[castillo556]

Just got my bag... man, I am impressed! The cinch tie is awesome. Now I can pull it tight around the top of the cooler and dump in the grains!

Very excited, worth the money.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Just got my bag... man, I am impressed! The cinch tie is awesome. Now I can pull it tight around the top of the cooler and dump in the grains!

Very excited, worth the money.

Yes thank you, we have recently added a cord lock to all bags. Cinching the drawstring works very well securing the bag over kettle or cooler top rim. No more binder clips required Sorry for the poor quality pics.


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1423734584.910357.jpg

We have also added a 1/4" ratchet pulley (150 lb capacity) as an available upgrade to our standard 1/8" pulley (75 lb capacity). This heavier pulley is intended for large batch brewers, or the "bigger is better" crowd that prefers large tools (separate purchase also available)

I highly recommend adding a ratchet pulley to your BIAB routine. It simplifies the process, and makes for a neater brew day w/ less hassle, less mess and zero spillage. Letting the bag merely hang and drain over the kettle is effortless compared to squeezing or moving the bag to another container to drain.



Thanks for your support!
wilser

 

[BigDog007]

Order my WilserBrewer kit earlier this week, had it in my PO Box 2 days later. Can't wait to try it out. Appears to be excellent quality.

RP

 

[geoffm33]

Wilserbrewer bag and pulley in action.

 

[brewprint]

My bags and pully just arrived today. Looking forward to getting this going. I still have some LME that I have plans for but I've got my grain and hop bill ready.

@geoffm33 what do you have around your kettle? I'm in a cold climate and would like to get going but holding mash temps below 20F concern me.

 

[geoffm33]

That's reflectix. You can pick it up at Home Depot/Lowes.

 

[wilserbrewer]

but holding mash temps below 20F concern me.

At those chilly temps, I would plan on losing temperature, and mash in 3 degrees high and just let it fall 5-6 degrees, think of it as a temp range and not really a specific mash temp.

Not trying to discourage, but if you target 150, you could easily find yourself low and out of a healthy conversion temp

 

[BigDog007]

Got to use my new bag yesterday and it is awesome, high quality, very exciting. Planning my next recipe to be ready for when I have a primary open up. I'm kind of backed up but once all this beer matures at least I'll have a good supply to drink while I wait.

 

[dietz31684]

I've got about 20 batches on my bag, no worse for the wear. I mashed in too early last brew and had to crank the heat for a while. I still don't understand how this stuff doesn't melt on the bottom of my kettle with the flame cranked...but it doesn't

 

[doug293cz]

I've got about 20 batches on my bag, no worse for the wear. I mashed in too early last brew and had to crank the heat for a while. I still don't understand how this stuff doesn't melt on the bottom of my kettle with the flame cranked...but it doesn't

Polyester fibers have a melting point from 258° - 263°C (http://www.engr.utk.edu/mse/Textiles/Polyester%20fiber.htm.) So, it would be difficult to get your bag to those temps in a BK filled with wort.

Brew on

 

[wilserbrewer]

Polyester fibers have a melting point from 258° - 263°C (http://www.engr.utk.edu/mse/Textiles/Polyester%20fiber.htm.) So, it would be difficult to get your bag to those temps in a BK filled with wort.

Brew on

Polyester voile can and WILL scorch and burn if one does not stir the mash constantly while heating.

FWIW, any mash, BIAB or not can and will scorch if heating with direct heat unless recirculated or stirred. Not much different than heating a pot of tomato sauce, it will scorch and burn if heated to high and not stirred while heating.

 

[doug293cz]

Polyester voile can and WILL scorch and burn if one does not stir the mash constantly while heating.

FWIW, any mash, BIAB or not can and will scorch if heating with direct heat unless recirculated or stirred. Not much different than heating a pot of tomato sauce, it will scorch and burn if heated to high and not stirred while heating.

Have you seen cases where the polyester material itself melted or showed evidence of thermal damage, and not just the components of the mash/wort? If so, under what conditions did it occur, and how closely was the fabric examined to determine whether the damage was just deposits on or degradation of the material itself?

Thermal breakdown (caramelization, pyrolysis) of sugars begins at temperatures ~100°C less than the melting point of polyester (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caramelization.) So, the mash/wort will scorch long before anything happens to the bag material. It would seem that very high local watt densities would be required to damage the bag, and that these would be unlikely to occur under typical mash heating conditions, except maybe for cases where higher watt density electric elements are in contact with the bag.

