My brother-in-law just sent me this link by e-mail. I don’t do BIAB any more, but I know there are some here who do, so I thought this might be worth looking at for those people. I think it’s a possible gateway project for extract brewers who would like to go all-grain, but can’t or won’t commit the money for all the required equipment. Check it out.http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Tun … n-for-BIA/
Thanks Deliu. This looks like a great idea. For anybody like me who is looking into all-grain but doesn’t have the space or time, this is a great tip. I’ve been doing 5 gallon extracts, but I’m thinking of going to something like 3 gallon BIAB, which will save me space and the expense of a burner and bigger kettle.
Cheers,
Ron
This is pretty cool. I currently use reflective insulation, which works great, but this is a cool alternative. I could come up with a few reasons why not to switch to this foam method, but I’m definitely nitpicking here. The main reason and this is specific to me and my life, it would be one more thing to store. I live in a condo and god bless my wife, she lets me occupy a LOT of our storage space with brewing equipment, supplies, etc. I’d have a pretty big foam mold for my 10gal pot. Second and this would apply to anyone, I assume the foam would be tough to clean. Brewing can be a messy process. Spills, splashing, etc. The reflective insulation I use is easy to rinse off and dry. I guess you could just be extra careful around the foam, but I could definitely see some sticky sweat wort getting on there and being a major attraction for ants and other insects.
Again very cool, but with some caveats.
It is a neat idea, but I find the author’s initial assertion to be false.
“But this also means you can’t mash in ideal containers such as insulated coolers and the like, so keeping your mash temperature constant can be a challenge.”
Why can’t you mash in an insulated cooler? I consider my method to be BIAB and it consists of using a 5g cooler and a paint strainer bag. Strike water goes into the cooler, bag goes in the cooler, grains go in the bag. Stir everything and screw the cooler lid on. Once the mash process is over, dump the wort into the brew pot. Seems a lot easier than making a custom insulated container but to each their own!
Cool idea but I’ll stick with dropping an old sleeping bag over the kettle, burner and all. Works great for me. Seldom more than 1 degree drop over even a 90 minute mash on the coldest days.
[quote=“DaveSt”]It is a neat idea, but I find the author’s initial assertion to be false.
“But this also means you can’t mash in ideal containers such as insulated coolers and the like, so keeping your mash temperature constant can be a challenge.”
Why can’t you mash in an insulated cooler? I consider my method to be BIAB and it consists of using a 5g cooler and a paint strainer bag. Strike water goes into the cooler, bag goes in the cooler, grains go in the bag. Stir everything and screw the cooler lid on. Once the mash process is over, dump the wort into the brew pot. Seems a lot easier than making a custom insulated container but to each their own![/quote]I think most people who do the BIAB thing do it for the simplicity of only having to use one pot.
[quote=“Glug Master”][quote=“DaveSt”]It is a neat idea, but I find the author’s initial assertion to be false.
“But this also means you can’t mash in ideal containers such as insulated coolers and the like, so keeping your mash temperature constant can be a challenge.”
Why can’t you mash in an insulated cooler? I consider my method to be BIAB and it consists of using a 5g cooler and a paint strainer bag. Strike water goes into the cooler, bag goes in the cooler, grains go in the bag. Stir everything and screw the cooler lid on. Once the mash process is over, dump the wort into the brew pot. Seems a lot easier than making a custom insulated container but to each their own![/quote]I think most people who do the BIAB thing do it for the simplicity of only having to use one pot.[/quote]
I won’t disagree with that. At the same time I’m not sure I believe making a custom foam insulated “tun cosy” keeps things any simpler.
[quote=“DaveSt”]
I won’t disagree with that. At the same time I’m not sure I believe making a custom foam insulated “tun cosy” keeps things any simpler.[/quote]
Bingo! I don’t use a cooler because I just don’t have space to store any more equipment. If I had the room, I’d probably start using one. The reflective insulation I use takes up very little space. It actually stores right inside my mash/brew pot when I’m done. Again, this foam thingy idea is cool, but not very practical… at least for me and my setup.
