A Guide To All-grain Brewing In A Bag

[PistolPatch]

This post is currently under construction. Please read this post and the one immediately before it for alternative instructions to the 'escalator mash' discussed in the BIAB booklet. The escalator mash will not be in the new guide.

A GUIDE TO ALL-GRAIN BREWING IN A BAG

Brewing in a Bag (BIAB) is an all-grain brewing method with many advantages. It is extremely simple requiring a low level of equipment, knowledge and space while providing a beer of equivalent quality to traditional methods. It is also highly flexible and the procedures contained in the BIAB guide can be easily modified to suit any brewers experience or resources.

The Guide has been written for beginners as an experienced brewer will automatically know which sections to skip. Even new brewers will find the step-by-step details unnecessary after a few brews and may like to modify or make redundant some procedures as their experience develops.

The BIAB Booklet and the BIAB Master Checklist

The practical guts, of the BIAB Guide is made up of 2 downloadable files. The BIAB Booklet, is a pictorial guide to BIAB in Adobe Reader format - .pdf. The BIAB Master Checklist, is a step by step timed guide to BIAB in Miscrosoft Excel format - .xls.

Downloading these 2 files will show you how to brew a 'black beer,' with BIAB. To date, no beer style has been identified that cannot be brewed using the method. For your first brew you may choose to brew something apart from a black beer though. NRB's All Amarillo APA or Batz's Altbier are two lighter coloured and delightful beers that are also quite forgiving to the first time brewer.

Once you have read this post, to get brewing, download the following 2 files and just follow the instructions.

PLEASE NOTE: The following 2 files have not been re-written as yet so do not download them if you already have them. They will be done in the next few days.

* View attachment BIABBooklet.pdf
** View attachment BIAB_Checklist___Black_Beer.xls

Further Information on BIAB

Further information on brewing in a bag can be quickly found at the following places

Post #2: BIAB FAQs

This post answers questions that are commonly asked on BIAB as well as some more advanced information. One of these questions is, 'What are some common mistakes made by first-time BIABers?' This is important reading before doing your first brew.

Post #3: BIAB Thread Summary

To save those who want even more information than contained in Post #2, this post here summarises all the information discussed on BIAB to date including this whole thread in blocks of 50 posts. Reading this plus the last few posts of this thread means that you can constantly stay up to date with the latest developments.

Post #4: BIAB Movers and Shakers

There are many people whose individual efforts resulted in BIAB becoming a brewing method that is filling many a happy brewers kegs and bottles each week. These movers and shakers are mentioned in Post #4. All of these people are also happy to help new BIAB brewers (or any brewers for that matter) on their way. Knowing these peoples names will help you in knowing the right people to answer your questions which leads to.

The Remainder of the Thread

Here you can ask any general questions, ask for help with your brews, offer new ideas, let others know how you are going or answer other peoples questions etc. Before asking questions though, please ensure that you have read the booklet, checklist and first four posts of the thread. This will avoid any repetition.

BIAB Brewer Register

jimmysuperlative suggested a register of BIAB brewers in the early days. Recently, FNQBunyip has got it off the ground. So, once you've done your first BIAB, please sign the above register and from time to time update it so we can watch your progress.

Look forward to hearing how you go,
PistolPatch

*Prior downloads = 14.
**Prior Downloads =

 

[PistolPatch]

This post is currently under construction.

BIAB FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The following answers are based around a BIAB brew using 5 kgs of grain, a 60 minute mash period and 60 minute boil in a 70 litre pot. These times and equipment may be varied if desired.

What is BIAB?

In laymans terms, BIAB can be summarised as follows. For a standard beer. The brewer brings around 35 litres of water to mash temperature (62 to 70 degrees depending on the beer) in a large pot. The pot is then lined with an extrememley fine mesh bag into which the grain is poured. This temperature is maintained for 60 minutes. At this stage, the bag is drained and removed, and the water that now tastes sweet (hence called sweet liquor) is brought to the boil and held there for 60 minutes. At various stages during the boil period, hops may be added to affect bitterness, flavour and aroma. After the boil, the resulting liquid (now called wort) is chilled rapidly to the correct temperature for the pitching of the yeast. All other stages of the brewing process should be familiar to those who have done some kit brews.

