Collections
& Opening hours
In
these uncertain times we still welcome visitors but we have social
distancing measures in place to protect customers and staff alike.
Please phone in advance to allow us to schedule your visit avoiding
other clients / couriers etc. In normal times, we encourage customers
to visit and collect orders but as a responsible company we have
to limit interactions between customers and staff. Note, we accept
payment by card except Amex. We are open on weekdays between 9am
and 4pm, other times are possible but by prior arrangement only.
Deliveries
and stocks
Jigsaw operates weekdays from 8-45am until 5.15pm, we are closed
outside these times but frequently respond to e-mailed queries.
On weekdays, we dispatch orders on the day they arrive, although
sometimes we have a backlog after a busy weekend. Our logistics
partner DHL has coped admirably well but they now ask us to quote
one to three working days for delivery, please place your order
with this in mind. As a guide orders received up to 2pm on weekdays
will be dispatched that day with the 1 to 3 day delivery caveat.
Weekend orders will leave us on Monday. Larger orders will be dispatched
by pallet and similarly, we will dispatch these as we receive them
on a 48 hour service, if you need them on a next day basis, there
is a modest charge. Each order we process has a tracking number
on the invoice allowing you to see when the goods will arrive, we
have no more information than this in most instances. Any item on
the website is in stock, sometimes we get caught by unexpected order
surges but these are few are far between. If we experience a stock-out,
we try to get a message on the website straight away.
There
is a gas build up between the layers of the bag – what am
I doing wrong?
The
bags are made of two layers, the inner layer is a polythene and
has no barrier to gas. The film layer is a multilayer coextrusion
and this contains a gas barrier layer called EVOH. This protects
the product from unwelcome oxidation and keeps it fresher for longer.
As the CO2 effervesces from the product it builds a modest pressure
and all gasses are pushed from the inside to the outside. This means
the dissolved Oxygen in the product reduces keeping the product
fresher for longer. The gas between the layers doesn’t happen
with Jigsaw’s unique 20L ale bags which are constructed to
avoid this, they still extend the shelf life as other bags do. Livelier
beers that effervesce more and a rise in temperature increase this
effect. If the yeast will allow it, condition the beer cooler than
“normal” in the bag.
Filling
a bag in box is straightforward and best achieved as follows. Care
should be taken not to nick the bag, don’t put it put heavy
objects on them, don’t crumple or scrunch the bag up, keep
them flat ideally in the box provided, note, there’s no such
thing as a small leak, it either leaks or it doesn’t!
Firstly, part make-up the box; take the bag in both hands by the
neck and tug the tap out of the gland. For obvious reasons, place
the tap in sterilising solution and not on a dirty bench. Put the
bag into the slot on the filling aid and dangle it into the box,
this will support the bag while filling takes place and acts as
a third hand. Place everything on a weigh scale and set the tare
to zero. Filling can be from tank, cask, barrel, “petrol pump”
or jug, whatever it is, sterilize it first. When you have the appropriate
quantity of liquid in the bag, gently squeeze as much air from the
bag as possible and use tap closing pliers to fully push the tap
home. This can also be achieved manually, just pick the bag up,
position the tap uppermost, and with both hands put the base of
your palms onto the back of the flange and holding the tap with
your fingers, push the tap fully home to the second click stop.
More
information on Vitop Connectors ...
Jigsaw
has worked for many years with Vitop, aiding the design process
& acting as an Agent Distributor. The relationship has been
built up over many years since Vitops conception in the 1990s. In
fact Simon Vine was the first commercial visitor to the original
Vitop factory in France. During the past ten years or so, Vitop
have been an exemplary supplier. During this period, we have not
experienced a single fault with a connector. It is simply the best
device to connect bag in boxes to the point of dispense that exists.
First of all, here are some basics, the hose barb on the connector
is 9mm wide (3/8 of an inch) so the internal diameter of the tubing
needs to be the same. Tubing with a 9mm bore & 15mm (5/8”)
o/d with some give in it is best. As mentioned we get zero complaints
about the connectors, but their lifespan is not indefinite! Leaks
can occur when the connectors are damaged over time. Jigsaw recommends
that customers regularly using Vitop connectors change them every
twelve months.
