Author: Marshall Schott

BIAB is becoming a method I use more often, not only because it cuts a bit of time out of my brew day, but also because it works really well! While people can certainly mash their grains using any appropriately sized grain bag, there are some definite benefits to utilizing a bag designed primarily for BIAB, the options of which continue to expand with the growing popularity of this simple approach.

I received an email awhile back from Rex, founder of Brew In A Bag Supplies, asking if I might be interested in reviewing one of his BIAB bags, which of course I was. I received the bag in the mail about a week later with plans to use it for an upcoming exBEERiment batch.

Unlike the cheap grain bags I’d used in the past, The Brew Bag is made of a very fine mesh and includes 4 nylon strap handles to make lifting it out of the mash tun easier. The seams are sewn in such a way that grains would be unable to get stuck underneath, something I found to be incredibly helpful when it came time to clean-up.

After bringing my brewing liquor to strike temp, I put The Brew Bag in place and mashed in with just over 10 lbs of grain.

While breaking up dough balls, The Brew Bag slipped off the lip of my kettle, falling into the mash. This was easily remedied, thanks in large part to being able to snatch the handles so easily. I used some clips to hold the bag in place while incorporating the grains.

Once every dough ball was obliterated by my 24″ whisk and target mash temp was reached, I removed the clips, put the lid on, and wrapped my kettle in a jury rigged Reflectix jacket I made over the weekend.

Screw you and your “measure twice, cut once” bullshit… I was thirsty.

The temp dropped about 2°F in 20 minutes, at which point I removed the jacket and turned the heat on to raise the temp back to my target of 152°F. Since it was warm outside, I actually never put the jacket back on and ended up not needing to turn the flame on again. After an hour-long mash, I raised the bag up just enough to keep it from touching the bottom of the kettle then turned the flame on for mashout. After letting the bag drain and giving it a gentle squeeze, I placed it in a bucket and got to heating my wort to a boil.

Quick note: in my chats with Rex, he said he likes to recommend users clean the bag while waiting to reach a boil, then suspend it in the wort and use it as a hop filtration bag, making sure not to let the bag touch the bottom of the kettle to avoid potential melting. Since I use an immersion chiller and have very little concern over sending clear wort to the fermentor, I skipped this step. For those who use pumps and counterflow/plate chillers, this is a fantastic idea!

My pre-boil SG indicated I hit 74% efficiency, which is exactly what I planned for. There’s just something about nailing those numbers that feels so good! My wife got in a good eye-roll when she walked in on me doing a happy dance, refractometer in one hand, a long spoon in the other. It’s the little things…

Once the boil was complete, I chilled my wort to a couple degrees above groundwater temp using my trusty King Cobra IC, it only took about 5 minutes.

Prior to racking the wort to a carboy, I took an OG reading and again confirmed my supreme brewing prowess by nailing the expected efficiency… well, at least my equipment settings in BeerSmith are accurate.

The wort was placed in a cool ferm chamber and yeast was pitched as soon as my preferred pitching temperature was reached. It’s currently fermenting away happily.

| The Verdict |

The Brew Bag is a really great BIAB bag that will keep all husk material out of the wort, thereby reducing the chances of unpleasant tannins. The straps are tough and make moving the bag very easy, while the seams are sewn in such a way to make cleaning a cinch– after pouring the grains out, I simply rinsed with my water hose for a few seconds then gave the bag a good 4 or 5 shakes, there wasn’t a single grain left clinging to it afterwards. Rex and his team over at Brew In A Bag Supplies have obviously put a lot of thought into their bag design, using durable materials and high quality craftsmanship. The only thing I could think of that might take this product from a 9.9 to a 10 is if the opening of the bag fit around the rim of my kettle a little tighter, but I certainly wouldn’t let that stop me from picking up and regularly using The Brew Bag.

If you have any questions or comments about my experience with The Brew Bag, please do not hesitate to speak up! Also, Rex is a very cool dude who I’m sure is open to answering any questions you might have about his product– The Brew Bag and many other cool BIAB supplies can be found at BrewInABag.com, as can Rex’s contact information.

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| Read More |

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List of completed exBEERiments

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