wilserbrewer BIAB bags

[Murphys_Law]

So, apparently it's possible to get a stuck sparge with BIAB if you use a metric f#ckton of rye and wheat 🤔

Had to make a Zapap in a hurry and added a couple of hours to my brew day messing with it. Note to self, use those rice hulls even when BIABing it! First brews with my WilserBags and the Kolsch went smooth as silk...the rye hop bomb, not so much! Gotta say I love the BIAB bags and the hop bags are incredible. No worries with the plate chiller

I'll see your metric f#ckton of rye and raise you 10 slices of toast! I make a pumpernickel stout and add 10 pieces of pumpernickel bread (toasted and cut into small pieces) to my mash. Add that to all the rye/flaked rye and you have one hell of a stuck sparge on your hands! And all over your arms, patio etc.

I was worn out trying to get that thing to drain!!

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Right! I can only imagine MORE sticky crap added to the mix! Thus the Zapap

 

[Morrey]

I'll see your metric f#ckton of rye and raise you 10 slices of toast! I make a pumpernickel stout and add 10 pieces of pumpernickel bread (toasted and cut into small pieces) to my mash. Add that to all the rye/flaked rye and you have one hell of a stuck sparge on your hands! And all over your arms, patio etc.

I was worn out trying to get that thing to drain!!

Interesting you should mention using pumpernickel bread and rye in a beer. Just this week I was watching an episode with exotic food guru Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. He was in Russia and a segment of the program showed a portable biergarten set up on the street serving a very low abv beer like you said brewed with rye and pumpernickel. The beer poured an amber color like an ESB and Andrew said it sold for about 25 cents for a pint. Russians drink it all thru the entire day according to Zimmern. Never heard of this before....sounds good!!!

Sorry, clearly off topic.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Kvass correct?

 

[Morrey]

Kvass correct?

Yes, I just looked it up and that's exactly what it is. Never had that before.

 

[Brew_G]

Apologies if this question has been addressed already, but...

Has anyone used wilser's hop bag for dry hopping in the keg with pellets?

I've got a dry hop bag from him, but haven't used it yet (love his other products though!), and after a hiatus I'll be brewing up an IPA in a week or two. It'll be only my second beer on tap, and the first to be dry hopped, and I want to make sure I'm not left with a bunch of gunk that'll clog the dip tube.

Thanks!

 

[BongoYodeler]

Apologies if this question has been addressed already, but...

Has anyone used wilser's hop bag for dry hopping in the keg with pellets?

I've got a dry hop bag from him, but haven't used it yet (love his other products though!), and after a hiatus I'll be brewing up an IPA in a week or two. It'll be only my second beer on tap, and the first to be dry hopped, and I want to make sure I'm not left with a bunch of gunk that'll clog the dip tube.

Thanks!

I use it. It works great.

 

[Brew_G]

I use it. It works great.

Thanks, Bongo!

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Apologies if this question has been addressed already, but...

Has anyone used wilser's hop bag for dry hopping in the keg with pellets?

I've got a dry hop bag from him, but haven't used it yet (love his other products though!), and after a hiatus I'll be brewing up an IPA in a week or two. It'll be only my second beer on tap, and the first to be dry hopped, and I want to make sure I'm not left with a bunch of gunk that'll clog the dip tube.

Thanks!

Yep, me too. I use a stainless clamp around the string and the relief valve housing inside the lid. Absolutely love it, see no reason to dry hop any other way!

 

[Brew_G]

Yep, me too. I use a stainless clamp around the string and the relief valve housing inside the lid. Absolutely love it, see no reason to dry hop any other way!

Good to hear...and I'm not at all surprised!

Edit: I went ahead and ordered two more dry hop bags, since I want to make sure I've got enough to cover me should I want to have three super hoppy beers on tap at once (which quite often will likely be the case!).

 

[Murphys_Law]

I personally don't like to hop in a bag (dry hop or boil). I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I'm leaving too much hop goodness behind.