Finally, your clients (landlords, publicans, etc.) have pipe in
their cellars that is too wide for the outlet on the connector.
In such cases the solution is simple, take a small (15mm) piece
of the correct size pipe, attach it to the connector, push it inside
the wider bore tubing & secure with a jubilee clip or similar
and it works.
Customer
Own Design Boxes
We can run relatively small quantities
of customised boxes to client’s own designs. Generally, there
is no difference in unit cost between custom and standard boxes,
but there is a one off set up cost for each size. The print set
up cost varies and is akin to asking “how long is a piece
of string” as it varies depending upon design, number of colours,
size of box, etc. As a guide the set-up costs for a one colour 36pt
box could vary from as little as £350 to as much as £800!
Second and third colours will increase this cost. It is also dependent
upon the number of revisions you make; our advice would be to pick
a design and stick to it. The minimum order quantity for a single
colours box will increase accordingly, but the MOQ for a single
colour design in each size is as follows; 3L 1800, 5L 1200, 10L
700, 20L / 36pt 650. Similarly, the unit cost will increase by between
2% & 10% per colour. For obvious reasons we ask for payment
in advance for own design work.
How
long will my beer / cider last in the box
All of bags we sell are made with material that has a barrier to
the transmission of gas, thus protecting the contents from the harmful
effects of oxygen. The shelf life of any product will depends on
many variables, whether pasteurized or not, alcoholic content, percentage
sugar, cleanliness at fill, size of the bag, dissolved oxygen in
the product and headspace in the filed bag. However over and above
all of these in importance is storage temperature, essentially the
higher the storage temperature the shorter the shelf life. Simply
put, shelf life will vary from product to product and it’s
advisable to run a trial on your own products to verify what is
the actual shelf life in the filled bag.
Beer – we did some tests a few years ago
with a local brewery and we achieved 6 – 8 weeks shelf life
unopened on an IPA(3.9%) & Best Bitter (4.3%), we imagine it’s
less if you open it first. The beer does lose a little liveliness
but this is not significant if you pull it through a hand pump.
Cider – some makers who pasteurize &
hot fill achieve at least a year’s shelf life in bag in box.
Those who don’t pasteurize achieve months in the summer but
twice this in the winter.
Priming & conditioning
We
know of a number of breweries who successfully accomplish this.
Clearly they all have their own methods but essentially they follow
this procedure. Fill bag in the box, do not replace the tap, add
priming solution, replace the tap but only put halfway in to the
first click stop (easy once you have done one) then condition at
12C approx. and every few days or a week or so release the excess
CO2 that has built up by pulling the tap out pushing down on the
gas pillow & replacing the tap halfway home. Then once you’re
ready to serve, push the tap fully home, close the box with tape,
etc. and move to serving position to settle
Exporting
Bag in Box
Our
system works well when the temperature is controlled to 10 - 15C,
but we have heard of clients who export but find their boxes destroyed
at the other end by carriers who have not treated them with respect
and care. They are not metal barrels after all! Our advice would
be to trial the shipping route carefully before commencing a mass
shipment.
Cider
or beer bags for homebrew wine?
We
would recommend cider bags for homemade wine, clearly plain boxes
will be best allowing you to put your own labels on for identification
purposes.
Box
dimensions
Outer
dimensions of Jigsaw Boxes (cm)
boxes and weights (gm) are as follows:-
3L Box: 13 length, 13 width, 22 height - 130 gm
5L Box: 16 length, 16 width, 24 height - 199 gm
10L/18pt Box: 20 length, 20 width, 34 height - 416 gm
20l/36pt Box: 26 length, 26 width, 40 height - 758 gm
20l/36pt Squat Box:26 length, 28 width, 38 height - 758 gm
20L Courier Box 32.5 x 32.5 x 42.5 height (internal)
3 bottle Presentation Pack: 9 length, 23 width, 29 height
6 bottle Presentation Pack: 16 length, 24 width, 32 height
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