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Post #26 made 14 years ago
by big dave
big dave wrote:With my vast experience - 1 BIAB to date....

1. Generally 28 litres end of boil.
2. As with Hashie, Keggle, where the opening diameter is less than the keggle wall diameter.
3. Yes, of a sort. I rigged a rope and carabiner from the shed roof, and tied off another rope to the bag.
4. No mash out. Yet....
5. I have not tried any other methods.

Update, now with three brews down.

Lift the bag incrementally, tying it off, giving it a squeeze, lifting further.... When it is mostly suspended clear of the sweet liquor, flame on and finish off the drain/squeeze. Leave it over the pot until most of the goodness is wrung from it, then hang the bag from a tree to cool, then off to the chooks.

The beauty of BIAB is the simplicity. For mine, it is single-vessel. If I was going to start using buckets and pots and sparging, I would be looking toward 3V brewing. The bag is hot to squeeze, even with gloves, but it isn't difficult. And so far (admittedly at an early stage) the resulting beer is terrific.

BD
Last edited by big dave on 29 Mar 2011, 06:05, edited 5 times in total.
Drinking: last K&B & extract brews, BIAB #1- Golden Ale, #2- Pale Ale, #3- Galaxy Single-hop Ale
In the Pipeline: ESB, Landlord

Post #27 made 14 years ago
by EoinMag
1. What volumes you are brewing.
55l end of boil

2. What equipment you are using.
75L SS Brouwland boil kettle. 2* 3Kw elements

3. Whether a rope and pulley is possible for you.
No - I hand pull, when making my pilsener that meant 14KG of dry grain went in there, so wet---it was near 30KG I reckon.

4. Whether you mash out.
No - Due to answering no to the above question and my volumes, this is a no too. If I had a sky hook I would consider it.

5. Methods you have tried and why you may have stopped using that method.
None


Hand pulling is a bit messy and I get help with someone else holding up the builders trug to catch the wort and the bag, it's probably not food safe, but the contact time is minimal so I don't care. Apart from a small drip going through my shoes the last time I've never been burned, and that was not serious anyway, just hurt a little.
Last edited by EoinMag on 18 Apr 2011, 15:01, edited 1 time in total.
http://beernvictuals.blogspot.com/ My blog, If you like what you read post a comment on the blog comments section thanks, BIAB post coming soon.

Post #28 made 14 years ago
by jimpineapple
Ive only done 4 BIABs and my bag is made of calico while this is a very strong bag, it takes a long time to drain. Ive been using a rope and a pulley. A mate reckoned I should be using a cam lock to secure the bag while its draining. I have taken this a bit further and I am now using a ratchet strap to pull my bag out of the kettle. these are very cheap and takes no effort to ratchet the bag out of the wort.

Post #29 made 14 years ago
by big dave
jimpineapple wrote:using a ratchet strap.
:idea:

Oh yes, now I want to do that too!
Last edited by big dave on 18 Apr 2011, 17:58, edited 5 times in total.
Drinking: last K&B & extract brews, BIAB #1- Golden Ale, #2- Pale Ale, #3- Galaxy Single-hop Ale
In the Pipeline: ESB, Landlord

Post #31 made 14 years ago
by Mad_Scientist
1. What volumes you are brewing. (19L 5 Gal)
2. What equipment you are using. (standard beer keg)
3. Whether a rope and pulley is possible for you. (2:1 pulley)
4. Whether you mash out. (Yes)
5. Methods you have tried and why you may have stopped using that method. (none tried)

0.055 gal/lb grain absorption rate
1.0 gal/hr evaporation rate.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madscientistbrewhaus/

EDITED: 12/9/2011 with updated info...
Last edited by Mad_Scientist on 10 Dec 2011, 04:28, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #32 made 14 years ago
by deebo
1. What volumes you are brewing. (22L into fermenter)
2. What equipment you are using. (40L Birko Urn)
3. Whether a rope and pulley is possible for you. (Sortof)
4. Whether you mash out. (Yes so far)
5. Methods you have tried and why you may have stopped using that method. (Tried a single pulley with a rope first time but was harder than just lifting the bag by hand)

I use a ladder leaning on the wall with a loop of rope wrapped twice around a rung on the ladder.
I have a metal clip that i hook the bags loops through then lift and clip onto the loop of rope.
As the rope is looped twice it tends to hold quite well (i normally tie it off the end to another rung) but if I need it a bit higher I just lift the bag pull the rope on the rung to take up the tension and tie it off again, this is good for mashout as I want the bag a bit in the liquid so i can stir)

I normally give the bag a lot of good squeezes with dishwashing gloves. (Does this extract tannins?)

