Just in case you're wondering I'm using the 12.5-in x 23-in bag. Also this method is not only for the anvil foundry I think it would work on any of the all-in-one brewing systems. Check out the links in the description for all the products I used! 👍🍻
Good observation I didn't realize it but the bag that they sent me was for using with the basket. It did work fine but there is a larger one that they sell that's for using without the basket. I don't know that that caused any particular issues for me but I would recommend the proper size bag for what you're doing. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers As a total novice, I appreciate you taking the time to run this test. It's shown how all-in-one brewing systems can be used without an overflow pipe and how this might dispense with the need for a special micro overflow pipe package when mashing smaller grain loads. This is the first vid I've seen on this topic and your confidence in the process has prompted me to get a bag for my as yet untried Brewster Beacon. Clearly, you don't mind displaying the hiccups when you explore an innovative approach, which of course, makes it all doubly informative and highly entertaining. It's all good. Again, many thanks.
Brian, I've been brewing with the Brew Bag without a pipe. My question is really about adding hops to the kettle. Did you have any problem with the pump clogging when dumping the hops pellets directly in? So far, I've been using hop spiders or Bags to hold my pellets during the boil or hop stand but I'm looking for a better answer. Would you recommend just dumping the pellets? Is there an upper limit to the amount of pellets to dump in? It looks like you caught some of the hops during your "whirlpool" by catching some from the outflow of your recirc hose but thats after material went through the pump. Give back to you: I used to squeeze the bag and no sparge. I have since improved my effeciencies by using a series of 3 food grade 5 gallon buckets (about $5 at Lowes). One bucket to catch the wort, one bucket with holes that I drilled. Let bag drain some then move into the bucket with holes. Sparge. Twist the top of the bag to the top/center of the grains and add another bucket to the top of that. I actually sit on the top bucket to get every drop out. Alt: cut the top off another 5 gal bucket (doesn't need to be food grade because it won't touch wort). to use as a spacer between the catch bucket and the holed bucket to allow for more wort without overflow problem.
I have recently done 2 batches in the malt pipe with the bag. I agree it does make some pretty clear wort. However, I am not getting great results. Seem to be lower efficiencies. Not hitting my gravity readings as well as I would like. Batch of Haze Craze I just brewed a few days ago was also a little low. IDK, Thinking of trying to lift the malt pipe a few times during the mash and see if this helps. I think without the pipe and with a bag would give you better results. I just think the dead space around the pipe is my factor for the lower efficiencies. Ideas? Comments?
This video is awesome. I was pondering about this forever. I have a brewers edge mash and boil with pump and I can tell you the malt pipe sucks with the pump it is hard to recirculate the mash because the malt pipe gets clogged very easily and it is very annoying. Hopefully if I try a bag recirculation will be better.
Thanks for this video. I have been using BiB with my anvil for two years. Never had a problem touching bottom, I used the lid clamps with the BiB tabs. Will use my ring next time just to see. Never a temp. problem. With BiB I double-crush grains and always squeeze the bag. Do you plan to try the steam condenser? I see you have a fan/hood. I brew outdoors from April to November but would like to set up in the basement for the North East cold months. I also use 220/240 set power after start of boil to 95 or less depending on outside weather.
I've always squeezed the bags grains and hops, in fact Mr Whipple was told not to squeeze the Charmin and he didn't listen. I would love to try a brew bag but you are right cost and lift and my anvil malt pipe works fine however I am sure in certain conditions the bag method works great.
I did this test when I first bought the braumeister. My BHE on the bag was about 81% without recirculating and the BM went down to 72% efficiency . I was surprised at the results. Great video mate, you really covered all the bases with questions that came to mind.👍🍻
Thanks Always great. I do not believe you mentioned but would you recommend using the basket with the bag just in case the method you described in hanging the back does not get executed properly to protect from the back hitting the heating element and causing a problem? thanks again
Sure you can use the bag with the basket. Many people are and having good results. The link in the description also has the bag for in the basket ad well. 👍🍻
I use the 400 micron brew rew bag in the malt pipe. I use a fine crush, about 0.3, but I do stir the the grain bed every 15 minutes during the mash. I step mash, ramping up from 145F to 153F in the first half hour, and then ramp up to 170F to mash out in the last 10 minutes. I normally mash longer than 60 minutes, more like 90 minutes. I always get a mash efficiency above 75%, and usually above 80% (using sparge method). Note that I also always use a carefully adjusted water profile, amylase enzyme, and a meticulously monitored mash pH as close to 5.2 as I can get, adjusting with lactic acid immediately after I dough in (the first 10-15 minutes of my mash are very busy and hands on); those factors all play an important role for hitting the mash efficiency target.
Brew bag is a great company. I’m not surprised you had a good experience. If you do biab of any kind it is worth inventing in their products. No other bag compares. Thanks for the honest review Brian. Cheers from out east.
Honestly I use the bag inside my malt pipe. It just seems to make my life easier and I don't anymore grains clogging up my pump (I use a Zyborg). I have not seen any change in my efficiency.
Same here. The malt pipe was the hardest part of cleanup until I started using this bag. The only part that doesn't work as well is the distribution plate for the pipe. It doesn't fit with the bag in the pipe. I just lay it on the top and push down a bit and it works fine.
I used the brewinabag all summer long with the anvil 10 gallon kettle and burner in my yard with great results. Glad to try it with the foundry at some point, although I need upgrade to a 240 volt.
Efficiency …don’t worry with BIAB just use a bit more grain to hit your OG, really it only a few extra $ or cents . I don’t recirculate any more just stir a few times . I’m 66 and been brewing all grain for years with herms,rims and three tier systems now BIAB I like the KISS system. Enjoy your videos never too old to learn.
My Foundry 10.5 is arriving tomorrow! Looking at all my recipes (british style real ale conditioned in polypin casks, OGs 1035-1060) and the grain loads are generally no more than 11lbs or so. I mill at my LHBS. I am wondering if I am going to be OK with just the malt pipe and small batch ring?
Great video Brian! I have the Spike Solo system and I was thinking about using a bag with the basket in place. The basket would serve to keep the bag off the element and would help for easy clean up. Question - If your using the BIAB method without a basket, and you burn the bottom of the nylon bag on the bottom of the kettle (propane or electric), is the beer still safe to drink?
When you used the hop sock, you put the hops in the boil loose and then recirculated through the sock to catch the hops? At what stage did you do this, during whirlpool, after, before chilling, etc? Have you done this before and why did you try it? Perhaps forming a whirlpool cone on the small bottom area isn't very effective? Thanks for the video!
I put the hops in the sock and dropped it in at 176f. The reason I put the hose in the sock is to circulate the wort through the hops. I found that bags sometimes don't allow good circulation of the wart through the hop so I circulated the work through the bag to make sure it came in contact with all the hops. It is very effective.👍🍻
Hey. I know this is completely out of left field and you may have mentioned it in your brewery build out, but what is the total sq footage of your brewery area including tasting room? And what are the largest size batches that you brew? I'm thinking of building a dedicated building for my home brewery and trying to decide minimum space required. Thanks.
