Anyone ever try doing an all grain batch using the brew in a bag method? I'm thinking about trying it for my next batch.
Brew in a bag
- Thread starter Off_contstantly
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Well I do all grain for all my batches now but I'm not really familiar with the "brew in a bag" method. You have a link to it or can you explain at all? All grain really isnt bad using an insulated cooler as a mash tun.
Brew in a bag method is taking a big mesh bag and filling it with your mashing grains.. then you "steep" it like a giant tea bag in the strike water to mash it... It works, I use it for oatmeal stouts sometimes when I need the convenience of lifting a bag out to remove the grains rather than hassling with lautering. The pros is convenience and speeding up brew day.
The cons to this method is efficiency, you're going to maybe have around 40-60% tops efficiency in extracting all the sugars the grains offer, so if you are to mash 2lbs of something but want to brew in a bag, you'll want to up your 2lbs to something like 3 or 4 to make up for the lost efficiency.
If you can get a big enough bag that lets all the grains float freely and you break up all the doughballs you could get around 70% efficiency and maybe a little more depending on how well you rinse out the bag with sparge water.
Cheers!
The cons to this method is efficiency, you're going to maybe have around 40-60% tops efficiency in extracting all the sugars the grains offer, so if you are to mash 2lbs of something but want to brew in a bag, you'll want to up your 2lbs to something like 3 or 4 to make up for the lost efficiency.
If you can get a big enough bag that lets all the grains float freely and you break up all the doughballs you could get around 70% efficiency and maybe a little more depending on how well you rinse out the bag with sparge water.
Cheers!
That's exactly it. I'm wanting to do a hefeweizen for my next batch and I'm thinking about making the jump from extract to either partial mash or all-grain, so I'm looking at the different ways to do all of this.
If you can get a bag big enough to stir in then I'd say go for it. Those dough balls that (the man formerly known as)Alpha mentioned can be a pain....Make sure you sparge really well though, and take it slow because that's where you really make up your efficiency (assuming you hit your mash temp!)
I have done something similar to this with a partial mash, but I only tried it once or twice and didnt really bother with calculating efficency since I was adding malt extract as well. You'll probably be fine, give it a shot!
I have done something similar to this with a partial mash, but I only tried it once or twice and didnt really bother with calculating efficency since I was adding malt extract as well. You'll probably be fine, give it a shot!
I'm probably going to do a partial like this first, and then do a standard all-grain process. I've got nothing but time.
Have to hide from the creepies!
Hey Off, you may want to consider batch sparging. Granted you will still take a small hit to your efficiency it wouldn't be nearly as detrimental as the mesh bag method. You could even get a couple "ale pales" and take a small drill bit I think maybe a 1/8" bit? and drill a crapload of tiny holes in the bottom of one of the buckets, stack them together and when you are done with your mash you can transfer to this bucket combination. Pour in half your sparge water and stir really well, allow to settle for a minute or so and then start running off the wort into your boil kettle from the second bucket. Repeat with the second half of your sparge water and you are good to go. This will filter out the grains just fine, and it's still quicker than lautering. Unfortunately you have to destroy an ale pale, but it's in the name of science.
The only reason I stress over efficiency is because it comes down to cost.. less efficiency = more money spent on grains. If you are doing partial mash the mesh bag method is the way to go (for me) since you will be adding extract anyways to make up a majority of your fermentables. Generally when I do partial mash like this, I'll throw in a pound of rice solids to thin out the beer since using a lot of DME gives the beer a weird mouthfeel I'm not sure I'm totally kosher with.
...not jewish just jew-curious.
I've got a friend that does the double ale pale method for his all grain brews. I would imagine that will be the way I go as well.
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