Brewzilla thread to share knowledge, experiences and good practice

[Falco]

From what I've seen and experienced, if you are doing a standard 4kg or more grain bill, use 20l for mash and then sparge to get your preboil volume.

That’s sounds like a good ballpark, thanks. I’ve been playing around with the Brewfather app which as @BlackRegent said, you can set the Brewzilla as the default equipment and by tweaking the various variables it then gives the mash and sparge volumes.

All will be revealed when I do the first brew

 

[chillipickle]

Most of the videos i have watched, 4 to 5kg grain bills have used 19 or 20 ltr strike water.If using oats for neipa you can add another ltr or so.
Roughly 14/15ltr of sparge depending if you needed more for the mash.

Cant wait to start getting some brews under way, im sure there will be plenty of questions and cock ups along the way.But isnt that half the fun eh :)

 

[RGeats]

The main thing I've struggled with with the brewzilla is getting the correct mash temp. I've been low most of the time. It seems easier to me to shoot high and let the temp drop then the other way around. I might be wrong with that advice but seems right. Start with strike temp 5degC above mash temp, and check water temp with an independent thermometer!

 

[chillipickle]

Thats prettty much the same as i have been seeing on youtube vids rgeats.Roughly 70c on the display for 66c ish real temp.

Gash on the home brew network has some very good uploads worth watching, he mainly uses the 35ltr brewzilla for his brew days.

He also uploads his recipes to brewfarther, and shows you when things go t*ts up and how he deals with them.

 

[the_quick]

My Brewzilla is around 1 year old now. As said before 20L for mash and around 10L for sparge works quite well for 21L in fermenter - brewfather profile is quite good - so far I'm always very near OG in recipe - up to 1-2 points difference.
Kegland bundled Hop spider - I would say the mesh has to small holes and doesn't allow wort to circulate well enough. I got better results with the hops bags - more hop aroma. Just done Sierra Nevada clone a second time, this time with hop spider and I could definitely taste less cascade hop than when I used bags.
If I use leaf hops, just throw them loose - the false bottom works quite nicely and when I drain it creates a hop filter - very common technique in a proper brewery.
Temp wise I'm in two minds - yes the temp at the top is usually lower than on the display, but as the probe is in the bottom I wonder... I usually set my mash to 67 C and as said before I'm more less on the spot.
I'm very happy with mine, never done small brew, always 21L as it ends up usually around 19L for the keg. For the price I think it is a very decent piece of kit

 

[foxy]

The main thing I've struggled with with the brewzilla is getting the correct mash temp. I've been low most of the time. It seems easier to me to shoot high and let the temp drop then the other way around. I might be wrong with that advice but seems right. Start with strike temp 5degC above mash temp, and check water temp with an independent thermometer!

I have 3 of the Chinese SVB's and have had to calibrate all of them, it's always worth while to check. Putting a thermometer in the top just doesn't cut it, the temperature reading with a thermometer must be taken next to the probe. Then it is a simple job to adjust the readout on whichever SVB you have. Once the mash gets going for 10 minutes then the temperature will even out, it isn't perfect but the best we can do. Stirring the mash every 10 to 15 minutes helps keeping the temperature even. The more fluid the mash the better.

 

[Falco]

Putting a thermometer in the top just doesn't cut it, the temperature reading with a thermometer must be taken next to the probe.

Good advice there Foxy, thanks.

As we all posses our own thermometers of one sort or another and this is an obvious comment to make, but unless we have them compared/calibrated to a known calibrated source to check their accuracy, just comparing what we normally use with the Robobrews temperature display will probably throw up some discrepency anyway.

I checked mine out of the box this week with my analogue immersion thermometer which I assume to be relatively accurate from 50C to boiling and there were 1 or 2 degrees differences throughout the range. I'm not surprised by this but I don't think the difference is enough to warrant tweaking the calibration of the Robobrew at this point.

 

[foxy]

Good advice there Foxy, thanks.

As we all posses our own thermometers of one sort or another and this is an obvious comment to make, but unless we have them compared/calibrated to a known calibrated source to check their accuracy, just comparing what we normally use with the Robobrews temperature display will probably throw up some discrepency anyway.

I checked mine out of the box this week with my analogue immersion thermometer which I assume to be relatively accurate from 50C to boiling and there were 1 or 2 degrees differences throughout the range. I'm not surprised by this but I don't think the difference is enough to warrant tweaking the calibration of the Robobrew at this point.

You don't need to check against another thermometer for accuracy, ice water is 0 C. That is how to check your own thermometer. The reason for the return pipe is to keep the temperature constant during the mash. Once you start using your vessel you will find that the return is not enough to maintain a constant temperature throughout the mash, hence the stirring. Remove the overflow pipe and the top screen and stir. Once the starch has mostly converted to sugar then the stirring is not much of an issue. Keeping the mash fluid, really helps, 4 kg of grain I have 32 litres of strike water, between 5-6 kg 34 litres. This also eliminates the sparge from the process. The accuracy of the temperature of the mash is important, to the finished product, the conversion and to the expected attenuation of the yeast.

Depends what you are looking for from your beer on how you go about the brewing process, from the grain crush, pH, mash, boil and fermentation and packaging. If you want to brew beer better than what you can buy, or put winning entries into a comp, then paying attention to detail will pay dividends.

