Anyone ever tried the brewing in a bag method with no bag? I think my efficiency is terrible because I'm jamming too many grains into a small space, creating a massive ball that can't breathe. Next time I'm just going to dump them in the kettle and filter them out after the mash. Anyone do this?
I haven't done it, but I can't think of any reason it shouldn't work, as long as you have a way to strain the wort well enough. Regular BIAB doesn't include a proper vorlauf/lauter anyway.
I was thinking I could use the filter them with the bag I used to use. I recently bought a second kettle so I just pour from one to the other.
Sounds like you just need a bigger bag to give the grains more room. A bag for BIAB should be large enough to able to fit the boiling kettle INSIDE the bag. While some brewers can certainly get high efficiencies with BIAB, that is not really the goal of BIAB, IMHO. The main goal of BIAB is simplicity--one pot, one bag, and get on with the boil. By the time you worry about a second pot for filtering grains (or sparge water, etc.), you might as well do traditional mashing with a dedicated mash/lauter tun. I'm happy with the compromise of an effeciency reduction in exchange for a simpler all-grain setup. I simply adjust my recipes up with a little more base grain to get my OG in the ballpark. Cheers and brew on!
I have the ability but haven't done a vorlauf in about 5 or so batches ever since I found out Kern River doesn't do it. Haven't noticed any difference whatsoever.
Maybe he should just get another container, fill it with hot water, and slowly pour the hot water over the grains, that way there wi.... Oh. Never mind.
Yep. It's slightly cloudy, but nothing I'm that worried about. If any husk material gets into the kettle, it's not enough to affect the flavor of the finished beer. I should note that my mash tun uses a steel braid rather than a manifold, so that probably helps keep a lot of the larger material in the mash tun.
BIAB mashes are usually thin because you typically start with all the strike and sparge water in the kettle. That being said, you are most likely either: 1. using a bag that is too small (it should be big enough for your kettle to fit INSIDE of the bag) 2. using a kettle that is too small for your desired batch size (it should be roughly 2x your batch size) 3. using a batch size that is too large for your kettle
If you don't have issues with tannins in your boil, whirlfloc would take care of any clarity issues. Those are the only issues I'd see coming across.
Yeah, I've definitely had tannins in my beer in the past due to mash pH issues, so I'm familiar with the taste. I haven't gotten them in any of the beers I haven't done a vorlauf on. I've always wondered if the whole "tannins from boiling grain husks" thing is a brewing myth. I mean, you do exactly that with a decoction mash. Also, I do always use whirlfloc and never have a problem with cloudy beer but if I do want something brilliantly clear for whatever reason, I use gelatin in the keg anyway.