The entire basement is aprox 20'x25' that's including mechanical area and the storage area. Brewery and tasting area would be aprox 325 sq ft. I can brew 10 gallon batches. I could brew 15 gallons if I wanted to push it to the limit of kettle capacity. 👍🍻
After the spill you hit your target volume number. Great job Bro. Great vidya Brain. Remember I am not dyslexic. Jaded has my chiller needs covered on Tuesday. 20 gallon brew easy is smoldering this next weekend. Cheers buddy.
Great video Brian. Had a question about your sparge method with the mash pipe. I've had the foundry now for a little over a year and still struggle with extracting enough sugar to hit target OG. My mill seems good, measured, and I sparge slow similar to your first foundry video. Wonder if you go in depth on your process in any other videos or could cover more in a future one. Thanks!
Is anyone experienced with using a brew bag inside of the malt pipe, and might have some notes on it? I find that the perforation of my malt pipe in the Brew monk 30L isn't sufficient to keep some adjuncts and finer milled grains out of the wort, but would be optimal to keep it in the pipe since I don't have a crank.
There are quite a few people that have used the brew bag inside of the basket. With good results. The only thing that I will tell you to be cautious about is if the handle ends protrude into the basket just be careful that it doesn't catch on the bag and tear it when you remove the bag. I can guarantee you that the bag will reduce if not eliminate the particulate that your experiencing. The link in the description will send you to the company that sells the bag that I'm using in the video. And if they don't have what you need they can custom make one for you. 👍🍻
Great video. I love my BrewBags both the standard one and the recirc version. Been using the bag for a few years now. Top notch product and customer service. I am vertically challenged so need to get a step stool out to unlock the rachet hoist. Cant wait to see what you did with that dryhop contraption you teased us with. Cheers dude
I really like my Anvil Foundry. I have the version with the ring, and malt pipe. I do get bits of grain in the wort and have thought about putting my brewbag inside the pipe to cut down on that. Right now I'm running the wort through my stainless hop basket. It's got a fairly fine mesh that gets all but the tiniest bits out. The bag would probably be better as it would filter prior to pump. Might save the pump a bit over the long haul. I would like to see a comparison of the cleanup required using the three approaches. Pipe only, pipe with bag, and bag only. Does having clearer wort pre boil stop the minor bit of scorching on the heating elements? I get a little scorching using the 110 setting and have wondered if not having the extra bits of grain would make things easier to clean.
The scorching is from recirculating too fast and having only a thin layer or wort over the element during mashing. If you hear any crackling or popping during the mash that is a pretty sure sign the wort over the element is too shallow. I've brewed with and without the bag and never get any scorching even using 240v. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I haven't heard any crackling or popping during the mash, and THOUGHT I had closed off the recirc line enough to keep a slow but steady recirculation going. I will try reducing it further on my next batch. I always figured the slight scorching (and I mean very slight, it comes off with a little scrubbing) happened during the boil step, not the mash step. I will have to try both reducing the recirculation rate, and adding a bag to limit the stray bits in the wort. (Just means I need to make more beer... :-))
I have a love-hate relationship with silicone tubing. On the one hand it's very nice to work with, very flexible and heat tolerant. On the other hand it tends to attack me every time it gets the chance or otherwise ruin my day. When pumping sanitizer solution through it for example the end of the tube always manages to be in a position where it splashes the solution on me or all over the table I am working at. Or, when filling the Grainfather with a silicone tube if I open too much pressure from the faucet the tube jumps out of the Grainfather and splashes water all over my floor.
Great video Brian. Did you say you left the power at 100% during the mash on 240v? I just got my 240 ready and was curious about that. Also what power setting seems to be optimal for the boil without boil over.
Brian, I wanted to reach out to you because I'm continually experiencing poor mash efficiencies using the Anvil Foundry and I don't know what else to do at this point. I've tried brewing with a brew bag in the malt pipe, with and without the small batch ring at the bottom of the malt pipe. I had a brew day this Saturday where I took the malt pipe out and used a brew bag directly in the kettle. I have a recirculating system that I run throughout the mash that I will shut off and stir the mash periodically throughout the mash. Since I'm using BIAB I've tried to finetune the crush on my grains to be finer. I've tried batch sparging, usually with a gallon of water and I've also tried adding rice hulls. The only other thing I can think to try is to sparge with more volume. It sounds like you have a lot of experience with this system so I'm hoping that you can provide some direction that could help my mash efficiency.
Well the first thing that I would ask you because you didn't talk about it at all is what is your crush, and what is your water profile namely pH. pH is probably one of the more important factors in mash efficiency next to the crush. In order for grain to properly convert it needs to be between 5.2 and 5.6 pH. Do you know what your pH of your mash is?
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I went through the most recent recipes I have saved on Brewfather and it looks like my mash pH about 5.3 on average. I had one brew with 5.2 and one with 5.4. It's typical for me to make pH adjustments with acid malt or lactic acid. If the indicator on my mill is accurate, my crush is between .04 and .05. I've tried setting the mill to a finer crush but it causes my mill to seize up for some reason.
@@EtherealPrelude do you have you water profile setup? Are you using distilled water? I usually recommend a .035 gap for best results. (Credit card gap)
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Yes, I used distilled water and make adjustments with the brewing salts to fit the beer style. I appreciate the tip on the crush thickness. I'll give it a go on my next brew. In your experience brewing on the Foundry, did you find that you had better mash efficiency using BIAB directly in the kettle or brewing using the malt pipe? It seems like I'm typically getting around 63-65% mash efficiency.
Another great video Brian - thanks for all the hard work making your videos. Gotta say though, on this one I’m not quite sure of the bag benefits. I’ve used several sizes of these bags through the years with igloo cooler, mashing in kettle via induction heating, and with 5500W element. Great results but I always found cleaning the bags hard to clean really well. They are outstanding quality though and I can highly recommend them, and their gloves and pulley. Moved to Arbor Fab basket with intent on it being easier to use and clean with 5500W kettle. Good efficiency but the bag was a little better. Basket was still hard to clean - I must be anal retentive but I don’t like any grains stuck in bag or mesh basket after thoroughly spraying with hose and the putting it back in kettle when recirculating hot PBW. I’ve use my Foundry 4 times now with just malt pipe and haven’t had any issues with stuck mash, scorching, etc. I do not use my riptide though; overkill for this system. Using the small Anvil pump which works well with system. The single vessel manufacturers design their systems to be used as-is, so if they don’t work as-intended they need us to send them feedback and do reviews. Just bought a Spike Solo basket for 5 gal batches. Should I expect issues with the slotted bottom similar to those mentioned about the foundry? Like our old school keggle false bottoms a quick spray with hose should clean most of debris, correct? Thanks again, and cheers mate!
I will tell you the Spike basket has been known to have some sticking issues. Watch how fine you grind and maybe throw in some rice hulls. I did a NEIPA in the spike basket with quite a bit of flaked adjuncts. Did not recirculate or drain well. I wished I had used some rice hulls. Thanks for the feedback Art! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Yes, no argument there. I use the Klarstein Fullhorn which works great as a BIAB, I recirculate the mash and batch sparge and I can get 80% efficiency but want to make bigger batches. A shame I can't get a 50 litre version without having to buy a all in one. Cheers
Hi Brian, Awesome videos. Thinking of adding a clawhammer supply spray kit to my anvil for recirculating. What do you think of this idea. Keep the great videos coming
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I made the exact same one as you did. in regards to your flow rate thru it. seemed like you had the flow going pretty fast. is this the case or should you slow it down like you would for the traditional style of using the anvil how it comes. I recently brewed a batch and my efficiencies were off. Trying to get better efficiencies. trying to eliminate as many issues as I can to get better numbers. Thanks again Brian, Keep up the great work!