Post #33 made 14 years ago
by wilsol03
1. What volumes you are brewing.
Batch size of 40L (into fermenters)
2. What equipment you are using.
80L pot with 2 electric elements (1 in the bottom and 1 portable)
3. Whether a rope and pulley is possible for you.
I've installed a metal screw hook in a rafter in the garage and use a pulley on that to hoist the bag.
I hang the bag above the brew pot and let it drain itself then give it a big twist and squeeze (repeatedly) as it cools down. Also I never use gloves just give it an epic twist squeeze and let it sit for a bit longer and then go again until I think I've got as much as I can.
4. Whether you mash out.
Nope
5. Methods you have tried and why you may have stopped using that method.
I still lift the bag by hand if I'm doing a mini mash on the kitchen stove but otherwise its always the pulley.
[center]The Feeler Brewery - actually dirtier than it sounds[/center]

Post #35 made 14 years ago
by GrainWaterYeast
jrodie wrote:1. What volumes you are brewing. - 5 gallons
2. What equipment you are using. - 60 quart aluminum kettle on a turkey fryer
3. Whether a rope and pulley is possible for you. - yes/no. I know a simple way I could do it at my house but have not done it
4. Whether you mash out. - yes.
5. Methods you have tried and why you may have stopped using that method - when it is time to pull the bag I pull it out with my hands. (I have some rubber oven mittens given to me as a gift that work good). I drop the bag into a plastic bucket while I bring the wort heat up to mash out temp. I used to leave the bag in the kettle but the temperatures would very widely throughout the mash even when I would constantly stir. To the point where I would have boiling water outside of the bag, and much colder temps in the bag. That problem is gone now that I remove the bag while adding heat for mash out. I put the bag back in the kettle for 10 minutes at mash out temp. When it is time to pull the bag for the final time I get an oven rack out of the oven and pullout the bag while sliding the oven rack on top of the kettle. This is easier with a helper but I have done it by myself. I than just leave the bag on the oven rack and let it drain a little and than push on it real hard with my rubber oven mitts. I twist and turn and push from all different angles until I am tired. Than I remove the bag and oven rack from the top of the kettle and start the boil.
The oven rack method is terrific. I just leave the bag in the kettle while heating to mash out temp (I use a round, perforated pizza tray as a false bottom to keep my grain bag from coming into direct contact with the bottom of my kettle), and after letting it sit for ten minutes at that temp, I hoist it up just high enough to slide an oven rack underneath it.

Advantages of this method are 1) it's cheap, 'cause you don't have to buy any new gear, 2) it's simple, 'cause you're just putting an oven rack between your grain bag and the top of your kettle, and 3) there's less strain on your grain bag than would be applied by letting it hang from a hook (i.e., the weight of the grains is distributed over the oven rack).

I start heating the wort for the boil as soon as the grains are on the rack, and once the majority of the wort has emptied from the bag back into the kettle, I transfer the bag to a large bucket with an upside-down strainer in it.

If you want to see this method in action (albeit breifly), here is a YouTube clip of the mighty steeljan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk5goLlq8nw using it during one of her BIAB.
Last edited by GrainWaterYeast on 09 Jul 2011, 19:00, edited 5 times in total.

Post #36 made 14 years ago
by wilsol03
joshua wrote:Good Day, Early results are in the fisrt 2 batches, after a good 10 minute squeeze, the 5 pound/2.27kg starting grain weight, measured 3.2 pounds/1.45kg. tthe grains were damp, not wet. the loss of weight came from the starch and dust in the kettle. The measured difference from starting volume to bag-out volume was PLUS 1.1 quart/1 liter. So it appears to me getting almost all the wort from the bag,you gain volume from the starch conversion/loss of grain weight.
Sounds very similar to what has been happening with mine! I was wondering why the volume always seems high after you've squeezed the bag but that makes sense with the starch and dust.
Last edited by wilsol03 on 12 Jul 2011, 16:01, edited 5 times in total.
[center]The Feeler Brewery - actually dirtier than it sounds[/center]

Post #38 made 14 years ago
by GrainWaterYeast
Deebo - I don't have any links handy to back this up, but, no, you won't extract tannins from squeezing the bag. It's the sparging process that runs the risk of extracting tannins. When you squeeze your grain, you're just squeezing out the first runnings, which is sugar-infused water without tannins in it. Once that's gone and you douse the grains in hot water again, THAT water runs the risk of absorbing tannins if the residual sugars in the grain 'run out,' so to speak.

If I'm totally talking out of my butt on this, someone please correct me.

