A lot of my friends on this forum advocated BIAB, so I tried it. It works well. I get the same extraction efficiency as with my tun and can knock out a 5 gallon batch in 4 hrs. If I learned this way first I probably would never have done it differently. I have some recipes that I split my mash by percentages and make two five gallon beers that are completely different and for that I will use my tun. But other than that what are the benefits of a tun?
LOL!!! As a newbie, I asked this question on here and another forum a while back, and on the other forum was treated like a Troll and shunned!!! :lol:
…the gist of all the responses I got on here was: “6 in one, a half dozen in the other” if you’re doing “smaller” batches. Just get your wort. It was all personal preference.
For those doing large batches, however, the BIAB starts to become a little limiting based on the size of the grain bill.
For me, the benefit is that it’s easier to use than a bag. I find a wet, heavy, hot bag a PITA to deal with. BTW, using my cooler tun, I can also knock out a batch in 4 hours.
I had a house guest last week and he was a brewer. I gave him a tasting of my beer which he exclaimed were much better than his. He started talking about step mashes and fly sparging.when I told him I single infuse and batch sparge and sometimes biab he thought I was joking. He said its hard to find six or seven hours to brew I told him I can tuck in a biab batch in four hrs. Then he started calling BS. He then said after he learns the process he’s going to try it.
For me, the benefit is that it’s easier to use than a bag. I find a wet, heavy, hot bag a PITA to deal with. BTW, using my cooler tun, I can also knock out a batch in 4 hours.[/quote]
+1 on Denny’s comments across the board. A high gravity five gallon batch can easily mean a big, wet, hot bag that weighs 25 pounds or more, not something I really care to deal with. Likewise, if I put my mind to it, a four hour brew time isn’t too tough at all with a cooler tun.
When I did my first high gravity BIAB beer I ran into the heavy, hot, difficult to sparge bag situation and mentioned it in a post and got the best piece of advice on BIAB from “this here” forum which was to use 2 or even 3 bags in the brew kettle to reduce the weight. Problem solved. Great forum!
Big beers and ten gallon batches I use the tun. But small batches I Pick up the grain bag and set it on a oven rack or strainer . No heavier than a pot with 6 gallons of wort. Who has done both?
I just did a 10 gallon batch BIAB a couple weeks ago. I have a pulley set up over my kettle so it was really no trouble to pull the bag and let it hang while I sparged.
I let the bag sit and cool/drain until I’m ready to dump it. I brew in the basement stair well and frankly taking the bag out to empty is easier then taking the cooler tun out to empty alone.
I know you do BIAB Danny and that’s one of the reasons I tried it. I was worried more about extraction than the weight of the bag. I was also worried about holding my temperature. Neither has been a problem. Any one who chills wort knows it’s hard to cool 5 gallons of hot liquid. I’m not advocating one over the other and I plan to continue both. I’m interested in opinions of people who tried BIAB after using the tun and what they thought.
I’ve done exactly the same recipes as BIAB and in my cooler tun. IMO, the tun won every time in terms of ease of use.
I’m just the opposite. Dealing with the mash tun is probably my least favorite part of brew day. It works just well enough that I don’t want to mess with it and make it worse, but I’m still just about ready to toss it under a semi by the end of the sparge.
I’m sure it’s user error, compounded by the fact that I’m using a corona-style mill, but between waiting for clear runnings (as in no chunks of grain, not clear wort), compacting grain beds, air bubbles forming in the outlet hose to the point of air-locking the sucker, etc., it’s really nice to just pull the mesh bag out of the cooler and let it drain in a colander over the pot.
I really should make myself do several batches in a row in the tun to get it figured out. The mesh bag in the cooler, by comparison, though is Just. So. Easy!
I love my mash tun. However, it’s also not feasible to use my mash tun with very small beers or small batches less than 6 pounds of grist. When I’ve tried, it doesn’t sparge properly due to exposed Bazooka / stainless hose. So now I’m pretty much forced to use BIAB, which is still very simple and easy for small batches like I do. But for anything more than 6-7 pounds grain, I go back to using my mash tun. So there’s advantages and disadvantages both ways. Efficiency stays about the same either way and is not a factor at all. I have no problem using the same recipes either way, just choosing BIAB or mash tun based on the size of the batch. If I were still making 5 gallon batches then I might have no use for BIAB. But it’s the best option, if not the ONLY one, for small batches.