@@Reptile36snakeman the flow worked fine for me especially with the bag. I recently brewed with the bag in the malt pipe and had good success with the same flow rate. 👍🍻
Great video Brian! We're looking at ways to increase efficiency as we haven't been even close to hitting our numbers so this may be an option. Cheers! - Nick
I recently tested this idea on my Brewzilla 35L because I wanted to try a high gravity brew. With the bag and false bottom, the dead space is reduced to 3 quarts. I didn't want to put the weight of the grains on the false bottom/burner so I attached it to the top of the kettle with a bungee cord. I mashed in 18 lbs 6 oz with 6.75 gallons, which pretty much maxed it out while keeping a thin, workable mash. I only stirred, no pump. I sparged by pouring over the bag in a big strainer. I got 70% efficiency and 1.081 OG. All in all it worked, but wasn't super easy and lifting the bag manually was difficult to say the least.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Mash efficiency just to clarify, not brewhouse. I was happy with it overall. I mashed in really well and stirred every 20 minutes. I actually sparged over a bucket because my big strainer doesn't fit in the top of the Brewzilla. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for another great video, Brian. I use the same brew bag in my cooler mash tun and it is really great and will last a long time. I have never had that wicking problem. It's hard to see in the video, but the strapping should be on the outside so you don't collect grain under the straps. (Who knows if straps on the inside would cause the wicking.) I use a bungee cord to keep the bag from falling into the vessel -- binder clips remind me of my old day job. Loved the wort-splosion, not that I would know anything about brew day mishaps.
Great video Brian. I’m using a biab setup with the BrewZilla 35L as i have found if using the mash tun you need to account for about 10L of dead space. With biab I can easily brew 6-8kg batches. Keep the videos coming.
I mash like this, with a false bottom in my brewing system. My bag is made of heavy duty nylon and has a stainless steel ring sewed in the opening of the bag, that is just a litte larger than the opening of the brewing system. I lift the bag out and batch sparge in another kettle with heated spargewater. Efficiency is stable at 83-85%, and i do stir a lot.
I have one for my 10g Igloo mash tun and it is extremely well made. I use a bag for my BE Mash & Boil malt pipe. Wilser Bags are good as well and I believe are $32.00. I’ve never seen these go on sale. Keep in mind these are way better quality than a cheap paint strainer bag and they are the correct micron rating. Either maker is great about responding to emails.
Presently I am working on using a Unibrau as a BIAB system - I have done with and without the bag, although I have no numbers to compare to yet. I am working on the math to determine an extract efficiency (using only the amount of sugar extracted) - I find brewhouse efficiency isn't what I am really interested in. Eventually I am going to be trying to do some light sparges to compare to.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Generally, yes I do. But I am also working on my own. I am not terribly enthused about using software based around "gravity points". I am working on a setup that uses metric units and Plato (as % of sugar by weight) and seeing how that works out. One concern I have about the gravity point method is the non-linear relationship it has to % of sugar by weight - as evidenced by the comprehensive formula to convert Plato to s.g. whether or not this pans out is another thing. But I love math and beer - so I want to put them together. I also want to be able to write scripts that do the calculations for beer recipes in a way that others that are interested in the math can use and improve.
That wort does look nice! Personally I have not used a bag for years, for I find the malt pipe of my Robobrew does the job just fine. The bags are great for brewers moving into all grain.
Thanks, for another great video!! I guess your just going to have to mount security cameras in the brew area that way you can catch the brew day bloopers!!! 🍻
Am a bit curious watching your (as always) exellent video: In my recent brews (malt roughly 12-14 kilos/Brewzilla 65 liter), I've squeezed the grainbed with a potatoe masher after sparging trying to gain - the last litre I guess. Had a hunch that it'is not "exactely by the book", because this is actually the first time I've seen anyone else doing it. Saying it might be a myth, would you still advise not to do so when using a malt pipe ? I am still far away from determining if or in which way exactely THIS precidiour might have an affect on the taste of the beer Cheers from Norway !
It does not extract tannins from the grain. Tannins are extracted from a temperature interaction with the grain husks. (High temp) Squeezing or pressing on grains does not have any effect on it. Thanks for the feedback! Skol! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Thanks man & skål - I can see you've started learning norwegian now which is a good thing - cause I've just started asking my questions 😂
I didn't see an actual comparison of the bag to a malt pipe, just a pro/con of the bag itself. For those of us that have neither and are deciding which way to start off, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a bag vs a malt pipe?
I kinda covered it in the video. The basket has less capacity and the holes in the basket allow some particulate matter through. There isn't anything wrong with the basket. There are some benefits of the bag.👍🍻
I actually use those socket bags a lot, as filters, even when I transfer it for clarificación after fermentation, they are a very fine filter and very very economic, actually I do my own sock bags with the nylon used for courtains. Easy tonclean with warm water and easy to sanitize just in a solution of peracetic acid.
Hey Brian, awesome video! I just upped my foundry to 220 and I see in this video you set your estimated efficiency at 70 for yours. Do you set it for 70 when using the malt pipe? Also are you using BeerSmith?
Great to see a review on this Brian. I first bought a bag to go into the pipe from The Brew Bag and used it a couple times but saw others using a bag only. I liked the idea because the wort between the pipe and kettle seem to be somewhat stagnant. Ugh - found out The Brew Bag for inside the pipe was a little too small to fit the kettle. I bought the false bottom which to me seems easier than messing with clips and the dreaded ring. I tie a fishing line or SS wire so I can pull it out after the mash. I didn't want to spend another $50 on another The Brew Bag so I went with a less expensive Wisler bag. It doesn't seem as robust but has worked fine. At the end of the mash I use the ratcheting lift to pull the bag and let it drain. It's difficult to sparge these bags over the kettle so I hang the bag inside a 10 gallon Igloo round beverage cooler, pour the sparge water over it, then dunk it a few times, and squeeze it a bit. Hit my best mash efficiency yet doing this.
We have been doing it for along time yes but I’d be going out on a limb with no real proof to own it 🍻 I’m still 240v biab just built a new 30g unit I’ll show TH-cam soon.
Brian, If you put the bag in and drape the excess over the top of the kettle, then you can put the clips on, on top of the seams (i.e. nylon webbing). This will keep the bag open when you want to dump your grains and it will stop any wort from wicking up and over the top. I have never had the wicking problem. I do use a false bottom that seems like it was made for an Anvil Foundry 10.5. it's above the drain and sensor at the bottom of the kettle - if I find my receipt I'll add the vendor later. Lifting: I have a ladder that I happen to store in my basement where I brew. When ready to lift the bag, I slide the ladder over - above my Anvil. There is a hook hanging from the ladder that I attach my ratchet to. Lift/drain over the Anvil. When finished, I can remove the bag and slide the ladder back to its storage space. Or if you have your Anvil on a dolly (like you mentioned in the video) you can roll your Anvil to/from the lifting location. I hope this helps
I've been brewing in a bag (BIAB) for years with a 15.5gal keggle and use the Brew bag for the last few and love it. I find my efficiency does drop at that high of a grain bill but can combat it somewhat with stirring the mash every 10-15 mins.
