Brewzilla query....

[Nottsbeer]

Hi all, quick query regarding brewzilla v.3 & 4. Apart from the wifi/RAPT options, are there and differences between the two systems for the price difference? Maybe someone who has upgraded from a v3 to a v4 could note if it's worth going straight for a v4. I'm not bothered about the wifi stuff, but if the kit is an improvement on the v3 it will be good to know. Am getting a bit bogged down with the info etc!! . Thx.

 

[MashBag]

As the owner of neither but the reader of forums.
Get a 3.

I too have never considered the Internet necessary to brew beer.

 

[Nottsbeer]

As the owner of neither but the reader of forums.
Get a 3.

I too have never considered the Internet necessary to be beer.

Thanks. I'm trawling through a lot of pages on these....v3 seems good, struggling to see if v4 gives any benefits I may use.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I have had a V3 for almost 4 years, it is very reliable but it has it's idiosincrasys as well,i removed the overflowpipe and blanked the hole with a bolt, i don't use the top plate and hops go in a bag due to the bottom plate no longer being a good fit, the good stuff is it makes good beer would i buy another yes, from what i read the differences are the dead space under the malt pipe on the v3 it is 6.75L but a lot smaller on the v4, the wifi and i think you can power it down on the v3 it's 2400w on full or 1500w and 900w i use full for the boil and 900 for the mash, i use it manual mode which i find easy, i am not going to slate the v4 as i have never seen one or used one but i am certain v4 owners will be along shortly

 

[Rwilts]

I would reiterate what @Rodcx500z says. I have a v3.1.1 very happy with it, also deleted overflow pipe in same way. Don't use a hop sock or spider and I empty from the tap. I also use it in manual mode . The only mod I have done is extend the control panel out of the unit so it can be at a convenient hight.

 

[MashBag]

Arrr... Controller height, a regular contender for discussion.
I have a Braumeister that sits on a motorcycle jack.

But you ought to ough to see the grain-brau-monster I built. I racked the Grainfather Father controller. Very much better. Really ought to sell that though.

 

[jambop]

I would punt for the gen 4 for reasons of ablity to control the heating elements in conjunction with the remote thermometer and the general easy of use. The only quibbles I have is the pump strength it does the job but it is not very powerful and the volume. It says 35L which is fine but if you do 25L batches as I do then your preboil volume is going to be very near the rim of the vessel and boil overs are a possibility. I bought a boiler extender which gives plenty of room to make sure there are no boil overs I think that would apply to the v3 too. Another budget system worth a shout is the Grainfather S40 I have one and it is well made and has a good real brew volume. The heating controler is not great but when you have sussed it out it makes very good beer and the build quality is so much better than the BZ. If I had any idea what I was doing I would buy a grainfather G30 the temperature controler and fit it into the S40 as its only real fault is poor mashing temperature control.

 

[MashBag]

Sorry gotta ask... What are you controlling the heating elements for... Better.. Why?

I thought it was set and forget?

 

[jambop]

Sorry gotta ask... What are you controlling the heating elements for... Better.. Why?

I thought it was set and forget?

You can I suppose but with the gen 4 you can step the heating power right down to whatever wattage you think works best for your grain crush etc. Any all in one is set and leave take amnesia go on holiday if that is the way you like to brew ... I don't I prefer to keep an eye on whats happening. With the S40 the heating controler is particularly poor at maintaining the correct mashing temperature although I would be willing to place money on if you have the correct strike volume and temperature nobody would know if the temperature was slightly to high or too low there after. The Brulosophy lot did an experiment where one batch of beer was mashed at 65C and the other batch at 68C, if I remember rightly, and nobody could tell the difference in a blind tasting... but we home brewers demand accuracy

 

[MashBag]

To be honest, if it can't keep an accurate temp, surely it's not fit for purpose ?

It's less "set & forget" and more "poke & hope"

 

[foxy]

Hi all, quick query regarding brewzilla v.3 & 4. Apart from the wifi/RAPT options, are there and differences between the two systems for the price difference? Maybe someone who has upgraded from a v3 to a v4 could note if it's worth going straight for a v4. I'm not bothered about the wifi stuff, but if the kit is an improvement on the v3 it will be good to know. Am getting a bit bogged down with the info etc!! . Thx.

Reading the posts of all the shortcomings of the Brewzilla Gen4 not only on this forum but other forums the Brewzilla 3.1.1 would take the cake.
I would be looking for a vessel with a wider diameter which are on the market Guten/ Klarstein do a 40 litre which is 42cm dia.
The wider the vessel the less compaction.

 

[The Baron]

Go for the V4 it is not anywhere as bad as some say. You will have more control especially on boil and mash control as you can vary it more than the V3.
A lower temp on the mash keeps it at a constant temp and unless you want a boil at either at the 1900w or a 1900w+500w only too options on the boil which could be too vigorous for some.
If you use the digital additional therm controller it is well accurate and do not forget that the V3 only measures from the bottom sensor where with the Rapt digi therm it can be placed where you want to measure. It also does not have the central pipe which is a pain when mashing in.
A alternative view but thats how I have found it as with any system you have to find out how it works and is does take quite a few brews. The maltpipe is narrower than the previous model which can cause mashing issues so use some oat/rice hulls if need be but after a few brews you will have got the hang of it and will not need the hulls unless the grainbill requires it say lots of wheat/Rye or sticky adjuncts which you would need with most systems.
I re-circ to strike temp then stop re-circ, mash in and leave for 10 mins then start re-circ which generally does the trick Ps do not forget to reduce the strike temp to the mash temp.

 

[jambop]

Reading the posts of all the shortcomings of the Brewzilla Gen4 not only on this forum but other forums the Brewzilla 3.1.1 would take the cake.
I would be looking for a vessel with a wider diameter which are on the market Guten/ Klarstein do a 40 litre which is 42cm dia.
The wider the vessel the less compaction.

Very strange I know but with my S40 I had far greater problems with my mashing and sparging flow than with the BZ 4 . I think it is about getting the right crush to be honest many a time I had to stir the grain bed to get it flowing again with the S40 but never had an issue with my BZ4 so it could be that I have got my grain crush just right for it but it is odd my grain mill is set on 1.6mm which I am told is too big. The other issue with the wider diameter when doing say a 20-25L batch is that there is very little liquid on top of the mashing grains after doughing in after letting the grains settle then when you turn on the recirculation there was a tendancy to drive a hole into the grain bed and cause tracking through the bed. I get much better mashing efficiency with my BZ4 probably because of the batch size I brew being right for the vessel... in short if you don't make 30 L batches don't get a big volume AIO in my opinion because of this. On theother hand I suppose many get the reverse set of observations.

edit
One other thing of course, and it is true of everything in life, you have to know what you are doing so some learning is required. The notion that anybody is going to buy some product they have no experience of and expect things to go perfectly the first few times is not a reasonable expectation but once you do get everything in line these systems all work well enough.

 

[MashBag]

Are you using full volume to mash?

 

[The Baron]

Very strange I know but with my S40 I had far greater problems with my mashing and sparging flow than with the BZ 4 . I think it is about getting the right crush to be honest many a time I had to stir the grain bed to get it flowing again with the S40 but never had an issue with my BZ4 so it could be that I have got my grain crush just right for it but it is odd my grain mill is set on 1.6mm which I am told is too big. The other issue with the wider diameter when doing say a 20-25L batch is that there is very little liquid on top of the mashing grains after doughing in after letting the grains settle then when you turn on the recirculation there was a tendancy to drive a hole into the grain bed and cause tracking through the bed. I get much better mashing efficiency with my BZ4 probably because of the batch size I brew being right for the vessel... in short if you don't make 30 L batches don't get a big volume AIO in my opinion because of this. On theother hand I suppose many get the reverse set of observations.

I agree about crush fine crush does add to the narrow pipe issue also if you have bought a 25kg sack as you get to the bottom it has more flour which adds further to any AIO issues not just the V4.

 

[jambop]

Are you using full volume to mash?

I do not do full volume mashing.

 

[jambop]

I agree about crush fine crush does add to the narrow pipe issue also if you have bought a 25kg sack as you get to the bottom it has more flour which adds further to any AIO issues not just the V4.

The problem with many brewers new to these systems is they are ex BIAB full volume brewers and use a stupidly fine grain crush when it comes to the requirements of AIO systems. As I say use and learn... if you have the savvy you will get your own requirements after a short time ... some do not and wonder why things do not go well.

 

[The Baron]

That is what I have found too the finer crush does not help the narrower pipe. I used hulls until I found a method that works for me and the system just as other brewers did with most of the AIO's when they first appeared they found out that fine crush coming off of Full Volume did not work.
I still use a standard crush but have learned how to adapt my style to suit the machine(I also have a mill to crush larger if needed) with my mashing in method

 

[jambop]

I think any of these AIO systems will give very acceptable results IF you have the ability to learn to use them. Brewing even at the very basic level of an AIO is an acquired skill nobody gets it right straight off.

 

[gavp1979]

I have a v4 which I am very happy with but never had a V3 so I can't offer a comparison
I have the external thermometer which seems to hold temperature well. While it is absolutely not necessarily I do use the WiFi/rapt connection to keep an eye on the strike temperature or when it is coming up to the boil, especially on a cold winters morning I can have the kettle in the back garden while I am sat in the house with a brew and just pop back out as the temp is getting close