Brewzilla 35l generation 3.1.1 vs. Grainfather S40

[Classic Brewing Co]

23 minutes ago, Brauhaus Fritz said:

Kind of got an idea, during my time of after surgery I watched quiet a few different videos, I also like your set up with the platform

It is very important to get high enough over the top of the unit with a solid footing so that you are able to have complete control over the slow haul upwards of the Malt Pipe & get it firmly locked into place to enable sparging, don't get me wrong, I am no expert, I just found a way to do it. Pulleys etc are not an option for me so I have to find ways to perfect it.

[ozdevil]

14 hours ago, Brauhaus Fritz said:

I've done it, just ordered the Brewzilla

mate  great purchase mate  i dont think you will be disappointed mate in the 3.1.1 , i have one myself but i also have the gen 4 35l  

my advice to you  is get the pro screen s  and ditch the overflow pip  its not really necessary  and you will get a bit more room for mashing in
and even the top screen  is a bit pointless to be honest 

now  the fun begins  

remember  you have to allow for dead space    

boil off is 3l/hour
mash tun dead space is   6.75l
trub/chiller loss is 1l
fermenter loss is  2l   

These have to be taken into account to give you  your final  liquid amount    
those figures if your using brewfather   you put them in your equipment profile

working on 3/1 ratio of grain/water    and you have a total grain bill of 5kg that equates to  5kgx3 =15litres for your strike water 

now you need to add your dead space to this    which is basically 15l+6.75 = 21.75l     

so thats what you will fill the kettle to   21.75l   


if your using brewfather  or beersmith   as long as you have done your equipment profile  they will calculate  your total  strike water +sparge water for you

good luck  with your 1st brew in the bz 3.1.1  

[Red devil 44]

Yeah I always hot cube, I haven’t bothered using the chiller with the Grainfather as I’ve heard it’s a pain in the a%se to use, and wastes too much water. 
 

 

[Brauhaus Fritz]

iT  aRRIVED tODAY

[Classic Brewing Co]

Just now, Brauhaus Fritz said:

iT  aRRIVED tODAY

Yippee 

[Classic Brewing Co]

36 minutes ago, Red devil 44 said:

Yeah I always hot cube, I haven’t bothered using the chiller with the Grainfather as I’ve heard it’s a pain in the a%se to use, and wastes too much water. 
 

 

Too right it does, my very first AG brew in the BrewZilla was a real eye opener, I could not believe how much water was wasted, apart from just wasting water, I am paying for it as well !!

Cubing is the only way to go.

[Red devil 44]

25 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Too right it does, my very first AG brew in the BrewZilla was a real eye opener, I could not believe how much water was wasted, apart from just wasting water, I am paying for it as well !!

Cubing is the only way to go.

Yeah I agree mate. 
‘The S40 will get a run tomorrow or Sunday with a 150 Lashes Clone 

[Classic Brewing Co]

Just now, Red devil 44 said:

Yeah I agree mate. 
‘The S40 will get a run tomorrow or Sunday with a 150 Lashes Clone 

Awesome, good beer that.

[Shamus O'Sean]

7 hours ago, Red devil 44 said:

Yeah I always hot cube, I haven’t bothered using the chiller with the Grainfather as I’ve heard it’s a pain in the a%se to use, and wastes too much water. 
 

 

I tried hot cubing a few times.  It was very useful in summer time.  However, this time of year in Melbourne, using the G30 Grainfather counterflow chiller is pretty efficient.  I collect about 40 litres of water in cubes during cooling the wort to pitching temperature.  Most of it goes toward cleaning the brewing system.

[Classic Brewing Co]

8 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I tried hot cubing a few times.  It was very useful in summer time.  However, this time of year in Melbourne, using the G30 Grainfather counterflow chiller is pretty efficient.  I collect about 40 litres of water in cubes during cooling the wort to pitching temperature.  Most of it goes toward cleaning the brewing system.

Although I am dead against water wastage, I tend to think you method has merit & I could possibly be do similar but I seem to have got into a system with cubing.

The other thing is the chiller that is supplied with the BrewZilla is not very effective & I don't feel like spending money on a better one.

[Brauhaus Fritz]

Found this on Facebook in the Brewzilla & Robobrew Users Group, did any one try this?     " just seal the Brewzilla with cling film over the top, remove the jacket and let it cool overnight. You have a built in temperature reader and when at the right temp just use the tap and dump into the fermenter "     Any thoughts?