I'm using Brew Bag with my cheap Klarstein kettle (close to Mash & Boil) and it came with a very simple malt pipe with just drilled holes in the bottom. I didn't like the malt pipe's filtering capability so I just started using the brew bag inside the malt pipe, bag fits perfectly and I can clamp it with 4 of those clamps you were using this video. I can close the lid nicely during the mash and in the end lift the whole malt pipe up. There is a weird second lid with a huge whole in the middle that you can use to drain the malt after lifting the pipe. I could add more holes to the sides of the pipe to help avoiding stuck sparges but so far has not been such an issue that I would have wanted to go that direction. Also just having a bag that I can gently squeeze in the end keeps my efficiency up. www.klarstein.fi/Kodinkoneet/Juoma-annostelijat/Keittokattila-Olut/Maischfest-kaeymisastia-5-osaa-1500-3000-W-25-l-LCD-kosketus-ruostumatonta-teraestae-25-Ltr.html
I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag on the outside of the malt pipe. It catches about a handful of fine particles that make it through every brew. Has no effect on the thermometer or element as long as it never runs dry. Costs 1-2$ and lasts a long time. The elastic holds it on the malt pipe no problem. Easy.
I also made a measuring stick for sparging since you can’t see the wort level with the pipe in. Slides right in down the side of the pipe and hit pre boil every time.
Great video Brian! I stopped using my brew basket because using a 20 gallon system the basket is very heavy when I brew a batch with 20 plus pounds of grain and you can't squeeze a basket lol. Cheers
Hitting 85% is amazing to me. Are you measuring BHE as target fermentor, which I think is more realistic? I usually have anywhere from .5 to 1 gallon of slop at the bottom of my foundry and that is at least a 10% kick in the teeth on my BHE. I use the brew bag in the malt pipe, but I also pulverize my grain to the point an amount is flour to get my preboil efficiency up...which does usually run about 80-85%. My BHE is typically mid 60's unless I hop strain everything.
Not your best video if I’m being honest, more an advert for the bag company than anything, far from impartial. And didn’t even answer the question posed by the thumb nail
The grain bag is nothing but a fix for a badly designed "malt pipe". In a properly designed system a grain basket will out perform a grain bag every time.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers 8 gallon kettle with a false bottom. I'm not sure why people buy these (inferior) commercial systems when they are so easy to DIY.
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Just in case you're wondering I'm using the 12.5-in x 23-in bag. Also this method is not only for the anvil foundry I think it would work on any of the all-in-one brewing systems. Check out the links in the description for all the products I used! 👍🍻
Timeline: 2.19 in the vid
Here, the bag looks as if it’s too small; might this have contributed to the bothers mentioned later?
Good observation I didn't realize it but the bag that they sent me was for using with the basket. It did work fine but there is a larger one that they sell that's for using without the basket. I don't know that that caused any particular issues for me but I would recommend the proper size bag for what you're doing. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers As a total novice, I appreciate you taking the time to run this test. It's shown how all-in-one brewing systems can be used without an overflow pipe and how this might dispense with the need for a special micro overflow pipe package when mashing smaller grain loads. This is the first vid I've seen on this topic and your confidence in the process has prompted me to get a bag for my as yet untried Brewster Beacon. Clearly, you don't mind displaying the hiccups when you explore an innovative approach, which of course, makes it all doubly informative and highly entertaining. It's all good. Again, many thanks.
@@BillyBobpeeps thanks man I just try to be real and show everything that goes on I'm glad you found it helpful. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers gday mate ... so are you saying that with that bag you were given, you should have used in on the inside of your malt pipe?
Brian, I've been brewing with the Brew Bag without a pipe. My question is really about adding hops to the kettle. Did you have any problem with the pump clogging when dumping the hops pellets directly in? So far, I've been using hop spiders or Bags to hold my pellets during the boil or hop stand but I'm looking for a better answer. Would you recommend just dumping the pellets? Is there an upper limit to the amount of pellets to dump in? It looks like you caught some of the hops during your "whirlpool" by catching some from the outflow of your recirc hose but thats after material went through the pump.
Give back to you: I used to squeeze the bag and no sparge. I have since improved my effeciencies by using a series of 3 food grade 5 gallon buckets (about $5 at Lowes). One bucket to catch the wort, one bucket with holes that I drilled. Let bag drain some then move into the bucket with holes. Sparge. Twist the top of the bag to the top/center of the grains and add another bucket to the top of that. I actually sit on the top bucket to get every drop out. Alt: cut the top off another 5 gal bucket (doesn't need to be food grade because it won't touch wort). to use as a spacer between the catch bucket and the holed bucket to allow for more wort without overflow problem.
You’re the man Brian. I’m always using your videos for help on my brew day. Thank you so much!
Welcome! 👍🍻
I use the same bag in the malt pipe and every batch comes out pretty much perfect! They make a really good product there!
Yeah my first time with the bag from them. Very good quality for sure! 👍🍻
I have recently done 2 batches in the malt pipe with the bag. I agree it does make some pretty clear wort. However, I am not getting great results. Seem to be lower efficiencies. Not hitting my gravity readings as well as I would like. Batch of Haze Craze I just brewed a few days ago was also a little low. IDK, Thinking of trying to lift the malt pipe a few times during the mash and see if this helps. I think without the pipe and with a bag would give you better results. I just think the dead space around the pipe is my factor for the lower efficiencies. Ideas? Comments?
This video is awesome. I was pondering about this forever. I have a brewers edge mash and boil with pump and I can tell you the malt pipe sucks with the pump it is hard to recirculate the mash because the malt pipe gets clogged very easily and it is very annoying. Hopefully if I try a bag recirculation will be better.
Love the ring idea, simple but seems very effective.
Yes it is.
Thanks for this video. I have been using BiB with my anvil for two years. Never had a problem touching bottom, I used the lid clamps with the BiB tabs. Will use my ring next time just to see. Never a temp. problem. With BiB I double-crush grains and always squeeze the bag. Do you plan to try the steam condenser? I see you have a fan/hood. I brew outdoors from April to November but would like to set up in the basement for the North East cold months. I also use 220/240 set power after start of boil to 95 or less depending on outside weather.
I've always squeezed the bags grains and hops, in fact Mr Whipple was told not to squeeze the Charmin and he didn't listen. I would love to try a brew bag but you are right cost and lift and my anvil malt pipe works fine however I am sure in certain conditions the bag method works great.
If I use a brew bag with a false bottom in the Foundry 6.5, can I fit more than 8 lbs? Any idea and if so how much more?
The bag is a great addition to any brew setup! The wicking maybe is from the closed lid? I have not had that issue with an open lid system.
Yeah the straps had to be wicking..lol
I did this test when I first bought the braumeister. My BHE on the bag was about 81% without recirculating and the BM went down to 72% efficiency . I was surprised at the results.