If you have a way to cold crash you can drop all that hop debris out of the beer and transfer a clean beer.

But yes, his product is first rate!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I personally don't like to hop in a bag (dry hop or boil). I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I'm leaving too much hop goodness behind.

If you have a way to cold crash you can drop all that hop debris out of the beer and transfer a clean beer.

But yes, his product is first rate!

I think the OP was talking about using the bag in the keg to dry hop, so the hops are in the whole time the keg is being served from.

 

[Brew_G]

I personally don't like to hop in a bag (dry hop or boil). I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I'm leaving too much hop goodness behind.

If you have a way to cold crash you can drop all that hop debris out of the beer and transfer a clean beer.

But yes, his product is first rate!

I love the bags that wilser provides, so I agree with you completely. I use a hop bag in the boil, and while I do understand your point about leaving behind hop goodness, I'm mindful of using my mash paddle to regularly press on the bag to make sure that "goodness" comes out! As for dry hopping in the fermenter, I just throw the pellets in and cold crash in a water bath.

I think the OP was talking about using the bag in the keg to dry hop, so the hops are in the whole time the keg is being served from.

That's exactly what I meant, BIB.

I've never keg hopped (again...this will be only my second beer in a keg), so I didn't want to make a big mistake the first time around, I *really* don't want to have to clean up a clogged post/poppet/dip tube!

 

[Brew_G]

Good to hear...and I'm not at all surprised!

Edit: I went ahead and ordered two more dry hop bags, since I want to make sure I've got enough to cover me should I want to have three super hoppy beers on tap at once (which quite often will likely be the case!).

Hop bags showed up on Friday (only four days after I ordered), and it appears a homebrew fairly dropped in an extra (bigger) bag (total of 3) for good measure.

What a fantastic service wilser provides!

 

[nymtber]

I recently ordered a BrewBuilt 10gal kettle from MoreBeer, 6 1/2 years of extract brewing in a 5Gal kettle and I'm sick of buying top-off water, but...too lazy to sanitize my own tap water for topping off (call it overly cautious, too). With that order, I put in an all-grain porter kit to give BIAB a shot, I have a cheap BIAB bag I got years ago and never used...

Then, I read through this post and many others praising the wilserbrewer bags, and just put in my order for the "Grand Slam" kit! I brew in my enclosed porch, so I can screw an eye-bolt into the ceiling (2x4) and hoist the bag up to let drain... though when its cold out I'll mash indoors for heat retention, but still hoist the bag up outside, and use my 5-gal kettle to catch the wet bag/grains, and batch sparge in the future (not for the first brew, I'm gonna keep it simple for my first BIAB).

Any recommendation on BIAB calculators so I know how much water, temps, etc to use? The one on biabbrewing.com is easy enough to use, but is there a better one?

 

[doug293cz]

This is my favorite calculator (even works for more than BIAB): https://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advancedhttps://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advanced

Brew on

 

[MaxStout]

This is my favorite calculator (even works for more than BIAB): https://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advancedhttps://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advanced

Brew on

That's the one I use, too. I hit my numbers (or get damn close) each time.

 

[balrog]

That's the one I use, too. I hit my numbers (or get damn close) each time.

Ditts to the o

Love that calculator.

 

[nymtber]

This is my favorite calculator (even works for more than BIAB): https://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advancedhttps://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advanced

Brew on

Thanks! That one looks pretty thorough, too! I'll bookmark that link

 

[nymtber]

My grand slam kit arrived today! Bag looks great and very strong, pulley system will work nice (Got a lag eye bolt from Tractor Supply on my way to work), and honestly the big surprise was the hop bags. They are HUGE!

Tomorrow before mowing I'll get the eye bolt set and test out the pulley system, might even buy a secondary pulley just to make my life easier yet.

Should be brewing Saturday. Still have to get the LP tank filled...

 

[Reggie22]

Thanks Wilserbrewer. Bag came in the mail today. Looks great. Can't wait to use it.

