grain bags.

[tjones_jr]

i went to brew today but forgot i didn't have any grain bags for my specialty grains.

has anyone ever improvised these?

[fuji6100]

before I had grain bags, I used something a little different.

Have you ever seen one of those "grease strainers" that fit on top of a frying pan so you can pour the grease out? Well, since they are flat, and fairly large, they fit perfectly over my brew-pot so I can strain out my wort, then dump the grain.

That worked fine for me until I got a grain bag. I don't have a LHBS in my area, so I had to improvise a lot of things until I got around to mail ordering all my "brew toys"

[Tweek]

Panty hose will work if you have a female or around, or even if you are just in to that sort of thing :P

[b3s]

another thing to do, if you have 2 pots and a basket strainer, is just steep them loose, then pour into the other pot via the basket strainer...benefit includes easy sparging.

[toneyc]

I never use a bag anymore. I don't like the nylon ones and the muslin ones cost extra and I forget them anyway, so I just toss my grains in a smaller pot with the pre-heated water, and then pour them through a strainer after the appropriate time has elapsed and sparge them, too.

:)
Toney.

[tjones_jr]

Originally posted by toneyc
I just toss my grains in a smaller pot with the pre-heated water, and then pour them through a strainer after the appropriate time has elapsed and sparge them, too.


two things...

are you saying that you basically steep the grains in let's say...1gal water then add to the 4 gal you have boiling?


2nd...can someone explain sparging.

[b3s]

sparging: pouring hot water (about 170F) over the grains to get any fermentable sugars remaining out. never squeeze the grains.

[GunNut76]

Why don't you want to squeeze the grains? Leaching tannins?

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by b3s
sparging: pouring hot water (about 170F) over the grains to get any fermentable sugars remaining out. never squeeze the grains.

Right. And sparging also stops the enzymes from converting the starches to sugars. However, above 170F, you will start to extract harsh tasting tannins from the grain.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Beerconnoisseur
... And sparging also stops the enzymes from converting the starches to sugars....

The best way to accomplish the above is to mash out at 170F for about 10 minutes.

[toneyc]

Originally posted by tjones_jr
two things...

are you saying that you basically steep the grains in let's say...1gal water then add to the 4 gal you have boiling?


2nd...can someone explain sparging.

Yep, I heat a half gallon of water to 165-170*F, turn off the heat, dump the grains in, and cover. After the appropriate amount of time has elapsed, I pour that through the strainer into the brew pot and then pour another 2 gallons or so of 170*F through the grains (sparging) in the strainer then discard the grains and continue on to the brew.

:)
Toney.