Great video mate, you really covered all the bases with questions that came to mind.👍🍻
Thanks Leo! 🍻👍
Thanks Always great. I do not believe you mentioned but would you recommend using the basket with the bag just in case the method you described in hanging the back does not get executed properly to protect from the back hitting the heating element and causing a problem? thanks again
Sure you can use the bag with the basket. Many people are and having good results. The link in the description also has the bag for in the basket ad well. 👍🍻
I use the 400 micron brew rew bag in the malt pipe. I use a fine crush, about 0.3, but I do stir the the grain bed every 15 minutes during the mash. I step mash, ramping up from 145F to 153F in the first half hour, and then ramp up to 170F to mash out in the last 10 minutes. I normally mash longer than 60 minutes, more like 90 minutes. I always get a mash efficiency above 75%, and usually above 80% (using sparge method). Note that I also always use a carefully adjusted water profile, amylase enzyme, and a meticulously monitored mash pH as close to 5.2 as I can get, adjusting with lactic acid immediately after I dough in (the first 10-15 minutes of my mash are very busy and hands on); those factors all play an important role for hitting the mash efficiency target.
Thanks for sharing those tips! 👍🍻
Hi Brian. Another great video! I have that problem with the wicking as well. I use a drawstring bag and I can't seem to stop it any which way.
Yeah isn't it weird!! I was in disbelief bat first.. but it really was. 👍🍻
Brew bag is a great company. I’m not surprised you had a good experience. If you do biab of any kind it is worth inventing in their products. No other bag compares. Thanks for the honest review Brian. Cheers from out east.
Cheers Scott! They do make good products worth investing in IMO. 👍🍻
Honestly I use the bag inside my malt pipe. It just seems to make my life easier and I don't anymore grains clogging up my pump (I use a Zyborg). I have not seen any change in my efficiency.
It definitely is easier to clean up and clearer wort. 👍🍻
Works great on my Mash & Boil. I clip it to the outside of the kettle so when I pour grains they don’t go down the side and clog my pump.
@@danc3693 nice! 👍🍻
Same here. The malt pipe was the hardest part of cleanup until I started using this bag. The only part that doesn't work as well is the distribution plate for the pipe. It doesn't fit with the bag in the pipe. I just lay it on the top and push down a bit and it works fine.
This is what I do as well.
If I use a bag with a false bottom in the Foundry 6.5, will that let you brew with more than 8 lbs?
The bag really doesn't increase capacity unless you leave out the malt pipe. But you might get a couple more lbs at most.
I used the brewinabag all summer long with the anvil 10 gallon kettle and burner in my yard with great results. Glad to try it with the foundry at some point, although I need upgrade to a 240 volt.
240v "This is the way"
Efficiency …don’t worry with BIAB just use a bit more grain to hit your OG, really it only a few extra $ or cents . I don’t recirculate any more just stir a few times . I’m 66 and been brewing all grain for years with herms,rims and three tier systems now BIAB I like the KISS system.
Enjoy your videos never too old to learn.
Thanks man!! Appreciate the feedback! 👍🍻
My Foundry 10.5 is arriving tomorrow! Looking at all my recipes (british style real ale conditioned in polypin casks, OGs 1035-1060) and the grain loads are generally no more than 11lbs or so. I mill at my LHBS. I am wondering if I am going to be OK with just the malt pipe and small batch ring?
Sure you should be fine.
Great video Brian! I have the Spike Solo system and I was thinking about using a bag with the basket in place. The basket would serve to keep the bag off the element and would help for easy clean up. Question - If your using the BIAB method without a basket, and you burn the bottom of the nylon bag on the bottom of the kettle (propane or electric), is the beer still safe to drink?
I can't really say if it's "safe" but it probably won't taste good.. lol 👍🍻
When you used the hop sock, you put the hops in the boil loose and then recirculated through the sock to catch the hops? At what stage did you do this, during whirlpool, after, before chilling, etc? Have you done this before and why did you try it? Perhaps forming a whirlpool cone on the small bottom area isn't very effective? Thanks for the video!
I put the hops in the sock and dropped it in at 176f. The reason I put the hose in the sock is to circulate the wort through the hops. I found that bags sometimes don't allow good circulation of the wart through the hop so I circulated the work through the bag to make sure it came in contact with all the hops. It is very effective.👍🍻
I mash in a ten gallon cooler with a brew bag from these guys. I mill my grains very fine and my efficiency is through the roof.
Nice! They do make very nice bags! 👍🍻
Good work. I use a painter's bag inside, and outside, the malt pipe on my Brewzilla's most times with great, and consistent, results.
Great tip!
Thank you Brian. Another great video. Cheers.
👍🍻
Do you have a link for your manifold, I don't think I saw it in the notes. Thanks, love of all your videos and so jealous of your electric brewery!!
Thanks man!!
Here is the link for the manifold
th-cam.com/video/SIJmvPSpWH0/w-d-xo.html
Never thought about using the bag to increase the amount of grains you can use...thanks for the info
👍🍻
Hey. I know this is completely out of left field and you may have mentioned it in your brewery build out, but what is the total sq footage of your brewery area including tasting room? And what are the largest size batches that you brew? I'm thinking of building a dedicated building for my home brewery and trying to decide minimum space required.
Thanks.
The entire basement is aprox 20'x25' that's including mechanical area and the storage area. Brewery and tasting area would be aprox 325 sq ft. I can brew 10 gallon batches. I could brew 15 gallons if I wanted to push it to the limit of kettle capacity. 👍🍻
After the spill you hit your target volume number. Great job Bro. Great vidya Brain. Remember I am not dyslexic. Jaded has my chiller needs covered on Tuesday. 20 gallon brew easy is smoldering this next weekend. Cheers buddy.
Lol thanks! 👍🍻
Great video Brian. Had a question about your sparge method with the mash pipe. I've had the foundry now for a little over a year and still struggle with extracting enough sugar to hit target OG. My mill seems good, measured, and I sparge slow similar to your first foundry video. Wonder if you go in depth on your process in any other videos or could cover more in a future one. Thanks!
I'll see what I can do! 👍🍻
Is anyone experienced with using a brew bag inside of the malt pipe, and might have some notes on it? I find that the perforation of my malt pipe in the Brew monk 30L isn't sufficient to keep some adjuncts and finer milled grains out of the wort, but would be optimal to keep it in the pipe since I don't have a crank.
There are quite a few people that have used the brew bag inside of the basket. With good results. The only thing that I will tell you to be cautious about is if the handle ends protrude into the basket just be careful that it doesn't catch on the bag and tear it when you remove the bag. I can guarantee you that the bag will reduce if not eliminate the particulate that your experiencing. The link in the description will send you to the company that sells the bag that I'm using in the video. And if they don't have what you need they can custom make one for you. 👍🍻
Great video. I love my BrewBags both the standard one and the recirc version. Been using the bag for a few years now. Top notch product and customer service. I am vertically challenged so need to get a step stool out to unlock the rachet hoist. Cant wait to see what you did with that dryhop contraption you teased us with. Cheers dude
Lol will do!! 👍🍻
I really like my Anvil Foundry. I have the version with the ring, and malt pipe. I do get bits of grain in the wort and have thought about putting my brewbag inside the pipe to cut down on that. Right now I'm running the wort through my stainless hop basket. It's got a fairly fine mesh that gets all but the tiniest bits out. The bag would probably be better as it would filter prior to pump. Might save the pump a bit over the long haul. I would like to see a comparison of the cleanup required using the three approaches. Pipe only, pipe with bag, and bag only. Does having clearer wort pre boil stop the minor bit of scorching on the heating elements? I get a little scorching using the 110 setting and have wondered if not having the extra bits of grain would make things easier to clean.
