Osprey's first Brewzilla Brew Day

[TheOsprey]

Calibrate by comparing with a “reliable” thermometer? Is recirc arm same as whirlpool arm? My OG was only 1 out, according to my refractor (what a great gizmo)

Recirc arm comes with the kit, has a silicone tube on and sits on top of the mash to recirculate the wort through it.

The whirlpool arm is an optional extra, and is steel (I assume) to the bottom, and effectively recirculates the wort still, but in a clockwise/anticlockwise motion, to collect the trub in the centre. I haven't used it yet.

 

[DocAnna]

As for sparging - I never use the fine bottom screen which helps, also after you’ve first given it a good stir - let it sit for 5-10min then give it a good stir again before putting the top screen on. I’ve found that helps recirculating on speed which I reckon translates into sparging speed.

 

[foxy]

Did my first brew with my new Brewzilla yesterday (Summer Lightning AG kit from Brew UK). Couple of things didn’t go smoothly. The mash temp seemed to get stuck at 97C for about half an hour. In the end I put the pump on and covered with the lid and a pullover! Soon after it reached 100 and stayed there. Is that long delay normal? Then I got a stuck sparge. Listening to a slow trickle for over 2 hours was a bit disheartening. I consulted a David Heath video. Solution: next time I’m using rice hulls. He also suggested a good stir - but that’s not possible with the top cover in place. At what stage can the top cover be removed during mashing? Another question I had was when to use the whirlpool arm. Is it just once at end of brew before cooling, or when? Cooling coil was problematic - how to fit those metal hose fitting with olives without leaking! Transfer to the FV using the pump was a dream. Overall an intense session and a steep learning curve but I remain very excited about the whole thing.

Don't bother using the top screen, and once you get used the vessel get rid of the overflow pipe. The grain will act as a filter for all the bits coming through the recirculating pipe, stir every 15 minutes to improve your efficiency but don't stir for the last 15 or 20 minutes, better still do a mash out of 20 minutes with no stirring to get the small bits onto the top of the grain bed.
Instead of rice hulls make a more fluid mash, rice hulls aren't washed unless its for livestock feed and they are one of the most heavily sprayed cereal crops out there.

 

[clyne]

Bit late to this thread, but I've got a few vids on my YouTube channel using the Robobrew (aka Brewzilla) - feel free to take a look, and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. It's definitely a steep learning curve and today I've been recording a vid which will help with some of those terms that you only hear when you first start brewing. Will be a couple of weeks before I've got it edited and published so stay tuned :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB-HmSAduHiDv-86MVxdqEA
I don't mind saying I'm plugging my channel shamelessly, but I do think it'll be helpful if you are just starting out with your BrewZilla.

 

[Seghes]

Bit late to this thread, but I've got a few vids on my YouTube channel using the Robobrew (aka Brewzilla) - feel free to take a look, and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. It's definitely a steep learning curve and today I've been recording a vid which will help with some of those terms that you only hear when you first start brewing. Will be a couple of weeks before I've got it edited and published so stay tuned :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB-HmSAduHiDv-86MVxdqEA
I don't mind saying I'm plugging my channel shamelessly, but I do think it'll be helpful if you are just starting out with your BrewZilla.

Much appreciated. In fact I have used your Proper Job vid as a benchmark learner. Liked your style and observations. I may well be in contact!

 

[TheOsprey]

Bottle job.

 

[TheOsprey]

And this is the total of the mess I made.



Last time I bottled with a little bottler sellotaped to a siphon, which left me in a puddle. The time before I only had the siphon. I'll leave that mess to your imaginations.

 

[TheOsprey]

So I primed in the bottle, with just 3g of sugar in each bottle, as I didn't want my porter to be too carbonated. I bottle in PET 500ml, and after 12 days, they're still not hard. There's definitely pressure there but I can squeeze the bottle a significant amount.

I'm wondering if I underprimed, but I used 4g in my last batch, a SMaSH, and I definitely don't want this to be that carbonated.

I don't mind the taste with less fizz, but will the beer last less long in the bottles?