Mostly it took me a looooong time to figure out how to move pictures into a post, sorry

This method does not seem to be very hard on the bag. However, I've used some wood that I had laying around; a piece of 2x2 and a chunk of furring strip. These materials can be quite rough and mine could prolly use some sanding, etc, but is works for now. The only time I worry is when I squeeze the bag. The fabric tends to stretch around a bit.

Some day Ill get around to actually designing this thing. Someday. Ive got to finish my boat first

2trout

Clever

That plan should work well for you.There are many ways of doing the same thing,well done!

I have several photos on my link below showing my bag lift, tying the bag before lifting, the different knots I use and a nautical cleat for securing the rope, also a bag squeeze using two pot lids.
~richard


2/16/2013 by Mad Scientist Brewhaus, on Flickr

I’m spending my time these days going through the archives. Thanks for bumping this thread MS. It’s an interesting one.

May I ask some questions please about the thread?

2trout, do you still use the method for draining the bag in your post?:http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php ... =50#p16471 It looks good. I think it would save a lot of spillage too. When I pull the bag and move it to a bucket for draining, I seem to get a fair amount of wort over the stove and kitchen floor. Have you found any problems with this method, and have you made any refinements? Have you wrecked many bags doing that? Thanks.

Bob, Really nice BIABrewer info video you made at the bottom of here: http://www.stempski.com/biab.php I hadn’t seen it before. May I ask a question about the first picture in that link? It caught my attention. You appear to be milling the malt straight into the bag. That seems like a better idea than raining the grain into the strike water. I’m always worried that with raining in the grain, the first grain that is rained in might be exposed to temperatures that could extract tannins and denature enzymes. I wonder if raining in grain is another of those fussy and unnecessary practices? I know raining is supposed to prevent dough balls, but I still get them. I often spill the milled malt too, which mixes nicely with the wort that's spilled later in the process when I pull the bag. Thanks

GuingesRock,

Thanks for the kind words! The video is not official yet. It is a test overview for new BIAB'ers. It was hidden on my personal site before going public. The full brew video is still in production I want to show other ways to drain the bag not just the pulley system. Not everyone has a garage! I may brew today if it ever stops snowing?

In the video I am actually grinding into a plastic bag. I pour the grain into the kettle from their mostly. I used to grind into the bag for smaller grain bills for just the reason you stated. I don't see any harm in it? You can mix it properly as long as it isn't a "Barley Wine"

What a great job Bob. I can see that you have spent a lot of time on this already and I can't wait for the final version. It does Biabrewer.info a great service and will be a great link for us to give our new potential converts.
One question.
Nothing against the species but I was expecting a better looking and 2 legged assistant!

Lylo,

Yes, My brew partner was offering to make it a more exciting video. However that was warm weather dependent and you know as well as I do that we may never even get a Spring this year! Maybe next time? Thanks for the kind words about the "Overview" video. It still needs to be tweaked a bit. If anyone has any opinions on what is needed for a newbie BIAB'er video let me know. I don't want to keep working on a preview video and run out of time and patience on the real thing. When (if) Summer hits my boss (wife) has a long list of places to go and things to do! I want to finish this and answer 80% of the regular newbie questions with the video.

Bob, I thought it was really great! You make a fantastic statesman for BIABrewer.info. Loved the little celebratory dance at the end.

I don’t know if it would be worth a mention in the next video that BIAB can be done on the stovetop in the kitchen. Lots of people (me included) don’t have a garage.

Nice one Bob! My thought would be to include Jenny.

GR,

2trout, do you still use the method for draining the bag in your post?:http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php ... =50#p16471 It looks good. I think it would save a lot of spillage too. When I pull the bag and move it to a bucket for draining, I seem to get a fair amount of wort over the stove and kitchen floor. Have you found any problems with this method, and have you made any refinements? Have you wrecked many bags doing that? Thanks.

I do still use the original contraption that I first cobbled together out of necessity. It's a long piece of 2"x2" wood with a cross member of 1"x2" wood. A dry wall screw holds it all together. The 1x2 spins on the screw so that it stores very small. You can put quite a bit of pressure on the 2x2 as you push down on the bag. My original bag is still going strong! I like this method.

Bob - Great video, well done.
What impressed me the most though was how you managed to squeeze in the Benny Hill theme tune!

Mally,

Thanks! I did it for you. I missed a good place in the last video. I wasn't going to miss it again!

Thanks 2trout, I nearly used your method, but realised that I don’t have enough headroom to use that method. I am making 10gal (40L) batches in a 16 gal pot, so there is not enough headroom. Looks like a great method though.

After reading all the ideas in this thread I went to the hardware store (Canadian Tire) and came back with this “stainless steel barbecue wok”. Lift the bag, slide this underneath and start raising the temperature while the bag finishes draining.

1. What volumes you are brewing 10 gal
2. What equipment you are using. 16 gal pot
3. Whether a rope and pulley is possible for you. No
4. Whether you mash out. Sometimes.
5. Methods you have tried and why you may have stopped using that method. Pulling and putting bag into another pot with wire rack in bottom to drain. Very messy moving bag from one vessel to another in the kitchen. Wort is sticky and gets on the stove and the floor. Once on the stove it burns and is impossible to remove from the ceramic cooktop.
6. Grain bill 22lbs.

Results: The thing was just slightly too small for the pot so all the weight was resting on the handles. It wanted to collapse into the pot, so I had to put a cake rack under it. That worked well, but in the process of putting the cake rack under the wok I spilt some wort on the cooktop Grrrrr. Only takes about an hour to clean burnt on wort off a ceramic cook top.

I might look for a bigger wok, or instead wire the one I have to the cake tray so I can lift the bag with one hand and slide the cake rack/wok combination under the bag with the other.

It’s all good fun

GR, The looks of your Kitchen is nice....If you have 2 x A-Frame ladders and a few 2"x4" boards, you can make a A-frame Bridge Gantry(like the frame of a "swing set"),

So you can set it over the stove island when you brew, and take down when your not. That way you CAN hang the bag, directly over the kettle!!

This image is for a 100kg bag

Good Day,"hot side aeration" only happens if you use Pure Oxygen and bubble it thru the wort for many minutes/Hours.....Sorry that HSA is a belief with little or no documentation.

IMHO

Keelbolt wrote:Don't you guys worry about hot side aeration? Getting any of the wort oxidised when its over 80 degrees by splashing it around is risking taste problems......

Keelbolt, as I'm reltively a beginner, your question had occurred to me before, and I was ignoring it and putting my head in the sand, so I am glad that you asked it.

Joshua’s post is reassuring.

I had other thoughts:

1. I have never done 3 vessel but from what I have seen in videos, especially with recirculation systems, the whole process seems to be a veritable water garden of fountains, sprays and waterfalls, and the operators of those systems usually appear to be delighted with themselves and their processes in the videos. Pulling a bag and letting it drain could possibly be an improvement on that.

2. At this stage of the process boiling has yet to occur. I don’t know if that makes a difference.

3. The wort is much cooler at this stage than boiling wort.

Edit: Just discovered a HSA thread: http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=718