The scorching is from recirculating too fast and having only a thin layer or wort over the element during mashing. If you hear any crackling or popping during the mash that is a pretty sure sign the wort over the element is too shallow. I've brewed with and without the bag and never get any scorching even using 240v. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I haven't heard any crackling or popping during the mash, and THOUGHT I had closed off the recirc line enough to keep a slow but steady recirculation going. I will try reducing it further on my next batch. I always figured the slight scorching (and I mean very slight, it comes off with a little scrubbing) happened during the boil step, not the mash step. I will have to try both reducing the recirculation rate, and adding a bag to limit the stray bits in the wort. (Just means I need to make more beer... :-))
@@1947wdx aww you poor thing..lol let me know if it works for you!! Brew on!! 👍🍻
Would this method be better than using the small batch adapter for a 2.5 gal batch on the 10.5 gal system?
I think it "might" be. The bag has good circulation around the grain. I don't see why it wouldn't work. 👍🍻
I have a love-hate relationship with silicone tubing. On the one hand it's very nice to work with, very flexible and heat tolerant. On the other hand it tends to attack me every time it gets the chance or otherwise ruin my day. When pumping sanitizer solution through it for example the end of the tube always manages to be in a position where it splashes the solution on me or all over the table I am working at. Or, when filling the Grainfather with a silicone tube if I open too much pressure from the faucet the tube jumps out of the Grainfather and splashes water all over my floor.
Haha.. yeah I came up on the losing myself!! Lol 🍻👍
Great video Brian. Did you say you left the power at 100% during the mash on 240v? I just got my 240 ready and was curious about that. Also what power setting seems to be optimal for the boil without boil over.
80-90%
Just to throw my 2 cents in, I found 55% power while mashing and drop to 85% for a nice mellow boil.
@@saxonlights2872 yeah I normally run 50% for mash and about the same as you for boil. 👍🍻
Brian,
I wanted to reach out to you because I'm continually experiencing poor mash efficiencies using the Anvil Foundry and I don't know what else to do at this point. I've tried brewing with a brew bag in the malt pipe, with and without the small batch ring at the bottom of the malt pipe. I had a brew day this Saturday where I took the malt pipe out and used a brew bag directly in the kettle. I have a recirculating system that I run throughout the mash that I will shut off and stir the mash periodically throughout the mash. Since I'm using BIAB I've tried to finetune the crush on my grains to be finer. I've tried batch sparging, usually with a gallon of water and I've also tried adding rice hulls. The only other thing I can think to try is to sparge with more volume. It sounds like you have a lot of experience with this system so I'm hoping that you can provide some direction that could help my mash efficiency.
I am debating buying one currently and doing research. I look forward to his answer.
Well the first thing that I would ask you because you didn't talk about it at all is what is your crush, and what is your water profile namely pH. pH is probably one of the more important factors in mash efficiency next to the crush. In order for grain to properly convert it needs to be between 5.2 and 5.6 pH. Do you know what your pH of your mash is?
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I went through the most recent recipes I have saved on Brewfather and it looks like my mash pH about 5.3 on average. I had one brew with 5.2 and one with 5.4. It's typical for me to make pH adjustments with acid malt or lactic acid.
If the indicator on my mill is accurate, my crush is between .04 and .05. I've tried setting the mill to a finer crush but it causes my mill to seize up for some reason.
@@EtherealPrelude do you have you water profile setup? Are you using distilled water? I usually recommend a .035 gap for best results. (Credit card gap)
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Yes, I used distilled water and make adjustments with the brewing salts to fit the beer style. I appreciate the tip on the crush thickness. I'll give it a go on my next brew.
In your experience brewing on the Foundry, did you find that you had better mash efficiency using BIAB directly in the kettle or brewing using the malt pipe? It seems like I'm typically getting around 63-65% mash efficiency.
Another great video Brian - thanks for all the hard work making your videos. Gotta say though, on this one I’m not quite sure of the bag benefits. I’ve used several sizes of these bags through the years with igloo cooler, mashing in kettle via induction heating, and with 5500W element. Great results but I always found cleaning the bags hard to clean really well. They are outstanding quality though and I can highly recommend them, and their gloves and pulley.
Moved to Arbor Fab basket with intent on it being easier to use and clean with 5500W kettle. Good efficiency but the bag was a little better. Basket was still hard to clean - I must be anal retentive but I don’t like any grains stuck in bag or mesh basket after thoroughly spraying with hose and the putting it back in kettle when recirculating hot PBW.
I’ve use my Foundry 4 times now with just malt pipe and haven’t had any issues with stuck mash, scorching, etc. I do not use my riptide though; overkill for this system. Using the small Anvil pump which works well with system.
The single vessel manufacturers design their systems to be used as-is, so if they don’t work as-intended they need us to send them feedback and do reviews.
Just bought a Spike Solo basket for 5 gal batches. Should I expect issues with the slotted bottom similar to those mentioned about the foundry? Like our old school keggle false bottoms a quick spray with hose should clean most of debris, correct?
Thanks again, and cheers mate!
I will tell you the Spike basket has been known to have some sticking issues. Watch how fine you grind and maybe throw in some rice hulls. I did a NEIPA in the spike basket with quite a bit of flaked adjuncts. Did not recirculate or drain well. I wished I had used some rice hulls. Thanks for the feedback Art! 👍🍻
Did the bag lay on the bottom at all or Does it have to stay suspended above the bottom?
It was suspended above the bottom. 👍🍻
Newbie here, do you have to use a false bottom with a bag?
Not usually unless there are exposed elements.
Can you use brew in a bag to do 5 gallon with the 6.5 gallon and whole foundry want to do 5 gallons but I was told it’s going to be tricky
I doubt is. The volume is going to be the issue.
I'm using the brew bag with a 35L Digiboil with false bottom and it works great! It makes a cheap but efficient system that's easy to use and clean
Nice the digiboil is very low cost. What's the total you have in it $?
I was looking at the same with the digiboil, but does it hold a constant temperature during the mash?
@@SteveT__001 not as well as the Foundry.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Yes, no argument there. I use the Klarstein Fullhorn which works great as a BIAB, I recirculate the mash and batch sparge and I can get 80% efficiency but want to make bigger batches. A shame I can't get a 50 litre version without having to buy a all in one. Cheers
@@SteveT__001 👍🍻
I feel like the pipe cleans up easier than the bag. Washing those bags drive me nuts trying to get all the particles out. Is there a hack?
Wash it, let it dry, turn it inside out and shake the particles out (outside of course) 👍🍻
Hi Brian, Awesome videos. Thinking of adding a clawhammer supply spray kit to my anvil for recirculating. What do you think of this idea. Keep the great videos coming
Not a bad idea.... BUT... I just did a video on a solution that might be cheaper. 👍🍻 th-cam.com/video/4_M-NEOl8Bo/w-d-xo.html
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I made the exact same one as you did. in regards to your flow rate thru it. seemed like you had the flow going pretty fast. is this the case or should you slow it down like you would for the traditional style of using the anvil how it comes. I recently brewed a batch and my efficiencies were off. Trying to get better efficiencies. trying to eliminate as many issues as I can to get better numbers. Thanks again Brian, Keep up the great work!
