I'm about to try my first BIAB, and I have a silly question asked out of complete ignorance.
My lifestyle is (for lack of a better word) a bit "nomadic". Unfortunately, this means I left in storage my mash tun (i.e. cooler with drainage system). I don't really want to buy another for two reasons: I'm saving to buy a nice stainless mash tun, and I don't want to have the cost of a redundant cooler eat into my stainless budget. The lack of my dedicated tun is why I want to try BIAB.
What I do have, on the other hand, is my really nice cooler (i.e. ORCA). The good news is that it will hold heat for a very long time. The bad news is the drain on this cooler is such that it's impossible (yes, I've tried) to fit a drain system that will both allow filtering and limit "splashing" and picking up oxygen when I drain the cooler.
A minor secondary concern is the largest kettle I can find is 5 gallons, and I'm making a 3 gallon batch. BeerSmith says I need 4.8 gallons of water to do this, but water plus grain strikes me as awful close to 5 gallons, especially if I need to add mash water to heat or cool the mash. The cooler is 6.5 gallons, so I have a bit more flexibility there.
All the BIAB information I have show using the bag in the brew kettle, but I worry that I will not be able to hold the mash temp in the kettle. So I was thinking it might be worth it to use the cooler, pull the bag, and then use my racking cane to transfer the wort into the brew kettle. Yes, that's an extra step which kind of obviates the simplicity of BIAB, but it's a one time thing. By the time I finish drinking this batch, I hope to have a stainless tun. Does this sound feasible, or am I far too concerned with keeping the mash temp?
I'm very new to this, so I really appreciate any advice.
My lifestyle is (for lack of a better word) a bit "nomadic". Unfortunately, this means I left in storage my mash tun (i.e. cooler with drainage system). I don't really want to buy another for two reasons: I'm saving to buy a nice stainless mash tun, and I don't want to have the cost of a redundant cooler eat into my stainless budget. The lack of my dedicated tun is why I want to try BIAB.
What I do have, on the other hand, is my really nice cooler (i.e. ORCA). The good news is that it will hold heat for a very long time. The bad news is the drain on this cooler is such that it's impossible (yes, I've tried) to fit a drain system that will both allow filtering and limit "splashing" and picking up oxygen when I drain the cooler.
A minor secondary concern is the largest kettle I can find is 5 gallons, and I'm making a 3 gallon batch. BeerSmith says I need 4.8 gallons of water to do this, but water plus grain strikes me as awful close to 5 gallons, especially if I need to add mash water to heat or cool the mash. The cooler is 6.5 gallons, so I have a bit more flexibility there.
All the BIAB information I have show using the bag in the brew kettle, but I worry that I will not be able to hold the mash temp in the kettle. So I was thinking it might be worth it to use the cooler, pull the bag, and then use my racking cane to transfer the wort into the brew kettle. Yes, that's an extra step which kind of obviates the simplicity of BIAB, but it's a one time thing. By the time I finish drinking this batch, I hope to have a stainless tun. Does this sound feasible, or am I far too concerned with keeping the mash temp?
I'm very new to this, so I really appreciate any advice.