From BIAB to using a Mash Tun

[therealrendo]

Fairly new to this all grain brewing but i've completed #2BIAB and would like some advice on a mash tun

at this stage i'm only making 10l batches at a time, but i feel that the bags that i'm using for biab are to compact to get a good mixture of the water and grain. i use two bags in the pot, and #2brew ended up with one of these bags having some dry grain in it, so i'm looking for a better way to get a good mash.
I've now bought a 24l coolbox to use as a mash tun, but rather than fit a tap and filter to the bottom, i'm wondering whether i could make a bigger 'bag' that fits nicely into the coolbox and do a biab as normal, and then syphon of the liquor into the boiler. Any problems doing it this way. i will probably fit a tap and filter to the coolbox eventually, but i'm wondering if this would be a good progression step.

[AdyG]

I don't see any problem with this. Would you still be doing 10l batches or are you looking to upscale at all? You could mash in the cool box with the hot water then tip it all back into the boiler.

I use a 40l boiler with a the grain sack from BrewUK and end up with 23l brews as a standard size to give you an idea of batch size and scale.

[Brewtaster]

Interesting thought but surely just leaving it in the sack in the boile is much the same. I give mine a good stir every 10 minutes or so and keep an eye on the temp. So far so good. In fact dare I say it I'm an equipment hoarder but BIAB has gone so well I'm thinking of dumping loads of "stuff" I have accumulated and adopting the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!). All the same please keep us posted - we can all learn some more!

[Redimpz]

There will be no problem with this. I started off mashing in my 15l boiling pot but soon worked out that it would be better in my old cool box, I use a sheet of nylon net curtain which overhangs the sides by a bit. I mash on the floor and tip the wort into the boiling pot. I also sparge out at least twice to get all the good stuff out, this is the "maxi" BIAB method. using this method I can make a 23l brew and there is more room to mash compared with mashing in the boiling pan. At the moment I end up with 4 pans on the stove all boiling away which is a bit of a game but I plan to get a boiler soon.

[aamcle]

I tried Biab but found it messy even brewing just 15 litres.

A Brutus 20 build might interest you :- http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/counter ... -a-131411/

It's sort of a two vessel Biab designed to be clean and tidy around the house.

I'm just waiting for a few final parts to arrive then I'll finish building mine.


Atb. Aamcle

[malachy]

I mash in a 32L cooler with Voile bag I just use the outlet that came with cooler and rigged syphon tube into it. Sort of semi biab. I sparge over bag. Averaging 75% efficiancy generally brew 23L final wort oops meant around 70%

[Cpt.Frederickson]

Buffalo boiler (I use the 30l, many use the 40l. Whatever is your preference) purchased from ebay via Nisbets. Tap, fittings and copper pipe from BES. Build hop strainer, install new tap (see here for guidance). Purchase voile bag, EoinMag's wife produces excellent quality custom bags. Job done.
I started off doing miniBIAB in an 11ltr stock pot, producing 3 batches of decent beer. AG#13 on this setup is currently fermenting and there is now way I'd change now. I would only consider 3V if I went pro, and I'd have to win the lottery first!
There's nothing wrong with what you're doing, but I hear so many people saying similar things and then realising month's later that they regret the purchase and that they wish they'd just upgraded to a full volume BIAB setup.
Good luck with it, but I recommend seriously considering how you want yor setup to be in the long run and committing to it. Will cost you a lot less in the long run.