How Does BIAB Replace the Mashing and Sparging Done in Traditional Brewing?

In traditional brewing, mashing is the process of converting starches in the grain into sugars that can be eaten by the yeast and turned into alcohol. This mashing period goes for 60 minutes but only uses about 15 litres of water. Following this, about 20 litres of water are used to rinse (or lauter) the sugars from the grain. Two traditional methods commonly used to do this are batch-sparging or fly-sparging and these require three vessels. A Guide to Mashing and Batch Sparging explains batch-sparging in more detail.

BIAB is what we might call a full volume method of brewing where all the water is added at the beginning so that mashing and sparging occur at the same time. A simplistic analogy is that of making an instant coffee. In traditional brewing, you add a teaspoon of coffee and a third a cup of water. Stir it and then either add the remaining water in one or more hits (as in batch-sparging) or trickle the remaining water in slowly (as in fly-sparging.) In BIAB all the water for your coffee goes in first and then you stir.

Is Efficiency Higher or Lower with BIAB Compared to Traditional?

For the beginner, trying to increase efficiency by a few percent is not an important goal. Good clean brewing practices are far more essential. In saying this, in the few side by side brews that have been done, BIAB has been coming out in front of batch-sparged brews by a little over 5% so efficiency is not an issue.

How do BIAB Beers Compare with Those Brewed Traditionally?

At time of writing, at least several thousands of litres of beer have been brewed using BIAB with many of these litres being tasted by experienced brewers. In one test, identical beer recipes were brewed side by side. One beer was batch-sparged and the other BIABed. Eight brewers were asked to triangular test the resulting beer. This means having three galsses with two of them containing the same beer and the third glass having another beer. Only two of the eight brewers picked the correct beer. Of these two, one simply guessed while the other found the BIAB beer to be slightly more astringent with slightly less body. So it is safe to say that, to date, BIAB beers are proving to be equivalent to those traditionally brewed. Time will tell if there are any limitations but if there are, you can be assured that they will be miniscule and detectable to only very advanced palates.

In developing BIAB, many possible quality problems such as efficiency, astringency, clarity, mouthfeel, maltiness and body were discussed and then investigated. None of these has proved to be an issue.

In light of the above, any brewer should have confidence in the method. Entering your beer in a competition may be an area that excites you and once again, you should feel great confidence on doing this.

What are the Pros and Cons to Me Brewing In A Bag?

BIAB has only been used for a short time compared to traditional brewing methods. THis may concern some brewers. I wrote some notes on the advantages of BIAB here recently whilst forummng under the influence. This should explain a few of the advantages of BIAB in more detail.

What are some common mistakes made by first-time BIABers?

Common mistakes that can be easily avoided are as follows

Lack of Safety Considerations: When removing your bag from the kettle, do not drag it over the sides. Lift it straight up. Dragging over the sides is likely to tip your kettle over which could result in serious injury. Also make sure you brew in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhalation of LPG gas. Boots and long orange concretors gloves can assist you as well as protect you.

Thermometer Accuracy: For any type of all-grain brewing, a thermometer that is accurate at mashing temperatures is of the utmost importance. Testing the accuracy of a thermometer at mash temperatures is difficult. If you know another brewer who brews good beer, test your thermometer in the 60 to 70 degree Celsius range with them.

Bag Material: It is most important to use the correct material to make your bag. Other materials can be either too fine, too coarse, weak or impart off flavours. Use the Swiss Voille material that is recommended.

Bag Stitching: Ensure that your bag is stitched up well with nylon thread. The bag has to hold up to 10 kilos of weight at times. A burst bag would be no fun at all. When stitching, try to make your seams on the outside of the bag (in other words, turn it inside out) so the bag is easier to clean.

Burners: If using a NASA burner which applies heat to a focused point of the kettle, it is important to use something like a wok stand to prevent the bag from melting. With ring burners, stirring whilst applying heat during the mash will prevent burning but the wok stand will make life far easier for you.

 

[PistolPatch]

This post is currently under construction.

