To Squeeze or not to Squeeze??

To squeeze or Not to Squeeze


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Medarius

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To squeze or not squeeze that is the question.

Going to try a BIAB next week and noticed there is much conflicting info on squeezing grain bag to squeeze "all the good stuff" out. I haven't done BIAB before, but you don't reach into mash tun and squeeze (ok now thats enough use of that word:)) ) the grains. So what is the reason for this practice? Does grain bill play a part in decision to sque…err tightly gripping the grains ??

I myself am going to rinse the grains in a bucket after soaking ,to get pre boil volume i need.
Thanks for playing,
Happy brewing all
 
If you have a way to suspend and let drain fully, then you need not squeeze - or at least vigorously squeeze. I checked the box for no squeeze, but I probably squeeze a tiny bit. Not much.
 
I try to let it drain, but I find that if I don't squeeze, I'm getting a quart or two of fairly strong wort after it sits and drains while I'm boiling. Since I don't want to wait that long to start a boil, I try to take advantage of that wort by squeezing. When I've had too much wort without squeezing, I've ended up saving the "drippings" for starters.
 
Im a serial squeezer:p i confess every brew day i strangle my brew bag and squeeze every drop of beer producing wort outta it! I prop it up ontop of kettls in a conical bucket with holes drilled in it for the sparge.
 
I was taught squeezing leads to tannin extraction and unwanted bitterness. I see that discussion regularly. So I don’t squeeze, compress, etc.

But our home brew club recently had a brewery owner over for a visit. He was asked what’s on the horizon for breweries. He said there would be more use of mash presses. He said he is surprised more micro’s aren’t using them, as the big guys have for years.

So I’m really not sure what to conclude on this subject.

Here is a link to a mash press (filter):

http://www.micropure.com/FilterPressMash.html
 
there might be such thing as tannin extraction in BIAB, but I've never ever experienced it, and now I only do vigorous squeezing.

By doing a very vigorous squeezing you are extracting a lot of really good sugars and wort out of the grain.

I don't even worry about sparging at the right temperature, I just add enough water to hydrate the grains so they swell, let it "steep" for a minute or two, and then squeeze it all back into the pot. Repeat this process until you hit your boil size target.

I get 75% efficiency across the board now when I started squeezing the bag.
 
Clearly, mash ph and temperature can lead to tannins and off flavors, but those are different subjects.

The more I read, the more I’m good with squeezing.
 
Tannins aren't a concern, necessarily. Mash PH can drift too high in a BIAB batch sparge and if the temp is over 170 tannins can be released, but those issues are not related to the pressure of squeezing the bag. I get high 70s and sometimes well into the 80s in efficiency percentage and I've never had a beer from any grist light, dark or in between exhibit astringency, so I'll keep doing exactly what I'm doing. :)
 
I voted not to, not because of any problems, but it isn't really necessary if you just suspend the grain over something for a while and add the additional wort collected back to the boil.
Not only that, but who likes to handle ~160° sticky mash? Not me!
Either way is fine.
Cheers,
Brian
 
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Gloves! I put on some of those rubber washing up gloves does the trick. Whenever I. Handling that hot sticky bag I wear them.
 
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When I used BIAB I would squeeze like the bag owed me money. Then at some point I moved to simply suspending the bag and draining naturally and found I wasn't doing any better by squeezing like the dickens. I was basically getting the same either way, so I stopped squeezing altogether.
 
I use a brew bag in my mash tun and squeeze the hell out of it mostly to get the liquid out quickly so I can start the boil.
 
When I used BIAB I would squeeze like the bag owed me money. Then at some point I moved to simply suspending the bag and draining naturally and found I wasn't doing any better by squeezing like the dickens. I was basically getting the same either way, so I stopped squeezing altogether.
The weight of the wet grain is essentially squeezing the bag, anyway. I'm not aware of pressure as a factor in tannin extraction so I think "don't squeeze the bag" might be beer lore.
 
You do extract some gums that otherwise wouldn't go into the boil , that white crud that gets extruded through bag .
Beers are tasting great and pouring clear so must be doing something right
 

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