[homoeccentricus]

Brewed 8 liters of porter last Sunday, using BIAB, on my kitchen stove. Small batch - 8 liters into fermenter. One thing that bothers me related to keeping the kitchen clean is when I pull out the bag and move it to another receptacle.  I had to scrape wort off the floor, the closets, the inside of drawers, and the ceiling.

OK, a slight exaggeration, but I want to keep the kitchen as clean as possible, especially since the cleaning person comes on Fridays, and I usually brew on Sundays. I have come a long way: my shoes no longer stick to the floor at the end of the brewing session.  But transferring the bag is a pain.

So how do you BIAB folks keep your kitchen clean? And at the same time optimize the draining process (without going into the discussion whether you still want/need to sparge). I already know one thing: don't transfer the bag to a pot that is little bit too small :-(

[bucknut]

Brewed 8 liters of porter last Sunday, using BIAB, on my kitchen stove. Small batch - 8 liters into fermenter. One thing that bothers me related to keeping the kitchen clean is when I pull out the bag and move it to another receptacle.  I had to scrape wort off the floor, the closets, the inside of drawers, and the ceiling.

OK, a slight exaggeration, but I want to keep the kitchen as clean as possible, especially since the cleaning person comes on Fridays, and I usually brew on Sundays. I have come a long way: my shoes no longer stick to the floor at the end of the brewing session.  But transferring the bag is a pain.

So how do you BIAB folks keep your kitchen clean? And at the same time optimize the draining process (without going into the discussion whether you still want/need to sparge). I already know one thing: don't transfer the bag to a pot that is little bit too small :-(

After my last biab session in the kitchen, the wife kicked me outside (garage) because I got some wort on her new stove and that stuff doesn't come off, got baked on and has become one with the cooktop now.
Afterwards I did find one of these on Amazon...

That fit the bottom of my kettle to prevent burning the bag, and I also found this strainer...

That was just big enough to set on top of my brew kettle. Got them both on Amazon.

[pete b]

Having a second pot besides the brew pot that is wide enough to drain and/or sparge over without dripping is key.

[homoeccentricus]

Having a second pot besides the brew pot that is wide enough to drain and/or sparge over without dripping is key.

I know now that a second pot that is NOT wide enough does not work.

[oginme]

I use a colander in a stainless steel bowl to catch the wort of squeeze out of the bag.  I can hold the bowl up to the kettle to transfer the bag, once it has drained somewhat, into the colander and then allow it to continue to drain.  I can then take a plate and push down on the bag to squeeze out the extra wort from the grains and transfer the drained wort to the kettle as the bowl fills.  Takes about 5 minutes while the kettle is starting to heat up to boil.

[Jimmy K]

Having a second pot besides the brew pot that is wide enough to drain and/or sparge over without dripping is key.

I know now that a second pot that is NOT wide enough does not work.

Reminds me of the time I was curing a pastrami in a bag, within a pitcher that was almost tall enough to support the bag.
 
Almost...
 
I didn't have the bag closed and I'm still finding dried brine under the counter and inside cabinet doors.

[homoeccentricus]

The right-sized colander on top of the kettle seems like a simple but excellent solution! Now I just need three hands, two to pull the bag out of the kettle, and one to insert the colander.

[erockrph]

I do the colander trick as well. I twist my bag up tight, then press down on it wearing a silicone oven mitt to squeeze as much wort out as I can.

I also have a 3-gallon bucket that I use to dump my grains into so I can clean my bag while I'm boiling. Then I'm free to dump my grains outside later on.

[pete b]

The right-sized colander on top of the kettle seems like a simple but excellent solution! Now I just need three hands, two to pull the bag out of the kettle, and one to insert the colander.

You can put the bag in a large bowl while placing the strainer on the kettle. If your colander doesn't fit in a way it cant fall you can use two pieces of wood with strategic notches to keep them from moving across the top of the kettle.

[Delo]

I did my first BIAB this past weekend. I used something like this because we had it around the house. worked great. It is now part of my brewing equipment.

http://www.amazon.com/Polder-6631-75-Stainless-Steel-Extending-Rubber-Grip/dp/B00006NWBG

[rodmanxxx]

After rinsing I put a kitchen strainer in the bottom of a ferment pail, put squeezed bag of grains in there

[Joe Sr.]

The right-sized colander on top of the kettle seems like a simple but excellent solution! Now I just need three hands, two to pull the bag out of the kettle, and one to insert the colander.

You can put the bag in a large bowl while placing the strainer on the kettle. If your colander doesn't fit in a way it cant fall you can use two pieces of wood with strategic notches to keep them from moving across the top of the kettle.

I've had the colander and bag fall into the kettle.  Big ol' mess.

I haven't really had a sticky floor from brewing since the late 90s.  I used to brew with a guy who made a huge mess and always had to leave before clean-up.  At that time, my solution was to cover the kitchen floor with newspaper.

[erockrph]

The right-sized colander on top of the kettle seems like a simple but excellent solution! Now I just need three hands, two to pull the bag out of the kettle, and one to insert the colander.

You can put the bag in a large bowl while placing the strainer on the kettle. If your colander doesn't fit in a way it cant fall you can use two pieces of wood with strategic notches to keep them from moving across the top of the kettle.

I've had the colander and bag fall into the kettle.  Big ol' mess.

I haven't really had a sticky floor from brewing since the late 90s.  I used to brew with a guy who made a huge mess and always had to leave before clean-up.  At that time, my solution was to cover the kitchen floor with newspaper.

I have a "brewery towel" that goes on the floor in front of wherever I'm working (stove, sink, under my bottles when bottling, etc). That is definitely a big help for me. I tend to be a bit of a klutz.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

My cleanliness problem is with bottling the beer in the kitchen.  I can't get my bottling bucket with bottling wand high enough to bottle over the sink because of kitchen cabinet overhang so essentially I have the bucket overhanging the kitchen floor.

I have an large, old ratty blanket that is spread on the floor to absorb drips and spills.  As soon as my general cleanup is finished, the blanket goes into the washer and and then the dryer.

[69franx]

I bottle off the dining room table, with a large serving plate or platter tray under the spigot on the floor. This catches almost everything, unless I leave the spigot open as I fill my bottling bucket (ask me how I know this makes a mess). I bottle sitting down, a little hunched  over, but it's better than standing next to the counter for an hour