BIAB THREAD SUMMARY

To save those who want even more information than contained in the BIAB FAQs, this post summarises information discussed prior to this thread being developed as well as this entire thread in blocks of 50 posts. Reading this plus the last few posts of this thread means that you can constantly stay up to date with the latest developments. Only the most important information relative to brewing BIAB or BIAB milestones are below. To see a more detailed summary, click on the links below.

Important Points from Before this Thread Was Started

Major Points: Much discussion on BIAB occurred in James Squire's All In One Brewery thread. etc....

Posts 5 to 50 (Main Summary written by PistolPatch)

Major Points: A dodgy thermometer can cause you grief. First eBIAB (Electric BIAB) done by Zizzle. Some great BIAB links provided by Phrak. BIAB Brewer Register idea proposed by jimmysuperlative. Finally made into a reality by FNQBunyip Coodgee and Adamt simultaneously work on an advanced BIAB Master Checklist. Adamt and Phrak continue this major effort.

Posts 51 to 100 (Main Summary written by BlackBock)

Major Points: Around ten brewers began BIABing. Taste-tests of beers found no identifiable flaws. Phrak and Adamt mades major developments to the advanced checklist. FNQBunyip took one for the team by burning a hole in his bag with his NASA burner. A cake rack or similiar should be used to kkeep the bag off the kettle base especially if using a burner with a concentrated flame. Variations of bag material and shape were attempted without success. The bag must 'line' the kettle and the 'Swiss Voille' material be used for guaranteed results. Tannin extraction is not an issue no matter how hard you squeeze the bag as temperatures are below that at which tannin extraction occurrs. Insulation of the kettle whilst mashing is unneccessary as heat can be easily applied if necessary by the burner. 'Escalator mash,' abandoned due to various problems and no advantages. James Squire and FNQBunyip trial successfully alternative methods for lifting the bag out of the kettle. To gain correct mash temp readings, ensure that the wort is agitated. Double-batching discussed and ways of lifting the resulting heavy bag were proposed. James Squire provides a link to his Bucket-alternative-to Bag.

Posts 101 to 150 (Main Summary written by SpillsMostOfIt)

Major Points: More people do their first AG with BIAB. Many of these done under difficult conditions such as on stovetops or in small pots. Positive results submitted except where equipment was inadequate e.g. inaccurate thermometer or too small a bag. Adamt found the bag difficult to drain. A too fine a crush is suspected as being the cause. One brewer's bag splits highlighting the need for strong stitching with nylon thread. A 'No Sew BIAB Bag With a Drawstring,' is mentioned by FingerlickinB and hughman666 reports success with this bag. FNQBunyip's pulley set-up solves any 'heavy lifting' problems. Morrie0069 trys mashing in an esky using a bag instead of a manifold - no worries. More pleasing taste results.

Posts 151 to 200 (Main Summary written by SpillsMostOfIt)

Major Points: Beers from Pilsners to Schwartzbiers have been brewed and enjoyed by this stage with no noticeable flaws. Technical discussions on efficiency and whether to raise the temperature at the end fo the mash before removing the bag occur. Linz makes a BIAB style liner for his HERMS system. PP and BRad_G brew identical beers side-by-side with one beer being batched and the other BIABed. Doughball question raised but they are not a problem with BIAB.

Posts 201 to 250 (Main Summary written by ThirstyBoy)

Major Points: At this point, the thread moves into some scientific questions of mash volumes and enzyme conversion. Those interested should read the main summary or the actual posts as many of these are very well-written and quite detailed. No negatives to BIAB though found. On a less scientific note, hughman666 and jimmysiperlative give great testimonial about their BIAB experience. hughman also decides he is going to try batch-sparging but using the bag as a manifold. The side-by-side tasting results of BAtch veresus BIAB come out. Only 2 out of 8 brewers could tell the difference and one of these purely guessed. (That was me. I couldn't taste any difference so had a 1 in 3 chance of guessing correctly.) Hoops was the only one to pick a difference and found bIB to be slightly less astringent but slightly thinner than the batched beer.

