To get started with SBC double click on the Small Brew Companion icon that is located on your desktop.
The first time you run SBC you will be greeted by The Small Brew Companion’s Initial Configuration Wizard. This was created to make setting up some of the basic settings of SBC a snap. You will be able to change / update all of this information within the SBC program. After the below window has been displayed click the Next button to continue.
Fill in your name as well as your email address and then click the Next button.
If you have a Home Brewery Name and or Catchphrase enter those and then click the Next Button.
If you will be creating your own recipes type in your name as the Brewer’s name and an Assistant Brewer’s Name if available. These can be left blank. Click Next to continue.
If your Home Brewery has a Logo you can click the Select Image button and then select your image. Click the Next button to continue.
SBC is able to display temperatures in either Celsius or Fahrenheit. Select which temperature unit you would like SBC to use and then click the Next button to continue.
Selecting your altitude allows SBC to configure the temperature to use for hops while brewing at your location. Select the altitude range for your location from the drop down box and then click Next.
If you will be using Distilled Water while brewing click the I Use Distilled Water box. If you will be using water that you have a water report for you can enter in the information from the water report. Click the Next button to continue.
SBC allows you to change it’s appearance to your liking! To start with choose one of the three options. More appearance options are available and can be configured later.
If you have Windows 10 or 11 the Mobile Hotspot is hands down the easiest way to get up and running. If you have an older version of Windows other configuration options are provided in a different document. If you are NOT running Windows 10 or 11 then click Next otherwise click the Configure Hotspot button.
You will want to configure your Mobile Hotspot to look like the following. You can choose a different Network name and password if you would like. Make a note of what you use for these as you will need them to connect your Pico’s to your connection.
To start click the Edit button as seen below.
Next type in the Network name you would like to use as well as the password. If your window has a Network Band as seen below make sure to select the 2.4GHZ option. The Picobrew devices have to use the 2.4GHZ band.
After you have configured your Mobile Hotspot make sure it is turned on and the Power saving option is turned off. You can then close the Mobile Hotspot window by clicking on the X located at the top right.
You will now be back at the following window. Click the Next button to continue.
You have now completed the initial configuration! Click the Save & Exit button to save all of your settings.
