Mashing Out With BIAB

[nigebeer]

I am just getting prepared for a first BIAB brew and was wondering how you mash out at the end of the mash? Do you heat up some more water to 80 deg C and then trickle sparge over the grain bag? or do you start heating the boiler up to 80degC at 90mins whilst the grain bag is still in the boiler?

[AnthonyUK]

If I did do it I would do it with the grain in the boiler obviously making sure your bag will not contact the element.
I wouldn't go as high as 80°c but maybe to no more than 78°c.
I would see if you need one though as it does complicate a process designed to be as easy as possible.
A dunk sparge in another vessel is another option if required.

[Coffeeuk]

I just raise the bag up slightly and switch on my 40l buffalo boiler for 7 mins. Gets it to around 76c, then turn the boiler off, give it a stir and drain the bag and boil away.

[killer]

I also mashout - I switch the heat back on and heat to 76 - 78°C. My bag sits a few inches above the element so there is no scorching. Sometimes, instead of doing this I pull the bag out, place in my 25L fermentor and sparge with 8L of water. I've found that I get an extra 10% of fermentables doing this.

Is it a bit of a faff - yes, but it only takes about 15 min and in this time I am only heating the sweet wort to boil temp anyway. I can't quite get 23L into the fermenter (I have a 29L boiler) without this top up step, but this gets me 28L into the boiler preboil for 23 into the fermentor post boil.

[Beer O'Clock]

I just raise the bag up slightly and switch on my 40l buffalo boiler for 7 mins. Gets it to around 76c, then turn the boiler off, give it a stir and drain the bag and boil away.

This ^^^^

[RdeV]

The aim with a Mashout step is to limit or cease enzyme activity, while it also brings the added benefit of reducing viscosity. The step has its roots in large commercial brewing processes where often the mash is transferred between two separate mashing and lautering vessels. My understanding is that timeliness and temperature become factors in that setting- a period may elapse between the mash and completion of lautering, leading to cooling and other undesirable effects, while a Mashout permits better control over the enzyme activity, complementing efficiency.
A Mashout has also been adopted in conventional amateur/ home settings (eg. HTB Mashout), largely mimicking commercial processes, however with Full- Volume BIAB its utility is limited IMO by virtue of the fact that the lautering process is more or less instantaneous through lifting and draining the bag, while the mash dynamics are also a bit different too. Many BIABers have reported skipping the Mashout step did not impact negatively or had little influence at best. With some BIAB philosophy emphasising simplicity in processes and equipment, skipping it makes some sense, but OTOH it is fairly trivial to achieve for most BIABers anyway. For a BIAB method such as MaxiBIAB the Mashout is a convenient byproduct of the Sparge step, which happens to be vital for that particular approach, but that is not utilised for Full Volume.

So, getting back to the OP- it really depends on which BIAB method you're using- if its Full Volume BIAB then I just wouldn't bother first time around, perhaps look to incorporate it if efficiency is really suffering and advice above on doing that is fine. If you're using a Volume- Limited method such as MaxiBIAB, then Mashout is achieved through the Sparge step, so more or less by default. If you're not sure which method you're using then its probably best to rewind a bit and consider the equipment you have at your disposal and how much beer you want to make with it.

Hope that helps!

[jaberry]

I've never done a mash out and 90% of the time hit my numbers.

[Cpt.Frederickson]

I tend to mashout as described above, seems to improve my efficiency by a few points, but its usually very high anyway. Try a few methods (without mashout, without sparge, with sparge etc etc) and find something that balances convenience and efficiency for your setup and style. Most of all, enjoy yourself