Hello Kenbar, and welcome.

No problem on equipment recommendations. But some questions we will have include how large batch sizes do you want to have? Here in the USA, common to have 5 gallons / 19 liter into packaging (keg or bottles). Wish to keg, or to bottle? What kind of space do you have? Details...?

If can't find info on the forum, best is to go to the beginner section of this forum and post a new message with clear title. Someone will be along to provide good advice.

Hello Oli,

Let me take a quick stab at this for you...

Initially for my first 20 batches they were almost all around 5 gallons into packaging or a tad over, around 19 liters. Then I had several where I brewed extra because..it turns out, I drink too much beer. Then I had some guys at the office, including my younger brother wanting me to brew beer for them too or let them by some of the excess if I maximize the batch size. I've agreed to a large extent. I'm not a huge IPA fan but do like them when well balanced so brewed 5 gallons for the brother and kept the remaining 2.2 gallons for myself. You might have no interest in agreeing to things like this, but it is easy to happen if you have the ability to do so... So for yourself or others, it is nice to be able to brew bigger than "normal 5 gallon / 19 liter batch sizes.

Kettle Size:
This is one where it's best in my opinion to get bigger than you think that need. I have a 16 gallon / 60 liter pot, and am glad it's no smaller than that. For beers with OG around 1.052 that finish around 5 to 5.5% ABV - I can often push it to around 8 gallons / 30 liters or so VIP (Volume Into Packaging), max. If I was brewing a larger OG IPA or Double IPA (DIPA), it gets more challenging to maximize batch size. As noted in above paragraph I made a DIPA and got just over 7 gallons but did some withholding water and extra sparging of grain left over, along with longer boil time... Kind of a mess. Extra work!

If you have a 50 liter / 13 gallon pot, you should be okay with DIPA batch sizes, VIP in the 19-20 liter range without extra work to go larger. So if that is acceptable to you, you are probably fine. Bigger pot gives you greater flexibility in larger batch sizes, or larger gravity beers.

Combo Kit w/ Burner and Bag:
No idea what it all is in your kit. And sometimes products available in US and U.K. could be a little bit different. It's easy to get custom made bags of high quality custom tailored to your pot. So worst case if the bag wasn't good you could always get a better one later. Kits make purchases easier, so hopefully components are good.

Recipe:
No idea on your recipe... I use the BCS Book, Brewing Classic Styles, and we know how to convert this using our BIABacus file. If you had dimensions internal on the pot you could fill out a BIABacus file and post it in our Use this thread to convert recipes" thread, in the BIAB for new users section. Others can help us out there that have more experience and know Greg Hughes recipes. http://www.biabrewer.info/viewforum.php?f=5

Also on the above link - for sure download:
BIABacus File: http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1869
Clear Brewing Technology (CBT): http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2685

CBT helps it all to make sense. And I hope the above is a help.

Welcome to the forum rbalderasm, InDublin, BeagleBraü, diar42 and Hass. You are in the right place to learn a great method for making great beer. Read up on BIAB here so that you get a good idea of what to do and what not to do, then ask questions before buying stuff. You can post your BIABacus file that you fill out for your recipe at your scale in your equipment and ask questions even before you go buying ingredients.

I used to work in a lab where we joked that a week in the lab could save you an hour in the library (yes, it was that long ago). My point is that you should read more posts here before repeating mistakes made by others. We all started where you are now. Keep things simple and write down what you do. Brew on.

Great post IPAndy and welcome to the forum

Nice job you have there and hopefully you answer questions others have about craft breweries .

There is a lot of info on the site but a lot of it is buried and will remain so until the new site structure is completed. So, if you have trouble finding the right info, just ask.

The Calculator is now called The BIABacus and you can find it here. Scary to look at when you first open it but it's actually really fast to use and learn. Also read the stickies in this New Members section such as Clear Brewing Terminology as they'll make things easier for you.

All the best with your current brew

Welcome, asherwarren et Bienvenue, Nono84.

It is great to have new and interesting brewers join the site. Ask questions, you will get answers. This is the place to learn how you can make great beer simply.

Hello everyone! New brewer here.

