I've come up with a technique to squeeze the most wort possible out of the grain bag. I made an attempt at a video that shows how I do it.
It's posted on my blog whose address is in my signature below.
Let me know what you think! Thanks.
MMD21
Post #2 made 13 years ago
Interesting method. We've been doing an on-going experiment wherein we have been measuring gravity at the end of a standard mash and then again at the the end of the mashout. A lot of us then squeeze the bag before we begin the boil. The interesting part?......squeezing the shit out of the bag does absolutely nothing at all for increasing gravity, it only raises the pre-boil volume. The results of this experiment have converted me to not bother doing more than a quick cursory squeeze before I toss the grains. YMMV.
---Todd
---Todd
WWBBD?
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- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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Squeezing the Grain Bag
Post #3 made 13 years ago
I'm with thughes.......Haven't noted an appreciable difference when doing full mash boils.
My girlfriend told me she would leave me if I brewed today.....
I sure am going to miss her.
I sure am going to miss her.
Post #4 made 13 years ago
Good Day, I squeeze the SNOT out of the ba.
How the "snot" got into the bag, I will never know.
Also, I found Nylon bags for Hops collect hotbreak and all Hop "crap", Polyester works pretty well, and cotton/muslin work very,very well, but are very Difficult to clean. (I Throw them away)
Large Hop sacks really do remove a lot of trub!
How the "snot" got into the bag, I will never know.
Also, I found Nylon bags for Hops collect hotbreak and all Hop "crap", Polyester works pretty well, and cotton/muslin work very,very well, but are very Difficult to clean. (I Throw them away)
Large Hop sacks really do remove a lot of trub!
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
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- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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Post #5 made 13 years ago
Wow. That seems like a lot of messing around, but hey if it's effective and your happy then that's all that matters, well done. Not really a viable option when you have over 12kg of grain added, which results in over 20kg of wet grain.With this large of a grain bill I have a pully rigged to a small hand winch. Once the grain is hoisted above the kettle I twist the bag and then squeeze. I find this method very effective in extracting about 90% of the remaining wort within 2 or 3 minutes.
Post #6 made 13 years ago
Thats an ingenious way of using a caulking gun 
and a great way to give your bag some stick. I can see it being useful for the lone brewer who can clamp there bag and get on with other stuff whilst it drains. Not sure how it would cope with a large grain bill, but for anyone doing an average 5 gallon brew it looks perfect.
Yeasty
and a great way to give your bag some stick. I can see it being useful for the lone brewer who can clamp there bag and get on with other stuff whilst it drains. Not sure how it would cope with a large grain bill, but for anyone doing an average 5 gallon brew it looks perfect.Yeasty
Why is everyone talking about "Cheese"
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Post #7 made 13 years ago
I hoist the bag and hang it above the pot and squeeze with my hands, then curse the fact that I have again forgotten to buy rubber gloves and repeat until the bag isn't dripping or my hands are too painful to continue. This is after the bag having had a 10 minute soak in 71C water to add to the main pot, so its above the usual mash temperature.
That looks a much less uncomfortable approach.
That looks a much less uncomfortable approach.
Regards
Nic
Nic
Post #8 made 13 years ago
Thanks for all the comments/feedback. It's been correctly pointed out that the extra wort that is squeezed out of the bag contributes minimally to the mash efficiency/gravity. In the video, I mentioned improving mash efficiency, and this technique does not really accomplish that to a significant degree...but it sure does get a heck of a lot of the remaining wort out of the grains!
Post #10 made 13 years ago
i dropped my bag into a fv..
poured 4L of hot water in and dunked it up and down a few times,
lifted the bag and spun it round to squeeze,
then emptied it, thenput it back in the boiler as a large hop bag...
who knows it it made any difference , but i got 4l extra water to boil....
poured 4L of hot water in and dunked it up and down a few times,
lifted the bag and spun it round to squeeze,
then emptied it, thenput it back in the boiler as a large hop bag...
who knows it it made any difference , but i got 4l extra water to boil....
Last edited by uk brewer on 27 Nov 2012, 16:38, edited 2 times in total.
Post #11 made 13 years ago
Yep, adding 4L of water adds 1.0000sg, but, 4L of sparge is 1.0xxx sg. so it is better.
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
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- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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Post #12 made 13 years ago
Like Hippy Im doing 12kg batches, so the the less frigging around with the bag the better. I winch the bag out of the pot, put an old fridge shelf in between and let it drain for 5 minutes... then put the gloves on, give it a quick squeeze and lower the bag down into a waiting bucket. I end up with minimal spillage this way.Hippy wrote:Wow. That seems like a lot of messing around, but hey if it's effective and your happy then that's all that matters, well done. Not really a viable option when you have over 12kg of grain added, which results in over 20kg of wet grain.With this large of a grain bill I have a pully rigged to a small hand winch. Once the grain is hoisted above the kettle I twist the bag and then squeeze. I find this method very effective in extracting about 90% of the remaining wort within 2 or 3 minutes.
Having said all that, that is an ingenious use of the caulking gun. Im sure i'll use that for something in the future
Last edited by Aces high on 28 Nov 2012, 14:59, edited 2 times in total.
Post #13 made 13 years ago
It's not possible to add gravity without adding volume in this scenario. Squeezing the bag does yield additional sugars (along with volume obviously), but you'll need a longer boil to realize the additional gravity in the post-boil wort.thughes wrote:Interesting method. We've been doing an on-going experiment wherein we have been measuring gravity at the end of a standard mash and then again at the the end of the mashout. A lot of us then squeeze the bag before we begin the boil. The interesting part?......squeezing the shit out of the bag does absolutely nothing at all for increasing gravity, it only raises the pre-boil volume. The results of this experiment have converted me to not bother doing more than a quick cursory squeeze before I toss the grains. YMMV.
---Todd
Michael
Last edited by datamichael on 03 Dec 2012, 02:16, edited 2 times in total.