@@Reptile36snakeman the flow worked fine for me especially with the bag. I recently brewed with the bag in the malt pipe and had good success with the same flow rate. 👍🍻
Great video Brian! We're looking at ways to increase efficiency as we haven't been even close to hitting our numbers so this may be an option. Cheers! - Nick
I was really impressed by how clear the wort turned out. With the extra space you could probably do a triple hazy!! Lol 👍🍻
What kind of gloves you using while squeezing the bag? Do you have an Amazon link? Great video thanks
Never mind I saw it in the video notes. Thanks
@@scottsteenburg 👍😁
I recently tested this idea on my Brewzilla 35L because I wanted to try a high gravity brew. With the bag and false bottom, the dead space is reduced to 3 quarts. I didn't want to put the weight of the grains on the false bottom/burner so I attached it to the top of the kettle with a bungee cord. I mashed in 18 lbs 6 oz with 6.75 gallons, which pretty much maxed it out while keeping a thin, workable mash. I only stirred, no pump. I sparged by pouring over the bag in a big strainer. I got 70% efficiency and 1.081 OG. All in all it worked, but wasn't super easy and lifting the bag manually was difficult to say the least.
Haha I bet that was an awkward process for sure! That efficiency is really good considering how much grain you used!!
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Mash efficiency just to clarify, not brewhouse. I was happy with it overall. I mashed in really well and stirred every 20 minutes. I actually sparged over a bucket because my big strainer doesn't fit in the top of the Brewzilla. Thanks for the video!
Ok.. that's still not bad all things considered! Thanks for the feedback! 👍🍻
Thanks for another great video, Brian. I use the same brew bag in my cooler mash tun and it is really great and will last a long time. I have never had that wicking problem. It's hard to see in the video, but the strapping should be on the outside so you don't collect grain under the straps. (Who knows if straps on the inside would cause the wicking.) I use a bungee cord to keep the bag from falling into the vessel -- binder clips remind me of my old day job. Loved the wort-splosion, not that I would know anything about brew day mishaps.
Haha right!! The wicking was really weird. I almost didn't believe it but it came back like 2 times?!! 👍🍻
Beautiful color!
Thanks!!
Great video Brian. I’m using a biab setup with the BrewZilla 35L as i have found if using the mash tun you need to account for about 10L of dead space. With biab I can easily brew 6-8kg batches. Keep the videos coming.
Thanks man I appreciate it! I think the bag is definitely a good option to increase the grain capacity!! 👍🍻
I use both. Bag for superior filtration, pipe for the structural support and ease of lifting.
Yep I've done both after this video works very well!
I mash like this, with a false bottom in my brewing system. My bag is made of heavy duty nylon and has a stainless steel ring sewed in the opening of the bag, that is just a litte larger than the opening of the brewing system. I lift the bag out and batch sparge in another kettle with heated spargewater. Efficiency is stable at 83-85%, and i do stir a lot.
Nice!! Sounds like you have it dialed in! 👍🍻
@BigHill do you have a LINK for that bag with stainless ring? Please :) Happy Brewing.
using a robobrew and went from 70% to 80% eff. by using a bag in it..the size bag you using is the perfect size for the robobrew
Nice!!
$46 for a big is a bit steep. Though if they come down or have a sale I may pick one up.
Yeah that was one of the cons.. I do think.ot will last a long time. Much longer than the generic L.D. Carlson bags for sure.
I have one for my 10g Igloo mash tun and it is extremely well made. I use a bag for my BE Mash & Boil malt pipe. Wilser Bags are good as well and I believe are $32.00. I’ve never seen these go on sale. Keep in mind these are way better quality than a cheap paint strainer bag and they are the correct micron rating. Either maker is great about responding to emails.
Good to know!
Presently I am working on using a Unibrau as a BIAB system - I have done with and without the bag, although I have no numbers to compare to yet. I am working on the math to determine an extract efficiency (using only the amount of sugar extracted) - I find brewhouse efficiency isn't what I am really interested in. Eventually I am going to be trying to do some light sparges to compare to.
Do you use brewing software? It will calculate everything for you. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Generally, yes I do. But I am also working on my own. I am not terribly enthused about using software based around "gravity points". I am working on a setup that uses metric units and Plato (as % of sugar by weight) and seeing how that works out. One concern I have about the gravity point method is the non-linear relationship it has to % of sugar by weight - as evidenced by the comprehensive formula to convert Plato to s.g. whether or not this pans out is another thing. But I love math and beer - so I want to put them together.
I also want to be able to write scripts that do the calculations for beer recipes in a way that others that are interested in the math can use and improve.
@@zzing fair enough!!
That wort does look nice! Personally I have not used a bag for years, for I find the malt pipe of my Robobrew does the job just fine. The bags are great for brewers moving into all grain.
Thanks! Yeah the basket does work fine. The only limitations I've had with them are having enough space for a big beer. 👍🍻
Moving into all grain ? Does anyone brew with extract anymore ?
Lots of people do.
Great job Brian !
Thanks Jon! 👍🍻
Are there any cons to using the bag inside for the malt pipe?
None at all. Lots of people do. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I wondered if this would reduce recirculation flow or something like that..
@@mbrady1182 I actually think it might help slightly since the grain won't be plugging the basket holes. Just a guess. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers thanks! Now I just need you to come by and setup a 240 outlet for me, don’t trust myself..
@@mbrady1182 I understand!! Let the pros handle it!! 👍🍻
Thanks, for another great video!! I guess your just going to have to mount security cameras in the brew area that way you can catch the brew day bloopers!!! 🍻
Haha right!! 👍🍻
Where do i install the false bottom that comes with my Anvil foundry?
The bottom of the malt pipe.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers That's what I thought. Seems like a super tight squeeze pushing it down
@@jonathanallenphotography that is where it goes. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Tha k you so much for the quick reply, and helpful videos!
Now if you brew in your kitchen the hoist is really going to piss off the wife.🤣
Haha.. just tell her you're installing a pot rack!! 😜👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers That's the ticket!🤣🤣
@@curtpick628 😁😁😂😂
Am a bit curious watching your (as always) exellent video: In my recent brews (malt roughly 12-14 kilos/Brewzilla 65 liter), I've squeezed the grainbed with a potatoe masher after sparging trying to gain - the last litre I guess. Had a hunch that it'is not "exactely by the book", because this is actually the first time I've seen anyone else doing it. Saying it might be a myth, would you still advise not to do so when using a malt pipe ? I am still far away from determining if or in which way exactely THIS precidiour might have an affect on the taste of the beer
Cheers from Norway !
It does not extract tannins from the grain. Tannins are extracted from a temperature interaction with the grain husks. (High temp) Squeezing or pressing on grains does not have any effect on it. Thanks for the feedback! Skol! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Thanks man & skål - I can see you've started learning norwegian now which is a good thing - cause I've just started asking my questions 😂
Ask away!
I just move to BIAB , the pro is faster sparging time as I SQUEEZE the bag, but the bag only last 3-4 brew as it tear quite easy.
You need a better bag. 👍🍻
My efficiency went up when I started just using the grain bag in the mash and boil instead of the malt pipe.
Nice!!
I didn't see an actual comparison of the bag to a malt pipe, just a pro/con of the bag itself. For those of us that have neither and are deciding which way to start off, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a bag vs a malt pipe?
I kinda covered it in the video. The basket has less capacity and the holes in the basket allow some particulate matter through. There isn't anything wrong with the basket. There are some benefits of the bag.👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Thanks. So the bag has an edge in outcome but with added effort (securing it, lifting it, squeezing it, etc)?
