Brew UK Forum | General Brewing Discussions
Brew In A Bag (BIAB)
I've done 4 extract brews now and I'm very pleased with the results. I'm told AG produces much better beers but I don't want to splash out on equipment to do it just yet. I did, however, buy a 28 litre boiler from Lidls that will boil a full brew at a push. I thought that maybe I could dip my toe into the world of AG by using the BIAB method.
Has anyone done this and are the results closer to those you get with AG? Also, where can I get a massive nylon bag?! 
Planning: PJ Clone
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I've never done boil in a bag, but you've nearly got all the stuff you need for full AG brewing.
You can make a mash tun for under £20 using a cool box, a plastic tap and some copper piping.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Yep I agree with Varnish, you may as well go down ag seeing as your only a cool box away!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
You don't need a mash tun if you use the BIAB method and from what I've heard it works fine. I not that familar with it but its really popular in the New Zealand/Australia.
I can't see why the beer you produce won't be as good as using a mash tun. There is a little bit more messing about as you need to transfer the hot wort into a container then back into the boiler which risks hot oxidation but should be okay if you are careful and avoid splashing as much as possible.
I'll have a look around and see if I can source you a grain bag.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Not sure if this is what your looking for but here goes.
I use the bag for my sparging & it works great!
I use a simple cooler box for the mash as normal (60min). I place the empty bag into the bucket tied around the rim. After the mash I tip all of the grain out of the cooler box into the bag & bucket...wait a few minutes for it to settle. Open the tap and re-circ the wort a few times then start to sparge with my jug. I do have to use a few of the bull dog clips I pinched from the office to hold the bag off the bottom of the bucket.
Here is where I got mine from.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350301041699
Couldnt be more simple, I got bogged down with all the traditional methods & science that it almost put me off brewing. I have had great results from this method, hence my hangover today!
Hope this helps & you take the plunge to AG
Im on my 3rd AG and can honestly say that I dont know what took me so long to convert from extract, you really can tell the difference.
Gareth
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Greg, sorry the link is a competitor of yours!
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
No worries Gazz. Ritchies are one of our main suppliers so I will get some in.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I've done a couple of bag brews .. works well .. but it's just not quite perfect. I had problems controlling temperature - but that was probably my set up here.
I'd go for the full AG as varnish & nath suggest - your results will be superior.
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Thanks for that feedback.
I've just wrapped my Lidls boiler with insulation and testing how well it retains the heat. I'm going to have a go with this so I'm interested in a big bag if you can get one Greg.I'm going to do the Discovery clone so I can compare with the extract version I've just brewed.
I'm looking at this as a big step towards AG but without the sparging.
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Tested the Lidls boiler as a mash tun with the new insulation and it's not brilliant. Dropped 8 degrees in a hour with just 6 litres of water. I think with the right quantity of water and a bag full of grains that it'll be somewhat better. I'll also wrap a towel around it. However, as it's a boiler I could probably leave it switched on during the mashing stage at a low setting to keep it ticking over. The boiler even comes with a rack that sits on the bottom so I can keep the bag and grains away from the direct heat.
I'm getting quite excited about this!
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Many people use fermentation vessles with insulation wrapped for mash tuns so Im sure when its full it will hold heat better. Remember though a cool box and a tap and a bit of copper pipe is all ya need if its not working out. Keep us posted!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
If you keep the element on whilst mashing you'll probably have the same problems I did with trying to maintain a constant temp. Give it a go but I would really plan for doing as nath says above. You can then use your boiler as an HLT or the boiler for your wort.
Nothing wrong with being excited.... we're all the same!
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I understand that I just need a cooler box to go proper AG but what appeals to me about this is that it's all done in one pot and, as far as I can see, you don't have to sparge. You just heat up water, chuck in the bag, then the grains, mash, lift the bag out (probably the most difficult bit) and let it drain. Then you're straight into a boil. All in the same pot.
Now lifting and holding 4kg of grains in a bag saturated with water is the challenge! I simply need a platform and a small winch or maybe a block and tackle with a sky hook, some heat resistant gloves, ........
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Greg
Are you going to be able to get hold of the bags? I'm holding off ordering the grains and water treatment until you can get some in.
Thanks
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Simon,
I'm really interested to find out how you get on with this. I've been thinking about AG brewing for quite a while but I can't justify the extra space required for the kit...
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Ian
I'll defo be doing this and will be taking pictures!
Just waiting to see if Greg's going to get some big bags and then I'll be ordering the grains.
I'm still struggling a bit with Beersmith to get the water volume correct so it may be a bit hit and miss.
Watch this space!
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Hi Simon, just waiting for confirmation from the wholesalers if they are available and they have been out of stock for some time. I'll come back to you this morning.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Greg
Any joy with the bags?
I'm so excited and just can't hide it. No, no, no, no, no! I'm about to brew in a bag and I think I'll like it!
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Hi Simon, no I'm afraid not. They are out of stock at Ritchies.
I will get some in when they are back in stock but you'll have to order elsewhere in the meantime.
Regards
Greg.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
No probs Greg. Thanks for trying.
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I did a bit of prep in anticipation of the BIAB brew. I wanted to find out how much water I could get in the boiler with 5kg of grain without flooding the kitchen!
First, here's the insulated boiler. It's marketed as a Jam Boiler but looks a dead ringer for the Brewferm boiler:
Comes with a rack at the bottom so I can keep the bag off the hot bit:
So I filled 5 zip lock bags with a litre of water each so they are roughly 1Kg each. Filled the boiler with 23 litres of water and then dropped in the bags on-by-one. Unfortunately, I can only get about 19.5 litres of water with 5kg with safety margin. So will have to top up to 22 litres after the mash to leave me 19 litres for the FV.
So I thought instead of topping up with plain water, I'd dump the bag in a FV and kind of sparge with the extra water I need and then put it back in the boiler. I'm guessing it's better than just adding water.
Anyway it's better to find these things out with 23 litres of cold water!
Also, I discovered that I can't pick up a boiler with 19 litres of water in it when it's sat on the Kitchen draining board. Out with my trusted wooden Ikea side table methinks.
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Looks like one of those funnt aliens from the 70's dr.who.
I LIKE IT!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Nath
If only I had their budget!
I was thinking it was more like those daft robots in that 80s film Black Hole:
Separated at birth?
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
lol - Twins for sure!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Got hold of one of those Ritchie Mashing and Sparging bags. Although the sides are a very fine meshed material, the base is much, much coarser mesh. I guess this is not the right bag for the job. So, I took it to the local fabric shop and asked a bewildered assistant whether they could make a voile version of the the afore mentioned bag? Serious blank look and a definite no! Although she did point me in the direction of another shop across the road. (No shortage of places to get your curtain run up around here!)
Same response in the other shop. Too difficult, go away.
So I've just bought some voile and, no I'm not going to sew my own, I'm just going to loosely line the bag with the voile which should do the trick.
Looking forwards, I may just ask for one of them to make a pillowcase out of voile with nylon thread. They might be able to get their head around that!
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Found some proper bags on fleabay:
Huge Sparge Bags
Fermenting:
Condtioning: Twibute Clone
Drinking: 100% wheat, Fixby Gold
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