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Wanting to get started

Post #1 made 11 years ago
by rbcon2
Hello friends,

I have never done a BIAB beer. I have done extract and partial grain. I need some help! I have read a good deal of the forum posts and still am intimidated by all the jargon and tech talk. I Like Porters and IPA's. My attempt at a Porter using a partial grain did not turn out well, skunky would best describe it.

I have completed a keg conversion cutting out the top and trying to decide just how much gadgets to put into it, ball valve, thermometer, site glass. the list can go on. I purchased a no chill container but am still unsure on how to use it. I need to purchase my brew bag and whether I should purchase the related gadgets, then I will be ready.

I tried an American pale ale and had decent results. Can someone provide me a simple beer and help me get the confidence to try and start. the BIAGucus software is Greek to me so that is not an option at this time without some help. :headhit:
Roger Barnett

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Mark Twain
    • SVA Brewer From United States of America

Wanting to get started

Post #2 made 11 years ago
by Contrarian
Welcome to the world of BIAB. It can get confusing with all of the terminology out there but in essence it is a very simple process that you can complicate as much as you would like.

Basically, all you need is your keg, a bag, a decent thermometer, a heat source and a way of transferring hot wort from your keg to the no chill cube. I you've done extract I assume you have a hydrometer and some good cleaner and sanitiser.

I have a 3 piece ball valve and some silicone hose for transfers but a racking cane and syphon will do the job as long as it can handle the temperature. From my perspective a ball valve is the simplest way to go.

The starting point for you is the size of your no chill cube. In the BIABacus that is the number you want for Volume into fermenter VIF. Some cubes hold more than their stated value, for example I have some 20L cubes that hold 23L so it's worth checking.

There's nothing a sight glass can do that a ruler can't so I wouldn't bother with that from the outset. If your kettle has straight sides it is a simple calculation but due to the shape of a keg you may need to measure volumes by adding one litre of water at a time and charting it against standard measuring units (mm, inches etc).

The simplest way to start is to choose a high integrity recipe from this sight and then scale it to suit the volume you want to make. The BIABacus will then adjust the grain bill for you as well as the hop additions and you can buy exactly what you need. This is a lot easier than starting from scratch.

If you let people know where you are there is probably someone not too far away who would be happy to show you a brew day, watching someone else demystifies the whole process and on my experiences brewers love nothing more than sharing some knowledge over a boiling wort!

Happy to answer any specific questions but this should be a good start, find a recipe you like in the site and try to scale it for your gear then post it back up here. There's plenty of old hands who will let you know if it's good to go!

Once you have a couple I brews under your belt you will wonder why you were so nervous about it all and will be enjoying the beat beers you've ever made so relax and ask lots of questions, it's how we all started out!

Post #3 made 11 years ago
by majorphill
rbcon2

Welcome to the slippery slope of brewing your own beer. :salute:

Contrarian has given you good advice on the equipment you need. Don't start with a lot of gear you don't need. You can spend any amount of money you want on gadgets after that, but it unlikely your beer will be much better.

If your looking for an American Pale Ale try this one.

BIABacus looks intimidating to start with, it did to all of us, but just remember it's main aim is to allow you to scale a recipe you have found. It works out the grain bill you will need, the hops and the volumes at various points through the process.

Look at Section B to start with and enter your kegs dimensions. This works well if you have a straight sided keg. If not, follow Contrarions advice. Enter the amount you want into your fermenter, VIF.

Next enter the OG you have or want into section C. Then enter the grain bill of the recipe you want to try. BIABacus will scale that grain bill and give the results on the right hand side "what you will use".

Enter your hops into Section D and BIABacus will scale. Things get tricky here because very few recipes found in the wild will have enough information to scale these correctly. You either need to know how they worked out the IBU's or the Volume of Ambient Wort (VAW). Follow this forum and you will see this is a major stumbling point on recipe scaling. :idiot:

After that look at section K and you will have all your voumes worked out.

Ask all the questions you like. It's how we all learnt.

Start brewing. :thumbs:
Last edited by majorphill on 13 Jul 2014, 21:31, edited 1 time in total.

Post #4 made 11 years ago
by PistolPatch
Welcome rbcon and nice to see the above members are looking after your questions :thumbs:,

Just quickly, the BIABacus also handles keg-shaped kettles. The second half of this post, though relating to an earlier BIABacus version, will help you work out which measurements you need for Section X so as depth and headspace numbers will work for your keg.

If you do that and use a recipe already in BIABacus form, the only other section of the BIABacus you will need to make inputs in are, at most, 3 fields in Section B. Once you have done that, you will know how much of each grain and hop to buy and how much water to use. As the guys above said, it is easy once you know it but at the moment, the help and site structure is not that great so make sure you do ask questions.

Have fun!
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 13 Jul 2014, 23:50, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #5 made 11 years ago
by rbcon2
Thank you to all who responded, any new adventure comes with a certain amount of apprehension. The input I have received so far is very reassuring. I have ordered my brew bag then I will be ready to go. :sneak:
Roger Barnett

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Mark Twain
    • SVA Brewer From United States of America

Post #6 made 11 years ago
by Lumpy5oh
http://biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1869
Take a look at the Biabacus APA file above. Many folks here have started with this recipe with great results. It is also a great way to start to understand the Biabacus. You will need to firstly change the kettle dimensions to match your kettle and probably input the information about the ingredients you will be using (ie, different aa for your hops). Play around with it and post your file up and we can guide you before brew day.
Last edited by Lumpy5oh on 14 Jul 2014, 05:17, edited 1 time in total.
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