Moving to all grain what's a decent kettle?

[Paulus]

Hi, I'm getting on well with various kits and am looking into what would make a good kettle for all grain wort.

I have seen a Kegland digiboil 35L with malt kit. Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks,

 

[Rodcx500z]

I have had a brewzilla gen 3 for over 3 years and am very happy with it. but as with all, all in ones it has it's faults mainly the bottom plate but you learn to live it. it makes great beer which is the main thing. have a check on you tube they are all there

 

[LeeH]

You just missed out on a 400 quid Braumiester

 

[Cwrw666]

Cheapest way in is with Biab. I'm not familiar with what kettles are currently available though. I bought an Ace one 8 years ago for 80 quid and it's still going strong. 30 L so it's better for 20 L brews than 23 which I always found risked boil- overs.
Good luck with your switch to AG. You won't regret it.

 

[MashBag]

Hi, I'm getting on well with various kits and am looking into what would make a good kettle for all grain wort.

I have seen a Kegland digiboil 35L with malt kit. Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks,

Do you mean an all in one, or do you just mean a boiller? What's the plan?

 

[NIGHTSKY BREWING]

Make one....

 

[Paulus]

Do you mean an all in one, or do you just mean a boiller? What's the plan?

It is a boiler with an additional kit to allow mashing.
I think I'd probably follow CWRW666's advice about BIAB though as it sounds like that would be alot easier on maintenance.
I live in Spain and there are not many suppliers of homebrew equipment here and importing large bits of kit is very expensive.

 

[Paulus]

Make one....

I have looked into modding a cool box and doing a BIAB by just letting it soak for over an hour, but I would like a bit more control over the process.
Do you have any plans on how to make one?

 

[MashBag]

I may have got this wrong but in my head there are broadly two well-trodden paths.

BIAB is typically mashing the grain in some sort of insulated vessel. This needs a simple water boiler like a cafe. To heat a quantity of water, the mashing is done in another vessel and then returned for boiling. CWRW666's advice is sound. A cooler box is a good choice. Many of us started there.

Malt tube type brewing. This is where the grain is on a stainless tube or bucket. Inside the kettle, the temp is accurately controlled and the liquid is pumped around d through the grains. This is the fundamental design of a "all in one" brewing kettle. The grains are removed after mash for the boil.

So if you are planning to build one. It is very do-able now. You need a basic cafe boiler. Rip out the thermostat, replace with a digital controller.
Make or buy a snug fitting stainless (mesh bottom) basket.
Add a food safe pump, connect it to pump from the bottom tap into the top of the grain basket.
I would also consider a power controller. Full power for boiling, but half for mashing. Or two elements.

These were popular builds a few years ago before the influx of brewzilla/grainfather/brewmonk etc.

But to be perfectly honest, I still think it would be cheaper to buy.

At the moment you appear to be in a twilight of both ideas. Perhaps it might be better to find what is available to you, easily and cheaply is Spain, and we can help you from there?

 

[Paulus]

I may have got this wrong but in my head there are broadly two well-trodden paths.

BIAB is typically mashing the grain in some sort of insulated vessel. This needs a simple water boiler like a cafe. To heat a quantity of water, the mashing is done in another vessel and then returned for boiling. CWRW666's advice is sound. A cooler box is a good choice. Many of us started there.

Malt tube type brewing. This is where the grain is on a stainless tube or bucket. Inside the kettle, the temp is accurately controlled and the liquid is pumped around d through the grains. This is the fundamental design of a "all in one" brewing kettle. The grains are removed after mash for the boil.

So if you are planning to build one. It is very do-able now. You need a basic cafe boiler. Rip out the thermostat, replace with a digital controller.
Make or buy a snug fitting stainless (mesh bottom) basket.
Add a food safe pump, connect it to pump from the bottom tap into the top of the grain basket.
I would also consider a power controller. Full power for boiling, but half for mashing. Or two elements.

These were popular builds a few years ago before the influx of brewzilla/grainfather/brewmonk etc.

But to be perfectly honest, I still think it would be cheaper to buy.

At the moment you appear to be in a twilight of both ideas. Perhaps it might be better to find what is available to you, easily and cheaply is Spain, and we can help you from there?

Thanks for the excellent advice. I have uploaded some translated pages from an online supplier in Spain. This is the kettle and mash kit available. It is still
€245 but much cheaper than the
https://brouwland.com/en/electric-brew-kettles/11886-brew-monk-all-in-one-brewing-system.htmlwhich is the cheapest all in one system I can see.

 

[Rwilts]

I may have got this wrong but in my head there are broadly two well-trodden paths.

