96 replies to this topic

[denny]

Seems a bit pointless when you are actively aerating the wort as it drips from the bag, or recirculating by spraying wort over the grain like some all-in-ones. If hot side O2 is bad, how do the beers not have problems? Or do you just have to drink fast?

Go read about mash oxidation. It's different than what people typically think of as HSA. No decent all in one should spray wort over the grain. How do you know the beers don't have problems that you may not be aware of?

[Patrick C.]

Maybe they have problems, but you need something more sophisticated than a human nose to detect them?  I've read a fair amount, including the brulosophy short and long term experiments, and found comments from many learned people saying things like "That leads me to conclude that mash oxidation is not an issue in the first place." 

 

I'm not going to hook up a sparge sprayer, and in fact am planning to go the other way- adding a tube to the recirc line so that the end is submerged in the mash.  I've only got two batches on my Anvil, and so far so good.

[denny]

Maybe they have problems, but you need something more sophisticated than a human nose to detect them?  I've read a fair amount, including the brulosophy short and long term experiments, and found comments from many learned people saying things like "That leads me to conclude that mash oxidation is not an issue in the first place." 

 

I'm not going to hook up a sparge sprayer, and in fact am planning to go the other way- adding a tube to the recirc line so that the end is submerged in the mash.  I've only got two batches on my Anvil, and so far so good.

Maybe they're looking for the wrong thing? The symptoms aren't what you're used to thinking of for HSA. One of the main effects is a reduced malt character.  Many, many breweries take great pains to avoid it.  Sierra Nevada, among many others, even de aerate their mash water to limit or avoid mash oxidation.

 

And while I respect Brulosophy's experiments (hey, I was doing them them for years before them), neither theirs, mine, nor any homebrewer's should be taken as a scientific conclusion. They are all data points to be built on with further testing.

[positiveContact]

Maybe they're looking for the wrong thing? The symptoms aren't what you're used to thinking of for HSA. One of the main effects is a reduced malt character.  Many, many breweries take great pains to avoid it.  Sierra Nevada, among many others, even de aerate their mash water to limit or avoid mash oxidation.

 

And while I respect Brulosophy's experiments (hey, I was doing them them for years before them), neither theirs, mine, nor any homebrewer's should be taken as a scientific conclusion. They are all data points to be built on with further testing.

 

people have told me my beers have a lot of malt character so I guess I've avoided it enough???

[positiveContact]

Just mashed in. I'm doing no sparge on this batch. I won't be boiling in the same vessel though so the purists might poo poo me.

[Gusso]

Just mashed in. I'm doing no sparge on this batch. I won't be boiling in the same vessel though so the purists might poo poo me.

Sounds like the way I do it. I mash (no sparge) with the BIAB in my 10 gallon Igloo and transfer to my kettle.

[positiveContact]

Same basic idea, yeup!

[positiveContact]

Any general tips for cleaning the bag after?

I don't have a sprayer in my sink in the garage but I can attach some tubing to the faucet.

I think they do. I hose it off and let dry and shake any particles left once dry. Eazy Peazy

Maybe this will easier than I think. I bet this bag cleans up easier because the weave is tighter.

Edited by positiveContact, 04 March 2023 - 08:12 AM.

[positiveContact]

So that overall went very smoothly. The grain only raised the bag a little but if I closed the bag up Santa style I could have raised it at least another foot I think.

[positiveContact]

Rookie mistake I didn't adjust absorption numbers in my spreadsheet! Next time!

[positiveContact]

Another thing to note is this probably saved me about an hour because I was able to drain so much faster.

[zymot]

Dump as much of the grain as you can out the bag.

Then turn the bag so the extra grain is on the inside.

Hose down the bag on the inside, move as much of the off the side and into the bottom of the bag.

Turn bag inside out, dump and shake grain off bag.

Hose down bag from inside out with grains on the outside.

This us what I do to minimize wet grains all over the place. If you have a place where you can turn the bag inside out, dump the grains Willy nilly, and then hose down the bag, go for it.

I do not wash the bag beyond getting excess grain off the bag. I see no point.

[Gusso]

I just spray down with the hose. Nothing to it.

[positiveContact]

Didn't take much to clean although doing it outside with a hose might be easier. Perhaps in the warmer months I'll try that.

[positiveContact]

So here is my review...

 

First, the equipment itself.  I ordered the "Best Grand Slam" package from the link Drez posted earlier but here it is again: https://biabbags.webs.com/store ordering was no problem.  I put the order in and paid via paypal.  I then emailed the manufacturer my kettle dimensions and he even double checked that I did the measurements correctly which was nice.  The product shipped within a day or two of ordering I believe.  In any event it was quick so no complaints there.

 

If you make 10 gallon batches this pulley system seems rugged enough to do it.  15 gallon probably okay too.  20 gallon?  maybe?  I'm sure someone out there has tried it.  The bag itself is excellent quality and fits my kettle perfectly as you would expect since it's custom made.  The carabiners are a little cheap and the latch part has some sharp bits that like to snag on the drawstring of the bag as you take it in and out of the carabiner so watch out for that.  I wonder if I could sand those edges down?  I might try that because it kind of bugs me.  For 10 gallons I think buying the extra pulley is a good idea.

 

In terms of use this was a delight.  No more stuck runoffs, no more worrying if I set up the grain bed.  I think I saved at least an hour on my brew day compared to how I used to do things.  Yesterday I did a lower gravity beer 1.04x and my efficiency measured at the end of the boil was about 75%.  This was a no sparge beer.  I suspect with a sparge (which I can do with my setup) I can improve this number a little bit.  I'll actually have to sparge on larger beers just due to space limitations.

 

Dumping the grain was easier b/c I didn't have to lug both the grain and my kettle out to the compost bin.  Much nicer.

 

Cleanup was not challenging at all.  I rinsed as others described in this thread and then hung the bag from the pulley system to dry.

 

 

So overall I'm pretty annoyed at myself that I didn't do this years ago.  So many brew days could have been easier and nicer.   But I made it eventually at least

[denny]

people have told me my beers have a lot of malt character so I guess I've avoided it enough???

Maybe so.  But without trying to to compare there's no way to know.

[positiveContact]

Maybe so.  But without trying to to compare there's no way to know.

 

I can enjoy a good mystery.