What brand BIAB bag do you use?

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Thanks for posting this. I’m new to brewing and just did my first AG BIAB this weekend. I strung a carabiner and some paracord to an eyebolt i put in my garage door’s crossbeam which worked great, but I was worried about the bag integrity. Will have to look into brew bag and Wilser.
 
Just ordered my Wilserbag and pulley set up, and a new 15 gallon brew kettle.
I've been doing the 3 tier AG thing for a long time, in a 10 gallon aluminum kettle; the last one just burned me out.
It takes damn near a full day, and 1/3 of that, or more, is clean up (before and after)...not to mention sparging. All that gear man...I'm just tired of messing with it all.
I have to spread it all out in my home office, to dry out, and I have a huge storage shelf for all of it in my garage.
I should have done this years ago; could have saved money, time, effort, and space.
Not sure what I'm going to do w/ the mash and lauter tuns...and all those hoses etc. Probably not worth the effort to try and sell.
Anyway...I'm kinda giddy about my next brew.

Edit:
I'm just gearing down in general. I've been dry hopping in my Primary. I plan to get rid of my 2 glass carboys as well.
 
Gravelscratcher said:
Just ordered my Wilserbag and pulley set up, and a new 15 gallon brew kettle. I've been doing the 3 tier AG thing for a long time...the last one just burned me out. It takes damn near a full day, and 1/3 of that, or more, is clean up (before and after)...not to mention sparging. All that gear man...I'm just tired of messing with it all...
Click to expand...

You're going to love your new rig. It'll make great beer, and your brew days will be enjoyable again.

A no sparge no squeeze BIAB day is a joy. When you get it dialed in you'll be looking at 3-4hrs for a complete brew day (includes all prep and all cleanup).
 
LittleRiver said:
You're going to love your new rig. It'll make great beer, and your brew days will be enjoyable again.

A no sparge no squeeze BIAB day is a joy. When you get it dialed in you'll be looking at 3-4hrs for a complete brew day (includes all prep and all cleanup).
Click to expand...
That'll be nice...as apposed to the 6+ hours I'm doing now.
 
Yeah, I've used a Brew Bag since I went to BIAB last summer, and I love it. I've packed it pretty full of grain and it does great, and I've used it over my siphon as a filter when racking pumpkin cider and raspberry beer. It works well in both applications, and it is EASY to clean.
 
rather than what brand....what mesh size are you using? micron rating? I would think that's the important spec. too tight will not drain effectively/efficiently...too open and all the crap gets through...
 
odie said:
rather than what brand....what mesh size are you using? micron rating? I would think that's the important spec. too tight will not drain effectively/efficiently...too open and all the crap gets through...
Click to expand...

Swiss voile is the material for good quality bags (from various makers). It's very fine. Paint strainers, etc, are much coarser and not recommended.
 
I used a Brew Bag today and it worked great. Love the reinforcement straps for hoisting the bag out. Seems well built and a fine enough mesh to block the crud. Cleans up super quick too.
 
Voile is the fabric you want...
The openings are approx 200 micron if you want to be technical ...

Paint strainers and typical “home brew store” bags are roughly 3-4 times that.

If you can see the openings in the fabric w/ the naked eye, it is too coarse imo.
 
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Cheap white voile curtain. 22 batch and work OK.
I bought a bag over ebay for a 50L pot, but it does not fit my 35L plastic kettle so I had to stay on the curtain.
 
Bought a Wilser Bag kit Monday arrived today! Great qquality and super fast response! Highly recommend, cant wait to use it on the next batch. Mesh density is much better than my current bag and will significantly reduce grain getting into my wort.
 
I got a Clawhammer 120v. Mash, boils and cool all in one. Love it.
IMG_20190123_122848.jpeg
 
Made my own out of voile curtain fabric. Have tried a couple of different designs. All have worked, some better than others. Have never had any concerns wrt strength or ripping.
 
Having a hard time deciding between Wilser and Brew Bag. They both seem like really good quality and each has a feature I like. The Wilser bag has a drawstring at the top to cinch up around the top of the pot and the Brew Bag has the straps with loops for hoisting it out of the pot. Any thoughts on which of these features is more important?

It's also nice Mike Wilser is active here on HBT. Don't know if anybody from Brew Bag is or not.
 
My biased opinion, the lifting loops look nice, but the drawstring is more functional as it can also be used for attaching to a hoist.

I did a post a while back detailing attaching a bag to a hoist, my preferred method is with a loop of cord which is supplied with any pulley. This method lowers the attachment point to keep the ratchet pulley within reach, and also reduces the overall height required say if your in a basement.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/biab-hoisting-with-a-ratchet-pulley-rev-1.623808/
 
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dwightr8 said:
.... drawstring ... straps with loops...Any thoughts on which of these features is more important?...
Click to expand...

You don't need, or even want, straps for hoisting the bag. They're unnecessary for the amount of weight involved. Their main contribution is to put your ratchet pulley farther out of reach.

Definitely go with the drawstring. Its contribution is to eliminate the need for clips to hold the bag to your kettle.

For hoisting, use a little loop of cord to make a prusik hitch around the bag, as low as possible. That will keep your pulley within easy reaching distance.
 
I've got a Brew bag for my 20 gallon mash tun. I got their HD pulled to go with it and it's served me well. I've done 40+ pounds of grain suspended from the underside of the deck. Since my mash tun is high, the straps help bring the bag a little higher when hoisting it up. Since I have a low ceiling (8 foot) the short distance between the pulley and the top of the bag are important.

I've owned two Brew bags, one for my 10 gallon and one for my 20 gallon setups. Love them both and both are still functional.

TL;DR notes:
1. Brew bag good.
2. Holds 40+ pounds of grain
3. Low ceiling + high mash tun means short straps are good
4. Own two, love both

I haven't used a Wilser bag, but they look very good. I chose Brew bag specifically because of my height constraints.
 
EtchyLives said:
...Since my mash tun is high, the straps help bring the bag a little higher when hoisting it up... I chose Brew bag specifically because of my height constraints.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you were assuming the way to attach a Wilser bag to the hoist is by the drawstring? While it can be done that way, it is not the best way, or even the recommended way.

A short loop of cord can be used to make a prusik hitch around the bag just above the grain. This puts the hoist attachment as low as it can be, which is quite a bit lower than what you'll achieve with BrewBag straps. That helps a lot if you have height constraints.

Another benefit to using a prusik hitch is that if you are using a ratcheting pulley to attach the bag (recommended), it keeps the ratchet release lever as low as possible so it's easy to reach.
 
I have a Brew Bag and a Wilser and have found the Wilser to be more durable. The Brew bag has developed small holes after 20 or so batches while the Wilser has not. Not really a big deal as the holes are small, but the Wilser is definitely more sturdy.
 
Sturdy until you stir the mash with ur long probe dial thermometer still in the mash just found a pinhole after my second use...and I know exactly how
 
I have a Wilser along with the dual pulley set up for my 20 gal SS Brewtech. I do 10 gal batches and couldn't be happier. Lifting a 30 lb grain bill is easy peasy (not sure what the wet weight is, but it is heavy AF, and the loop of cord makes the whole process even easier). I let drain over the kettle until I come to a boil. No need to squeeze at that point. Customer service was great, too!
 

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