Brewzilla thread to share knowledge, experiences and good practice

[Falco]

Hi all, from chatting in another Brewzilla related thread, it seems there’s quite a few of us who are new owners of the latest 3.1.1 version of the appliance. So it seems like a good reason to start a thread to share knowledge, experiences and good practice from users of the new model as well as those with earlier versions.

I’ve only just had mine delivered yesterday, have checked it functions as designed and planning for the first brew next week.

So if people are interested, let’s get sharing

 

[BlackRegent]

Here's a starter for 10 - hands down the best video out there providing a walkthrough of what's in the box, what each part does and how it all goes together. It has criminally few views for something as thorough and well presented and I wish I was aware of it when I got mine!



Obviously ignore his solution for hooking up the chiller if you already have the stainless steel compression fittings.

 

[Gerryjo]

I got mine in June and when I tested it the pump was running but was dry. Pulled it apart to find the silicone elbow from the base drain to the pump had been twisted though was easily sorted.
Contacted Jonny @ brewkegtap just to make him aware of what had happened and he is decent bloke.
The nut at the base is easy spun so don't go playing with it.

 

[Gerryjo]

Here's another worthwhile video.

 

[Falco]

Thanks for those @Gerryjo and @BlackRegent, I’d viewed them previously but well worth posting them here too.

It was a @David Heath video comparing a GF and a Robobrew that persuaded me to go down the all in one route instead of a 3 vessel approach.

 

[BlackRegent]

A perennial question that comes up with the Brewzilla is whether to use the fine screen in addition to the perforated screen at the bottom of the malt pipe. You will find as many people who don't use it as do, so it seems to me to come down to personal preference. I can only speak of my personal experience and I have used the fine screen every time without any issue. I don't use rice hulls in the mash either. It may come down to crush size and I wonder if those who have had problems when using the fine screen have used a fine crush in their grist.

 

[BlackRegent]

An issue every Brewzilla user will encounter on their first brew (and every one thereafter) is water volumes for the mash. If you're using a recipe with a suggested mash water volume (e.g. Greg Hughes' recipes in Home Brew Beer) it is likely that the suggested mash water volume will be too low and will produce an overly thick mash in the Brewzilla. This is due to the void underneath the Brewzilla's false bottom. If you use Brewfather with the Brewzilla profile set up you should be OK as this accounts for the volume lost under the false bottom. A free online resource to calculate water volumes is the Grainfather water calculator, as the dimensions of the GF are roughly similar to the Brewzilla. However, even then I have found that I need to add another litre or so to the GF estimated mash water volume to get a mash consistency I am happy with. Remember that any water added to the mash will need to come off the sparge water volume to keep the overall batch size consistent. Therefore, you may also need to make alterations to your salt additions when treating the water before brewing.

 

[Falco]

Seems to me that its no great shakes to use the fine screen and the perforated screen, it’s there for a reason.

Thanks for the advice about water volumes, will keep that in mind.

 

[Falco]

An issue every Brewzilla user will encounter on their first brew (and every one thereafter) is water volumes for the mash.

As I’ve been brewing all extract beers up until now I haven’t needed to use brewing software or calculators. From your experience is there a general rule of thumb regarding tweaking mash liquor volumes suggested in recipes for all in one systems such as the Brewzilla?

 

[Gingerbrews]

I've had mine since June and done 8 brews so far.
The first 2 were a bit hit and miss, with me forgetting to do certain things. Definitely worthwhile taking your time with the initial brews until you get used to it.
My only real problem has been that the chiller takes a lot longer than I'd anticipated, and my tap water is pretty cold.
Do others use the hop spider or just lob the hop additions in?

 

[Aeropars]

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?

Is there a minimum batch size that people would recommend? I dont want to do a 25l batch right off the bat but was thinking of a 12.5l initially. But then when trying to hone in recipes, even that seems quite a lot. Would it work with say a 5 litre batch?

 

[Falco]

My only real problem has been that the chiller takes a lot longer than I'd anticipated, and my tap water is pretty cold.

Has anyone tried the alternative method of wort cooling mentioned on this Kegland video at the 15 minute point?

 

[BlackRegent]

From your experience is there a general rule of thumb regarding tweaking mash liquor volumes suggested in recipes for all in one systems such as the Brewzilla?

