BIAB vs. Filling Mash Tun Full

[Kbar]

Does ayone have any objections to the following analogy - BIAB (Full water added into single vessel) vs. Using your dedicated mash tun with all the water added to it? That is - my RIMS system always works, from a flow point of view, much better with more water, such as the full water addition in the BIAB technique.

I would then simply drain the mash tun dirctly to the kettle as in a no sparge techique. In BIAB, the simply remove the bag letting the wor drain back into the kettle.

Or, is this what they mean by No Sparge?

Issues?? PH Level to high? Conversion issues?

Thanks!

[anday6]

That's a no sparge. Conversion should complete no problem but its not as efficient at pulling the sugars out if the grain, a buddy of mine gets 50-55%. But, similar to, batch sparge you don't extract any undesirable tannin from the grain. I've heard it described as a softer, fuller malt flavor. All other mashing parameters are the same as other sparge techniques.

If you have the space in your mash tun, I'm jealous, and it can make great beer and save time on brew day.

[mpcondo]

I've used this method, and efficiency is a little on the low side. Usually 55-60% for me. But I add a quick sparge or a little DME and it's not a problem. I have become a big fan of biab, it's simple and has very little equipment.

[PorkSlapper]

I have been brewing some great beers with my BIAB style setup. I throw my sak in a large stainer and throw some sparge water through it to get better efficiency. Been on the market for either a cheap mash tun (Craigslist) or make my own, since Im sparging already anyways.

-PorkSlapper

[brewinhard]

I do a modified no-sparge where I mash normal thickness (1.5 qt/#)/60-90 min. then I add enough hot water (190F) to reach a mash-out temp and full volume for my boil for 10 min. mash out. I drain the wort into my kettle and start the boil. Easy and fairly hands free with no worries of tannin extraction and i get a nice full rounded malt flavor from it. I get anywhere from 55-70% eff. based on the OG and grain bill. Only drawback is scaling up my individual grain amounts by about 1.2-1.23 or so, but grain is cheap.

[Kbar]

I do a modified no-sparge where I mash normal thickness (1.5 qt/#)/60-90 min. then I add enough hot water (190F) to reach a mash-out temp and full volume for my boil for 10 min. mash out. I drain the wort into my kettle and start the boil. Easy and fairly hands free with no worries of tannin extraction and i get a nice full rounded malt flavor from it. I get anywhere from 55-70% eff. based on the OG and grain bill. Only drawback is scaling up my individual grain amounts by about 1.2-1.23 or so, but grain is cheap.

This is what I am doing to date. Two additions and one drain. If I can do all the mash water at once driving up the liquor to grist ratio then the RIMS system runs much more smoothly (read: no stuck sparges) and at higher volumes if needed (read: reduced possibility of scorching).

[santamarina]

The BIAB method is great, and got me into all grain brewing with a small monetary investment. I do both 5 and 10 gal batches, and for bigger beers or larger batch sizes I started using a "mash tun" (5 gal bucket with a grain bag and valve) to hold the grain since 15-20 lbs of grain can be super heavy when wet (this I learned after ripping a few bags and dumping loose grain into my BK...headache!). I use a pump to recirculate the wort between my BK and the MT. My efficiency is good (70%+), and anytime it gets low I simply continue the recirc until I get my numbers.

I just acquired a 10 gal Rubbermaid cooler which I'm planning to convert to a proper mash tun, though I still plan to brew with this two vessel method.