Brewzilla

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Thanks hop it!

 

[Hop_it]

Don't ask don't get

I've started a new thread under the Group Buys subject (Is there any interest in a possible group purchase of glucanase (aka beta glucanase)?)
It seems to be generating some interest. A homebrew supplier has suggested that they may be willing to repackage it and stock it if there is sufficient demand

 

[jayk34]

Hey Rod

Could you link me to the blanking plug please?

I got a 1/2" one from BES but there are other sizes depending on what you require.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I was looking at that exact one but I wasn't sure if it would be the right size or indeed stay in without a nut.

Also are they food safe?

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I think I will ask the FIL if he has anything in his stash before I buy anything.

 

[Hop_it]

I was looking at that exact one but I wasn't sure if it would be the right size or indeed stay in without a nut.

Also are they food safe?

Yes, the plug will stay in place without a nut. It has the same thread size as the plate and the central tube. And yes, they are "food safe"
If you do decide to order one then you will need to specify:

Hexagonal plug​

1/4 BSP​

Hope this helps

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Certainly does. Many thanks

 

[jayk34]

I was looking at that exact one but I wasn't sure if it would be the right size or indeed stay in without a nut.

Also are they food safe?

It's 316 stainless steel which I believe (or hope) is food safe.

 

[Hop_it]

@Hop_it

I agree with the relationship conundrum. That's why I thought a phone call to them might be most productive. Mention you're a brewer / startup and you might get a sample.

If I was going to try breweries I'd see if there are any gluten free brewers as they do use a lot of enzymes as routine.

Sadly with Covid Visas etc can't see a trip back to UK in the near future otherwise I'd just load up with bottles of the stuff.

Regarding your thought about malt pipe height and diameter I'm not so sure.

I use the Guten 70 and the malt pipe is about 30 cm across, I am starting to do more brews to make 50 litres of wort but I find that a rapid sparge is a problem with the larger and if I'm aiming for 25 litres of wort the same. The efficiency has been the same as well. I'm making every effort to slow down the sparge to improve extraction.

Thank you very much for your suggestions, and comments about my thoughts on the height vs diameter.

You may or may not have noticed on another thread that a UK homebrew supplier has stepped up, and is seriously considering repackaging the bulk glucanase into 100ml bottles for resale. If this comes to pass, I will be able to give it a try

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@Hop_it
Noticed your comment above but not the thread. Sounds promising for you all.
Regarding height and diameter I was watching short circuit brewing first comments on a new blichmann ( likely very expensive ) brew system.
The interesting bit was the sparge bit that went down the middle with holes in it. This could be tryable on the brewzilla etc with a blanking plug and i may look into it if I can get a bit of SS pipe drilled, perhaps copper to start with. Although SS often cheaper these days.

 

[Theoriginalrich]

Mine arrived this evening, going to visit the brewstore in Edinburgh tomorrow and see what I can buy. Need some malt for a Nelson smash.

 

[sifty]

I've just done 2 Brewzilla brews back to back (on separate days) and both are bubbling away happily in their fermenters. One was a 5kg wheat mix, the other was 6.5kg of various grains. I just followed the instructions, keeping an eye on temperatures, and easily exceeded predicted numbers. No rice hulls, no blocking of holes, no stirring, no drama. Never had any issues having done 10 different brews now.

Am I missing something? Why all the discussion on modifying the system? What is the benefit of stirring the mash when things seem to be going ok? Is it people moving from different systems/methods seeing improvements, or just pointless meddling...?

Genuinely interested as this is all I've used and it seems to go ok out of the box...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@sifty
I think it's all to do with mash efficiency.
My weekend double batch had a pre boil efficiency of 83% and a brewhouse efficiency of 77 %. I'd like to aim a bit higher just for the challenge.

Some people are only getting 60 + % and are trying to improve that. If they set their numbers for lower efficiency they will hit the target but it's not the one they really want.

Weather okay down there today?

 

[sifty]

Ah that makes sense, thanks. Fully understand the challenge and enjoyment of tinkering.
Just checked Brewfather and the Brewzilla 35 has efficiency set at 75%. As long as the beer tastes good I'll continue doing what works for me...

And weather's been beautiful all week. Had a few days off for school holidays and planted some hops yesterday. Now to keep an eye on spring frosts...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Ahh planted my hops as well, tangerine dream and a 3litre sized starter of EKG. If we get frost here, your hops have had it.
All depends what efficiency that is, but as you say good beer is the key and I think the All in ones make good wort!!

