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Author Topic: Boiling in a brew bag?  (Read 2478 times)

Offline Joe_Beer

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Boiling in a brew bag?
« on: August 03, 2021, 07:06:36 am »
Anyone ever empty the soggy grist and put the bag back in for the boil to catch hops and other trub? Not sure how well these nylon bags hold up above mash rest temps. Thinkin it might be a nice way to fully utilize hop additions without all the mess in the fermenter.

Offline majorvices

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2021, 07:11:40 am »
They are temperature rated to 230° probably be fine.

Offline RC

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2021, 08:29:37 am »
No different from using a hop spider. The bags hold up just fine in the boil--but make sure the bottom of the bag doesn't rest on the bottom surface of the kettle, otherwise it could melt/scorch.

Offline tommymorris

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2021, 08:52:10 am »
I have done it but I don’t recommend it. The bag I have is from brewinabag.com  and is designed to be safe for boil. I wanted to use the bag as a spider and it worked for that, but the bubbles from the boil pushed the bag up constantly. The bag was bubbling up and folding over and hops were crawling up the sides of the bag and not staying in the wort. The beer turned out fine, so no real loss, but it was annoying. Lately, I sanitize the bag and just pour the wort through it to remove the hop matter. That works okay, but not great. The filter part works but the hops slow the flow through the bag which adds a few minutes to the transfer from kettle to fermenter at a time when the wort temp is cool and susceptible to infection.

I bought a 400 micron bag for this. I found my other 200 micron bag clogged and drained really slow due to the hops in the bag.

One last thing, neither the 200 or 400 micron bag filters hot and cold break material. That flows right through. The bags just filter hops.

Offline Wilbur

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2021, 10:23:29 am »
I have done it but I don’t recommend it. The bag I have is from brewinabag.com  and is designed to be safe for boil. I wanted to use the bag as a spider and it worked for that, but the bubbles from the boil pushed the bag up constantly. The bag was bubbling up and folding over and hops were crawling up the sides of the bag and not staying in the wort. The beer turned out fine, so no real loss, but it was annoying. Lately, I sanitize the bag and just pour the wort through it to remove the hop matter. That works okay, but not great. The filter part works but the hops slow the flow through the bag which adds a few minutes to the transfer from kettle to fermenter at a time when the wort temp is cool and susceptible to infection.

I bought a 400 micron bag for this. I found my other 200 micron bag clogged and drained really slow due to the hops in the bag.

One last thing, neither the 200 or 400 micron bag filters hot and cold break material. That flows right through. The bags just filter hops.

I'm thinking about trying this and and leaving my whirlpool arm (Spincycle from Brewhardware in place. Should keep things from popping up too much. Do you use whirlfloc/irish moss? I wonder if that'd help with the hot break/cold break.


Offline tommymorris

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2021, 10:34:12 am »
I have done it but I don’t recommend it. The bag I have is from brewinabag.com  and is designed to be safe for boil. I wanted to use the bag as a spider and it worked for that, but the bubbles from the boil pushed the bag up constantly. The bag was bubbling up and folding over and hops were crawling up the sides of the bag and not staying in the wort. The beer turned out fine, so no real loss, but it was annoying. Lately, I sanitize the bag and just pour the wort through it to remove the hop matter. That works okay, but not great. The filter part works but the hops slow the flow through the bag which adds a few minutes to the transfer from kettle to fermenter at a time when the wort temp is cool and susceptible to infection.

I bought a 400 micron bag for this. I found my other 200 micron bag clogged and drained really slow due to the hops in the bag.

One last thing, neither the 200 or 400 micron bag filters hot and cold break material. That flows right through. The bags just filter hops.

I'm thinking about trying this and and leaving my whirlpool arm (Spincycle from Brewhardware in place. Should keep things from popping up too much. Do you use whirlfloc/irish moss? I wonder if that'd help with the hot break/cold break.


I use whirlfloc. But, with my brew process the break from Whirlfloc often seems to show up in the fermenter. I usually chill to about 85-90F in the summer and then transfer to the fermenter and place in my fermentation chamber to cool to pitch temp. Maybe if placed the kettle in the fermentation chamber and chilled to pitch temp that would help. I am not sure.

