Stepped BIAB or single infusion cooler?

[Fore]

Oh the bug is starting to bite.

A simple electric boiler and cooler mash tun would be a low cost step into AG, but I see there are boilers available with programmable temp control. This would allow stepped mashing. The only downside is that, to keep the grains off the heating elements, it must be in a muslin bag.

I then wonder if there would be any discernable difference, in respect to the final product, between BIAB and mashing in a cooler. I'm thinking of efficiencies and beer clarity for example. I also read that 95% of beers don't really need stepped mashing anymore due to developments in wheat over the last few decades, so I wonder if it's not really a big plus in any case and a cooler would be just fine.

Which of the two would you go for?

 

[calumscott]

Both. :)

My eventual set up will be a 70l shiny HLT, a 50l shiny thermo mashtun and a 70l shiny boiler. All gas fired.

That allows me to BIAB if I want, 3V if I want, BIAB step mash (for Hefeweizen etc it's a must) if I want.

Total flexibility in one system. :thumb:

 

[Fil]

i use 3 vessels, BUT many biabers out there are much more accomplished brewers than me brewing better beers im sure, tho i do like mine,,

a good chef can cook a great meal in a burger van as well as a posh kitchen. biab is just a different approach and just needs a different set of kit.

i would biab first, if retrieving the grain bag is too much of a chore perhaps look at more vessels..

and while u can use biab pot elements to actively heat a mash its not as effective as a rims or herms approach as the grain mass isnt so good at transferring heat, so u can end up with a much worse mash, 1/2 cooked n 1/2 cold.. imho its best to retain heat with insulation and maintain a steady temp than faf with complications that could go wrong.

EDIT insulating the hell out of a biab pot will also make it way more efficient heating upto strike temps and boilling off too..


adding , a kettle full of off the boil water and a spoon to stir will also raise the mash temp

 

[Fore]

Thanks. Since my OP above, I've done a huge amount of reading on AG. I see that the preference is for a cooler mash tun, mainly to do with not having the mess of a bag to deal with, and less to do with the quality of beer. I see also that infusion mashes with several steps are also easily possible with a cooler; just add hot water! I can be daft sometimes, but I learnt a lot and the read has been very interesting, mash temps, mash PH, sparge methods, etc.

It will now take a lot to stop me from jumping into AG. Electrim Digital Boiler, Deluxe 45l Cooler Mash Tun, Breferm Mill, Thermapen, a homemade copper cooling coil, and a few other bits and bats, and I'll be joining the dark side. Graham Wheeler's book already in the mail. I even already know what my default sparge method will be .