 

[Falco]

You don't need to check against another thermometer for accuracy, ice water is 0 C. That is how to check your own thermometer.

I think may I have to beg to differ on that one Foxy, before retirement I worked in industries where we had to calibrate instruments such as thermometers (medical/clinical) and it was vital to check a range of different tempertures to ensure correct operation of said devices.

 

[Asherweef]

I’m currently just heating/pumping water and starsan through in anticipation of brew day tomorrow!

does anyone else find that the camlock connector can pop off when the machine is nudged?

 

[Gerryjo]

I’m currently just heating/pumping water and starsan through in anticipation of brew day tomorrow!

does anyone else find that the camlock connector can pop off when the machine is nudged?

The cam should be locked using the clips and should not nudge.

 

[RGeats]

I’m currently just heating/pumping water and starsan through in anticipation of brew day tomorrow!

does anyone else find that the camlock connector can pop off when the machine is nudged?

I've found if I knock the sparge arm itself a few times it can work a bit loose. Have had a bit of a leak from the connector a couple of times but it's only been small.

 

[Falco]

I've found if I knock the sparge arm itself a few times it can work a bit loose. Have had a bit of a leak from the connector a couple of times but it's only been small.

Think I've seen a video somewhere in which the presenter specifically says not to move the sparge/recirc arm during pumping as the camlock will unlock and leakage will occur. Although I've no experience of camlocks before, in the tests I've done so far on the Brewzilla that seems to be the case. Dunno, perhaps that's how they're meant to work?

 

[Gerryjo]

Think I've seen a video somewhere in which the presenter specifically says not to move the sparge/recirc arm during pumping as the camlock will unlock and leakage will occur. Although I've no experience of camlocks before, in the tests I've done so far on the Brewzilla that seems to be the case. Dunno, perhaps that's how they're meant to work?

There is a video out there maybe Gash slug/brewing network and moving the pipe itself acts as an elongated lever giving more pressure to release the spring clamps holding it.

 

[foxy]

I think may I have to beg to differ on that one Foxy, before retirement I worked in industries where we had to calibrate instruments such as thermometers (medical/clinical) and it was vital to check a range of different tempertures to ensure correct operation of said devices.

Were not talking about calibrating a thermometer, it is about checking it.

These SBV's fluctuate throughout the mash as much as 2 degrees either way, so if the calibration is out by say 2 C (they can be out by 10 C) either way can lead to a greater margin of error.
It takes 5 minutes to check and re calibrate. Well worth the effort.

 

[Falco]

Were not talking about calibrating a thermometer, it is about checking it.

These SBV's fluctuate throughout the mash as much as 2 degrees either way, so if the calibration is out by say 2 C (they can be out by 10 C) either way can lead to a greater margin of error.
It takes 5 minutes to check and re calibrate. Well worth the effort.

Agreed, it’s about checking it, but if by checking it’s miles out then there’s a need to recalibrate. Are you saying that your experience is to recalibrate every time you use the device?

I’ve just received mine and before using it in anger have decided to check the temperature display with my analogue thermometer and there’s a slight difference of 2 degrees across the spectrum that I’ve observed that’s all. Which to me sounds acceptable.

 

[foxy]

Agreed, it’s about checking it, but if by checking it’s miles out then there’s a need to recalibrate. Are you saying that your experience is to recalibrate every time you use the device?

I’ve just received mine and before using it in anger have decided to check the temperature display with my analogue thermometer and there’s a slight difference of 2 degrees across the spectrum that I’ve observed that’s all. Which to me sounds acceptable.

I never said to re calibrate every time you use it. For initial set up and periodically after that.
In a perfect world + or- 1 C is acceptable in a mash temperature, but as I said earlier the fluctuations can be 2 or 3 C either way that is why it is better to get it right from the start.
I have been brewing on these for 4 years and a BM for 11 years. Getting the mash temperature right will be the difference between a dry beer and a full bodied beer and also deliver expected OG. Getting the best out of the grain bill and maintaining a mash as close to temperature will involve stirring. You have asked for advice and I have given it, whether you take any notice is up to you.

Hi all. I'm just planning my first brew with this but have a couple of questions.

The hole for the pump seems to be un-guarded. Although I have the hop spider, do i need to take any additional precautions to stop the pump clogging?
/QUOTE]

You can get a filter for the Brew Monk etc, the downside is as you start the mash any grain and other bits go through the pump and dumped on top of the grain basket, which is good using a filter over the return pipe will leave any grain and other bits in the boil which is not so good. (depending on the debris in there)
A paddle is as good as any other way for for whirlpooling and helping get the temperature down

 

[Falco]

That’s me told

Anyway, I’d be interested to learn how people are getting the boiled/cooled wort out of their unit. Seen videos showing via the bottom tap and others using the pump/recirc arm.

Would have thought it’s personal preference but maybe there are advantages of one over the other?

 

[Gingerbrews]

Personally, I use the pump.
My reasons are: 1. Ease.
2. The pump outlet is lower than the tap, and
3. it helps to aereate the wort.

 

[Gingerbrews]

Am currently brewing Greg Hughes American Stout as brew number 9 using the Brewzilla