Posts 251 to 300 (Main Summary written by JimmySuperlative)

Major Points: More scientific questions so the same notes as above apply. Once again no negatives to BIAB found. hughman666 reports back on his move to batch-sparging. He reports no noticeable difference in taste and his figures show little difference in OG's and FG's. Wobbly however who, while not BIABing, was 'full-volume' mashing, found problems with chill haze and sweetness and decided to revert to his traditional brewing. Wobbly asks for any ideas but no one can offer any advice as no one else has found these problems to date with BIAB. This remains a mystery. Zizzle posts pics of his great electric BIAB rig.

Posts 301 to 350 (Main Summary written by SpillsMostOfIt)

Major Points: More scientific questions so the same notes as above apply. Still no negatives to BIAB found. Finite also posts some detail on 3 of his BIAB brews. FNQBunyip tries rinsing his bag of grain after the mash with 3 litres of hot water to further increase efficeincy. The water is extra and therefore needs to be boiled off to reach correct final volume. No figures availabel so the effect of this difference is not known.

Posts 351 to 400 (Main Summary written by ?)

Major Points:

 

[PistolPatch]

The following post is under construction.

BIAB MOVERS AND SHAKERS

There are many people whose individual efforts resulted in BIAB becoming a brewing method that is filling many a happy brewers kegs and bottles each week. These, 'movers and shakers,' are a great bunch of brewers full of enthusiasm and happy to help new BIAB brewers (or any brewers for that matter) on their way. Being aware of the names below will help you in knowing the right people to answer your questions.

Here's a list of the BIAB Movers and Shakers in time order of their involvement in BIAB...

James Squire: JS triggered the thinking on BIAB by starting the following thread All In One Brewery etc

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Ive got a Boddingtons Pub Ale clone going.

Boddingtons Pub Ale Clone 11.5 Litre Batch

1360g Joe White Munich
14g Black Patent Malt

12.5g Fuggles @ 60 mins
11.5g Bramling Cross @ 30 mins
7.5g EK Goldings @ 15 mins
42.5g Cane (white table) Sugar @ 15 mins

Pitched 11g Windsor Ale dry yeast.

Itll be going straight into a 9L keg from primary, room temp for a week, chilled and carbed.

Will advise on the result when drinking :chug:

Oh, and thanks to Steve on here for the recipe

PZ.

 

[apd]

I'm a little embarrassed to see that the .pdf file was 588kb. I thought it was 188kb. I better send a donation to AHB! Is there any solution to this? (Not sending the donation - reducing the file size?)

Hey PP,
You have a few photos in the file so that will bump up the file size. You could optimise the photos in something like Photoshop or ImageReady before importing them into the PDF - they have Save For Web functionality that outputs the files a lot smaller but without much difference in quality to on screen viewing. This means they won't print as nicely but that may be a sacrifice you're willing to make.

If you don't have Photoshop or ImageReady, send the files to me and I'll fix them up.

apd

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

Great work Pistol, I'm not AG yet but slowly been building up to it and have been setting up a 3 pot single tier system and will still go that way but this looks like it could be a good intrim ... If I can overcome the freight on grain I will be away.. Brewing with grain up here will be a chalange to keep grain fresh and not mouldy...

Thanks for the time you have obviously spent putting this all together.

Cheers :beer:

 

[Phrak]

As a bit of a bump to keep this topic in the recent section, I don't think we've as yet cross-posted a link to the original discussion thread which is still very-much alive.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=11074

Some of the more interesting posts are direct-linked below. I'm sure there's more, so feel free to add your own linky's here
PP's original guide, plus some extra pics

Phrak & MilletMan - To squeeze or not to squeeze

Zizzle - Stove-top pictures

AndrewQLD - mash pH info

PP - Why a hopsock is not an alternative

AdamT (plus the next three replies) - Mash pH concentration calculations Plus Post #189

PP - Summary of the main topics

Non-Thread links:
Justin's Advice and Recommendations for those starting out in all grain home brewing
Jayse's "A Homebrewers Guide to the Galaxy"

Once again Pat, keep up the awesome work! :beer:
Tim.

 

[James Squire]

Top work 'Fairy Nuff!'

Keep up the good work Pat. You are a massive part of AHB, we love you man!

Cheers,

JS - just keepin' things rollin'!

