# Do you squeeze the grain bag after mash?



## Let's Brew Beer (30/7/13)

Just wondering how many squeeze the grain-bag after mashing and any info for or against squeezing.


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## sp0rk (30/7/13)

I squeeze
I didn't at first due to reading some people saying there could be tannins extracted.
But now I squeeze like buggery every brew and haven't noticed any difference whatsoever, for instance in all the times I've brewed Dr Smurto's Golden Ale (the mrs requests I keep it on tap) I've never noticed a difference between squeezing or not squeezing


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## fletcher (30/7/13)

i do it. others don't and will argue it adds tannin to the beer. i haven't bothered going balls-out squeezing, but do it until the fairly noticeable, regular dripping stops.


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## Phillo (30/7/13)

When I BIAB I squeeze the crap out of it with a pair of heavy duty rubber gloves. Never had a tannin problem that I know of. And if others can taste it then, pfft, I don't make beer for them, I make it for me. :beerbang:


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## Black Devil Dog (30/7/13)

Sure do, this is my method.


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## slash22000 (30/7/13)

I squeeze the bag. Never been able to detect any bad flavours in my beer because of it.


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## RelaxedBrewer (30/7/13)

+1 on the squeeze.
I sit the bag on a oven rack over my boil pot and give it a squeeze while the pot comes to the boil.


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## felten (30/7/13)

I twist mine around until its tight, but don't bother pressing it with anything.


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## Econwatson (30/7/13)

I sit mine on top of one of those oven racks and let it sit there. My Crown concealed element takes ages to boil so I just let gravity do most of the work for me.


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## Lodan (30/7/13)

I'm a squeezer, just think of all those sugars in the grain! :icon_drool2:


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## roverfj1200 (30/7/13)

I will hang the bag and let it drain. I then squeeze to get my pre boil level.

Cheers


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## jaypes (30/7/13)

I squeeze the absolute crap out of it

Never had a bad tasting beer because of it


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## /// (30/7/13)

I got creams and they stopped the itch to scratch or squeeze ... Spose I should apologize ...


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## stakka82 (30/7/13)

I believe tannin extraction is more a by product of pH and temperature.

I'm sure someone will post a link.

Lot of discussion about this a while back. Sure there are a lot of threads on it too. For the record when I biab, I squeeze.

Such a strange word, squeeze, doesn't take many times repeating it for it to sound weird...


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## Spiesy (31/7/13)

I have a washing basket (holes in the bottom of it) that sits snuggly into a SuperCheap Auto tub. I put the bag in there and let it sit for a bit before shifting the grain around with a gloved hand.... most of the wort comes out. Then I'll let it drain and add to the pot before it comes to the boil.


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## wbosher (31/7/13)

I used to squeeze the crap out of it with no problems. Now I have a better bag which drains really well, so just let it drain into the pot while I bring to the boil and give it a little squeeze from time to time until it stops dripping.


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## Ross (31/7/13)

slash22000 said:


> I squeeze the bag. Never been able to detect any bad flavours in my beer because of it.


Slash, what are you going to do when a papers published saying this isn't best practise


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## wbosher (31/7/13)

Ross said:


> Slash, what are you going to do when a papers published saying this isn't best practise


According to some, BIAB itself isn't best practice.


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## Midnight Brew (31/7/13)

Hoist, add FWH, flame the kettle, squeeze that moist bag.


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## yum beer (31/7/13)

I squeeze.
To quote; or perhaps paraphrase one Fletcher, 'Gotta get all them sexy sugaz.'


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## GalBrew (31/7/13)

I'm a squeezer, end up leaving too much wort behind otherwise.


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## slash22000 (31/7/13)

Ross said:



> Slash, what are you going to do when a papers published saying this isn't best practise


I'd probably continue to squeeze the grain bag, since "beer flavour" is pretty much entirely subjective, unlike other fields of study (just as an example, microbiology) which are entirely based on objective and repeatable science with inarguable fact-based conclusions. h34r:

I doubt I could even fit a decent sized batch in my 40 litre urn without squeezing the bag. I sometimes squeeze almost 10 litres out of the thing before the boil.


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## Let's Brew Beer (31/7/13)

Good feed-back. Yeah I'm gonna start squeezing, been to scared to incase of tannins or off-flavours. But will be giving it the arse from now on.


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## Crusty (31/7/13)

I squeeze too.
No dramas at all.


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## paulmclaren11 (31/7/13)

I squeeze as well, I lift the bag out of the pot, let it drain a little and then dump it in my bucket in a bucket press - press and squeeze the hell of the bag, dunk sparge and do the same. Never had any bad flavours that I can tell.

Squeeze away!


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## QldKev (31/7/13)

I like to squeeze my balls after the mash


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## breakbeer (31/7/13)

I'm still trying to figure out how you'd get off flavours from squeezing a bag that has been removed from the wort only a few minutes earlier? Probably just heresay, from reading the above posts it seems like not one of the 'squeezer squad' has ever had problems doing it 

I wouldn't call what I do 'squeezing' the bag, I've been using a crab cooker insert & once I hoist the bag I just press down on it with a potato masher until it stops dripping


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## slash22000 (31/7/13)

From what I've read the myth started with tea bags. Apparently, if you squeeze a tea bag, it makes the tea taste bitter? Somebody somewhere connected "squeezing tea bag" with "squeezing bag" with "squeezing grain bag" and here we are with this thread.


