Welcome, UVMnick.

Have you downloaded the BIABacus file yet? That will be hugely helpful in planning your brew, whether you are copying another persons recipe or developing your own.

There are some good recipes posted on the site. Also, the BIABacus can help you scale to your system if you wish to get the Brewing Classic Styles book. Book is full of high quality recipes.

Let us know how we can help.

Hi AJ, and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like you’ve jumped in with both feet. I remember all the info that a guy would get. So much and everyone seemed to have different advice. When I started many were still saying traditional full volume BIAB was crap, poor efficiency, etc. After much research I thought the idea had merit and bought components for a system.

I elected to avoid doing the RIMS type system. It seemed like it would be a lot of extra work, having to use (and clean) the pump and extra hoses. Didn’t think I would get much better efficiency than full volume BIAB. But who knows...? You almost have enough equipment to brew a batch each way and measure to compare...

I use a large 16 gallon pot with a deluxe BIAB bag made by MashedIn.beer. No need for false bottom and better to not use (without recirculating mash). Efficiency Into Boil (EIB) depends upon gravity of the brew normally runs in the low to mid 80s (82 to 84% average). Have had 90% or just over on a couple dry Irish Stouts that finishes around 4% ABV. Had high 70s couple times with very big beers where I maximized the largest possible batch size plus super high OG. If you can get great efficiencies with a less complex system that takes less time to clean - why get extra beer stuff to clean...?

Anyhow, welcome to the site. I look forward to seeing how it goes. Let us know if you have any questions.

Interesting

I can’t help you with the water guesstimate. The Brew N Water one is likely good choice, at least by reputation. Haven’t done much of that myself and likely should do more. Plan to with my next pale ale. Very soft water where I live in the Willamette Valley in Western Oregon. Like Pilsn, Czech Republic.

Think you are going to have to go for it. For sure let us know how it goes. Interesting to know.

Hey Nick,

Here is a link to the BIABacus file, version 1.3:
https://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1869

Also CBT - Clear Brewing Terminology - a very good section because it helps explain the terminology and what everything means. Helps the BIABacus sections to be less confusing:
https://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2685

The entire BIAB for newcomer section has lots of good info, and I would recommend to review it. Things about recipes, what is example of high quality recipe, what is a poor quality recipe, etc.:
https://www.biabrewer.info/viewforum.php?f=5

Let me know what you think and if there are any questions.

Welcome gonzo^^ Physics and beer go well together. If time is not very important, 2h for chilling will work fine. Some BIAB brewers do what is called no-chill and just let the hot wort cool to ambient Temp by itself without actively chilling.

Greetings Palmettoflyer - Charleston, South Carolina is beautiful. I’ll be going to a wedding there later this year. Read lots of things on this forum - you can use the search feature near the upper right corner of the page. Do check out the links provided a few posts above this one on this page. They will help a lot.

Hello, Walken100 Bart, it sure looks like you are getting into it. The simplicity of BIAB means you can spend less on equipment and more on ingredients to brew great beer. But there are so many variations on the theme, you will soon be enjoying your own brewing results.

Welcome, vk7tpg. That’s a lot of years brewing.The transition to AG will not be difficult for you. Read lots on this forum and ask questions, someone will get back to you.

And Greetings to Mike, mgiedrys. I’’d say that 2 tbsp of fresh orange zest would be plenty if you are brewing 5 gallons. A saison in Florida will be nice in the heat you get there.

Hello, Jeff01 from Aukland.. read lots and ask questions. This forum is full of good stuff. You can post your BIABacus file before purchasing ingredients and get feedback.

Hello ISP,

Welcome to the forum!

There are several forums out there, but I strongly believe biabrewer.info (the one founded by the BIAB pioneers) is the one with the best information, less BS posted and overall much more reliable and trustworthy information.

Equipment:
Have you upgraded your equipment, as of yet...? I had a 5-gallon stainless pot for brewing extract. Would brew with up to 3gallons and then top off fermenter with water. Not near large enough for BIAB whole grain batches. My goal was to have 5-gallon batches of average (5-6% ABV) at the start, and wanted to occasionally brew larger gravity beers too.A 10-gallon pot will just do it...but you will really appreciate (later) a larger pot! I ended up with a 16 gallon stainless steel pot and am so glad that I bought that size! Could actually justify some larger, but this size is very workable. Most often I brew 8-9 gallon batches. Put 5 gallons in my Corney keg, bottle several bottles for gifts and/or competition and put a couple gallons in cleaned and sanitized PTFE milk jugs. So when I have a keg that runs through too quick I can put some “reserve” beer in, carbonate it and be back in business... You may still bottle and not plan to need more than 5 gallons of finished beer...but this gives you the flexibility, and doesn’t cost much extra!

Forum Links:
There are a lot of excellent posts and information on the site. I will post some links for some of it. Others, you just have to look, and will be rewarded with many nuggets of great advice!

BIABACUS File - An Excel file that Pat and others put many thousand hours into developing. Hugely helpful to use with your brew day. Great for planning recipes or copying recipes. Pat just updated the file. I’ve used the previous one for the past few years and it has worked great! viewtopic.php?f=55&t=4059

CBT - Clear Brewing Terminology: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2685

BIAB for New Brewers Page: Great info for those interested in BIAB. And if you have questions where you cannot find an answer, feel free to post a new topic. Please be clear as possible, and a clear title, and one of us will be along to assist... viewforum.php?f=5

Let us know if any questions, and for sure how it goes!