Brew bag in a mashtun?

Tim Stackhouse

Tim Stackhouse

South Jersey FC Member
Anyone have any thoughts/experience using a BIAB bag in a mashtun cooler? I just got a pair of coolers, one with a false bottom and a sparge arm from someone I work with and was wondering if I could get away with using my brew bag to speed cleanup?
 
Wouldn't you have more to clean up? The bag and the cooler.. If you have a mash tun and want to use it, no need for the bag.
 
Blake Butler said:
[post]1369[/post] Wouldn't you have more to clean up? The bag and the cooler.. If you have a mash tun and want to use it, no need for the bag.
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That was what I was wondering, would it make sense so do it, would it really help the cleanup? Just thinking less gunk in the mashtun to clean out.
 
I would think the bag is always more a pain to clean up than a cooler, but that's probably a more personal/subjective question.
 
Blake Butler said:
[post]1372[/post] I would think the bag is always more a pain to clean up than a cooler, but that's probably a more personal/subjective question.
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That was what I was thinking too, the bag is great, but it is a PIA to clean well, and adding the cooler on top of that...
 
I use a Brew Bag in my 10 gallon cooler. I love it. Bag is not hard to clean, and more importantly, NO STUCK SPARGES EVER! I use it on top of my false bottom during a RIMS setup, and when the pump starts to slow due to grain bed compressing, I just gently lift up on the bag, and bam! No more issues. The 2 minutes I need to clean the bag is worth never having a sparge problem.
 
Dan_Ell_Wang_Er said:
[post]1381[/post] I use a Brew Bag in my 10 gallon cooler. I love it. Bag is not hard to clean, and more importantly, NO STUCK SPARGES EVER! I use it on top of my false bottom during a RIMS setup, and when the pump starts to slow due to grain bed compressing, I just gently lift up on the bag, and bam! No more issues. The 2 minutes I need to clean the bag is worth never having a sparge problem.
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Hmmm, interesting. I've only got a few mash tun brews behind me so far, and this might be a help for me. I also use a RIMS and not happy with the flow I can get, and can't use the recirc manifold (for biab rims) I made due to clogging. This just might help with my efficiency as well. I can't seem to get out of the low 70's.
Dan, do you have a thermometer in your mash tun? I just bought the through hole fitting from brewhardware.com, and was planning to install. I suspect the thermometer tip may pierce the bag even if blunt.
 
No, I have a Blichmann Tower of Power and RIMS Rocket setup I'm using now. The Thermometer probe is on the manifold for the Rocket.
 
That's exactly what I do - BIAB in a cooler as a mash tun when doing 5 gallon batches with batch sparge. In terms of clean up I just rinse the bag and once in a while soak in pbw. Not much effort relatively speaking.

For 10 Gallons I go the route of the Blichmann 20 gallon kettle with false bottom and sparge arm.

The bag makes it so easy. And I can crush pretty fine. No stuck sparge. I can collect wort valve wide open. After the mash time is up, and I confirmed the conversion, I put the sparge water in and let sit 10 minutes. I stir then collect my wort.

Edit - I do not have a temp probe in the cooler.
 
Good to know! May have to try that out, though I still like the idea of doing a vorlauf if only to improve clarity.
 
Tim Stackhouse said:
[post]1463[/post] Good to know! May have to try that out, though I still like the idea of doing a vorlauf if only to improve clarity.
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I don't think you have to worry vorlaufing with BIAB. The bag is giving you a more fine screen IMO than a grain bed will give you. Seriously, after my 10 minutes of letting the grains sit in the apathetic water (167-175F) I let that wort drain out at full throttle. I just don't see the need for vorlaufing. I, like Dan mentioned, will lift the bag slightly if the wort slows down when collecting wort. The bag is doing what the set grain bag (with vorlaufing) does.
 
No reason not to vorlauf. The bag does a good job on its own, but it's definitely clearer with a little recirculation. I did a 10 gallon batch today (batch sparge) and collected 6 gallons of first runnings...they were so clear I could see the bottom of my kettle.
 
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