Keeping The Biab Bag Off The Kettle Bottom

[captaincleanoff]

I recently burnt through a BIAB bag that was resting on the bottom of the kettle. Resulted in all grain being lost into the kettle.

I need something to keep the bag from touching the bottom.

Would a cake stand be safe to use? I have a few, but am not sure what metal they are.. don't want to release anything nasty in there.

Should i just look for a SS or aluminum cake stand? Any other suggestions?

 

[Adamt]

A cake stand is exactly what has been suggested in the past and has worked for everyone that has used it (from what I've read, anyway!),

 

[crundle]

Yep, cake stand. Aluminium or SS would be suitable, as people use pots made of these to boil in. Going to get one for my 40 litre urn this week for my first BIAB effort.

There have been some people who have used modified wok holders or something like that from memory, maybe someone can set me straight on that?

cheers

Crundle

 

[Bribie G]

On dough in I wrap the whole caboodle in an old feather doonah and lose around 2 degrees over a one hour mash, usually start 67 finish at 65,

Chinese feather doonahs are cheap as, nowadays but when warmed up tend to smell of chickens which is why I don't use it on the bed anymore :lol:



Edit: I heard on the radio that, due to the billions of chickens and ducks eaten by the Chinese every year, feathers are becoming a serious environmental issue - not joking - They are even trying to incorporate them in building materials etc, so this is probably some fiendish plot to export their problems. h34r:

 

[captaincleanoff]

????

:icon_offtopic:

 

[Bribie G]

????

:icon_offtopic:

Not really, what I'm suggesting is that the purpose of BIAB is to mash in the bag and then drain the bag and then boil, all in one vessel.
Mashing involves keeping the grain within a certain temperature range for a set time. The application of additional heat is not a given during mashing, esky mashers use just pure insulation to effect this, and I use pure insulation with my urn precisely because I didn't really want to turn on during mashing and melt my own bag.

If your kettle has a tight fitting lid, insulation would be one way of definitely not burning your bag so therefore on topic.

If not doonah then maybe some industrial or building insulation material could be used - I expect Bunnings have rolls of something suitable.

Several ways to skin a cat.

 

[ikern]

If you have some means of suspending the bag above the wort while you give the liquid a burst from your heat source of choice you will avoid the burnt bag bum problem also. This is how I get to my mashout - pull the bag up above the wort via the pulley and secure, crank up the urn and then lower back in for 10 mins for the mash-out.

Cheers :icon_cheers:

Soz

 

[Katherine]

If you have some means of suspending the bag above the wort while you give the liquid a burst from your heat source of choice you will avoid the burnt bag bum problem also. This is how I get to my mashout - pull the bag up above the wort via the pulley and secure, crank up the urn and then lower back in for 10 mins for the mash-out.

Cheers :icon_cheers:

Soz

+1......

I have also insulated the pot, but find its a pain in the ass!

 

[Bribie G]

Brilliant idea about the mashout, I'm always keen to squeeze an extra bit of efficiency. I'll do that next time.

Hmmm... new term... Hoist n Heat :lol:

 

[Thirsty Boy]

or you could just stir it - and dont stop at any time the heat is on - this stops hot spots and helps you get a better measurement of temperature anyway.

Different for electric urns etc - need to get the bag off the elements. Cake rack or hoist. I prefer the rack because it allows you to stir.... I'm sorry to keep harping on about it, but without stirring... constant stirring of the whole mash... while the heat is on, any temperature reading you take is little better than a guess

mind you - host and heat works perfectly well - you just need to develop a set of equations... Wkg grain in the bag at X, Y temperature in the liquid of the pot, when I drop the bag in - stir and measure it will equal Z mash temp... which is my target. More than doable and probably not to hard to simply eyeball

For me though - the accuracy of having the thermometer in the mash while I am heating it up, is the gold standard.