I'm making my first saison and a brett saison at the moment. We'll find out in a long time about the Brett one.

 

[Hop_it]

@Hop_it
Noticed your comment above but not the thread. Sounds promising for you all.
Regarding height and diameter I was watching short circuit brewing first comments on a new blichmann ( likely very expensive ) brew system.
The interesting bit was the sparge bit that went down the middle with holes in it. This could be tryable on the brewzilla etc with a blanking plug and i may look into it if I can get a bit of SS pipe drilled, perhaps copper to start with. Although SS often cheaper these days.

That's an interesting idea. I'll take a look at the video when I have a bit more time

 

[Hop_it]

@sifty
I think it's all to do with mash efficiency.
My weekend double batch had a pre boil efficiency of 83% and a brewhouse efficiency of 77 %. I'd like to aim a bit higher just for the challenge.

Some people are only getting 60 + % and are trying to improve that. If they set their numbers for lower efficiency they will hit the target but it's not the one they really want.

Weather okay down there today?

Ah that makes sense, thanks. Fully understand the challenge and enjoyment of tinkering.
Just checked Brewfather and the Brewzilla 35 has efficiency set at 75%. As long as the beer tastes good I'll continue doing what works for me...

And weather's been beautiful all week. Had a few days off for school holidays and planted some hops yesterday. Now to keep an eye on spring frosts...

I can't speak for other Brewzilla owners, and I certainly fall into the category of "tinkerer", but my issues are nothing to do with efficiencies. I have been getting overall efficiencies in excess of 70% all of the time, and sometimes up to ~80% - So, this if fine. My main concern is the overall control of temperatures in the mash, and how this is affected by wort circulation through the grain bed during this phase of the process. It is not too difficult to get the temperature you desire in the wort as it flows out of the recirculation tube, but getting the mass of the grain bed to the same temperature is problematic. I've measured this many times using a long temperature probe, and it is often several degC lower than the wort temperature out of the recirculation tube. To my mind this means that you don't really know what your mash temperature is. Also, if/when you attempt to carry out a step mash where time and temperature steps are important, you have no real control of the process because it takes so long to transfer heat from the recirculating wort to the grain bed, particularly when the recirculation rate is low, i.e. when you are forced to throttle back the pump output because the mash doesn't drain efficiently . . . . . Anyway, I've posted on this topic several times already (see #108 and others thereafter), so I'll stop banging the same old drum again :tinhat:

 

[sifty]

Thanks for the reply Hop_it. I've re-read post #108 and I've also done a 20% rye brew with no problems at all. Wonder if my brew shop does a mill grind that suits the BZ better?
I have wondered about the temp through the mash, it is a degree or 2 less in the middle but as it's correct at the top and bottom I've just not worried about it. Always seem to have decent flow though, so guess that helps.
Apart from ramping up for mash out I've never done a step mash so that's possibly a real issue with the setup. It does take a while to get up to mash out temp I've noticed. I usually pause the timer till temp is reached.

Appreciate the feedback. So much to learn with this hobby...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@Hop_it
Regarding the temp and " choked " flow needed on the pump, I certainly find at first I throttle the flow but usually towards the end it's settled down to full pace.
However this David Heath homebrew video suggests that you should run at full speed during the mash and use the overflow aspect. I've tried this once but didn't collect any data about it. I do put a tea strainer over the top of the overflow pipe to prevent any small floating bits going round and round or cause a blockage.
I tend to set the temp to about 0.5 degrees on full power for 2 minutes just below my mash temp, then set the mash temp at lower wattage and correct temp for the planned duration. Why this way? I dough in during the minute or so leading up to that 2 minutes and during it. This way I seem to get the grain going into the right temp water and less oscillation on the mash temp.
I also agree with you knowing how long to take ramping from one temp to another is difficult with a step mash. I've started to try and make it take a bit longer as I find it overshoots a bit with high watts and quick ramps and if I looked I expect inconsistent malt temps throughout the stratification.

 

[venkman100]

On the G40 the perforations up the side of the malt pipe are on the inside of where the "support legs" are, so you cannot see them from the outside.

I do not believe that the S40 has the vertical perforations.

Cheers. Thank you for the info..