 

[bradthebold]

Has anyone had premature seam separation on their bag? I've only had mine for 1 1/2 months and it's separating 3" from the top of the bag on the side. I squeeze the bag, but nowhere near 3" from the top. I emailed Michael and his response was, "Looks like you are doing something wrong putting stress on the seam." Then no reply after I responded to that. I hoist the bag by the string, as it's designed, and my biggest grainbill has been 14lbs. If you can lift hundreds of pounds with it, I'm not sure what he thinks I could be doing wrong with 14lbs in it.

I assumed it was just a manufacturing flaw or something and he'd send me a new one. Instead he just said I must be doing something wrong then ignored me. Very unimpressed.

 

[balrog]

I have used mine nearly two years and 65 batches, hung, squezzed, lifted, thrown over my shoulder like a continental soldier, with no issues.

 

[bradthebold]

That's what I thought I could expect. I'm assuming I just got a defective one. I just happened to notice it when cleaning, so it probably started earlier.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Well, every good story has at least three different versions...

Firstly, no mention of the excellent customer service, promptly answering four emails prior to purchase. No mention of substituting the deluxe draw string hop bags into the package at no additional cost. No mention of email instruction on process of BIAB. If every bag sale required 4-5 emails, prices would not be considerably lower than my competitors.

Looking at the bag, the material is stressed and the material is very slightly separating, not the seam. This takes considerable force applied in a concentrated area, not a manufacturing defect IMO. The bag is functional in its current condition so I didn't take action to repair or replace as I typically would if a bag is not functional. Imo this is cosmetic and the bag will make beer just fine as it is.

Anyways, I would always prefer someone contact me directly and ask if there is something I could do to make them satisfied.

AFAIK, no other bag is as durable, and no other vendor comes close to standing behind his product like myself, with regard to warranty repair / replacement.

PM sent to Brad to arrange further service.

Thanks for your support!
Wilser

 

[MaxStout]

Just used the heavy duty 1/4" pulley I received last week. I used it to hoist the full carboy out of my chest freezer ferm chamber. I hooked it to a Brewhauler, works real slick. No more lifting out by hand--not good for my back.

 

[Greytop]

Maybe bradthebold is trying to get every last drop of wort out of his bag as quickly as possible? I have bags from Mike for 12 and 20 gallon kettles. Each has performed flawlessly. Certainly, if I ever had a problem, I would contact Mike directly. I would then analyze my brewing practices. I mash in the bags and do a dunk sparge. I then let the bag drain over the BK while it comes to a boil. Only when I get close to 212° do I start squeezing the bag and then I'm careful not to force everything against the seam. I have squeezed the #@#* out of my bags over the last two years and all three look as good as new. YMMV

 

[bradthebold]

Yes, prior to purchasing he answered my one functional question about the bag, which was "how you lift the bag without handles? Do you lift by the drawstring?". My other two questions about how to order (since there is no cart on his site and I could not order the pulley kit with the deluxe bags without contacting him) and to tell him my kettle size. Certainly no issues with his communication, but not really price raisingly exceptional (nor did it need to be). But yes, he did include the deluxe bags for no charge as well. Again, no issues and happy with the purchase.

Yeah, the material is separating at the weak point where the seam starts, not the actual seam coming apart. What situation could possibly cause this 3" from the top of the bag? The only thing I could imagine would be the stress of the drawstrings pulling on it when it's hoisted, though that is how it is intended to be used (and with only a 5gal grainbill), which is why I contacted you. I feel like it would be difficult to intentionally pull hard enough to create this issue, through whatever means. That is my issue, that you assumed I somehow came up with a unique way to abuse the bag and dismissed me. I use it to brew only, hoist it by the pulley, squeeze the grain, clean and store it.

You would prefer I contact you directly? That is exactly what I did. I did not assume this was a normal situation, so I emailed you with my concern and this picture, and your entire response was, "Looks like you are doing something wrong putting stress on the seam?". I responded, "I'm not sure. It's 3" from the top, so not even near where I'd squeeze it. I lift it by the string, but my biggest batch has only been 13lbs of grain." That was 4 days ago and you never responded after that.

