Review
"The BREWHA BIAC has a really great mash temperature control system so your mash temperature is held consistent…electric element and recirc….it has more control that we even use in our mash tun in the brewery so you can definitely make reproducible mashes, really dial in the mash temperature, have the correct amount of body and attenuation that you are looking for... Another benefit of the BREWHA BIAC is the sanitation point—as far as the jacketed chiller, as opposed to running through a plate chiller, I suppose the breweries will use one, but the small ones are an absolute nightmare to clean, to backflush and some of them aren’t really designed well for it.
This thing is really easy to clean. I’ve had no problems with contamination from batch to batch. The manufacturing quality is fantastic. The steel is really good, the welds are polished, it’s super easy to clean."
—Danny Seeton, Lead Brewer, Parallel 49 Brewing Co, Vancouver, BC
"I purchased the medium BIAC in March of 2014 and have been using it ever since. This system is great in every aspect - compact, quality, ease of brewing, and can be used in many different configurations. One of the best things about the BIAC is the lack of cleaning required. On brew day, you fill it up with water, mash, boil, and chill. The only piece of equipment that needs to be cleaned during brew day is your mash colander, and it's as simple as giving it a quick spray and scrub, about 5 minutes in total. The jacket is a nice feature for two reasons: 1) you don't have to clean/setup a chiller on brew day (saving you time and aggravation) 2) you can hook up a heating/cooling source to control fermentation temps. I've been running a glycol chiller to cool the wort during fermentation, and in the winter I turn the chilling function of the chiller off and run an aquarium heater to bring the temps up a bit. On kegging day, transferring to kegs is a breeze, and cleanup is quick. It's really nice not having to move equipment around.
In the end, there's nothing I haven't been able to do with the BIAC. It's a quality piece of equipment that can be adjusted to suit any brewers style. Also, the customer service I've received has been outstanding!"
—Jimmy B, Home brewer, Halifax, NS
" I've had my medium BIAC for 6 months now and have no complaints,if I did Nathan would take care of it right away. I tried partial mash years ago and didn't care for it, uncertain results and, oh, the wonderful boil overs on the kitchen stove. Thank you BREWHA for my beautiful kettle, making beer has never been more enjoyable. I have no problem with efficiency or infections due to the brilliant 3 in 1 concept. And the BIAC is just icing on the cake. Quality is top notch and will easily last a lifetime. Get it you won't be sorry."
—Chris S, Brewer, Maple Ridge, BC
" First of all, I giving a 5+ stars to Nathan that help us to get the best system for our needs in a nanobrewery startup in Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly,QC. After checking all of our options, we decided to go with 2 Medium BIAC. Fast shipping by Brewha and great service to help us provide a quick setup installation at our place. First batch was fast and easy...that me 6 hours Top to Bottom to do my American apple pale ale. Amazing Stainless steel quality and great design that was perfect for us ! I would recommend this system to anyone who wants a good system with a good service by Nathan and his team !"
—Alex Larrivée, Head Brewer, La Confrérie, Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Québec
" The BIAC is simply perfect in form and function for the discerning brewer. I purchased the small and absolutely love the reduced footprint, efficient design, and process simplification. Brewing in the conical is brilliant. The BIAC is very well made. Heavy duty and beautiful. The casters make it easy to move and the simple design makes it easy to clean. Nathan is nothing short of amazing to deal with. He is very helpful and lighting fast with his responses. This is the perfect brewery."
—Todd Lenig, Home brewer, Iowa
" I considered building my own equipment and poorer over endless options to purchase equipment from all the big players before deciding on Brewha Equipment. This was by far the best investment I've made where I never once felt regret. I'd encourage anyone who is serious about having the best brewing experience to get this 3-1. In fact I got the Mash and HLT as well. You can tell this was built by a brewer as it seems everything was well thought out. All made with the highest quality materials and parts. Now I enjoy brewing year round indoors, regardless of the weather, and my prep sanitation and post cleanup is super easy. Nathan at Brewha also made the experience better as he was VERY personable and helpful, to include taking my calls on questions and ensuring that I was 110% satisfied... and I am."
