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where to get a big sack?

Post #1 made 15 years ago
by Nikobrew
LOL.. Big sack. The 5gal paint strainer bags I bought are too small and I want the bag to be open and not tight so the grains can move around. Any suggestions as to where to get a sack that can fit over the edge of a keg in the US? I guess I could break the mash into two bags but that starts to defeat to the purpose of speed and simplicity.

Post #2 made 15 years ago
by mike
Hey Niko, great to see you here. I'm one of your customers. I had to make my own bag, I suck at sewing and don't have a sewing machine, but I managed to stitch up a pretty decent bag. There is a thread on here somewhere that tells you how to size your bag. I can' remember where the info was, but maybe someone on here can point you in the right direction.

Post #3 made 15 years ago
by Nikobrew
Mike - Sweet, thanks. That's what I'm hearing from some other folks (I asked the guy I got a weldless ball valve and ss braid from how low he's installed it to see if I can have it close enough to the bottom to drain everything out and not have the flame melt the handle for the valve and he sewed one out of nylon tulle). We have a sewing machine and my wife would make it and I'm sure she'll make sure I remember that she offered to before and I said "no the paint strainer bags are perfect size, no need" lol.

Also thanks for being a customer, are you a fellow BNer?

Post #4 made 15 years ago
by mike
Yeah, I'm a big fan of the bn. That is really cool that your wife can sew your bag, my wife watched tv while I sewed mine! I will be ordering from you soon, got to figure out what I need for my winter beers. Check your pm, I sent my e mail address.

Post #5 made 15 years ago
by Nikobrew
I'm thinking of just using an empty grain bag as I've read some people using these. Some grain sacks feel like they're made out of a white plastic feeling material like gambrinus. Any suggestions on what type of grain bag to use?

Post #6 made 15 years ago
by BrickBrewHaus
Niko, I'm no expert here, in fact I'll be doing my first BIAB this Sunday, but I got my bag material at Hancock Fabrics. Again, I haven't actually used it yet, but from what I've read about BIAB it seems to be the right stuff (100% polyester voile material). I'm just planning on cutting a square large enough to line my kettle then gather the edges when its time to pull the bag, until I get my mom to sew an actual bag.
Last edited by BrickBrewHaus on 01 Oct 2010, 03:28, edited 5 times in total.

Post #7 made 15 years ago
by mike
Brickbrewhaus, that is exactly what I did for several batches until I made an actual bag. I used a giant rubber band around the top of my kettle to hold it in place. It works fine, just be careful when you pull it out so you don't dump grain in your wort. And Hancock fabrics is where I got my voile too.

Post #11 made 15 years ago
by SacSoul
Nikobrew wrote:Cool, I just came across this also, I think I'll get the 9.99 for a 4 pack of the stretchy bags, a BIAB guy from homebrewtalk.com uses them looks like they'll definitely fit my kettle/keg

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Alaska-G" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... t=game+bag
I am very glad you posted that link. I've been looking for something like this. Currently I've been using a sheer curtain that I got from Target for $4. It was large enough that I didn't need to sew it, but have been thinking of doing so just to make it easier to work with. Those bags look like I can skip the whole sewing process :P
Last edited by SacSoul on 02 Oct 2010, 01:58, edited 5 times in total.
Arrogant Bastard Ale: "...Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."

Post #12 made 15 years ago
by hashie
Nikobrew wrote:
hashie wrote:And when your done brewing you can put a dead moose in your bag :)
Or anybody who tried to steal my beer ....
*mafia voice* No officer, that is not a body in a bag, it's spent grain from my brewery, kepish? *mafia voice*
Last edited by hashie on 02 Oct 2010, 05:29, edited 5 times in total.
"It's beer Jim, but not as we know it."