 

[poppa joe]

My Guide Won't download.....
AAAARRRRGGGHHH.
PJ

 

[Ross]

Great effort as always Pat :super:

Fantastic to see your efforts resulting in some great beers & making the path to AG so much easier for those with limited resources - you're a credit to the forum... :beer:

Cheers Ross

 

[Adamt]

After just spending $110 on a nasa burner and gas, and about to spend $100 on a stockpot, it might take a while for me to get an esky mash tun going, so I'm gonna BIAB! Will try it with an APA in a couple of weeks and let you know how it goes!

 

[PistolPatch]

Poppa, the easisest way to save it is to right click on the file with your mouse button and then press, 'Save Target As.' PM me if that doesn't work. Hope your brews are going well.

Thanks apd. I used Microsoft Picture Editor to get the pics down to about 35kb. Do you reckon go even smaller? I also just thought of some other ways on how to allow people to get the latest updates of the guide without taxing AHB's bandwidth but will have to post that later (running out of time).

Phrak is going to have a look at the time automation thing in the spreadsheets. And more thanks to Phrak for going to all the trouble in his post above linking some of the highlights of James' thread and others. Will be whacking a few of those in the Appendix for sure. Must have taken quite some time that.

Am now running late for work which is a good thing as I have no idea how to respond to the extremeley kind messages received above and in other places/forms. These are truly appreciated. Rather than me carrying on here I think I better send you guys a PM

Many thanks,
PP

(FNQ - will PM you re grain.)

 

[Adamt]

Will be working on getting IBU calculations into the Spreadsheet tonight, and possibly OG calculations too. Will have to tweak the sheet a bit and I'll post it when its finished, hopefully midnightish tonight as im working til 10!

-Adam

 

[Zizzle]

Bottled my first AG, the Bag Job, just now after 1.5 weeks in primary.

Tasted pretty good. Can't wait.

Good on ya Pat!

 

[poppa joe]

PP ....MHB>>>>
Got it....NOW i need a BIGGER hard drive...
PJ

 

[apd]

PP,

35KB could be improved on. They might be able to be reduced to 5 - 10KB.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Ran my brew through ProMash...looks like it'll be fairly light on the alcohol side :blink:

Noticed some reasonably obvious fermentation action today (day four), so it seems there is still something in there for the yeast to chew on and sh*t out alc :lol:

This'll probably be a dud of a beer though...but only because of the small grain bill and tight mash sock.

Grabbed some mesh today for a "pot-in-pot" setup next time and now being equipped with software to help me calculate values I'm sure it'll be much better.

Still stinging to try this one anyway :chug:

PZ.

 

[PistolPatch]

Didn't realise I could go that small apd! I'll have a bash at reducing them further but won't have a chance to do so for at least a week. Thanks again.

I think I better only on occassion revise the guide otherwise the same people will be downloading it every time a change is made. Those who do want to stay up to date can send me an email and I'll send the files to you as they change. This should save some AHB bandwidth.

Maybe I should use Post #4 to list what updates have been made but are currently only available via email?

Can't wait to see what magic Adam comes up with tonight - he has some very useful talents for us! Be great to see how an APA goes as well.

Whacked your brew into Post #2 Finger this morning. You never know mate it might taste great. The small sock would have been a bit of a mare!

I haven't put Zizzle's beer into Post#2 as it was the black beer and therefore already trialled. Good on you Zizzle - trust we'll hear how it tastes in 3 weeks. You, Poppa and Finger are great the way you are having a bash with the smaller pots.

Oh, and whoever was responsible for airlocking this :beerbang:

 

[jimmysuperlative]

Not that I'm right into stats and data ...but, I'm thinking now I'd love to know how many brewers are trying/or going to try the BIAB ?

...It might be interesting to see how far the net is cast ...out of 2800 members that is??!!!

...poll ? ...list ? ...post here ? :blink:


Is there a way of leaving just one (individuals) post (like this one) open for any AHB member to edit ...so it can be added to?

Or easier to cut and paste existing list into new post and add your name?

Any merit? Just to see how many are out there?

PistolPatch, Fingerlickin_B, Zizzle, poppa joe, AndrewQLD Pilsner, James Squire, etc ....?