Post #40 made 14 years ago
by deebo
Thanks for the reassurance. So if I am sparging the bag with a few litres of hot water should I be a little more careful?

I havent had a chance my first 4 biab yet other than some FG sample tasting (I have 3 kegs in the fridge waiting for space in my dispensing fridge, and one fermenting still)

I figure I have to get through my so-so k/k brews before the AG or I may never drink them.. also gives the biab beers some time to condition.

Post #41 made 14 years ago
by GrainWaterYeast
Sigurdur - Thanks for the corrective about tannin extraction. The one time I try to look like a smarty pants... But in either case, would it be safe to say that its hard to extract the excess tannins mechanically (e.g., by squeezing the grain bag)?

Deebo - Are you sparging because you have a smaller brew pot and can't chuck in the full mash + sparge water amount at once? If that's not the case, you shouldn't have to worry about sparging.

Post #42 made 14 years ago
by deebo
GrainWaterYeas - I have only sparged a couple of litres so far to get to my target boil volume so I end up with 27L in the urn at the end.
I could just add the water straight to the urn, but I figure I might as well get a bit more sugar by sparging (as the grain bag is hanging over the pot anyway its not to hard to dump some water through the grain).

I currently start with 33L water in a 40L urn and have used about 5.5kg of grain so far, I could probably get a few more litres in the mash but dont really want to clean sticky mess off the outside of the urn if its too close to the top :P

Post #43 made 14 years ago
by GrainWaterYeast
Deebo - Fair enough. I guess just keep doing what you're doing, and if you happen to extract tannins with one of your brew sessions, make a note of all the numbers and temps for that session and treat them as sort of a "cut-off point" for future brews.

But, damn, this is a forgiving hobby. Unless you really screw things up (e.g., by extracting excess tannins :idiot: ), time heals all wounds, so to speak. I brewed a saison towards the end of summer and went overboard with the temps. The thing tasted harsh with fusel alcohols and seemed more suited to stripping paint than drinking, but after a couple months of sitting in the bottle, it's mellow as hell, and the fusel alcohol flavor is now more like a warm alcoholic 'kick'.

BTW, the easiest option would be to spring for a 60L pot, but that wouldn't exactly be the cheapest option.

Post #45 made 14 years ago
by pimpsqueak
1. Single batch (23L)
2. 50L pot on a spiral burner in the shed.
3. It is now. I bought a ladder so I can set it over top of the pot and hoist the bag via a dual pulley system and let it drain.
4. I do now.
5. I was hoisting it by hand which was frought with difficulties. It was messy and quite hot. It probably took 5 minutes of standing there, twisting and squeezing the bag before whipping it out and dumping it into a "bucket in a bucket" to finish draining. Too much effort required as far as I'm concerned.

Post #46 made 14 years ago
by deebo
Have been using pulley/ladder setup for last few brews and it suits me pretty well. I just need to find a nice stainless cake rack that is high enough to hold the bag off the element. (I have a deep fryer basket but it is a bit big and am worried am going to tear the bag on it)
Image
Last edited by deebo on 01 Oct 2011, 18:45, edited 5 times in total.

Post #48 made 14 years ago
by rockbotton
I brew 5 gal batches in a keggle.
Been using an eight foot step ladder over the keggle with a Rope Ratchet to lift the bag and let it drain and then squeeze it like a man dying of thirst.
Last edited by rockbotton on 08 Dec 2011, 19:09, edited 5 times in total.
Fermenting:

Bottle Conditioning

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Post #49 made 14 years ago
by 2trout
Ive been meaning to share this for a while now.....

I brew 5 Gal batches now, but will eventually move up to 10G batches. I'm still experimenting to find out the best and easiest method for me to get good beer :drink:

I could use a rope and pulley system to pull my bag, but Ive stumbled onto something that is better for me, and is extremely easy to set up. I do mash out. I believe that my bag drainer will take me up to 10G batches because my pot is big enough to allow enough room for the additional grain to drain.

The device is a simple cross, set up off center. The bag is simply wound up onto the cross-member and allowed to drain with the support resting on the rim of the pot. I also squeeze it to get every last drop.

2trout

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Last edited by 2trout on 03 Jan 2012, 23:31, edited 5 times in total.
"All I know is that the beer is good and people clamor for it. OK, it's free and that has something to do with it."
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Post #50 made 14 years ago
by thughes
Brilliant! :idiot:

How's the bag holding up? I'm concerned it might be a bit abusive (but I'm going to go with this method anyway). Shame on you for keeping this to yourself for so long....... :angry:


---Todd
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