Post #13 made 15 years ago
by Nikobrew
SacSoul wrote:
Nikobrew wrote:Cool, I just came across this also, I think I'll get the 9.99 for a 4 pack of the stretchy bags, a BIAB guy from homebrewtalk.com uses them looks like they'll definitely fit my kettle/keg

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Alaska-G" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... t=game+bag
I am very glad you posted that link. I've been looking for something like this. Currently I've been using a sheer curtain that I got from Target for $4. It was large enough that I didn't need to sew it, but have been thinking of doing so just to make it easier to work with. Those bags look like I can skip the whole sewing process :P
Great. I found that link on homebrewtalk.com there's been some good BIAB threads there I've been reading through.
Last edited by Nikobrew on 02 Oct 2010, 06:15, edited 5 times in total.

Post #14 made 15 years ago
by SacSoul
Nikobrew wrote:
SacSoul wrote:
Nikobrew wrote:Cool, I just came across this also, I think I'll get the 9.99 for a 4 pack of the stretchy bags, a BIAB guy from homebrewtalk.com uses them looks like they'll definitely fit my kettle/keg

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Alaska-G" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... t=game+bag
I am very glad you posted that link. I've been looking for something like this. Currently I've been using a sheer curtain that I got from Target for $4. It was large enough that I didn't need to sew it, but have been thinking of doing so just to make it easier to work with. Those bags look like I can skip the whole sewing process :P
Great. I found that link on homebrewtalk.com there's been some good BIAB threads there I've been reading through.
Just ordered. I'll give it a shot next weekend.
Last edited by SacSoul on 02 Oct 2010, 06:28, edited 5 times in total.
Arrogant Bastard Ale: "...Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."

Post #15 made 15 years ago
by Nikobrew
SacSoul wrote: Just ordered. I'll give it a shot next weekend.
Awesome! I plan on using it sometime next thursday-sunday. We should definitely post about how they work out. Which did you order?
Last edited by Nikobrew on 02 Oct 2010, 08:41, edited 5 times in total.

Post #16 made 15 years ago
by SacSoul
Nikobrew wrote:
SacSoul wrote: Just ordered. I'll give it a shot next weekend.
Awesome! I plan on using it sometime next thursday-sunday. We should definitely post about how they work out. Which did you order?
The 9.99 one. I think it was listed as the quatering bag.
Last edited by SacSoul on 02 Oct 2010, 10:44, edited 5 times in total.
Arrogant Bastard Ale: "...Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."

Post #17 made 15 years ago
by SacSoul
I just got the bag in the mail. It reminds me of a large compression sock material wise. It is rather elastic, though I can see grain addition being a bit problimatic since it will only have about a 3-5 inch diameter at the base in the pot. However, once the grains are in, I think it will work far better than my $4 lace curtain from target.
Arrogant Bastard Ale: "...Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."

Post #19 made 15 years ago
by SacSoul
Alright, just tried my new bag linked above by Nikobrew. I worked fairly well, and amazingly held a lot of weight (17 lbs grains plus however much water had been absorbed) during the lifting, squeezing, draining segment of biab. I think for future brews, I will do a double lining with it (one bag inside the other) just to ensure no tearing, but overall am pretty happy with it. As much as I like(d) my lace curtain, I like the game bag better. They are pretty cheap at 4 for $10. It's like a giant compression sock :P If I reorder I'm going to go one size bigger just for simplicity as I did have a bit of trouble initially getting all 17 lbs of grains to properly fill the bag in the water.
Arrogant Bastard Ale: "...Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."

Post #21 made 15 years ago
by SacSoul
hashie wrote:Great to hear SacSoul, did you find any drop in efficiency between the "lace curtain"and the game bag?
I can't tell yet. I made the mistake of getting my base grains un-crushed :headhit: I attempted to hand crush with a rolling pin, but made it through about 0.5 lbs before I gave up on that and just used the coffee grinder (I know, I know, bad bad me!!). So, I'm thinking my drastic drop in effeciency was due to that (OG was supposed to be around 1.075 @ 80% and I hit 1.065). One thing I did notice was that draining/squeezing the bag was far easier with my crude method. I have a grate that I place over my pot and rest the bag on it for ~10-15 minutes while squeezing out as much wort as possible. The curtain didn't really have a defined shape since I was too lazy to sew it up, so it would not sit well without spilling all over. The game bad has a very tight, defined shape and rests well.

