Help w/ BIAB Basket Mesh Sizing (400v600v800)

[foles]

I suggest you brew with the basket and see before making any changes. There is a vast improvement over the bag because the basket is rigid, I.e. it doesn't flap around. Grain bed seems to set and can be raised without much disturbance.

 

[foles]

Think of the raising of the basket as a batch sparge of a set grainbed. I don't get any flour.

 

[hafmpty]

Think of the raising of the basket as a batch sparge of a set grainbed. I don't get any flour.

Awesome! I have the basket on order. Estimated to get here next week. Hopefully brewing before the end of the month. This will be the first brew on the new system. I figure just like my old system there will be a learning/dialing in period. It might seem weird but I like that part of the brewing process...figuring this stuff out.

 

[Bassman2003]

Freddy,

Your setup looks fine, but you have to take into account the flour that will fall through from dough-in. The idea of a sparge will clear the wort, but to make it successful you need to get all of the flour that is sitting on the bottom of the kettle to be sucked out. Without a conical design or some way to disturb it into the pump flow it will remain throughout your boil. If your elements are low in the kettle you can risk them being surrounded by sediment and burning the batch.

This is what I am looking to avoid. It is kind of different than just clear wort.

 

[FreddyMar3]

That's a good point. I do have a dip tube that sucks from pretty low but I suppose the sediment could pile up away from it. I'll have to play around with it once I actually get brewing. Maybe I can agitate it with a stir bar and a magnet if it ends up being a problem.

The guys from the brew boss threads haven't reported any scorched flour. Those baskets are 400 micron.

We shall see!

 

[The_Bishop]

If you're concerned about the flour resting on the bottom or elements, once you pull the bag/basket give the wort a quick whirlpool. It'll put this stuff in suspension, and the convective currents from the heating will keep it there during the boil.

 

[MusicalBrewer]

Yes, I have exactly that solid wall design. I think a basket would work just fine as well. My hope is to limit the amount of sediment with a finer mesh, but I can see this is unchartered territory and will probably require some experimentation by me.

Maybe I can order some different sized meshes and just place them over my false bottom to see how a mash goes.

I will call the mesh people next week and see what they say. The 74 micron mesh in the video really peaked my interest. It may gum up but when I pick it apart, if it took a little longer to drain like a fly sparge I don't think it would be an issue for me. Testing is the only way to know.

Bassman2003,

Did you ever do any experiments with the 74 micron mesh? I'm in the process of building a single vessel system and would love to know your findings.

 

[bondra76]

I'm now using a 400 micron basket. Love it. I haven't had any problems with grain coming through.

 

[MusicalBrewer]

I'm now using a 400 micron basket. Love it. I haven't had any problems with grain coming through.

That's good to know! I'm thinking of a solid side basket with 300 or 400 micron bottom. I've found very little feedback (good or bad) about the 300 micron though.

 

[FreddyMar3]

I have a 400 micron basket and wouldn't want to go any smaller. I had an air bubble form underneath on the first brew because the pump was not throttled enough. Anything smaller than that for grain isn't necessary imo

 

[Bassman2003]

Bassman2003,

Did you ever do any experiments with the 74 micron mesh? I'm in the process of building a single vessel system and would love to know your findings.

Music,

Yes, I did try some smaller meshes. The lowest I tried was 140micron and it was great initially but as the mash puffed up the flow stopped. (as everybody expected). I now have settled upon a 300 micron mesh that is working just fine. 400 would be fine as well.

I did make a mini strainer out of a $6 SS stock pot from Walmart. I cut the bottom out and put some 35 micron screen in its place. The role of this is to recirculate the wort through as the boil is coming up to temperature for post mash cleanup. So after the mash is finished you just run the wort through at full tilt and a lot of sediment is taken out of the wort. I have the pot clamped on the inside of my boil keg. The 35 micron is too small so I will try 70 - 150 and strike a balance between particle size and flow.

This step also works with a normal BIAB material like a Wilser bag. Just hang it on the inside of the boil kettle and recirc the wort through while it is coming up to temperature. Easy and a lot of stuff gets taken out of your wort.

 

[MusicalBrewer]

Music,

Yes, I did try some smaller meshes. The lowest I tried was 140micron and it was great initially but as the mash puffed up the flow stopped. (as everybody expected). I now have settled upon a 300 micron mesh that is working just fine. 400 would be fine as well.

