brew bag question

[zman51]

Hey all,

I am going to use a brew bag in my cooler (mash tun). I have read that I may end of with more wort than usual due to wort draining out of bag when pulling it out of mash tun. Although in one way this is good, I guess it would also dilute the wort down some. Should I adjust my mash sparge water volumes to compensate for this?

thx

[denny]

I didn’t get any more wort than usual when I used a bag in my cooler.

[ultravista]

I squeeze as much wort out of the bag as possible. After the tun drains from the batch sparge, I sit the bag in a large mesh colander and let gravity have a go for a while. With a bit of prodding and pushing, I get another gallon out of the bag.

Because of this, I adjusted my Beersmith profile to have a BIAB grain absorption (.586) instead of all grain (.96). This nets me just the right amount of water & wort.

[BrewBama (Dwain)]

+1. I get more wort when I began lautering with a bag vs without. I attribute this to completely draining the bag with a colander vs a less disciplined drain without. I don’t squeeze.  I simply adjusted over time. It is very predictable now.

[denny]

@BrewBama

+1. I get more wort when I began lautering with a bag vs without. I attribute this to completely draining the bag with a colander vs a less disciplined drain without. I don’t squeeze.  I simply adjusted over time. It is very predictable now.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Maybe I was getting more wort of out my mash in the cooler and that’s why I don’t see a difference with the bag.

[jonhughey_att.net (HoosierBrew)]

I reduced my dead space down to zero (from just over a quart) by going to the bag. The bulkhead/valve conversion I used had the braid sitting a little higher than when using the mini keg bung and obviously left more wort behind… Regardless, I’m a big fan of the bag in cooler approach.

[alestateyall (tommymorris)]

I reduced my dead space down to zero (from just over a quart) by going to the bag. The bulkhead/valve conversion I used had the braid sitting a little higher than when using the mini keg bung and obviously left more wort behind… Regardless, I’m a big fan of the bag in cooler approach.

Do you sparge? I have gone no sparge lately since trying LODO. I have been doing no sparge BIAB in my kettle. I have thought about going back to batch sparge with a bag to get improved efficiency. But,  haven’t yet because that might introduce oxygen. Which may or may not be a problem preboil.

[jonhughey_att.net (HoosierBrew)]

@alestateyall

I reduced my dead space down to zero (from just over a quart) by going to the bag. The bulkhead/valve conversion I used had the braid sitting a little higher than when using the mini keg bung and obviously left more wort behind… Regardless, I’m a big fan of the bag in cooler approach.

Do you sparge? I have gone no sparge lately since trying LODO. I have been doing no sparge BIAB in my kettle. I have thought about going back to batch sparge with a bag to get improved efficiency. But,  haven’t yet because that might introduce oxygen. Which may or may not be a problem preboil.

No, I’m no sparging since the switch over, Tommy. I’m really happy with the results lately and like the direction things are going.

[alestateyall (tommymorris)]

@alestateyall

I reduced my dead space down to zero (from just over a quart) by going to the bag. The bulkhead/valve conversion I used had the braid sitting a little higher than when using the mini keg bung and obviously left more wort behind… Regardless, I’m a big fan of the bag in cooler approach.

Do you sparge? I have gone no sparge lately since trying LODO. I have been doing no sparge BIAB in my kettle. I have thought about going back to batch sparge with a bag to get improved efficiency. But,  haven’t yet because that might introduce oxygen. Which may or may not be a problem preboil.

No, I’m no sparging since the switch over, Tommy. I’m really happy with the results lately and like the direction things are going.

Me, too. I get 70-71% efficiency since switching versus 80% before. I have to remind myself efficiency is not a score. It’s the taste of the beer that matters.

[zman51]

good info, thanks everyone.