Offline RC

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2021, 11:04:21 am »
I have done it but I don’t recommend it. The bag I have is from brewinabag.com  and is designed to be safe for boil. I wanted to use the bag as a spider and it worked for that, but the bubbles from the boil pushed the bag up constantly. The bag was bubbling up and folding over and hops were crawling up the sides of the bag and not staying in the wort. The beer turned out fine, so no real loss, but it was annoying. Lately, I sanitize the bag and just pour the wort through it to remove the hop matter. That works okay, but not great. The filter part works but the hops slow the flow through the bag which adds a few minutes to the transfer from kettle to fermenter at a time when the wort temp is cool and susceptible to infection.

I bought a 400 micron bag for this. I found my other 200 micron bag clogged and drained really slow due to the hops in the bag.

One last thing, neither the 200 or 400 micron bag filters hot and cold break material. That flows right through. The bags just filter hops.

I'm thinking about trying this and and leaving my whirlpool arm (Spincycle from Brewhardware in place. Should keep things from popping up too much. Do you use whirlfloc/irish moss? I wonder if that'd help with the hot break/cold break.


I use whirlfloc. But, with my brew process the break from Whirlfloc often seems to show up in the fermenter. I usually chill to about 85-90F in the summer and then transfer to the fermenter and place in my fermentation chamber to cool to pitch temp. Maybe if placed the kettle in the fermentation chamber and chilled to pitch temp that would help. I am not sure.

I always give my worts a settling period in the kettle after chilling and before transferring to the FV. I don't sweat some trub in the fermenter, but I will say that I always get crystal clear wort into the fermenter. I achieved this simply by extending the settling time from 30 min to 60 min. I don't whirlpool. Maybe you just need to give your worts more time to settle.

As a side note, and not to derail this, and to each their own, but those whirlpool arms are mostly useless. If you're looking to whirlpool, all it takes is a gentle rotational stirring for 10-20 seconds with a sanitized spoon. Keep in mind the trub pile doesn't begin to form until the whirlpooling stops.

Offline BrewBama

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Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2021, 01:38:54 pm »
I wouldn’t say they’re worthless.  I use the whirlpool arm to ensure the second runnings of wort is added from mash tun to the boil kettle below the first runnings liquid level to reduce splashing. (I use a hose to run it to the bottom of the boil kettle for the first runnings.)

Also, I remove the hot water from my HERMS vessel, add cool tap water, then circulate my hot wort thru the HERMS to chill, then back into the kettle via a whirlpool arm. The whirlpool arm stirs the wort for me to mix the hot and cooled wort. I have to change the water a few times and add ice to the HERMS vessel in the end but it works great and I eliminated a piece of equipment from my process (copper immersion chiller).

After it’s chilled I do allow the trüb to settle before draining to a fermenter. That give me cleanup time so once it’s in the fermenter all I have left to clean is the kettle. I use the hot water from the HERMS vessel for that.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2021, 01:48:22 pm by BrewBama »

Offline RC

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #8 on: August 03, 2021, 01:51:23 pm »
I wouldn’t say they’re worthless.  I remove the hot water from my HERMS vessel, add cool tap water, then circulate my hot wort thru the HERMS to chill, then back into the kettle via a whirlpool arm. The whirlpool arm stirs the wort for me to mix the hot and cooled wort. I have to change the water a few times and add ice to the HERMS vessel in the end but it works great and I eliminated a piece of equipment from my process (copper immersion chiller).

After it’s chilled I do allow the trüb to settle before draining to a fermenter. That give me cleanup time so once it’s in the fermenter all I have left to clean is the kettle. I use the hot water from the HERMS vessel for that.

Sure, a WP arm would work for that, fair point (but so does plain ol' silicone tubing). I guess my point was, if all you're looking to do is create a whirlpool, an arm is a totally unnecessary piece of equipment; a long spoon and 10 seconds of stirring works just as well, plus it's simpler and cheaper.

Offline Joe_Beer

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #9 on: August 03, 2021, 02:16:13 pm »
I wanted to use the bag as a spider and it worked for that, but the bubbles from the boil pushed the bag up constantly. The bag was bubbling up and folding over and hops were crawling up the sides of the bag and not staying in the wort.

Good to know. I hadn't thought of that.

I bought a 400 micron bag for this. I found my other 200 micron bag clogged and drained really slow due to the hops in the bag. One last thing, neither the 200 or 400 micron bag filters hot and cold break material. That flows right through. The bags just filter hops.

I tried re-circulating into the brew bag (120 micron) during a 4oz hopstand a couple weeks ago and basically ended up with a bag of hot wort. It really didn't want to drain afterwards. Maybe I'll go back to the spider. I don't seem to get the same flavor/aroma as I do with free-ranging the pellets but also don't end up with clogged poppets/spigots when transferring.