Dave - completely agree with you. I go by grain weight, and not batch size. About 8# grain is the largest I’ve gone with modified BIAB, and adjust mash and sparge volume to either do a 3.5 or 5.5-gallon batch. Anything more than 8# grain goes in the mash tun, along with significant griping on my part.
Maybe this is why I love doing half batches so much?? :cheers:
This sounds like my experience for the most part as well and I don’t use a corona style mill. The only thing that seems to make it work smoothly is to increase my gap to the point where I’m getting 60% efficiency which totally sucks. I still deal with it but it is definitely the most frustrating part of my brew day.
I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoy your mash tun threads. Not just schadenfreude, but because it’s good to know that I’m not the only one out there that doesn’t seem to be able to operate a mash tun flawlessly! :mrgreen:
I’ve been toying with the idea of either upgrading to a proper grain mill, or getting a pump. I’m leaning towards the pump, because I’m not convinced that having a proper crush on the grain will take care of all the mash tun issues.
This sounds like my experience for the most part as well and I don’t use a corona style mill. The only thing that seems to make it work smoothly is to increase my gap to the point where I’m getting 60% efficiency which totally sucks. I still deal with it but it is definitely the most frustrating part of my brew day.[/quote]
Man, would I like to brew with you (or vice versa) and get that worked out. Mine has been so trouble free for so long that it always disturbs me to hear of other people’s problems.
[quote=“porkchop”]I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoy your mash tun threads. Not just schadenfreude, but because it’s good to know that I’m not the only one out there that doesn’t seem to be able to operate a mash tun flawlessly! :mrgreen:
I’ve been toying with the idea of either upgrading to a proper grain mill, or getting a pump. I’m leaning towards the pump, because I’m not convinced that having a proper crush on the grain will take care of all the mash tun issues.[/quote]
I think until you get your problems worked out that a pump will only exacerbate things.
[quote=“Denny”]
I think until you get your problems worked out that a pump will only exacerbate things.[/quote]
Probably very true. I think part of the problem I have is the elbow and fitting on the false bottom is just too small of an inner diameter and it tends to clog really easily with bits of grain that get through or under the false bottom. The last couple of times, though, I managed to clear the tube and had really clear wort, but the grain bed compacted to concrete. One of the batches I crushed the grain, but the other I bought it pre-crushed through NB, just to eliminate that variable.
I actually picked up a bazooka tube to replace the false bottom, but after reading a bunch of negative reviews of it I decided to use it as a screen for my boil kettle. I should bite the bullet and just try the stainless braid.
[quote=“porkchop”][quote=“Denny”]
I think until you get your problems worked out that a pump will only exacerbate things.[/quote]
Probably very true. I think part of the problem I have is the elbow and fitting on the false bottom is just too small of an inner diameter and it tends to clog really easily with bits of grain that get through or under the false bottom. The last couple of times, though, I managed to clear the tube and had really clear wort, but the grain bed compacted to concrete. One of the batches I crushed the grain, but the other I bought it pre-crushed through NB, just to eliminate that variable.
I actually picked up a bazooka tube to replace the false bottom, but after reading a bunch of negative reviews of it I decided to use it as a screen for my boil kettle. I should bite the bullet and just try the stainless braid.[/quote]
Yes, you should. It’s easy, inexpensive and has been foolproof for me. 17 years and 475 batches with the same braid and no problems…never had a stuck runoff and I average 83% efficiency. The one I use is Lasco brand (part number 10-0121 or 10-0321). A foot long is more than enough. Be sure to look at www.dennybrew.com for how to use it.
Sure, I’ll give it a shot! I’ve got a batch coming up in the next few weeks with a decent amount of rye that I’ve been dreading, so it’s as good a time as any to try something new. BTW, I’ve been referencing your site ever since I started AG last summer, so THANKS! :cheers:
