Brewzilla thread to share knowledge, experiences and good practice

[hoppyscotty]

Yes the pump was on and recirculating. Will keep an eye on it. No issues elsewhere in the brew but a bit odd during cooling. The two previous brews it seemed to function fine.

 

[RGeats]

Yes the pump was on and recirculating. Will keep an eye on it. No issues elsewhere in the brew but a bit odd during cooling. The two previous brews it seemed to function fine.

That is weird, mine is out by maybe 10degC during cooling but no more

 

[Falco]

Before I did the first brew session, to test the accuracy of the temperature display I filled the Robobrew with water then heated it up to different temperatures from 60C up to boiling. And compared to my immersion analogue thermometer placed close to the bottom of the vessel it was pretty much spot on within 1 degree.

With that in mind I thought I could trust the display so when cooling the wort post-boil I just relied on the displayed temperature and using the immersion chiller was down to pitching temperature in around 25 minutes all the while recirculating.

 

[foxy]

Yes the pump was on and recirculating. Will keep an eye on it. No issues elsewhere in the brew but a bit odd during cooling. The two previous brews it seemed to function fine.

Mine is the same, the temperature readout is higher than the actual if I don't stir

I don't stir when the hot break has clumped together, makes it easier to get the clear wort out of the fermenter.

 

[Mash Monster]

Hi Everyone greetings from Lincolnshire This is my first ever post so please be kind I’ve been using my Brewzilla for six brews now with varying results The one thing I have found is that the wort chiller can actually interfere with the display on the controller and as others have found it can be up to 10°c out. I don’t understand the science but it’s something to with the coil. David Heath makes a brief mention of this phenomenon in his Quick start guide hope this is of some use.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Thanks Mash Monster. I've just taken a look at that video and as you say he does mention it but doesn't explain why. Just a potential characteristic of the system with the immersion chiller. If I know about it then I'm OK, I can monitor with another thermometer no problem.

 

[Gerryjo]

On my burco and mashtun setup I've always used a thermometer which is calibrated and fortunately still do as there is always going to be a difference in temps top and bottom until they reach the point of equilibrium where they level out as they can go no higher/lower so always worthwhile keeping one on hand checking for consistency.

 

[cheeseyfeet]

I usually no chill but used my IC on Friday and ended up pitching yeast into 26c wort when the brewzilla reading was 19c!

I will have to remember to check manually next time.

 

[Stonedhouse]

The temp probe is right at the bottom by the heating elements and that whole area retains a lot of heat so when cooling there will be quite a bit of difference between the heart of the brew (where the cooling coil is) and where the Brewzilla temp probe is. When heating I find there is a 3 deg C difference between the Brewzilla readout and the middle section of the wort so I compensate for that by adding 3 degs on the setting. For cooling though always use a separate thermometer due to the heat being retained at the bottom as mentioned which can give notable difference in temperatures between the zones. Better still use a whirlpool arm during cooling (I use the Brewmonk one which fits the Brewzilla). As this circulates the wort it speeds up the cooling massively, no doubt by mixing up the various zones better and bring hotter wort in to contact with the coil rather than it sitting at the bottom cooling slower than the rest of the wort.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

The temp probe is right at the bottom by the heating elements and that whole area retains a lot of heat so when cooling there will be quite a bit of difference between the heart of the brew (where the cooling coil is) and where the Brewzilla temp probe is. When heating I find there is a 3 deg C difference between the Brewzilla readout and the middle section of the wort so I compensate for that by adding 3 degs on the setting. For cooling though always use a separate thermometer due to the heat being retained at the bottom as mentioned which can give notable difference in temperatures between the zones. Better still use a whirlpool arm during cooling (I use the Brewmonk one which fits the Brewzilla). As this circulates the wort it speeds up the cooling massively, no doubt by mixing up the various zones better and bring hotter wort in to contact with the coil rather than it sitting at the bottom cooling slower than the rest of the wort.

Yes, I‘ve found a 4 degree temp difference between the BZ reading and true reading in the centre. No-one needs to know the temperature of the wort under the false bottom whether you or mashing, cooling or whatever. A separate temp probe is crucial.

 

[cheeseyfeet]

Are you saying that I have been mashing at an actual 62c when 66c is set?

 

[Gerryjo]

Are you saying that I have been mashing at an actual 62c when 66c is set?

There is a variance in temps with some low and others higher but it pays to have a temperature probe on hand so as to measure the wort when recirculating.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Are you saying that I have been mashing at an actual 62c when 66c is set?

Quite possibly!

 

[Stonedhouse]

Yep, in most heated vessels there will always be a variance across individual zones, especially a tall narrow water column with heaters at the bottom and a clump of grain near the middle / top like a Brewzilla / Grainfather etc.

There can be approx 3 deg C difference between near the heaters on the Brewzilla - where the temp probe is - and the upper section of your wort. Always use a separate thermometer when brewing, at least until you get used to your individual piece of kit.