Always a trade off I guess  ;)

Offline BrewBama

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Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #10 on: August 03, 2021, 02:25:57 pm »
I’ve seen a lot of British homebrewers use a BIAB for hops. They close the bag and clamp it to the side of the kettle.


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Offline Richard

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #11 on: August 03, 2021, 04:20:43 pm »
I have done it but I don’t recommend it. The bag I have is from brewinabag.com  and is designed to be safe for boil. I wanted to use the bag as a spider and it worked for that, but the bubbles from the boil pushed the bag up constantly. The bag was bubbling up and folding over and hops were crawling up the sides of the bag and not staying in the wort. The beer turned out fine, so no real loss, but it was annoying. Lately, I sanitize the bag and just pour the wort through it to remove the hop matter. That works okay, but not great. The filter part works but the hops slow the flow through the bag which adds a few minutes to the transfer from kettle to fermenter at a time when the wort temp is cool and susceptible to infection.

I bought a 400 micron bag for this. I found my other 200 micron bag clogged and drained really slow due to the hops in the bag.

One last thing, neither the 200 or 400 micron bag filters hot and cold break material. That flows right through. The bags just filter hops.

I'm thinking about trying this and and leaving my whirlpool arm (Spincycle from Brewhardware in place. Should keep things from popping up too much. Do you use whirlfloc/irish moss? I wonder if that'd help with the hot break/cold break.


I use whirlfloc. But, with my brew process the break from Whirlfloc often seems to show up in the fermenter. I usually chill to about 85-90F in the summer and then transfer to the fermenter and place in my fermentation chamber to cool to pitch temp. Maybe if placed the kettle in the fermentation chamber and chilled to pitch temp that would help. I am not sure.

I always give my worts a settling period in the kettle after chilling and before transferring to the FV. I don't sweat some trub in the fermenter, but I will say that I always get crystal clear wort into the fermenter. I achieved this simply by extending the settling time from 30 min to 60 min. I don't whirlpool. Maybe you just need to give your worts more time to settle.

As a side note, and not to derail this, and to each their own, but those whirlpool arms are mostly useless. If you're looking to whirlpool, all it takes is a gentle rotational stirring for 10-20 seconds with a sanitized spoon. Keep in mind the trub pile doesn't begin to form until the whirlpooling stops.

Whirlpool arms are not worthless, but definitely have their drawbacks. I find that the whirlpool helps most to get the hops into the center so they don't plug up my drain valve.  Using a bag for the hops also takes care of that. The whirlpool is about a draw for break material. Without a whirlpool I get large chunks of break material that will settle out rapidly. The whirlpool breaks these up into smaller pieces that take longer to settle. The whirlpool arm helps improve the efficiency of an immersion chiller by keeping the wort moving during the cooling. If you have the patience to stand there and jiggle the chiller during the whole cooling process you can achieve the same thing without disturbing the large chunks of break material (until you pull the chiller out).
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #12 on: August 03, 2021, 05:10:30 pm »


As a side note, and not to derail this, and to each their own, but those whirlpool arms are mostly useless. If you're looking to whirlpool, all it takes is a gentle rotational stirring for 10-20 seconds with a sanitized spoon. Keep in mind the trub pile doesn't begin to form until the whirlpooling stops.

Unless you are using an immersion chiller and WP while running the chiller. Lot faster chill time.

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #13 on: August 04, 2021, 08:13:53 am »


As a side note, and not to derail this, and to each their own, but those whirlpool arms are mostly useless. If you're looking to whirlpool, all it takes is a gentle rotational stirring for 10-20 seconds with a sanitized spoon. Keep in mind the trub pile doesn't begin to form until the whirlpooling stops.

Unless you are using an immersion chiller and WP while running the chiller. Lot faster chill time.

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Offline Wilbur

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Re: Boiling in a brew bag?
« Reply #14 on: August 04, 2021, 08:19:14 am »


As a side note, and not to derail this, and to each their own, but those whirlpool arms are mostly useless. If you're looking to whirlpool, all it takes is a gentle rotational stirring for 10-20 seconds with a sanitized spoon. Keep in mind the trub pile doesn't begin to form until the whirlpooling stops.

Unless you are using an immersion chiller and WP while running the chiller. Lot faster chill time.

This was my big reason for grabbing it. Lets me clean up, sanitize fermenters, etc. while I'm chilling.