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New All Grain setup


iBooz2

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8 hours ago, ozdevil said:

if you hlt tanks  can be electric  another way you could do this is using   Temp control unit  like a INKBIRD

set the Inkbird  on the heat   say set for  Strike temp say to 71°c for a 66-67°c Mash in  the night before


You also can do a full volume mash and miss the sparge  like in the BIAB


 

OD, Main heat source is gas, inky controlled electric is secondary.  I do not sparge for my single volume batches 21 -23 litres do a full volume mash and boil as the tub is 70 L.  I will have to sparge when I start doing double batches which is the whole idea of a 70 L system as it will take the same chunk out of a day as a 21 L batch so why not do double in the same time.  Just gotta settle on some real nice AG recipes before taking the 42 L plunge.😋

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2 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

Just gotta settle on some real nice AG recipes

Definitely  - Seriously all mine that got through to keg or bottle were legendary.... but some you will like more than others... and I support going small to start with till you get your process sorted and your brew likes resolved... I actually like variation... think @Green Blob is the same and pushes the envelope... but get the process resolved and go from there mate... you are in good hands on this site.  And you have contributed so much previously so us AGers can help where we can mate... 

Edited by Graubart
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On 1/28/2021 at 7:16 AM, Aussiekraut said:

I've got things worked out now and pretty much have a routine. I fill up the kettle the night before and mostly mill the grain the day before as well. So I can have brekky while the mash water is heating up. Once the mash is underway, I get everything else ready I need, organise the hops etc. I still have plenty of time to mow the lawn in the backyard before I start heating up the sparge water. Once the boil is underway, I start cleaning up some things like get rid of the spent grains, clean the screens of the malt tube etc. Once the boil is done and the chiller is in, I sanitise the FV and continue the cleanup, sit down and have a beer and wait for the wort to drop below 30C before it goes into the FV. Off in the fridge it goes until it hits pitching temp and in the meantime I clean the kettle and the chiller. Last week, dough in was at 7:20 and I was sitting down in my comfy chair just before 12, enjoying the rest of my Sunday off 🙂 All up about 4.5 hours and it was a 75 minute mash. When I do a middie, it's only a 45 minute mash, which gets me there in about 4 hours. And I can do other things as well during that time, so while it takes a fair while to do an AG batch, it doesn't take that long, if you know what I mean.

Good stuff AK, thanks very much.  Yes I knew I would have to sit back and be my own critic re these processes and had a good hard look it all today.  Stock market was diving so needed some respite from that.  Hence devised a work flow schedule for myself to use until I get a few more AG batches under my belt or grow as much hair as @Hairy to be able to do it all in my sleep.  I reckon after a few more single batches will have things manageable thanks to all you blokes in here.  Doing another brew day on Sunday so will put it all into practice to see how it goes or tweak it a bit more after that one.

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7 hours ago, Popo said:

Yeah - this is another good point. Having other people involved makes it more of a social event and lets you use your time to brew and hang out at the same time. I do this a bit and it really does make it more enjoyable.

Dunno Popo, I like my space when I am concentrating on stuff.  Maybe a bit different if the "company" was more knowledgeable than me and they were giving me their time and displaying their expertise but with me learning as I go, no.  Give me elbow room and time to think at this stage.  If I knew ship loads and had someone else "really" interested in the process of brewing beer rather than just drinking it then yeah all good.

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1 minute ago, iBooz2 said:

Dunno Popo, I like my space when I am concentrating on stuff.  Maybe a bit different if the "company" was more knowledgeable than me and they were giving me their time and displaying their expertise but with me learning as I go, no.  Give me elbow room and time to think at this stage.  If I knew ship loads and had someone else "really" interested in the process of brewing beer rather than just drinking it then yeah all good.

Stay away from train enthusiasts and just engage with brew-minded people Boozer!

 

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12 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

Dunno Popo, I like my space when I am concentrating on stuff.  Maybe a bit different if the "company" was more knowledgeable than me and they were giving me their time and displaying their expertise but with me learning as I go, no.  Give me elbow room and time to think at this stage.  If I knew ship loads and had someone else "really" interested in the process of brewing beer rather than just drinking it then yeah all good.

Yeah, that's how I approached it too. I waited until I had a reasonable handle on it and then invited a mate around to come and hang out on a brew day. Nothing big. No drinking until the cleaning was started - but that's a usual rule for me anyway.

Most of my mates are pretty interested in the process so it works out well for me.

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34 minutes ago, CLASSIC said:

VB should be tipped down the sink - I wouldn't drink it if it was FREE, did I tell you I didn't like it ??

I have not had a VB in years, but both my mum and dad still drink it.  My mate wanted me to brew him a VB clone which I did back in early December.  Took the keg around last Friday night.  First glass they said "gee its smooth".  Unsure if that is a complement or not.  Anyway the four of them nearly blew the keg in the 3 hours session so must have been either good or too free.  I only had a couple as I was driving.

I don't mind lagers.  And when in Rome do what the Romans do, drink the local beer.  When in SA I drink SA beer, when in QLD I drink QLD beer, when in "promise" territory I don't drink any beer!

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1 hour ago, Graubart said:

Haha today @iBooz2 I had a shocker - doing my third closed circuit transfer with the filter to the keg from PFV... took me fffffar ken forever - and all I could think about was this thread...  And Boozer lamenting the trouble and strife of AG and wanting to go back to the festive Train Set 😬

The first two transfers I did were not so good... this time I sorted some major hardware issues plus I did it slower and am thinking it worked ok.... 

Every new thing takes a little time to get it sorted when you get new gear or new process in the Brewery hey!?!

@Red devil 44 I am sure my man Red the Pressure King woulda cruised it... but hey... we need to get the big fella into All Grain to "get with the strength" hahahaha

You there Red?

Have not used a filter, prefer a good long cold crash as I have all the patience in the world.

Don't know if you do this or not.  When I purge my kegs for closed transfer I use a specific gas line off my manifold that has a black liquid connector on it.  Both ends are marked with black electrical tape to identify it.  This way it forces the CO2 down to the bottom of the keg to start with and pushes the atmosphere containing the oxygen up and out the PRV which has to be sitting temporarily in the open position.  Do this on a low PSI over a set time.  I have a calculation somewhere in my notes (will find it) as to when roughly only CO2 is left in keg.   Shut the PRV and up the pressure to higher than that of the FV, disconnect the special "gas down connector" then do the closed transfer as per normal with the normal kit / hoses.

Cheers - AL

Edited by iBooz2
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2 hours ago, Graubart said:

Haha today @iBooz2 I had a shocker - doing my third closed circuit transfer with the filter to the keg from PFV... took me fffffar ken forever - and all I could think about was this thread...  And Boozer lamenting the trouble and strife of AG and wanting to go back to the festive Train Set 😬

The first two transfers I did were not so good... this time I sorted some major hardware issues plus I did it slower and am thinking it worked ok.... 

Every new thing takes a little time to get it sorted when you get new gear or new process in the Brewery hey!?!

@Red devil 44 I am sure my man Red the Pressure King woulda cruised it... but hey... we need to get the big fella into All Grain to "get with the strength" hahahaha

You there Red?

B292295C-6CDA-4536-9A90-4F7F9D8BBA08.jpeg

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  • 7 months later...

Apologies for dredging up this post again. For some time I have been thinking about moving to an AG brewing process and I was going back through posts about AG brewing setups and this one caught my eye as @ibooz2 used the same setup NANO brewery that I have been looking at.

I guess that for me I have the choice of an all-in-one vessel such as a Guten/Robobrew/Grainfather or a dedicated BIAB version. The all-in-ones look good and have some automation although that is not necessarily something that I need. They are also very competitively priced (except for the Grainfather) but from previous experience some of the Chinese built stuff is not of great quality.

Independently of Al's AG setup, I had sort of thought that the 70l NANO BIABasket looked very good for what I was wanting to do. So Al after reading your posts on your journey I am interested to know what things that you would say are needed with this system and if you would set it up any differently than what you have done with yours?

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My advice re the 70 litre Nano Brewery set-up @kmar92 and @disgruntled and possibly others interested.

Just get the base model 70 L.  I also bought the basic through the lid re-circulation kit but since found a much better way to do this via the top port hole in the kettle so save your money there.  (See further down the shopping list).  It’s very handy to be able to take the lid off the kettle without having to disconnect a damn hose so it quickly got the flick.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/70l-biabasket-single-vessel

Do not buy the SS mash paddle as it is possible to damage and ruin your SS basket if you are not careful.  I use my Coopers white stirring spoon and find that ok even on double batches.  @Graubart uses a wooden paddle so as not to tear or damage the SS basket mesh.

Get one of these bulkhead fittings to go through the top hole in the kettle.  It will be used as a recirculation port when a small length of silicon hose is attached with the below list of fittings.  When heating and recirculating your water to bring it up to trike temperatures the hose stays between kettle and basket.  During the mash the hose is put inside the basket to recirculate the wort though and stir up the grain bed.  When the boil is finished, this same hose is used to whirlpool your wort.  Once whirlpool is done and the crud allowed settling into the middle the hose is then lifted out and used to fill your cubes using the pump.  This way you are not disconnecting and reconnecting hot camlock fittings so no gloves required.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/1-2-bspp-male-to-female-new-bulk-head-fitting

Get two x  SS elbows.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/stainless-steel-elbow-bend-1-2-bsp-male-x-1-2-bsp-female

Get a SS nipple to 13 mm barb.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/304-stainless-steel-hose-nipple-1-2-bsp-female-13mm-barb

Get a SS camlock ½’ BSP male.  (or as many as your mud map plan requires for your own setup).