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## Black Devil Dog (31/7/13)

I get my wife to squeeze my bag.


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## NealK (31/7/13)

I am a very firm bag squeezer. h34r:


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## dent (31/7/13)

The squeeze tannin thing is just bullshit that refuses to die. Funny how someone can claim something once and it just hangs around forever like the autism vaccine thing.


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## earle (31/7/13)

I squeeze the bag.

I also squeeze lumps of coal and turn them into diamonds. 

No tannins in either case.


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## Bridges (3/8/13)




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## carniebrew (3/8/13)

I use one of the fridge racks out of my brew fridge sitting on top of the kettle, perch the bag on top of that, then use another fridge rack to squeeze down on the bag. Get a ton* of good stuff out.



* no, not literally a ton


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## lukiferj (3/8/13)

I squeeze the bejeebus out of it. And I don't even believe in jeebus. Gotta get as much of the good stuff as I can. Doesn't seem to leave any nasties that I can taste.

Slightly OT - Carniebrew - Are you still brewing extract with grains or AG now? Not having a go, just curious.

Edit: Too many IPAs to spell


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## Crumpet (3/8/13)

I squeeze then pour enough warm water through the grain to get me to my boil volume, then squeeze again.


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## soundawake (3/8/13)

I squeeze the hell out of the bag using a saucepan lid in each hand.


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## thedragon (3/8/13)

One in each hand and squeeze the bejesus out of it.


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## timmi9191 (3/8/13)

I prefer gently caressing the bag from top to bottom.. Do it several times in a rhythmic fashion.. If done right, guaranteed to drain the bag of all productive juices..


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## carniebrew (3/8/13)

lukiferj said:


> I squeeze the bejeebus out of it. And I don't even believe in jeebus. Gotta get as much of the good stuff as I can. Doesn't seem to leave any nasties that I can taste.
> 
> Slightly OT - Carniebrew - Are you still brewing extract with grains or AG now? Not having a go, just curious.
> 
> Edit: Too many IPAs to spell


Depends what I'm brewing mate, but yeah, have being doing full volume partial mash and small volume AG brews for my pale ale style beers for a little while now.


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## bum (3/8/13)

timmi9191 said:


> I prefer gently caressing the bag from top to bottom.. Do it several times in a rhythmic fashion.. If done right, guaranteed to drain the bag of all productive juices..


And here I was lamenting people doing the same joke over and over.

Not getting any better than that, guys. Innuendo is OVAH.


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## lukiferj (4/8/13)

carniebrew said:


> Depends what I'm brewing mate, but yeah, have being doing full volume partial mash and small volume AG brews for my pale ale style beers for a little while now.


Nice one man!


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## Not For Horses (29/10/13)

I squeeze the bag like I'm Liam Neeson and the bag knows where my daughter is.


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## Bribie G (29/10/13)

I throttle the bag like I'm Gollum and it's got my precioussssss.


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## brad81 (29/10/13)

TowelBoy2013 said:


> Just wondering how many squeeze the grain-bag after mashing and any info for or against squeezing.


I squeeze until "just before purple", then collect the drips and tip it into the boil.


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## citizensnips (29/10/13)

Yeah I squeeze it good and proper or until my hands overheat


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## Kak (29/10/13)

I choke it like the dockers


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## Jaded and Bitter (4/11/13)

Coopers squeeze - well press actually. Seen it. Met the Engineer who designed it. Part of their design brief was not to change the taste - had to sample many many products to ensure this. Lifes tuff sometimes.


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## Droughtmaster (5/11/13)

no squeeze or sparge


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## technobabble66 (5/11/13)

Sparge. 
Then squeeze. 
Squeeze it like a testicle by a jilted lover. 
Most satisfying.


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## Keppmiestet (18/11/13)

Yeah never had a problem squeezing the
Glorious liquid from the bag, if ph and temp is good you won't have a tannin issue. Got to get all them sugars


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## Bribie G (18/11/13)

Each one of those "curtains" in the machine is like a big BIAB bag. When each has been filled with the initial mash, there's a sparging manifold at the top that sparges the lot in situ, then the mofo of all hydraulic plungers squeezes the row of bags from the side to extract the very last of the goodness. Then I understand that the baggies open at the bottom and the almost dry spent grain falls out.

Frightening.





That's just one version, others are squeezed by hydraulic fluids surrounding an array of bags in a sealed container.


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## butisitart (2/8/14)

last time i squeezed the bag she slapped me.
but i been squeezing the bag in private, then got worried about tannins or something, then found this topic, and now i'm going to squeeze on, baby.
bit like milking a goat, really. heavy duty gloves are a must though, otherwise you burn your pinkies right off.
on the other hand, i was thinking something like a grape press. anybody gone down that kind of road??


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## sp0rk (2/8/14)

I wear thick gloves and squeeze really hard
Gotta get all that tasty goodness out
Then I wrap it in some paper and put it in the bin
























Oh, and yeah I squeeze my BIAB bag too


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## wombil (2/8/14)

I squeeze my old bag.
Tannins would be chemical and squeezing is mechanical so don't see my old bag tanning anything from a squeeze or two.


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## Hippy (3/8/14)

Twist, twist,twist,then squeeze. Bag won't know what's hit it.


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## Hippy (3/8/14)

Twist, twist,twist,then squeeze. Bag won't know what's hit it.
And repeat....


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## fletcher (3/8/14)

having a few tonight i see hippy


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