[nvshooter2276]

I have a bag for brewing (I guess) all-grain beer, although I'll never make it that way. I bought it thinking I could put it into my kettle, bring my water to boil, stir in my LME, add the pellet hops and boil for an hour. When the boil is finished, I could lift the bag out and I'll have all the hop slop in the bag-- not in the wort. Is that how these bags are to be used if I'm not going to do the five-hour, all-grain thing? I believe I can do this. The only problem I see is that the bag is really big-- something like 22" wide x 26" tall. My concern is how do I keep the portion of the bag that isn't within the kettle from melting because of the heat from my gas stove coming up the sides of said kettle?

I saw on one homebrew site that one outfit will make a custom-sized bag for their customers. I do not remember which was that site. Maybe I can search "custom-made brewing bag" and see what I can find. My eight-gallon kettle is 17" deep x 11.5" in diameter.

[tommymorris]

I have tried using a BIAB bag as a hop spider. It is not very effective. The boil pushes the bag up out of the liquid and the hops ride up the side of the bag out of the liquid too.  Draining the bag after boil is also annoying. It takes times for the wort in the bag to drip out because the hops block a lot of the pores on the bag. I also had bag melting problems when boiling over a flame. With electric that is less of an issue.

Also, a BIAB all grain brew takes me about 3.5 hours not 5.

[Steve Ruch]

You don't use the bag in the boil, only the mash.

[Richard]

To contain hops you are better off with a smaller bag that is suspended in the middle of the kettle, so it doesn't touch the sides. You can use a dowel or something like a piece of 1x1 across the top of the kettle and tie the bag to it. Toss a few stainless nuts into the bottom of the bag before the hops to keep the bottom of the bag in the wort, but make sure the bag is short enough that it doesn't touch the bottom.

[Kevin]

To answer the question... "is that how these bags are to be used"... The BIAB method was developed to both mash and boil in a single kettle. The bag is to hold your crushed malt while you mash. When the mash is over the bag is lifted & drained and then you start the boil.

[denny]

To contain hops you are better off with a smaller bag that is suspended in the middle of the kettle, so it doesn't touch the sides. You can use a dowel or something like a piece of 1x1 across the top of the kettle and tie the bag to it. Toss a few stainless nuts into the bottom of the bag before the hops to keep the bottom of the bag in the wort, but make sure the bag is short enough that it doesn't touch the bottom.

This

[nvshooter2276]

I have tried using a BIAB bag as a hop spider. It is not very effective.

Exactly that is what I was wanting to know. OK; won't be using the BIAB for an extract brew.

I have a stockpot that I found to be just deep enough that my 300-micron hop spider sets just a few RCH off the bottom of the pot once I'd attached a 3/4" dowel to the underside of the two fingers of the spider. I left the dowel at 36" long so as to keep it from falling into the pot. I can stir the wort with the spider. I have a little video I made of just that. If I knew how to insert a video into a post, I'd do so.

I have muslin bags and weigh-down marbles. Also have nylon hop bags. I'm concerned that even with these bags, I'm going to get hop slop on the bottom of the kettle and lose that volume.

[nvshooter2276]

What about this one to ferment seven gallons?

https://www.mrbeer.com/coopers-diy-beer-fermenting-vessel

[denny]

Use the muslin bags. No marbles necessary.

[denny]

What about this one to ferment seven gallons?

https://www.mrbeer.com/coopers-diy-beer-fermenting-vessel

That should work. I've always preferred fermenters without spigot to avoid the cleaning hassle.

[nvshooter2276]

That should work. I've always preferred fermenters without spigot to avoid the cleaning hassle.

The transfer valves come apart very easily. I pull them down to their individual parts and fling 'em into the Star•San to soak until they're needed.

[Slowbrew]

Use the muslin bags. No marbles necessary.

I use 5gal. paint strainer bags. Lots of space for hops to move, cheap, and last for -seemingly - ever.

Paul

[denny]

That should work. I've always preferred fermenters without spigot to avoid the cleaning hassle.

The transfer valves come apart very easily. I pull them down to their individual parts and fling 'em into the Star•San to soak until they're needed.

Some do, some don't

[redrocker652002]

What I did for my hop additions was to use an old Garbage disposal flange that you would use on the sink side (I had one laying around from a previous disposal change and did not change the flange).  I drilled three holed in it and then got 3 bolts about an inch or so longer than I needed.  Attached washers and nuts thru the flange to attach the bolts and then just adjusted it so the head of the bolt hung over the edge of my kettle.  I don't have a picture of it, but I am sure I found it on the internet somewhere.  It cost me about 10 bucks total for all the pieces and I am able to clamp a muslin hop bag to it and suspend it in the middle of the kettle. 

[denny]

What I did for my hop additions was to use an old Garbage disposal flange that you would use on the sink side (I had one laying around from a previous disposal change and did not change the flange).  I drilled three holed in it and then got 3 bolts about an inch or so longer than I needed.  Attached washers and nuts thru the flange to attach the bolts and then just adjusted it so the head of the bolt hung over the edge of my kettle.  I don't have a picture of it, but I am sure I found it on the internet somewhere.  It cost me about 10 bucks total for all the pieces and I am able to clamp a muslin hop bag to it and suspend it in the middle of the kettle.

Snazzy. I just hang mine from a spoon laid across the kettle.