Biab, Why Nylon?

[pdilley]

New Stainless Steel Brewpot arrived today, a day early and another nod to allquip for providing it below other retailers in cost. Local price asked $306, not going to attempt to argue how they do that with a retail list price of $189 at allquip. Allquip price $147 plus 22 freight.

Roban Forge series professional stainless pot. Rays Outdoors' .7mm thick aluminium crab pot $119, professional stainless pot with thick aluminum core bottom $147. Easy choice.

The polyester Swiss Voile is plenty big enough to fit in it seems if I want to go pudding bag style which I may have to on the first BIAB if I want to do it this weekend.

Tried to get a dimensions of pot in the photo by placing it adjacent to existing brew gear, but it came out looking quite tiny when it is over 3 times bigger than my largest kitchen stock pot side by side.

54 litre glass demijohn, largest you can get with wide mouth olive pickling style. That will fit a gigantic paint stirrer attachment on a drill for mass oxygenation. Going to use that for mead making purposes. Plastic fermenter behind is 60 litres, the big one. Glass cost the least, this one was $20 less than buying the plastic 60 litre fermenter as it was used and needs a dirt cleanup as it sat outside one season. One good clean and a sanitisation and it'll be good to go. Should last my lifetime, expecting the plastic will last me 2-3 years before needing a replacement.

I need to explore options for welding on fittings to drain the pot in place. Was thinking of doing my first BIAB this weekend so I won't have time to do it by then. Planning on partial siphon to eliminate full pot weight then pour into the gigantic funnel I have thats almost the size of that glass demijohn into no chill cubes/jerry cans. Then I can add my name to the BIAB list by end of weekend.

 

[flattop]

Interesting Gregory, out assumption is that you need fair circulation of water around loose grains to help get the efficiency targets...
Tea Bag never occurred to me, is the teabag tight on the grains or is there plenty of room inside?
Just goes to show that there are more ways to skin a cat..

PS Crundle did you find the filters?

 

[Thirsty Boy]

You do need a good circulation and mixing of the grains. People have tried a number of times to do BIAB in smaller bags that restrict the grains - and it just doesn't work as well. It still works... just not as well.

Gregory's 2m diam circle will turn into a teabag with a volume of something like 50-55L. Thats more than enough to contain all the grain and all the liquid and a bit spare. So assuming that Gregory isn't "hanging" the bag, he is allowing it to all go into the water, giving it a good stir around/dunk etc, then his grain is pretty much as free and easy as it wold be in a standard baggie.

My BIAB "bag" is in fact just like Greg's. I have a drawstring sewn into the outside and still fold it down around the edges of the pot like a regular BIAB bag - but it is just a big circle. I personally think the ability to stir really really well is vital to BIAB - especially during the ramp to mashout/sparge temperature. So I wouldn't do the tea bag thing myself. But if its working for Greg, its working.

Another variation on the theme. The more the merrier I suppose.

 

[Gregory]

...So I wouldn't do the tea bag thing myself. But if its working for Greg, its working.

Actually, for me, it's dunk and stir.

a. spread out the voile circle
b. heap grain in middle
c. gather up edges; rope securely
d. lower into 50 litre pot of appropriate quantity of water at strike temp.
e. stir a bit; dunk
f. lid on; cover with old sleeping bag
g. repeat e. from time to time

With a large bag in a large pot, there's plenty of room to stir through the bag, from the outside in.

Also:

a. I usually hang the tail of the bag over the edge of the pot, but with its top tied tightly, it doesn't matter if the bag, grain and all, falls into the juice. I don't need to secure the top of the bag to the top of the pot.

b. since I lower the bag of grain into the pot after I've raised the water to the temperature I want and turned the gas off, I don't have to worry about burning the bottom of the bag, or singeing the top of the bag where it hangs over the pot

 

[Gregory]

is the teabag tight on the grains or is there plenty of room inside?

It's tight of course when it's suspended by the rope, but quite loose when it has been lowered into the pot. The bag sort of floats there and you can stir the grain through it. At the end of the mash, hoist, hang from skyhook, squeeze, and start boil.

 

[KingPython]

Do the girls at Spotlight cut it in a circle for you? Also do you have a draw string arrangment?

 

[Gregory]

Do the girls at Spotlight cut it in a circle for you? Also do you have a draw string arrangment?

I didn't ask. I first had to work out how to mark out a large circle on slippery fabric.

You could pin the fabric to the floor, I suppose, and rig up a compass of some sort.

Then I happened to be walking past my round dining table and a solution suggested itself.

The cut leaves a raw edge. To prevent it fraying I zig-zagged the bugger on the sewing machine, with the zig stitch in the fabric, and the zag stitch hanging over the edge. This is the standard lazy way of finishing off a seam. If you wanted to be fancy, you could get it finished on an overlocker.

I haven't got a drawstring. It isn't necessary. I just tie it up with a clove hitch.

 

[KingPython]

Well if you fold a square into 4 then cut an arch you get a circle, but since it comes in a rectangular piece.