@@FoScoJo yeah that's a good synopsis! 🍻👍
I actually use those socket bags a lot, as filters, even when I transfer it for clarificación after fermentation, they are a very fine filter and very very economic, actually I do my own sock bags with the nylon used for courtains. Easy tonclean with warm water and easy to sanitize just in a solution of peracetic acid.
Good tip!! 👍🍻
The plug on the floor at 8:30 terrifies me. I'm sure that's on GFCI, but still!
Lol.. yep it's on a GFI 👍🍻
Hey Brian, awesome video! I just upped my foundry to 220 and I see in this video you set your estimated efficiency at 70 for yours. Do you set it for 70 when using the malt pipe? Also are you using BeerSmith?
Yeah I usually set untested recipes to 70% in the malt pipe too. I'm actually using brewfather. Much better software.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers thanks!
Great to see a review on this Brian. I first bought a bag to go into the pipe from The Brew Bag and used it a couple times but saw others using a bag only. I liked the idea because the wort between the pipe and kettle seem to be somewhat stagnant.
Ugh - found out The Brew Bag for inside the pipe was a little too small to fit the kettle. I bought the false bottom which to me seems easier than messing with clips and the dreaded ring. I tie a fishing line or SS wire so I can pull it out after the mash.
I didn't want to spend another $50 on another The Brew Bag so I went with a less expensive Wisler bag. It doesn't seem as robust but has worked fine.
At the end of the mash I use the ratcheting lift to pull the bag and let it drain. It's difficult to sparge these bags over the kettle so I hang the bag inside a 10 gallon Igloo round beverage cooler, pour the sparge water over it, then dunk it a few times, and squeeze it a bit. Hit my best mash efficiency yet doing this.
Cool! Sounds like it works. The Brew Bag is not the only bag in town
.lol but they make quality stuff for sure👍🍻
Nice one mate 👍🏼
Thanks Stephan!! BIAB originated down under didn't it?
We have been doing it for along time yes but I’d be going out on a limb with no real proof to own it 🍻
I’m still 240v biab just built a new 30g unit I’ll show TH-cam soon.
Oohhh nice!! I'm subscribed!!
Brian, If you put the bag in and drape the excess over the top of the kettle, then you can put the clips on, on top of the seams (i.e. nylon webbing). This will keep the bag open when you want to dump your grains and it will stop any wort from wicking up and over the top. I have never had the wicking problem. I do use a false bottom that seems like it was made for an Anvil Foundry 10.5. it's above the drain and sensor at the bottom of the kettle - if I find my receipt I'll add the vendor later. Lifting: I have a ladder that I happen to store in my basement where I brew. When ready to lift the bag, I slide the ladder over - above my Anvil. There is a hook hanging from the ladder that I attach my ratchet to. Lift/drain over the Anvil. When finished, I can remove the bag and slide the ladder back to its storage space. Or if you have your Anvil on a dolly (like you mentioned in the video) you can roll your Anvil to/from the lifting location. I hope this helps
Thanks! 👍🍻
Interest stuff Brian :)
Thanks David!! It was a fun experiment. I'm using the mixed fermentation method we talked about on this beer. 👍🍻
I've been brewing in a bag (BIAB) for years with a 15.5gal keggle and use the Brew bag for the last few and love it. I find my efficiency does drop at that high of a grain bill but can combat it somewhat with stirring the mash every 10-15 mins.
Nice! Thanks for the tip! 👍🍻
I'm using Brew Bag with my cheap Klarstein kettle (close to Mash & Boil) and it came with a very simple malt pipe with just drilled holes in the bottom.
I didn't like the malt pipe's filtering capability so I just started using the brew bag inside the malt pipe, bag fits perfectly and I can clamp it with 4 of those clamps you were using this video. I can close the lid nicely during the mash and in the end lift the whole malt pipe up. There is a weird second lid with a huge whole in the middle that you can use to drain the malt after lifting the pipe.
I could add more holes to the sides of the pipe to help avoiding stuck sparges but so far has not been such an issue that I would have wanted to go that direction. Also just having a bag that I can gently squeeze in the end keeps my efficiency up.
www.klarstein.fi/Kodinkoneet/Juoma-annostelijat/Keittokattila-Olut/Maischfest-kaeymisastia-5-osaa-1500-3000-W-25-l-LCD-kosketus-ruostumatonta-teraestae-25-Ltr.html
Sounds like it is working!
I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag on the outside of the malt pipe. It catches about a handful of fine particles that make it through every brew. Has no effect on the thermometer or element as long as it never runs dry. Costs 1-2$ and lasts a long time. The elastic holds it on the malt pipe no problem. Easy.
Whatever works! 👍🍻
I also made a measuring stick for sparging since you can’t see the wort level with the pipe in. Slides right in down the side of the pipe and hit pre boil every time.
Cool!
Great video Brian! I stopped using my brew basket because using a 20 gallon system the basket is very heavy when I brew a batch with 20 plus pounds of grain and you can't squeeze a basket lol. Cheers
Well you could.. lol getting it back into shape is the challenge! 👍🍻
Kegland make a false bottem for the anvil foundry
It actually doesn't fit very well with the position of the diptube. It sits at all angle not flat. 👍🍻
Woohoo! First! Great video!
Yay! Thank you!
Is it only me think about plastic particles from the bag in to the beer? Malt pipe have no plastic
Good question. I am not aware of any plastic from the bag? 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers microplastics I mean
Have you tried using a bag inside the malt pipe?
I haven't but others have and had success. 👍🍻
I always hit 80-85% BHE with just the Foundry's malt pipe and never felt the need to try a bag but this is interesting!
Awesome results David! This might be useful if you get into a situation where you're running out of space in the mall type for a big beer. 👍🍻
Hitting 85% is amazing to me. Are you measuring BHE as target fermentor, which I think is more realistic? I usually have anywhere from .5 to 1 gallon of slop at the bottom of my foundry and that is at least a 10% kick in the teeth on my BHE. I use the brew bag in the malt pipe, but I also pulverize my grain to the point an amount is flour to get my preboil efficiency up...which does usually run about 80-85%. My BHE is typically mid 60's unless I hop strain everything.
I use a bag in my brewzilla...
35l or 65l?
35 I'm just a small hobby guy. I actually consider that an ideal size for home stuff.
Yep! 👍🍻
FIRST! (sub'd too)
You're crazy!!! Hahaha Cheers Braj!! 🍻👍
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers oh yeah
False bottom + bag
Lol squiz thr bag ..... wow beginner
Lol
Not your best video if I’m being honest, more an advert for the bag company than anything, far from impartial. And didn’t even answer the question posed by the thumb nail
Thanks for the feedback.
The grain bag is nothing but a fix for a badly designed "malt pipe". In a properly designed system a grain basket will out perform a grain bag every time.
What system do you use? I'd be interested in hearing how it works. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Homebuilt all in one. It works great.
@@SomeTechGuy666 cool what are you using for a basket? I have a diy system with a bayou classic kettle and basket.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers 8 gallon kettle with a false bottom.
I'm not sure why people buy these (inferior) commercial systems when they are so easy to DIY.
@@SomeTechGuy666 yeah. Not everyone has the skills you and I do. Sounds like you have a good system! 👍🍻