I had zero issues with anything until after you dismissed my concern. You never told me it was cosmetic and that it wouldn't be an issue, or that it wouldn't get worse. You didn't tell me anything.

For more information for the thread, he asked how the bag fits in the kettle in a pm, if the bag is being stretched too tight over the edge of the kettle. The bag seems to fit completely fine in the kettle. It is just slightly loose when folded over the edge and doesn't seem to be putting any pressure on it. The cord-lock died to the heat after the third batch, so I've been using a clothes pin to hold it snug, so I can't get it overly tight on there.

 

[bradthebold]

Maybe bradthebold is trying to get every last drop of wort out of his bag as quickly as possible? I have bags from Mike for 12 and 20 gallon kettles. Each has performed flawlessly. Certainly, if I ever had a problem, I would contact Mike directly. I would then analyze my brewing practices. I mash in the bags and do a dunk sparge. I then let the bag drain over the BK while it comes to a boil. Only when I get close to 212° do I start squeezing the bag and then I'm careful not to force everything against the seam. I have squeezed the #@#* out of my bags over the last two years and all three look as good as new. YMMV

I do squeeze it, but don't really try to squeeze the life out of it. Normally I let it hang and squeeze it a few different times over 15 minutes or so.

I did contact Mike directly before posting here.

I don't sparge, I mashout at ~170˚, then let it hang and squeeze it a few different times like I said. Just the fact that I do squeeze it, I wouldn't be as surprised if it started having this issue at the bottom, though that part has held up fine. It's right below the drawstring, a foot away from the grain and anywhere near where I squeeze.

If it is something I did, I would rather figure it out and prevent damaging it more, but I can't imagine what it could be and didn't get any help contacting Mike.

 

[kaffeenjunkie]

I have used mine nearly two years and 65 batches, hung, squezzed, lifted, thrown over my shoulder like a continental soldier, with no issues.

Same here. I am so impressed I just got myself a new one last week and continue to brew merrily along. Wouldn’t think of ordering from anyone else.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I don't sparge, I mashout at ~170˚

The cord-lock died to the heat after the third batch

If you are putting enough heat to the kettle to damage the cord lock, your'e doing something wrong IMO. Why do you feel the need for a mash out? I would not bother doing one. There is little or zero benefit, and the risk of damaging your bag or scorching your grain is real!!! I have had people melt the top of the bag from heat washing up the side of the kettle while performing a mashout with a burner. Why are you cranking the burner enough to heat damage the cord lock, which should be near the top of the kettle.



JMO, I don't feel the cord lock would just "die", something or somebody killed it



Regarding the stretched seam, perhaps you grabbed the bag immediately adjacent to the seam while taking the bag off the pulley hook, subjecting just a couple inches of s am to the full bag weight, just a guess. Or perhaps while emptying the 20 lbs of wet spent grain the bag was grabbed adjacent to the seam and the seam was stressed as the bag was up ended and with the full weight of the wet grain in it, and stressed the seam...just a guess, very hard to imagine what one might or might not have done.



Trying to help...thanks.

Edit....PM sent to Bradthebold offering to repair/ replace the bag, no response.

 

[Peruvian802]

I haven't read this entire thread but I will comment that I've used a wilser bag for dozens of batches, squeeze the snot out of it and only have one minor pin hole that I think was my own fault.

I'd buy another.

 

[PADave]

The cord-lock died to the heat after the third batch,

This set off alarms for me. Yep, you are doing something wrong. Probably melted the bag too. No need to apply that much heat. No need for a mash out with BIAB, pull the bag, that's your mash out.

