First BIAB

[jayk34]

I was hoping to try my first BIAB this weekend but the more I sit down and plan it the more questions I have popping up.

First one is about the grain bag itself. I have a bag that is larger than my burco boiler and have it hanging outside the boiler. I think that when the grain is filled into the bag, that it will be resting on the base of the boiler. Will probably be impossible to secure the bag so that it didn't rest on the base so was wondering if this will be a problem ?

Was wondering what the standard tap is like for extracting wort to fv ? I had ordered a ball valve kit from Amazon but when it arrived the threads were damaged on one side of the threaded ss bar and had to return it. Will look around for a replacement when I get refund for the item.

There is lot of dead space around tap, so was going to tilt the boiler at the end and put a muslin cloth over the fermenter to filter out anything that gets lifted from the bottom of the boiler. There must be a simpler way than this ?

Thanks

 

[Covrich]

if you think the bag is too loose and could pull all the way in you could put some bulldog clips around the rim of the pot and fold the ends down..before putting the lid on.

Tbh you will get many different answers on how you extract. I used to tip and i had to scrape my hop filter numerous times.. what I did do was wait about 20 mins with my pot before transfer so most of your wor which comes out is clear but honestly.. I wouldn't fuss too much over it.. some just dump the whole lot in.. it will settle out at the bottom anyway..

 

[obscure]

One potential issue with the tip,approach is that you can get a pretty sizeable amount of debris at the end of a BIAB boil a mixture of hops and I assume some malt debris even if you use hop, bags or similar during the boil. I do 9L batches and run it through a muslin square it works but I typically have to swap out for a clean one halfway through as it gets so clogged up.

 

[UKSkydiver]

I used a microwave rack to keep the bag from off the bottom, but you could fashion something similar.

Using a hop sock will help in reducing **** going in to the boiler - but I hear that can affect hop extraction (I don't care for hoppy brews so I'm not fussed)

 

[smcc]

you definitely dont want the bag touching the bottom if it scorches badly your beer will most likely be ruined. Hop spider can help but as mentioned above if you put more than 100g of hops in it you end up with a solid mass and your utlilisation will suffer. if you whirlpool well at the end most of the **** should form a cone so you could tilt it a bit but not too much, you can used a sanitized fine metal seive to stop any unwanted stuff getting in the fermenter.

 

[Pezza24]

Just clip the bag up a bit higher with clothes pegs or something. Sanitised of course.
I'm no expert but I chuck the whole lot into the FV as I only make 10L stovetop BIAB batches. No Sparge, No Chill. Proper rule breaker stuff. Not had an issue so far and done 7 or so AG brews.

 

[Tanglefoot]

I have a bag with a drawstring that is knotted tight to keep it clear of the bottom of the pan.
I've been using a tall hop spider which reduces but doesn't stop debris, with another grain bag
over the fv to filter wort from pan.
I also been no sparging, no chilling although the last brew I used a wort chiller for first time.
You can also add Protafloc or Irish moss to help clear the wort.

 

[Pezza24]

I hadn't thought of putting something over the FV to catch everything when I tip it all in. I'll have a go at that on my next brew.

 

[obscure]

Just clip the bag up a bit higher with clothes pegs or something. Sanitised of course.
I'm no expert but I chuck the whole lot into the FV as I only make 10L stovetop BIAB batches. No Sparge, No Chill. Proper rule breaker stuff. Not had an issue so far and done 7 or so AG brews.

I must admit I am increasingly tempted to try this method (I already do no chill) so just Chuck everything in and let it clear up on it’s own prior to bottling.

 

[Pezza24]

I must admit I am increasingly tempted to try this method (I already do no chill) so just Chuck everything in and let it clear up on it’s own prior to bottling.

People have been making beer for hundreds of years. Try not to over complicate it in your head, it will be fine.

 

[colm89]

I must admit I am increasingly tempted to try this method (I already do no chill) so just Chuck everything in and let it clear up on it’s own prior to bottling.

https://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/
I very rarely worry about trub unless I’m maxing out the capacity of my fermenter

 

[colm89]

To answer OP, I’m not sure how big of a batch you’re making, but I have done a few full volume biab mashes in a buffalo boiler with 15 litres of water and 3-5kg of grain and it doesn’t lose much temperature over a 1 hour mash, so you shouldnt need the heating element on.

check your temperature after 20-30 mins, give it a good stir, and if you’ve lost a few degrees just lift the bag up off the bottom and heat it for a couple of minutes.

I wrapped my boiler in reflectix and it lost even less temperature over an hour.

as @Pezza24 said, don’t overthink it, you’ll make a few mistakes in your first few batches but you’ll improve each time.

 

[jayk34]

Thanks for all the replies. Hoping to get started early tomorrow and excited about it.

 

[jayk34]

Well that was a disaster . Started at 4pm today and just finished cleaning up now.

Tried the Greg Hughes brown porter recipe. Was supposed to end up with 23 litres at 1.049 gravity. I ended up with 19 at 1.060. Right or wrong I diluted it with 2 litres of water to bring it down to 1.054.

I think the issue here was I boiled it too long. The boil was supposed to be 1hr 10 minutes but I was waiting for it to get to 100°C. It never got there at all, stayed at 98°C the whole way through. I spent approx 10-15 minutes at 98°c at the start waiting for it to hit 100° and then just decided to start the timer. Should I have started the timer for the boil time when I seen the wort rolling boil or go by the thermometer ? (In actually had 2 thermometers in there and they were reporting pretty much same temperature.

There was no hot break at any time during the boil and no trub in the bottom of boiler at the end of the transfer as I could see it all suspended in the wort. I crushed a whorfloc tablet 15 mins before the end of the boil.

Not optimistic about this being any good but will wait and see if/when fermenting finishes.

 

[Pezza24]

Nothing wrong with liquoring it back at all mate.
Although you have boiled off more wort than you expected I wouldn't worry, you'll have beer at the end of it.
As for the boil as long as you can see it boiling like a rolling boil then you can start the timer and start adding your hops.

It's all a massive learning curve. My first beer was going to be the Greg Hughes porter and I messed up the order with get we brewed and had the grain for two different beers all mixed into one. And apart from being woefully under carbed it's drinkable. Everything will be fine, get planning the next!

 

[dwhite60]

I'm a "Trub dumper" too. It all goes in the fermenter. Never a problem.

 

[jayk34]

Definitely a steep learning curve! Got some exercise running between house and garage numerous times to get things I had forgotten.

Will remember to have a mop bucket the next time as well for when I trip over cool box filled with sparge water

Also forgot to start the boil when I was sparging which added a long time to reach boil point.

 

[UKSkydiver]

Well that was a disaster . Started at 4pm today and just finished cleaning up now.

I was going to warn against starting late, but in your earlier post you said: "Hoping to get started early tomorrow", so I thought, "That'll be alright then."

 

[jayk34]

I had

I was going to warn against starting late, but in your earlier post you said: "Hoping to get started early tomorrow", so I thought, "That'll be alright then."

I had intended to but took a while to get over the side effects of the covid jab. Will definitely start the next one very early

 

[UKSkydiver]

The other option, which I have used once, it to mash on one day and then boil the next. Yes it means that you will have to start the boil from part cooled wort, but may be an idea for next time.