Mind you I freak around in circles if any temperature anywhere in my brewing is out by even one degree... so it may be possible that I am just too damn fussy

 

[crundle]

Does anyone power up their 40 litre urn to hold the temperature during mashing, I gather while stirring, or is the general consensus that it is better to wrap in a doonah or similar and perhaps give it a hit half way through the mash just to minimise the temperature drop?

For my first urn AG, I am planning on using around 31 litres of water and having 2 litres of ice cold and boiling water handy to assist when I drop in the grain in case I miss the correct mashing temp. I hope I hit the temp right on the money, but life isn't always that easy, so Beersmith will be running nearby in case of emergency.

Crundle

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Some might - but I strongly suggest that you turn the urn completely off while you mash is in there. Insulate if you think you will lose too much heat... If you dont insulate, measure temp at 10min intervals - stirring before you take the temp and adding heat, while stirring, if you have lost some. Then heat off again.

IMHO - Once you get your strike temp, wrap the (turned off) urn up in a doona and ignore for an hour - you will only lose a few degrees over an hour. And thats fine.

 

[crundle]

Thanks TB, I am trying to make sure I have everything sorted well before time for the brew. I will write up a post before the brew session outlining recipe and what I intend to do during the session to have it checked by our resident panel of experts. I find it hard to believe that I would have been able to get into AG without all the help and opinions from AHB members - many thanks to all!

cheers,

Crundle

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Some might - but I strongly suggest that you turn the urn completely off while you mash is in there. Insulate if you think you will lose too much heat... If you dont insulate, measure temp at 10min intervals - stirring before you take the temp and adding heat, while stirring, if you have lost some. Then heat off again.

IMHO - Once you get your strike temp, wrap the (turned off) urn up in a doona and ignore for an hour - you will only lose a few degrees over an hour. And thats fine.

As TB will attest, I used to fuss over the temperature of the mash heaps. Now, I bring the thing up to temperature, mash in and stir, then go away and do something else for an hour. I might give it a stir occasionally, but that's it. I haven't used any extra insulation around the pot for ages. I do not believe my beers have suffered as a result of this practice.

I think that if you are going to add heat and you don't have a really good stirring regime going on, you are probably doing more harm than good. You could be heating the bottom of the mash excessively, which could reduce the number of available enzymes in there working for you.

The less time you spend agonizing over small mash temperature variations, the more you can spend obsessing over measuring out your hops... :huh:

 

[reviled]

I got a mate to make me a stand out of welding stick, but before I used that, I rolled the bag up at the top so it sits about 10cm from the bottom, and tied it around the outside of the pot so it wouldnt roll down.. Worked really well on 5+ brews B)

 

[Bribie G]

I generally lose two or at most three degrees using a feather doonah. However that's in the QLD summer so I don't know how that would go in a Melbourne Winter.

My next BIAB is next Wednesday and the grain bill is only 2.5kg (I'm doing a braggott) so there will be plenty of leeway in the urn and I'll actually try a combination of doonah plus stirring some boiling water in at 30 minutes and see if I can end up at 60 mins with no nett temp drop, and see how that works for me.

 

[reviled]

Bribie, I use a big blanket similair to yours but its made out of polyester, most I lose in an hour is 1.5 degrees B)

In saying that, I hardly ever have any deadspace in my kettle due to size, which could be why youre losing alot of heat.. Maybe try and cut a piece of polystyrene to sit on top of your mash to keep your temp stable, dont reckon youd lose more than 1.5*c then...

 

[sumo]

Bribie, I use a big blanket similair to yours but its made out of polyester, most I lose in an hour is 1.5 degrees B)

In saying that, I hardly ever have any deadspace in my kettle due to size, which could be why youre losing alot of heat.. Maybe try and cut a piece of polystyrene to sit on top of your mash to keep your temp stable, dont reckon youd lose more than 1.5*c then...

When I did BIAB I used a camping mat around the keggle and then a wool blanket. I barely had any heat loss over the 60 minutes, however in saying that if I needed to add heat, I twisted the top of the bag and pulled up about 3 - 5 inches and attached to the side of the kettle with a clamp. No worries!