Biab Bag

[Greg.L]

I've been using a bag for mashing since my first grain brew 15 yrs ago - never read about it, its just the obvious thing to do. I buy a length of muslin cloth and sew it into a rectangle. You fold one side so you only need to sew 2 sides, the short side for the bottom and the long side for the side. You don't need any skills, just in-out-in-out with an upholstery needle, takes about 10 minutes. The hardest part is going into a spotlight (fabric) store to buy the cloth, gives me shivers just thinking about it. These days I mash in an esky and don't sew at all, just lay the muslin in the esky and pour the grain and hot water in on top, then use gravity to siphon the wort out.

They also work really well for fermenting red wine on the skins, at the end you just pull the bag of fermented skins and seeds out and put it in the press, makes it really simple, most home winemakers do it this way

 

[Mister Wilson]

Thanks for all the replys.

Seems like the concensus is the Gryphon bag or a circle of voile.

I'll be using a keggle so not sure if the circle would be a pain in the ass to get out of the hole I've chopped in the top (which is 30cm).

I'm leaning towards the Gryphon one now (although they are currently out of stock).

 

[QldKev]

I've got 2 BIAB bags, one is the Gryphon and the other is a home made.

My home made one is a circle cut to the width of the voile and a hem folded over and sewn into place. I started with a rope in the hem and used it as a draw string, but that idea was short lived. It now just has elastic in it and it works heaps better.

The Gyphon was purchased as a gift for me after I helped out a fellow brewer get AG brewing. Originally I loved the little straps and would hook it onto my pulley system to lift the bag out. That became too hard, and I use the same noose setup as per my other bag. Which reminds me, I need to replace the elastic in it; which is ok as it has seen many brews.

Overall I think if you want to try BIAB and don't have access to a sewing machine the G&G could be a great way to go as it is a cheap was to try BIAB out. But as ekul said, you can always get a circle of voile and use it without the elastic.

QldKev

 

[Mister Wilson]

Spoken with the guys at Gryphon and they have a bag available so I'll head that way and grab some silicone tube while I'm at it.

Cheers to everyone who helped.

 

[felten]

For the base I measured the diameter of my kettle, added 15% and then cut a template out of a large piece of card, stuck it to the voile and cut a circle out. Then measured the circumference of the kettle, added 15% and cut a long rectangle piece for the sides.

I handed it all to my mum and she sewed the side piece up, then attached it to the base and bobs your uncle. A bit of elastic and some pull tabs later (stolen from the gryphon design) and it was good to go.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

A bit of elastic and some pull tabs later (stolen from the gryphon design) and it was good to go.

Have you no morals ? :lol:
GB

 

[felten]

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

 

[brando]

Sounds just like what I'm planning. Big ol' circle of voile and hem the shit out of it
Might try and weave a cord into the hem while I'm at it but I'm sure it will work fine without it as I'm only planning partials.

That's all I've ever used! About 15 brews down now and the same piece of voile is still going strong.