 

[mj1angier]

So with no dog in this hunt ( I make my own bags), what could happen ( has happen to me) is seam is near the edge of mesh. Not enough of the material got seamed over and it is pulling the fibers apart. I had this happen on the first bag I did. So after that, I double lap the seam. Takes more time and make a fat a$$ seam but works

 

[bradthebold]

I definitely haven't melted the bag anywhere, or at least any obvious damage/scorching. I have a tri-ply kettle and stir continually while raising to mashout temp. A guy in my club mashes out and recommended it and I read it helps with efficiency by helping get more liquid out of the grain. Even if it doesn't, it didn't seem like it would hurt anything. If there's no benefit, then I won't continue. There are a lot of differing opinions and "facts" about brewing, and I'm still learning.

The cord-locks aren't the heaviest duty things, so I'm not surprised from the circumstances. Just letting it hang, it hangs half way down the kettle and was too close to the flame I guess. I have the same issue with the hop bag though, and it's subjected to an hour of boiling. I make sure to keep the whole drawstring curled up on the handle now.

When I empty the bag, I just pick it up by the bottom and dump it out. No need to shake really.

I really have no idea what this could be though. I brewed again today and the area where it is stretched is not even under tension when the bag is hoisted. All of the 'tension' is on the front/back of the back and leaves slack in the seams.

 

[nymtber]

Brew pot lid damage?

Looks like it *could* be in that area... I'm really just throwing it out there.

Love my wilserbrewer bag, but I've only brewed with it once!

 

[TexasWine]

I definitely haven't melted the bag anywhere, or at least any obvious damage/scorching. I have a tri-ply kettle and stir continually while raising to mashout temp.

The concern is not with melting the bottom of the bag, which is where the tri-ply bottom helps. The problem is instead with the heat that washes up the side of the kettle (assuming you're using a gas burner of some sort).

The cord lock giving up the ghost is an indication that the heat you applied while doing a mash out also is the source of the bag damage. It might not look scorched or burned, but the heat could still cause the "separation" you're seeing.

 

[bradthebold]

The concern is not with melting the bottom of the bag, which is where the tri-ply bottom helps. The problem is instead with the heat that washes up the side of the kettle (assuming you're using a gas burner of some sort).

The cord lock giving up the ghost is an indication that the heat you applied while doing a mash out also is the source of the bag damage. It might not look scorched or burned, but the heat could still cause the "separation" you're seeing.

That probably makes the most sense, if heat is able to separate like that. That's about where the bag hangs over the top of the kettle and is setting on the metal without any liquid to buffer the temperature. The only thing is I hang my hop bag over the side and clip it to the handle for the hour boil every time vs the <10min mashout heating the big bag sees and it's fine.

I will try not mashing out next time and see how efficiency is. There is certainly a lot of pro-mashout biab info out there though along with saying it's useless, generally boiling down to "The mash out in general serves two purposes: 1) to denature the enzymes and "set" the profile of the beer, and 2) to heat up the sugars such that they rinse off easier" (from a biab thread).

From searching, Mike himself has said he doesn't think it's necessary, but at least several times said to try it both ways and see how it works for you. He definitely didn't say absolutely don't do it or it will damage/ruin the bag.

 

[Greytop]

I'm wondering why the cord lock is halfway down the side of the kettle. Are you closing the brew bag up (pulling the drawstring) and then letting it hang over the side while mashing or mashing out? When my bag is in the kettle, the cord lock, the top of the bag and the cord are all just under the outside rim of the kettle. I don't close up the bag until I'm ready to pull it from the kettle.

 

[MaxStout]

If the bag is fitted to the BK properly, the drawstring should just fit around the circumference of the top of the BK. The cord lock should only have a very short length of cord sticking out--enough to allow the bag to slip over the rim. There should be no part of that bag or cord that is anywhere near the flame. Unless you have the burner cranked full throttle and flame wash is going up the sides.

After dough in, if I have undershot mash temp a few degrees, I'll apply a very low amount of heat for a minute or so, stir and re-measure temp. Certainly never enough to risk scorching the bag inside or melting anything outside. And I've yet to meet a BIAB brewer who does a mashout. It's a waste of time. Just mash, hoist it out, bring to a boil.