There isn't a rule of thumb as far as I'm aware due to the different dimensions of the different systems. Most recipes will assume a mash tun without a void. If you don't use a service like Brewfather, the only advice I can give is to use the GF calculator and add another litre to the mash water volume, as that is what has worked for me in the past.

My only real problem has been that the chiller takes a lot longer than I'd anticipated, and my tap water is pretty cold.

I've read quite a few complaints that the Brewzilla chiller isn't very good. In truth, I'm yet to use it as I didn't have the connection fittings and I've only recently bought them. I've used my copper immersion chiller instead. I was planning on using the Brewzilla chiller for my next brew to see how it fares as its a much better fit in the vessel than my copper chiller.

It helps a bit to recirculate the wort using the pump when chilling.

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?

I've seen people put an upside down tea strainer over the hole. Never done it myself but it seems like a good idea. I'm slightly old fashioned in that I only use leaf hops in the boil and pellets for dry hopping. However, my last brew was a Landlord clone kit from Malt Miller and all the hops were pellets. When I was recirculating during chilling the pump blocked from all the hop sludge. If you're using pellet hops in the boil I would personally use the spider or a hop sock.

Is there a minimum batch size that people would recommend? I dont want to do a 25l batch right off the bat but was thinking of a 12.5l initially. But then when trying to hone in recipes, even that seems quite a lot. Would it work with say a 5 litre batch?

I'm not sure of the minimum batch size, but I don't think a 5L batch would work due to the water volume lost under the false bottom. A 12.5l batch should be fine though.

Has anyone tried the alternative method of wort cooling mentioned on this Kegland video at the 15 minute point?

I think there are two problems with this. Firstly, you have to arse about with putting ice in a bucket which I can't be bothered with. Secondly (and more importantly) the wort runs inside the coil making it a massive pain to clean and keep sanitary, especially as you are exposing the wort to it post-boil when there is a risk of infection. One of the beauties of an immersion chiller used traditionally is that you only have to drop it in the boil 5 mins before the end for it to be perfectly sanitised.

 

[Falco]

Just getting to grips with the Brewfather app as we speak @BlackRegent

Agree with what you're saying about circulating the wort inside the chiller might cause sanitation issues but being on a water meter here and also a tight b'stard I might investigate this method once I've done an immersion chill and approximated the water consumption.

For the first brew I'm thinking of doing half the original volume of the Greg Hughes Christmas Ale or Winter Warmer if I get my skates on.

 

[The Cat]

Maybe a silly question I dunno but can the Brewzilla be used for extract brewing as well as all-grain? I.E. using malt extract and skipping the mash stage?

Thanks.

 

[Falco]

can the Brewzilla be used for extract brewing

Not tried it myself but can't see why not, I've been doing extract brews in a 50 litre stockpot heated by a large propane paella burner! The Brewzilla is just a stockpot with an electric wort heater instead.

 

[The Cat]

Not tried it myself but can't see why not, I've been doing extract brews in a 50 litre stockpot heated by a large propane paella burner! The Brewzilla is just a stockpot with an electric wort heater instead.

Thanks for that- I got a Christmas bonus coming which will just about cover one

Any other opinions welcome of course.

 

[Gerryjo]

Agree with what you're saying about circulating the wort inside the chiller might cause sanitation issues but being on a water meter here and also a tight b'stard I might investigate this method once I've done an immersion chill and approximated the water consumption.

The chiller is no issue as long as you can keep it clean and sterile flushing before and after use. I have a 20l tea urn converted to a heat exchanger which I would use to maintain wort temps on the mashtun but make sure its always kept clean and this is copper. The BrewZilla is SS and you could just hook hoses direct to the pipe and run the wort through it internally and with no connection on either end your reducing fixed contact points for nasties to hide...

 

[Argentum]

What has been the temperature stability experience for these units?

 

[RGeats]

As I’ve been brewing all extract beers up until now I haven’t needed to use brewing software or calculators. From your experience is there a general rule of thumb regarding tweaking mash liquor volumes suggested in recipes for all in one systems such as the Brewzilla?

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. From what I've read you can't make the mash liquor too thin on these type of units. I've done about 8 brews using this as a guide and works well for me. They are pretty flexible units though so feel free to play around with grain:water ratios.