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The Brew Bag Blog — wort

Brew In A Bag vs.The Dreaded Stuck Sparge

• BIAB • brew in a bag • cooler mash tun • double mill grain • fly sparging • grain crush • home brewing • how to brew • no sparge • Paint strainer • PVC manifiold • sparging • stuck sparge • The Brew Bag • thick mash • thin mash • water to grain ratio • wort • wort filter

Brew In A Bag vs.The Dreaded Stuck Sparge

We read a lot of articles on the brewing process, and lately we came across two that addressed the issue of the dreaded stuck sparge. The sparge is post mash washing of the sugars from the grains and is accomplished by methodically adding just enough water to the mash tun to "float" the top portion of the grain bed. To allow outflow some sort of manifold with approximately 1/16" holes is inserted in the bottom of the tun. This lets gravity and pressure work together to provide an outlet for the heavier sugar laden wort. The manifold is connected to...

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Brewing Process Logic - A Comparison of Methodology

• BIAB • brew in a bag • hop spider • how to brew • mash tun • no sparge • sparge • sparging • The Brew Bag • wort

When using a fabric filter and the full volume of mash water without sparging, the gravity is set when the mash is complete - unless adjusting for volume in the kettle or the fermenter - it is never diluted. In addition the pH is fixed in both the mash tun and the kettle. The entire sparge process can be eliminated, saving time, effort, equipment and energy expense. The use of one kettle, one burner, and one bag with no mash out produces comparable results to sparging.

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Tannins & Squeezing the Bag are Not Synonymous

• BIAB • brew in a bag • brew in a bag sparge • how to brew • mash tun • no sparge • sparge • sparging • The Brew Bag • wort

Squeezing the bag of grain and tannins are not synonymous. Excerpted and paraphrased from the books “Water - A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers” and “Malt - A Practical Guide From Field to Brewhouse” - Tannins, a subset of polyphenols, are present in grain husks and cell walls. They are released at mash temps and bind with proteins to form haze. In conjunction with a pH above 6, excess tannins are extracted and impart an astringent flavor - they can not be produced by pressure.

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Brew in 90 Minutes - Modified Parti-gyle

• BIAB • brew in a bag • parti-gyle • The Brew Bag • thick mash • voile • water to grain ratio • wort

So, you're into your brew day, and as usual you think "what if I could transfer ALL the sugars left in the grain to the boil kettle, there's beer waiting to be born!" And then you brew, clean up, have a brew, and realize you made 5 or 10 gallons in 3.5 hours (BIAB), or 6 hours (non BIAB), so you have another brew and forget about it. 

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Moving Sugar Water - Filter vs Pickup

• American Homebrer's Association • BIAB • fabric for a brew bag • fly sparging • home brewing • Homebrew Finds • making a brew bag • no sparge • stuck sparge • The Brew Bag • The Brewing Network • water to grain ratio • wort

Conversion and MIlling Converting starch to sugar is a complicated molecular process but as brewers we witness the simplicity of that process by milling grain, mixing in hot water and waiting for the magic to happen. Depending on your process, sixty to one-hundred-twenty minutes later we have wort (sugar water).  Milling the grain breaks it up so the hot water can kick the enzymes (on the outer layer of the seed) into action and convert the endosperm (starch) into fermentable sugar. This process is known as conversion (literally converting starch to sugar through molecular action) and depending on the mix...

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