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/316-stainless-steel-camlock-male-fitting-with-1-2-male-thread-to-suit-our-1-2-ball-valves

Get about 6 of these silicone washers as the basic kit only comes with one per fitting or port.  They say just need one but I found with only one on the inside it would weep slightly so put extra one on the outside as well and then not a problem.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/clear-20mm-id-35mm-flat-silicon-food-grade-washer-3mm-thick

Get two x 1 metre lengths of this silicone hose.  One for the return from the pump to the kettle and the other gets cut up into 1 x 550 mm length for recirculation fitting at the top of the kettle.  The other 1 x 450 mm length of this is used to connect the ball valve on the bottom of the kettle to the pump.  Reason is so that the pump is out of harm’s way from gas flame/heat and any boil over or spills and also to allows for flexibility if I need to move the kettle a tad to reposition or to disconnect it to take the kettle outside for cleaning.  The remainder of this hose (the 550 mm bit) is used for the recirculation at the top of the kettle and will give you enough to be able to pump your hot wort into your cubes without disconnecting anything.  Just lift it out a point it into the open cube.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/1m-clearview-silicon-hose-heavy-duty-11-5mm-id-to-18mm-od-hose

 Get this bigger magnetic drive pump as it has superb flow and looks better build quality.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/food-grade-magnetic-drive-wort-pump-65w

If getting the bigger magnetic drive pump above, be aware it has ¾” BSP fittings so you will need two of these reducers to get it to match with your ½’ BSP stuff.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/3-4-female-bsp-to-1-2-female-bsp-reducer-suits-65w-magnetic-drive-pump

Get a ball valve for the pump outlet as its very handy to slow down the flow when chilling or getting close to a full cube just so you can dribble the last little bit into the cube without having to time it “just right” by switching the pump power off.

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/1-2-stainless-steel-2-piece-full-bore-ball-valve

Get 6 of these hose camlock fittings for the ends of your hoses (not need for recirculation hose inside of kettle).

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/stainless-steel-camlock-hose-tail-with-1-2-barb-camlock-c

Other thing I found very hand was having a 6 metre long length of silicon hose with a female camlock fitting on one end and a male camlock fitting on the other end.  I also made up an adapter with two male camlock fittings in a ½” BSP nipple so it can be used to join two hoses.

Now when it comes to cleaning the kettle I can do it insitu by connecting up the long silicon hose to the output of the pump so I can pump the waste water, used cleaner or rinsing water straight out into the gully trap in my carport without having to lift or move the kettle.  Just have a garden hose spraying the inside whilst you are scrubbing and the pump going full bore gets rid of all the crud without any back breaking work.

https://www.kegland.com.au/heavy-duty-silicon-tube-6m-roll-id12-5mm-x-od18-5mm.html

Obviously you will need ½” BSP nipples, elbows etc. to complete the setup, you will just so a mud map plan first so you don’t forget anything and delay your brew day.

I have a three way valve on my pump input but this is not required, it just suits my brewery setup.

Pump 3 Way Inlet Valve - resized.jpg

Pump Outlet Valve - resized.jpg

Recirc Hose 2 - resized.jpg

Recirc Hose 1 - resized.jpg

Cleaning Hose 6 metre and Adapter Joiner - resized.jpg

Edited by iBooz2
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1 hour ago, kmar92 said:

So @iBooz2 you use that 3 way valve to change suction from the NANO kettle to the sparge water vessel? Those 3 way valves are pricey.

Strange the censor algorithm will not let me use the name of the valves?

Yep that was the idea K, but with single batches you never a need to sparge anyway.  The most times that 3 way valve gets used is to prime the pump after it has sucked air/cavitated like when I have left it running too close to the boil and the wort boils in the hose / pump creating lots of bubbles.

With double batches you are limited to 45 - 50 litres mash so you have to sparge to make up to pre boil volume if not watering down a batch.  I would probably skip the 3 way because you can prime the pump by tipping some water down the outlet hose (hold it up vertical) to fill pump with say boiled water from a kettle.

If doing double batches then my aim is to make strong smaller boils and then water down in the FV on brew day.  Still have not worked out the volumes to do that as yet but double brew days will be the norm from now on.

And I find that I don't need a pulley to lift up the basket even with double batches of wet grains,  Simple to lift and manipulate the little spring out legs to grab hold of the top of the kettle.  I have a pulley system but rarely use it, might be ok if you accidentally scold yourself and have to let go as the basket handle does get quite hot.

Edited by iBooz2
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I know most people think the G70 is way over priced, I beg to differ. I love using mine. 
and although I don’t brew as often I’m thoroughly enjoying making the same beer over and over. I’ve really started to dial in recipes. Now I think the only changes in my beers are how it’s fermented. I’ll be upgrading to a glycol set up soon enough so I can really start to hone the craft. 
 

im not saying that you can’t do this with other brands and models I’m just saying that the G70 works for me. 

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22 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

The pump wont prime connected to the NANO vessel, maybe not as the suction side of the pump head is on the bottom side of the pump?

Yes you would think it would self prime as the pump is lower than the nano and wort, so you reason it would trickle in and push the air out of the pump.  The vanes in the magnetic drive head must be well sealed.  Even if you stop and start the pump several times to get some fluid flow it just does not make it, just pushes a bit out then sucks air again then cycles.  A cup of hot water saves the day and time if required.  Most times I leave the hoses full so pump is primed ready for next operation.  Easy as.

Edited by iBooz2
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