 

[foxy]

What I have found is that, as we all know a more fluid mash increases fermentability, but it also gives greater control over temperature management. I have read in posts above about channeling, channeling is something to be concerned about during sparging. The one reason for circulation is to try to even out the temperature, nothing more. In theory it seems sound, transferring liquor from close to the heat source to the top of the mash to even out the temperature, but in practice the liquor coming out of the return pipe is a couple of degrees lower. We could lag the return pipe but that would be more trouble than its worth, a stir every now and again will give consistency to the temperature, another bonus is a slight increase in efficiency.
The more fluid the mash, the less chance of hot spots within the mash.

 

[DavidB]

Hello. I have a question for you all.

I don't own a Brewzilla at the moment but have started to do small scale AG at home in the kitchen and am hoping to purchase a 'system' sometime in the New Year so that the Mrs can relegate me to the garage.

Choice is probably going to be between the Grainfather and the Brewzilla for all the reasons that are covered on other threads.

One accessory for the Grainfather that interests me is the micro pipework to enable 10L brews to be made. I don't want to do full 19/23L brews all the time and doing smaller brews to perfect or trial new recipes is something that I definitely want to do.

This is where my ignorance shows.... I'm not certain what the micro pipework does (!), but I cant see a comparable accessory for the Brewzilla.
Is this an advantage that the Grainfather system has over the Brewzilla, or is it perfectly possible to do the smaller brews on the Brewzilla?

 

[UKSkydiver]

I'm not certain what the micro pipework does (!), but I cant see a comparable accessory for the Brewzilla.

Just watching this:

Is it perfectly possible to do the smaller brews on the Brewzilla?

I hope so as that is what I'm planning on doing.....

 

[Stonedhouse]

Hello. I have a question for you all.

I don't own a Brewzilla at the moment but have started to do small scale AG at home in the kitchen and am hoping to purchase a 'system' sometime in the New Year so that the Mrs can relegate me to the garage.

Choice is probably going to be between the Grainfather and the Brewzilla for all the reasons that are covered on other threads.

One accessory for the Grainfather that interests me is the micro pipework to enable 10L brews to be made. I don't want to do full 19/23L brews all the time and doing smaller brews to perfect or trial new recipes is something that I definitely want to do.

This is where my ignorance shows.... I'm not certain what the micro pipework does (!), but I cant see a comparable accessory for the Brewzilla.
Is this an advantage that the Grainfather system has over the Brewzilla, or is it perfectly possible to do the smaller brews on the Brewzilla?

The micro pipework allows the Grainfather to do a smaller batch as it brings the overflow pipework down to a position that will still allow proper overflow with a lot lower grain / wort level in the system. You don't want to go much smaller than 10litres as a small batch though due to the amount of wort that is beneath the grain basket.

I did consider trying to adapt the Grainather micro pipe kit to my Robobrew, but now I have gone to kegging I'm still struggling to justify doing a smaller brew which takes pretty much the same amount of brewing time, cleaning / sanitising etc as a larger brew. I've not totally dismissed it..... but ending up with too much brew is difficult to call a problem lol

 

[Falco]

So after the first brew using a half sized volume (13L) version of Hughes Christmas Ale, I've just completed the second yesterday, a Proper Job clone scaled up to 30L in the Robobrew from 25L using Brewfather.

Observations: well it was full to brim during the mash obvs, only just managed to get all the grain bill of 6.3kg MO in and the boil volume was right on the 30L mark on the Robobrew. No boilovers though...... thankfully. Used the hop spider this time instead of a bag and it worked fine and wasn't a PITA to clean afterwards.

Post boil volume was 25L, supposed to be 27L as calculated by Brewfather, with an OG of 1.062 instead of the calculated 1.057. Sample tasted very hoppy as expected from the Hop bill of 173g which is much the largest I’ve ever done.

Bubbling away nicely in the FV less than 12 hours later.

Now for a Chocolate Orange Stout I think

 

[Gerryjo]

So after the first brew using a half sized volume (13L) version of Hughes Christmas Ale, I've just completed the second yesterday, a Proper Job clone scaled up to 30L in the Robobrew from 25L using Brewfather.

Observations: well it was full to brim during the mash obvs, only just managed to get all the grain bill of 6.3kg MO in and the boil volume was right on the 30L mark on the Robobrew. No boilovers though...... thankfully. Used the hop spider this time instead of a bag and it worked fine and wasn't a PITA to clean afterwards.

Post boil volume was 25L, supposed to be 27L as calculated by Brewfather, with an OG of 1.062 instead of the calculated 1.057. Sample tasted very hoppy as expected from the Hop bill of 173g which is much the largest I’ve ever done.

Bubbling away nicely in the FV less than 12 hours later.

Now for a Chocolate Orange Stout I think

25 is what brewfather predicted for me when I changed my settings to 30l pre boil but bear in mind that when liquid is hot it expands and contracts when cooled.All in all its a result and I'm culturing up PJ yeast for a brew shortly.