BIAB is typically mashing the grain in some sort of insulated vessel. This needs a simple water boiler like a cafe. To heat a quantity of water, the mashing is done in another vessel and then returned for boiling. CWRW666's advice is sound. A cooler box is a good choice. Many of us started there.

Malt tube type brewing. This is where the grain is on a stainless tube or bucket. Inside the kettle, the temp is accurately controlled and the liquid is pumped around d through the grains. This is the fundamental design of a "all in one" brewing kettle. The grains are removed after mash for the boil.

So if you are planning to build one. It is very do-able now. You need a basic cafe boiler. Rip out the thermostat, replace with a digital controller.
Make or buy a snug fitting stainless (mesh bottom) basket.
Add a food safe pump, connect it to pump from the bottom tap into the top of the grain basket.
I would also consider a power controller. Full power for boiling, but half for mashing. Or two elements.

These were popular builds a few years ago before the influx of brewzilla/grainfather/brewmonk etc.

But to be perfectly honest, I still think it would be cheaper to buy.

At the moment you appear to be in a twilight of both ideas. Perhaps it might be better to find what is available to you, easily and cheaply is Spain, and we can help you from there?

My BIAB method was to mash and boil in the same 50L stainless steel pot sat on a propane burner. Grains in bag and removed for boil. No need for separate container for mashing.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I’ve just bought a Digiboil 35L as I used a catering water/beverage boiler but it burnt the wort during the boil and tainted the beer. I use a picnic box lined with a mesh bag for mashing. Wort is circulated through a HERMS circuit to regulate mash temperature. Hoping to do my first brew with the Digiboil at the weekend but will have to wait 6 weeks or so to find out how it effects the beer.

 

[Cwrw666]

Biab is usually carried out in the kettle. Heat water to mash temperature, insert the bag, add the grains, do the mash then remove the bag with the grains. You can then either continue to the boil, or do a sparge - I do this in the fv I'm going to be using for the ferment - and then do the boil.

 

[NIGHTSKY BREWING]

I have looked into modding a cool box and doing a BIAB by just letting it soak for over an hour, but I would like a bit more control over the process.
Do you have any plans on how to make one?

I restore classic cars so cool with TiG ,Gas, Mig etc so Tig welded to Kegs together around 85/90 litre system... Heating from Malt Miller tri fittings.... Etc.

Please make sure you know about back purging the fittings etc ....not easy for the right weld...

Or use silver soldering or weldless fittings....

 

[MashBag]

I have had quite a bit of kit from brouland. They service and choice of kit does seem good.

The brew monk is not a stranger in the uk, and I am sure a few guys here could help with any little niggles. Don't expect any all in one to be perfect, you will find you need to learn their language & adjust them here and there. And that applies to the most expensive kit too.

I also think you will struggle to build something for the price of the brew monk. Go for that.

 

[Begbie]

I was torn between the 35L digiboil with mash pipe, and the 25L Klarstein Maischfest when I was moving to an All In One. I ended up going with the Maischfest as it was cheaper and suited the volumes that I was intending to brew. I don't regret it.

I eventually bought a cheap food grade pump and hose to allow me to recirculate during the mash. Prior to that, I just 'recirculated' several times during the mash using a 2L jug - poured from the outlet nozzle into the jug, and then back into the grain bed.

Check out Hi-Fi Tower for special offers on Klarstein kettles. Not sure if you'll get it delivered to Spain, but worth a look to give you another option.

 

[eyuptm]

It is a boiler with an additional kit to allow mashing.
I think I'd probably follow CWRW666's advice about BIAB though as it sounds like that would be alot easier on maintenance.
I live in Spain and there are not many suppliers of homebrew equipment here and importing large bits of kit is very expensive.

You come across Cocinista? They do the whole range of ingredients and equipment- free delivery in the peninsula after €100, I believe....

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

My BIAB method was to mash and boil in the same 50L stainless steel pot sat on a propane burner. Grains in bag and removed for boil. No need for separate container for mashing.

I started the same way but 56l electric pot and made lots of great beer with it. Still have it but now using Bruzilla gen 4

 

[Brew_DD2]

Thanks for the excellent advice. I have uploaded some translated pages from an online supplier in Spain. This is the kettle and mash kit available. It is still
€245 but much cheaper than the
https://brouwland.com/en/electric-brew-kettles/11886-brew-monk-all-in-one-brewing-system.htmlwhich is the cheapest all in one system I can see.
View attachment 90971 View attachment 90972

This is a great way to go. I went for this over the Brewzilla as it's the same thing minus the recirculation pump. Works great, and suits my KISS approach to brew days.