—Jeff, Home brewer, Grand Blanc, MI
"We tend to run pilot system brews for most of the beers we make here and the BREWHA equipment has allowed us to replicate what we do on the big scale. We are impressed with the quality of construction; we haven’t had any issues using this for a pilot system. All-in-all it’s been a top notch piece of equipment and we now rely on it as part of our weekly procedures in the brewery."
—Graham With, Head Brewer, P49 Brewing Co, Vancouver, BC
" It's been a bit of a whirlwind journey for me with BIAC and now this chiller. I got my Medium in the early summer and wanted to use the conical to do a Bavarian Helles (Augustiner Clone, actually). It became clear super quickly that I didn't have 50 deg F municipal water, but 72 degree, so I needed a solution.
This has been exactly what I needed. The operation of the cooler itself is very easy to understand and the existing hoses that shipped with my BIAC fit fine for recirculating the water from the chill well to the jacket and back out the exhaust port and into the chiller. I put my BIAC right up against the edge of the box that the chiller is on and the longish tube from sparging feeds water from the pump while the blowoff tube is short enough to just return the water right to the well.
A couple of key tips to be successful: 1. You need a long blowoff tube. I use a 7', 1/2" silicon tube, because the air headspace on a 10G batch will shrink considerably when you cool the wort and in my case it drew the Star-San back into the wort a couple of times before I figured it out. 2. The cooler is both large and heavy and needs airflow. In my garage, that was a challenge until I built a little dais for it to sit on. The first Helles is drinking great!
Other reviewers have noted that Nathan at Brewha is helpful and easy to query. That statement is underselling him and their service by a mile. He is handily the best resource for insight and help I have met in brewing. Period."
—Nate G., Home brewer, Seattle, WA
“You can actually do everything in the BIAC, which is pretty cool...Brewha’s equipment has been pivotal in developing the beer we plan to sell.”
—Aaron Colyn, Head Brewer, Twin Cities Brewing Co, Port Alberni, BC
" I have been brewing for 30 years, 15 years all-grain. My previous setup was a 10 gallon steam infusion step-mashing system with a Gott cooler and fly sparge. From set-up to clean-up a batch took 12 hours and used the whole kitchen and my driveway.
I chose the BREWHA BIAC after carefully considering RIMS, HERMS and Brewing Tree systems. I wanted to brew indoors, electric, not gas and without modifying my home to accommodate my brewery. The Small BIAC gave me that with a small footprint - under 2 foot diameter in all. It easily completely rolls into a closet when not in use, plugs into a regular 120 volt, 15 amp outlet and residential water supply. I can step mash, vorlauf, sparge, boil, chill, pitch and ferment all in one conical vessel and be done. Start to finish inside 5 hours. The entire shipment arrived in 2 well made wooden crates and was assembled and ready for a water run in 1 hour.
I received my BIAC on July 13 and brewed my first beer - an English Mild Ale - on July 19th. I did 3 more batches on the 25th, Aug 8th and 16th. I have shared those beers around and all have received glowing reviews. All 4 have gone off to competition. The system is easy to use, and best of all, fast and easy to clean!"
—Ken Noesgaard, Home brewer, Saskatoon, SK
"I wanted to let you know how impressed and pleased I am with my BIAC. I made my first brew a few weeks ago and the 3in1 performed beautifully. Being able to Mash, Boil and Ferment all in one vessel made my brew day shorter and more enjoyable. Controlling mash temperatures precisely is a great advantage. By using the power of 240v with a 5500W heating element as on your system, just kicks it up a notch. Having a rheostat on the power box (not having to fiddle with the digital controller) to control the amount of roll in the boil I found helpful.
I brew high gravity beers throughout the year. Having a mash colander that can handle large amounts of grain is a plus. In the past I have had to mash twice to get to the gravity I wanted. I really dislike adding DME and or extending the boil. As you know it messes with the color and makes for a longer brew day.
Having a water jacket for cooling, and maintaining the fermentation temperature is a fine addition. The large surface area, less chance for contamination and not having to clean a plate chiller, priceless…well almost.
The 3in1 will allowed me to sell and down size a bunch of my brewing equipment. I don’t need carboys, chillers, buckets, ice chests and a refrigerator taking up space.
After fermentation and transferring to kegs, I had an easy cleanup and placed all of the fittings, valves, hoses and control box into the colander and rolled the 3in1 into a closet.
Cheers to you!!
—Jim S, Tulsa, OK