[ozdevil]

28 minutes ago, Brauhaus Fritz said:

Found this on Facebook in the Brewzilla & Robobrew Users Group, did any one try this?     " just seal the Brewzilla with cling film over the top, remove the jacket and let it cool overnight. You have a built in temperature reader and when at the right temp just use the tap and dump into the fermenter "     Any thoughts?

there is no reason why it wouldn't work providing the cling film was sanitized.  the only thing that would give me the hebe jebes  is taking the jacket on and off   as the jackets are not easiest to get back on

[Shamus O'Sean]

3 hours ago, Brauhaus Fritz said:

Found this on Facebook in the Brewzilla & Robobrew Users Group, did any one try this?     " just seal the Brewzilla with cling film over the top, remove the jacket and let it cool overnight. You have a built in temperature reader and when at the right temp just use the tap and dump into the fermenter "     Any thoughts?

If John Palmer from How to Brew says it's okay, then it's okay.

I have also seen a few Youtubers do it.

It cannot be much different to putting the beer into a sanitised cube.  In fact, the inside of the kettle should be well sanitised/sterilised by the steam from the wort.  Get the lid on soon after flame-out and wrap with glad wrap to seal the joints.

[Classic Brewing Co]

3 hours ago, ozdevil said:

is taking the jacket on and off   as the jackets are not easiest to get back on

I would second that, they are hard to get on.

[Classic Brewing Co]

53 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

If John Palmer from How to Brew says it's okay, then it's okay.

I have also seen a few Youtubers do it.

It cannot be much different to putting the beer into a sanitised cube.  In fact, the inside of the kettle should be well sanitised/sterilised by the steam from the wort.  Get the lid on soon after flame-out and wrap with glad wrap to seal the joints.

I have wondered about this myself but I will cube until it is deemed safe.

[kmar92]

6 hours ago, Brauhaus Fritz said:

Found this on Facebook in the Brewzilla & Robobrew Users Group, did any one try this?     " just seal the Brewzilla with cling film over the top, remove the jacket and let it cool overnight. You have a built in temperature reader and when at the right temp just use the tap and dump into the fermenter "     Any thoughts?

I believe @Itinerant Peasant uses a similar method at the Mountain Brewery and has not had adverse results.

[Pezzza]

30 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

I believe @Itinerant Peasant uses a similar method at the Mountain Brewery and has not had adverse results.

Cheers @kmar92 KMar yes mate  -- I steam the already clean and heated from the Mash -- SS lid -- taken off for the Boil -- steamed before replacing -- then on after FO usually with a hop addition at FO. 

Then I sort-of-weight the Lid Down with a 10kg weight on top of a freshly washed teatowel cotton cloth... and cool with a fan overnight to whatever temp I am chasing.

Also I am happy to do this in cool-overnight-ambient-Southern-temps and especially in Winter as you can get the liquid down to 20 degC and below quite rapidly. 

And it does seem to facilitate the production of taschty Beer : )

 

I would never use Clingfilm tho...  am a bit of a paranoid non-plastic near my brew person and especially not when it is hot liquid/temps... besides the food-grade-Si-good-quality white hose used in transfers - and that is usually done at lower temps.

I realise people use Clingfilm in a microwave heating food situation but I don't like that either - just use ceramic and pyrex in the MWave...

Anyway each to their own hey.

 

And yeah, as @Shamus O'Sean SOS notes - I saw that JPalmer had seemed ok with it in his book - cooling overnight - and so I thought why not give it a go and now do it pretty much as standard practice...

 

 

I think if I move to a warmer environment I might do the cubing thing as although it is plazzi it is food grade and hopefully built to take hot Brew... and although would rather keep streaming hot brew in SS, Pyrex or Ceramic, plenty of your Brewers do use this plazzi cubing methodology quite happily it seems 

HTH : )

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

4 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

I have wondered about this myself but I will cube until it is deemed safe.

In my view, cooling in the brew kettle is at least as safe as cubing. You can get an infection from both methods. Neither is perfectly safe.

[Classic Brewing Co]

26 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

In my view, cooling in the brew kettle is at least as safe as cubing. You can get an infection from both methods. Neither is perfectly safe.

Yeah I would definitely agree, it's all about sanitising & practicing strict cleaning regimes.