In all honesty, the largest drawback with the new bag was mashing in, since its elasticity keeps it from hugging the sides of the kettle prior to grain addition. It slowly expands as you add grains in to ultimately fill out the shape of the kettle, but I think I had a few small dough balls form up for the first time ever, and I think this was due to the grains not dispersing immediately when being added. I had to add ~1 lbs of grains at a time, stir, add, stir... That being said, it easily held the 17 lbs of grains after some work, and supported the wieght as I lifted and dunk-sparged a few times.

On a side note: I've been wondering how much altitude affects efficiencies. I'm dealing with high water loss (due to very low relative humidity here) and lower boiling points. Anyone know? It hasn't really bothered me yet, but my highest into fermentation efficiency has been around 70ish%. I wouldn't mind getting it higher so I can drop my grain bills a bit (I make up for my lower efficiency with larger grain bills).
Last edited by SacSoul on 18 Oct 2010, 22:10, edited 5 times in total.
Arrogant Bastard Ale: "...Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."

Post #22 made 15 years ago
by hashie
Live and learn SacSoul. I used a coffee grinder for my first couple of brews. I would sit out in the shed for hours the day before brew day grinding the grain a few grams at a time. Finally I gave up and bought a malt mill, now I get a consistent crush every time and fairly consistent efficiency.

Have you considered putting your grain into the dry bag and then lowering the lot into your kettle at the right temperature? This might be easier than pour, stir, pour, stir etc. You would still need to give it a really good stir to break up any potential dough balls.
Last edited by hashie on 19 Oct 2010, 05:15, edited 5 times in total.
"It's beer Jim, but not as we know it."

Post #23 made 15 years ago
by BobBrews
SacSoul,
I grind my grain right into the bag. I lower the whole shebang into the water and then stir. I really don't have a problem with dough balls. Actually, because of this problem I have with Laziness I rarely stir the mash at all. My efficiency remains in the norm. I use a double "lace curtain" (window shears) bag my wife made me. She made three and I am still using the first one three years later.
http://www.stempski.com/biab.php
Last edited by BobBrews on 19 Oct 2010, 21:47, edited 5 times in total.
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV

http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #24 made 15 years ago
by SacSoul
BB,

After this holiday season I will hopefully have a mill of my own so I no longer have to rely on the HBS to grind for me. My problem was that in my laziness, I decided to just have my grains hand delivered by ordering them online instead of going to the store. I didn't check my order very well and thus ended up with 12 lbs of un-crushed 2-row, and 6 lbs of crushed carared/caramunich/crystal. I would feel bad taking the grains in to the HBS and ask to have them milled without having bought them there, so to the rescue (if you can call the crappy job that) came my coffee grinder.

In regards to filling the bag before putting it in the pot, I think I'm going to give this a shot for my Chimay Blanche clone that I'll start in a week or two. That recipe calls for ~11 lbs grains if my memory serves me, so should be an easy to handle amount to try the new bag with pre-filling.
Arrogant Bastard Ale: "...Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."

Post #25 made 15 years ago
by BobBrews
SacSoul,
My LHBS won't let me bring grain into the store even if they know I bought it there. They say it's about bringing in an outside infection and infecting all the grain that's ground there? Sounds a bit phoney? I (like most of us) have had to grind grain by hand. I tried to roll a bottle on it, pulse a food mill and pulse a coffee grinder. What a bummer! I had it ground at the shop right away after that and saved for a mill. Actually I didn't save. I took the money from the stash I used to cloth and feed the kids. Hey, BEER comes first!
Fill the bag and lower it in. Fasten the bag with (whatever) and then stir. I drop my brew bag in lower at first to really submerse it and then pull it up. I then fasten the bag so the mash is a perfect consistency (for me). I do grab the bag sides from inside the kettle and lift and drop the bag a few times. I feel that this works the water through the mash a little?
I got to go. I am brewing a pumpkin ale this morning.
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV

http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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