1. Where are you from?
Slovenia, Europe. Slovenia is perhaps not known as a brewing country, but the first written mentions of beer and brewing ingredients and of a brewery date back to 1160 and 1290, respectively. Modern (post-18th century) brewing mainly followed the continental (Chezch) school, but quite a few craft breweries exist in the country now. And we produce some great hops (Styrian Golding).

2. How did you stumble across the site?
After starting to read seriously the brewing forums, I was very quickly pointed to this site as the prime BIAB reference.

3. What you think of it so far?
It's fantastically informative, and a very friendly community. After some moderately systematic reading of the forum posts, there's almost nothing left for me to ask :-)

4. Have you brewed at all before. If so, for how long and what method are you currently using?
I have never brewed before. Finding out about the miniBIAB method on this site prompted me to go for it - bought the neccessary equipment and ingredients. I made my first brew yesterday, which I will report in lenght in the appropriate subforum.

5. Do you work? Are you retired or maybe you run a household?
I am a geoscientist, working as a lecturer/researcher at university. I will use a short video of boiling wort which I took yesterday in my lecture on Earth's mantle convection :-)

Hello Okram, and welcome to the forum!

No doubt you've already downloaded the BIABacus file and found the CBT Page to help with Terminology. Sounds like you're on the right path. Let us know what questions you have, and let us know how it goes. Look forward to seeing your post...

Had to remind myself exactly where Slovenia was; where exactly in the former Yugoslavia it is located. Just north of Croatia... Was planning a 25th wedding anniversary trip next year to Europe again next year. It's been a while. Bavaria, Salzburg, Croatia coast...and Czech Republic if able to connect the dots in time allowed. May have to pare down my list so not to be too rushed. Did a quick internet search on Slovenia. What a beautiful place!!! May have to add it to the list of places to consider. Not enough time (or money) to visit all the places my heart desires.

Welcome again to the forum, and let us know if we can help.

Hi Scott and thank you for the warm welcome! My first brewing adventure is now posted and can be seen here: http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=152&t=3986.

I will definitely come back with questions, but my initial goal was just to try it. In this respect, let me paraphrase my favorite writer (the original is about cooking):
"Brewing beer is very easy and I can already do it. But it's not always easy to drink the product of your brewing."

Your Europe travel plan sounds great; perhaps the Czech Republic is a bit away from the main trajectory of your travel. But of you go there, you should probably not miss Vienna either. Croatian coast is beautiful, we vacation there every Summer. On the way there, you are almost bound to pass through Slovenia - it would be fun to meet you, and if I can be of any help in your planning, let me know through PM.

Gretings, Marko

Welcome Dr_Hops! There's a whole lot of information on this site. Ask quetions and you'll always get some good responses back. There seem to be quite a few small batch brewers, which makes sense as BIAB is well suited for experimentation.

Hello Jefraz2003, and welcome to the forum!

I don't have your issue but can certainly understand... Others that post here, for one reason or another, like to brew but have to keep batch sizes small.

Not sure if you've looked yet, but here is a post from Marko, another new homebrewer, and he illustrates with pictures his first Min-BIAB excursion. http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=152&t=3986

Also: http://www.biabrewer.info/viewforum.php?f=23

Let us know if there are any questions, and let us know how it goes!

Welcome to the forum, Aaron & Dr. Strahov...

Aaron - I am from Oregon as well... Hopefully your kit has all the things you need. It's not too difficult, but can be best to ask questions before. Oh well, it will make beer and I think you will like it, so "no worries"... I started with extract, then extract with partial mash... So BIAB made sense when I heard about it. And IF, like some tried to say, it had slightly less efficiency - it is way less of a pain, and I don't have to worry about as much space to store things. BUT...it is actually more efficient than most of the conventional 3V setups.

Dr. Strahov - you show a Czech flag...but from SoCal. Let us know if you have any questions on anything. Like mentioned above, the best time to get advice on a system is before it is purchased. I would recommend doing research - great advice on this site! Then post what you are planning to get, along with explaining how you plan to use it, the gravity of beers you plan to brew, the volume of beer you want to put into packaging (keg or bottle...whatever).

For sure I would download the BIABacus file before doing brews. It's awesome for helping guide your brew day and making sure you can properly copy recipes, etc. Also the CBT (Clear Brewing Terminology) page is awesome and almost essential to make the terms make sense.

Again, welcome both of you, and let us know how we can help!