New Biab Setup

[parktho]

G'day,

I'm finally heading for all-grain by establishing a BIAB-type setup. I posted years ago because I came across a bit of equipment at the dump that I wanted to use in my first setup. Unfortunately, I've been overseas for a year-and-a-half and I came home only to find that the machine had been thrown out bar the two two-gallon reservoirs. Not to be set back, I'm gonna use gas to directly heat the reservoirs now. I'll probably drill in a Thermowell at some point but to begin with, it'll just be my trusty ol' glass rod thermometer.

I was reading one of my many books on brewing (The Big Book of Brewing by Dave Line - old school English home brewing book), and was interested to read:

By gentle packing, due to their natural weight, the husks also act as a filter for these undesirable substance, and hence any agitation of the mash could have serious consequences.

It's just that in BIAB, I would have thought it's hard not to agitate the grain bed, let alone have one. In fact, I read of many people actively squeezing their bag to get all the 'juices' out. Are their consequences?

Also, I'm thinking instead of a bag, I might make a Braumeister-style basket in which to sit the grains. This would allow me to lift it out, let it drain and do some sparging. I wanted to make this using a paint tin. Does anyone know if their are any issues using a well cleaned paint tin. Is the metal it's made out of (tin or galvanised iron?!?) okay in a mash (as in no leeching)? A 10 L paint tin fits very nicely inside my mash tun/kettle.

I'll probably have more to come so please don't ignore this topic after the first few posts!

Thomas.

 

[cdndude]

G'day,

I'm finally heading for all-grain by establishing a BIAB-type setup. I posted years ago because I came across a bit of equipment at the dump that I wanted to use in my first setup. Unfortunately, I've been overseas for a year-and-a-half and I came home only to find that the machine had been thrown out bar the two two-gallon reservoirs. Not to be set back, I'm gonna use gas to directly heat the reservoirs now. I'll probably drill in a Thermowell at some point but to begin with, it'll just be my trusty ol' glass rod thermometer.

I was reading one of my many books on brewing (The Big Book of Brewing by Dave Line - old school English home brewing book), and was interested to read:



It's just that in BIAB, I would have thought it's hard not to agitate the grain bed, let alone have one. In fact, I read of many people actively squeezing their bag to get all the 'juices' out. Are their consequences?

Also, I'm thinking instead of a bag, I might make a Braumeister-style basket in which to sit the grains. This would allow me to lift it out, let it drain and do some sparging. I wanted to make this using a paint tin. Does anyone know if their are any issues using a well cleaned paint tin. Is the metal it's made out of (tin or galvanised iron?!?) okay in a mash (as in no leeching)? A 10 L paint tin fits very nicely inside my mash tun/kettle.

I'll probably have more to come so please don't ignore this topic after the first few posts!

Thomas.

Hi Thomas,


I would agree that it is definately hard not to agitate the grain in BIAB. In fact, you'll find you're actively stirring it throughout the process. Depending on how fine your bag is, most sediment should remain in the bag. I also give the bag a squeeze at the end too, that's where all the best stuff is I'm told.


I'm no expert but I would make sure that whatever you use as a basket is made of the same metal the pot is made from. I've heard that different metals can react differently and cause off flavours. I could be totally wrong tho!

Anyway, good luck with BIAB!

 

[felten]

With traditional systems you have a set grain bed, that acts as a depth filter. But in BIAB the bag acts as a filter instead of the grain bed.

The bag isn't as effective at filtering as the grain bed is, and you can't do a vorlauf, but it does a good enough job. You will end up with more kettle trub though, but you can factor that in with your volumes.

I'm sure a paint tin has some kind of epoxy lining on the inside to prevent rusting, I wouldn't want to be using that in my beer.

 

[parktho]

Regarding kettle trub, what can I do if my kettle has a sunken outlet and every last bit of liquid is going to come out when I transfer it to the fermenter?

Thomas.