thinking of going biab

paulg · Post by **paulg** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:51 pm

I currently brew 2 can kits and would like to go to extract or biab/ag brewing
I live in greece and have too order from the uk
my questions are
1 is it viable to do as the shipping costs are the same for upto about 25 kg dependant on parcel size
will grain and hops etc store and how long for
2 I will need to source extra equipment ie boiler ,grain bag ,mash tun etc
this is why im thinking biab as less expense initially
is a tea urn boiler or stockpot the preferred method and what size should i aim for ,as I would like to brew to 23 litre lenght
I probably can do adapting my self and may be able to find urns or stockpot locally

thanks in advance Paul

danbrew · Post by **danbrew** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 5:02 pm

paulg wrote:I currently brew 2 can kits and would like to go to extract or biab/ag brewing
I live in greece and have too order from the uk
my questions are
1 is it viable to do as the shipping costs are the same for upto about 25 kg dependant on parcel size
will grain and hops etc store and how long for

Grains - air tight container, cool dry place - at least a year I'd say
Hops - in the freezer, again a year...

paulg wrote: 2 I will need to source extra equipment ie boiler ,grain bag ,mash tun etc
this is why im thinking biab as less expense initially

You need a boiler, a bag, a fermenting vessel, a syphon tube, bottles and couple of other household bits like a big spoon and some fairly accurate scales...

paulg wrote:is a tea urn boiler or stockpot the preferred method and what size should i aim for ,as I would like to brew to 23 litre lenght

Stock pot or tea urn whichever you prefer, but 30l is a good size for 23l . Good luck.

Bribie · Post by **Bribie** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:48 pm

Hi Paul
Out of interest, what's the shipping charge for up to 25k in â‚¬ ?

Goulders · Post by **Goulders** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 12:05 am

You've got most of the kit for BIAB already, ie FV etc. I have a 40L buffalo boiler so as to do a full BIAB (no sparge) and bought a bag, hop strainer and a 25l cube off eBay for no chill.

paulg · Post by **paulg** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:22 am

Hi Bribie
no the costs are in pounds sterling
paul

BeerEagle · Post by **BeerEagle** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:46 pm

Goulders wrote:You've got most of the kit for BIAB already, ie FV etc. I have a 40L buffalo boiler so as to do a full BIAB (no sparge) and bought a bag, hop strainer and a 25l cube off eBay for no chill.

Goulders, which cube did you buy from eBay? Could you post a link? Thanks.

Goulders · Post by **Goulders** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:58 pm

Fraid not as the wife bought it for my birthday. If you search brewing eqpt I think the seller posted a link on there. It was advertised as HDPE and food safe I think

Goulders · Post by **Goulders** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:59 pm

Actually just remembered I did post a link some time ago. Search my posts you should find it. Sorry!

Home now, see this post http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... 35&t=45420

BeerEagle · Post by **BeerEagle** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:57 pm

Thanks, found it.

Bribie · Post by **Bribie** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:03 am

Hi Paul, so what's the postage in pounds sterling? I also pay freight as I'm in an out-of-town area and buy my stock online and get it sent up from my Supplier who is about an hour away. Sure not as far as the UK to Greece but I was going to have a look at your rates and indicate what sort of price per litre you would end up paying.

I take it you get your kits posted from the UK as well?

paulg · Post by **paulg** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:19 pm

bribie
i got a starter kit inc fermenter /barrell/spoon/hydrometer/thermometer etc and that included 1 2 can kit rthis cost me Â£42 postage and the weight was approx 15 kilos
I later ordered severall kits (about 7 ) and another barrell total wieght 20 odd kilos and the cost was about the same
i think from uk over 1 kilo the costs are about the same up to 30 kilos with a bit of extra depending on the size of the parcel

I have had an idea
we have a brewery on Corfu that produces among others 2 english style bitter beers I guess they must use pale malt for these and not lager malt ,maybe if they do I can buy some pale malt from them as this is the major grain in most of the beers and I could order the small amounts of malts and hops etc in one parcel for more than one brewing seesion (with a bit of planning).If not the pale malt would have to be maybe 10 kilos plus the other things(I think this would give me enough for maybe 2-3 brews)

I would like to try brewing.I prefer dark beers ie Mild & Porter style and want to try to reproduce one of the beers I used to drink in the uk, Ridleys mild and adnams mild both sadly no longer available.
I know that ridley mild is in Normans Almanac posting .

danbrew · Post by **danbrew** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:45 pm

Woah that's steep postage... Is Germany, France or belgium any better for you postage wise? Thinking especially brouwland? Could be worth investigating...?

Though that place in Corfu should be able to sort you out if you phone ahead... Depends on how nice they want to be i suppose!

paulg · Post by **paulg** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 2:10 pm

yes maybe but after much searching I have found a web site in greece for home brew and they appear to have most things for all grain /biab grain and hop wise
the only problem is the grain is belgian and some of the names are a bit diffent
also pale malt is shown as 7-9 EBC wear as my book shows 5 EBC can anyone explain in simple terms how I would need to alter recipes for BIAB and different EBC (or point me to an article/thread
thanks Paul

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