I did make a mini strainer out of a $6 SS stock pot from Walmart. I cut the bottom out and put some 35 micron screen in its place. The role of this is to recirculate the wort through as the boil is coming up to temperature for post mash cleanup. So after the mash is finished you just run the wort through at full tilt and a lot of sediment is taken out of the wort. I have the pot clamped on the inside of my boil keg. The 35 micron is too small so I will try 70 - 150 and strike a balance between particle size and flow.

This step also works with a normal BIAB material like a Wilser bag. Just hang it on the inside of the boil kettle and recirc the wort through while it is coming up to temperature. Easy and a lot of stuff gets taken out of your wort.

Thanks for getting back with me on this! I just completed my second BIAB brew day (have been an all grain 3 vessel brewer for a couple years)...and I just kegged the first BIAB I did. When I was transferring to the keg I noticed extreme increase in the trub....like 4 times the amount (or more) from my 3 vessel brewing. I would like to figure out how to cut this down. I would love to hear the results of your filtration test.

I am just experimenting with BIAB now. I am ready to upgrade my system to do 10 gallon batches. Was totally set on a 3 vessel HERMS system but came across some BIAB threads that changed my mind. I figured I better give it a try and see if I like it.

Regarding the 300 micron basket...what kinds of beer do you brew and what size grain crush are you using? I do a lot of wheat beers and currently crush at .037". I'd like to be able to filter as fine as possible and still have good flow (planning on recirculating the entire mash). I'm trying to determine if 300 will work or be too fine for how I brew.

It's late Sunday night and I've had a few...so if parts of this don't make sense I apologize in advance...I'll read it again tomorrow and clarify if I need to

 

[Bassman2003]

I moved to a BIAB setup after years of three vessel cooler brewing. Sediment has always been on my mind but it is kind of a hot button topic on the forum. I try to keep it down to protect my heating elements.

I brew a lot of wheat beers and use a normal crush. Sediment is only an issue if you are using electric to brew. Even if you do not use electric, you can do the post mash straining I mentioned while the wort is coming up to temperature. I also use a paint strainer bag from Home Depot that is a great hop bag to recirc the wort through. It is amazing how much stacks up in the bag!

When I get some free time I want to document my system as I have put a lot of effort into some areas to improve the process for me. I plan on making some videos but am too busy now.

I will say that my hefeweizen's have been the best I have ever made since moving to this full volume approach. So there is a lot of goodness with BIAB.

 

[MusicalBrewer]

I brew a lot of wheat beers and use a normal crush. Sediment is only an issue if you are using electric to brew. Even if you do not use electric, you can do the post mash straining I mentioned while the wort is coming up to temperature. I also use a paint strainer bag from Home Depot that is a great hop bag to recirc the wort through. It is amazing how much stacks up in the bag!

When I get some free time I want to document my system as I have put a lot of effort into some areas to improve the process for me. I plan on making some videos but am too busy now.

I will say that my hefeweizen's have been the best I have ever made since moving to this full volume approach. So there is a lot of goodness with BIAB.

Thanks so much for your feedback. I will be using electric to brew, so i will do some form of filtration after the mash like you suggest. I have been enjoying my BIAB sessions and finding many benefits as well....and an improved Hefe is an unexpected but very welcome benefit!!

 

[Bassman2003]

The main area for concern with the heating elements is during the mash. If you do not get the sediment away from the elements they get crowded so to speak and get too hot. This leads to the particles sticking and burning on the elements. The best case scenario would be a conical where you could dump the sediment out from the bottom. ( like the Brewha) I did the next best thing and added a bottom drain to my keggle.

 

[stever1000]

Anymore comments on 300 vs 400 micron?

Are these baskets easy to clean? I live in an apartment so I fear they would be hard to get all the particles off the inside

 

[The_Bishop]

My setup is a 400 micron basket. I have zero issues with it at all. Cleanup is pretty easy as long as you rinse it after dumping the grain out.

 

[stever1000]

My setup is a 400 micron basket. I have zero issues with it at all. Cleanup is pretty easy as long as you rinse it after dumping the grain out.

That's my concern, I live in an apartment and can't easily rinse it. I would probably have to get a hose setup from my kitchen to my bath tub

 

[The_Bishop]

Let me rephrase that:

The cleanup of the basket is always pretty easy. It's just easier if you rinse it off before anything has dried to it.

Does you shower have a hand-held head? Makes things easier!

 

[stever1000]

Let me rephrase that:

The cleanup of the basket is always pretty easy. It's just easier if you rinse it off before anything has dried to it.

Does you shower have a hand-held head? Makes things easier!

No, but I plan to move to a new apartment and I will add that to my list of "must have"