Giving BIAB a go

[Michael]

Having visited JT, and just recently putting down an extract / grain brew, I decided to move into the all grain brewing now. However, it seems that my chilly bins have disappeared as a result of my last move. (9000 miles will do this I suppose.)

This being the case, the most cost effective route seems to be going with BIAB for now. Is there anyone around Wellington that uses this method? In a related note, where do BIAB brewers find the bags they use?

Thanks again for the stupid questions!

[jamis]

I dont think there available in nz yet - could be a market for it tho. Just get some swiss voile from fabric shop and get a dressmaker or someone you know with a sewing machine to sew one up, really strong with a draw string.

[Pilgrim]

Yep, Spotlight is the place. I got mine sewn up for $20 at the local dressmaking alterations place. Make sure it is big enough to fill the whole pot and get some sort of metal rack (cake cooling rack would be fine) to keep the bag up off the bottom of the pot. See my blog http://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profiles/blogs/the-weary-pilgrim-br...
Good luck.

[Matthew]

Great expectations out in the Hutt have boil bags. I'm using a medium size one that hold about 4kgs of grain. It's not swiss voile though, it's some sort of nylon type bag?? It does the trick though and was only $20. They had a larger one too if I recall.

[jt]

So how did the brew go with the grains Michael ?

[Michael]

JT,

Thank you for asking!

I put down the batch last week, and it has been happily fermenting since. I plan to check the SG tonight and see how it is going.

I did have some difficulty trying to sparge the grains, but the big thermos you let me use helped!

The only negative I have right now is that I should have put this batch down sooner, as I will likely run out of beer before this batch conditions. :( heh..atleast I have a new batch to look forward to in a couple weeks!

[jt]

I did have some difficulty trying to sparge the grains, but the big thermos you let me use helped!

Might have been the weetbix ? If you want to try again, let me know, if I can pop round I will

The only negative I have right now is that I should have put this batch down sooner, as I will likely run out of beer before this batch conditions.

From my notes the Coopers Real Ale was a good beer with very little conditioning and some grain will only improve it again. I'd start sampling bottles from a week after it's conditioned - that's after the bottle's firm. That recipe you worked from, I drank at two weeks and it was great. However - all tastes are different.

[Michael]

I think the batch will turn out ok. The only thing is that I was out of Saaz hops, so I used fuggles. Obviously this will likely result in a completely different taste.

Who know, it may end up being a nice bitter.

This being the case, I will make a run into the Hutt, and get some saaz and a bag to brew in for this weekend's go.

[Reviled]

Yep swiss voile is the stuff you want and get someone to sew it into a pillowcase shape, the pot has to fit in the bag and I wouldnt reccommend anything smaller than 40 litres for the pot size...

I brought mine from Hauraki homebrew, but the company has changed their bags and the new ones dont look as fine so I cant really speak for them...

Any questions re BIAB let me know :o)

[Simon David kelly]

I made mine out of doubled-up muslin cloth (a good quality cloth keeps it's hole size when wet). Stitch up a circle 60mm bigger than the base, make a cylinder the same diameter as the pot and about 80mm taller, then french seam the lot together to get your bag. I did mine myself, but anyone who sews can do a french seam.

The doubled over muslin is actually very strong, and has taken 6kg grain (about 15kg when wet and pulled up to drain). It's also done very well to keep the beer clear(ish) although without recycling you're bound to get an uncleared wort.

The one major benefit of using the muslin, is that it will not be affected by the direct heat on the bottom of your pot. Any nylon will melt or stick to the pot even though it's sitting in water.

The drawback is that you need to be really good at keeping the bag clean after and before use. The hop sock I made and forgot to wash straight after use was buggered in a couple of days and had to be thrown out.

[Reviled]

I probably wouldnt reccommend muslin as even tho its doubled over youre still going to get alot of protein and possibly even some husk and grain material into the wort, making for some really cloudy wort...

Polyester or nylon is best, and to avoid really cloudy wort I wouldnt advocate squeezing the bag..

Allthough agree with you Simon that nylon or polyester can melt, but a cake rack or colinder or something similair on the bottom of the pot to avoid the bag touching the bottom will avoid this problem, and ive never had it melt or stick to the sides of the pot even when mashing out...

And with polyester/nylon you can just rinse all the grain straight off as its too fine for anything to clog into it...

[JackoNZ]

Couldn't find the swiss voile in the Wellington Spotlight so I picked mine up from Spotlight when I was in the Naki. A friend did a great job sewing it up for me and so far it's holding together well, usually with around 5KG of grain.

There is a post somewhere on the aussie homebrewer forum that has a pic of the label you want for the voile. I'll try dig it out if you want.

[Matthew]

I still use a chilly bin for my mash. I just got a cheap one from the warehouse and I find it keeps better temps than my pot. I just need some polystyrene for the top to help keep the temp even better.

Reviled, how do you sparge with your bag? Pour water through the bag or another pot for dunking? This is one part of my process I haven't quite got sorted yet.