I have a Bayou Classic SQ14 that I have run wide open when heating to boil. The worst I have seen is light scorching on the bottom of my SS pot at the points where the pot contacts the burner frame. These scorch marks can be removed with only water and light rubbing with a nylon dish washing pad, so no serious burning.

Brew on

 

[wilserbrewer]

Doug,

Yes, I have seen heat damaged bags due to heating during a mash. While your information and melting points are interesting, what I believe happens in practice if the mash is not stirred and allowed to settle and compact on the kettle bottom, the liquid locally boils away leaving dry contact of the mash and grain bag to the kettle, and without ample liquid to dissipate the heat it is game over and temps soar. I have repaired several bags for customers that made this mistake of not stirring and escaped with minor damage.

NOT one of my bags below FWIW.



If or when applying direct heat to a BIAB mash, best practice IMO is to stir while heating! or

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f244/biab-paint-strainer-bag-burned-bottom-kettle-383638/
http://www.homebrewdownunder.com/index.php?topic=2090.0
http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/1f23eo/help_request_biab_went_wrong_how_do_i_remove/

 

[clairecunn83]

Just received my bag! Thank you for the speedy turn around! Excited to use it this weekend

 

[doug293cz]

Doug,

Yes, I have seen heat damaged bags due to heating during a mash. While your information and melting points are interesting, what I believe happens in practice if the mash is not stirred and allowed to settle and compact on the kettle bottom, the liquid locally boils away leaving dry contact of the mash and grain bag to the kettle, and without ample liquid to dissipate the heat it is game over and temps soar. I have repaired several bags for customers that made this mistake of not stirring and escaped with minor damage.

NOT one of my bags below FWIW.



If or when applying direct heat to a BIAB mash, you MUST stir while heating! or

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f244/biab-paint-strainer-bag-burned-bottom-kettle-383638/
http://www.homebrewdownunder.com/index.php?topic=2090.0
http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/1f23eo/help_request_biab_went_wrong_how_do_i_remove/

Mike,

I didn't think that looked anything like the bags I got from you. Do you know if it was nylon or polyester? Some nylons are less heat resistant than polyester, and most of the fried bag posts I have seen are nylon. I have also read that nylon is susceptible to hydrolysis in the presence of hot water/steam, which might come into play.

I'm not trying to be a d!ck. Just want to get the best understanding possible of exactly what conditions cause problems. For example: do we know if jet burners are worse than banjo burners due to more heat concentration (one of your linked photos has a burn pattern that might be due to a jet burner)? I would expect water heater elements to be potentially worse than gas burners since there is no (somewhat) thermally conductive material between the heat and the wort to spread the heat out somewhat. And like you say, if a local area gets boiled dry, then all bets are off.

I understand that the safest thing to do is keep the bag off the bottom of the pot (which is what I do), and the next safest is to stir constantly when heating.


@dietz31684:

I've got about 20 batches on my bag, no worse for the wear. I mashed in too early last brew and had to crank the heat for a while. I still don't understand how this stuff doesn't melt on the bottom of my kettle with the flame cranked...but it doesn't

Did you stir while heating the mash, and do you know the burner type and/or BTU rating that you used?

Brew on

 

[brewprint]

Saturday we have a high of 37F! I may have to give the new bag a whirl. In regards to heating up the mash; I bet I could keep a very low heat stirring and it would maintain temp without burning the bag. It would be almost like steeping grains twice in a row.

This is why I love the idea of biab so much. It may only take 1/2 hour longer than my extract brews.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Thanks! All recent orders shipped.

 

[tommyguner03]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1424922833.802104.jpg one of many mash with biab from wilserbrewer bags. Cheers.

 

[CGish]

Used my wilserbrewer bag and hops bag on my first two brews with my new electric system today. Bags worked like a charm, the pulley system was wonderful, and they cleaned up easily at the end of the day.

Thank You!

 

[jpark]

Received mine earlier this week. Hope to brew this weekend!

 

[knelson13A]

Got mine last week, I already made a hop spider with the hop bag and some stuff from Lowe's. Trying everything out this weekend. Been brewing with just big sheet of voile material, not made into a bag or anything. The edges got really frizzy.

 

[thebeerbum]

Also just wanted to thank wilser for the great products. Shipped fast and was able to use the Hop bag this past weekend on my last extract. Next batch will be my first BIAB and can't wait. Will also be using the Hop sock this weekend to dry hop my Pliny clone. Thanks again wilser.