Robobrew Brewzilla 3.1

[Beer Please]

Hi all.

Anyone have any experience of this system?

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collections/robobrew/products/brewzilla-35l-gen3-1-1-bundle
Interested in taking my brewing to the next level and where better to get advice on these things than from you guys.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dave_77]

Had one for a couple of years and no issues what's so ever. Purchased from brewkegtap, they have always offered a speedy professional service.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

I bought that exact kit back in August. Only managed one brew since due to a house move, but it was my first full size AG attempt and I really enjoyed it.
The biggest niggle I had was that I had the unit on the garage floor, and so you have to get on your hands and knees to program it/change settings if the unit has water in it. (I have since built a unit for it to sit on to stop this being such an issue, so I can also empty in to FV from the tap rather than pump).
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed using it and I think the price is very attractive.
Certainly watch some videos on YouTube - that helped me, being new to all-in-one systems.

 

[foxy]

Hi all.

Anyone have any experience of this system?

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collections/robobrew/products/brewzilla-35l-gen3-1-1-bundle
Interested in taking my brewing to the next level and where better to get advice on these things than from you guys.

Thanks in advance.

If you can wait a couple of months there is the Brewzilla 4 due for release.

 

[dave_77]

If you can wait a couple of months there is the Brewzilla 4 due for release.

Ooooo, with the new grainfather G40 and cheaper variations I thought these other manufacturers should up their game a little.

 

[Beer Please]

Ooooo, with the new grainfather G40 and cheaper variations I thought these other manufacturers should up their game a little.

Hi, what would the main benefits of buying the G40 over this?

 

[dave_77]

I haven't used one before but I had a look at one that maltmiller had at Brewcon. I have had the brewzilla for a couple of years and if I was going to upgrade these are the points that I would want to improve on:
- slightly more capacity so I could maybe do split batches G40 is 40+ litres
- if I had more capacity I would want higher power- g40 has 2900-3200 watts(I think) depending on location and power supply. Heating times are fine for 20-30l batches with 2400 watts but would want more power so it didn't slow my brew day.
- pump and bottom plate/filter that doesn't block with loose whirlpool hops. G40 has an interesting hop filter bottom screen design. Seems to block enough hop matter that you can whirlpool with loose hops. With the brewzilla I put hop pellets in bags so it doesn't block the pump..it's ok with bittering hops but I have blocked it with whirlpool additions.
I'm not too worried about the G40s controller but it does look like a tidy, well powered option that is less than a Brewtools 40 system. Interested to see what the new range of brewzilla's would have though..I don't think I need the 65 litre..

 

[chillipickle]

If you can wait a couple of months there is the Brewzilla 4 due for release.

If it gets released in australia in a few months, add atleast 6 to 10 months before it lands in the uk..

I have a brewzilla 3.1.1 and it is a good bit of kit once you get the hang of it.You will find plenty of help on here and youtube on the brewzilla.

 

[foxy]

If it gets released in australia in a few months, add atleast 6 to 10 months before it lands in the uk..

I have a brewzilla 3.1.1 and it is a good bit of kit once you get the hang of it.You will find plenty of help on here and youtube on the brewzilla.

Well there is something going off in the Keg Land camp, they are in court for mediation this week or next week over misappropriation of shares and their stock levels are low.

 

[fgoulding]

I have a Brewzilla 3.1.1 and it's worked well for me. It took me a while to get my efficiency levels up but, as was mentioned, there's a ton of YouTube videos out there for advice and also on this forum as well.

However, I want to up my volume a tad and so I was looking really forward to the Grainfather G40 release but the price is really off putting.

The new features on the Gen 4 (or should I say the features copied from other manufacturers) are going to be:

Wifi control and internet connectivity (nice to have but not really necessary)​

Top mounted controller which can be tilted and disconnected from the unit (crawling on the floor with the Gen 3.1.1. is exercise for me)​

The base will drain out completely (I just tilt the current version ;-))​

CIP (Cleaning in Place) functionality (that's what the shower in my bath is for)​

Spray jet/nozzle (I use a €3 wort siphon made of plastic)​

Sight glass to see and measure volume (there is a kit on Aliexpress to add this to the Gen 3.1.1 if you're handy with plumbing)​

Anyway, according to what I've read, they have a shipment of Gen 4's due to arrive in Australia from China at the end of December and another at the end of January. Both are expected to sell out immediately, so as @chillipickle said, we probably won't see them in the UK until the middle of next year and even later for me in Ireland.

However, that's a good thing because Kegland is notorious for having big issues on the first release of a new product (the Gen 3 was a nightmare and their RAPT fridge is not getting good reviews).

And by the way, I'm not a Kegland fanboy - it's just that our options in Ireland are limited and Brexit has meant that many UK suppliers won't ship to us (not surprising given all the red tape and delivery problems).

But it might be worth waiting a while before buying the current version (which is probably what I'll do for the 65L) as I would expect we will see heavy Gen 3.1.1 discounts once the "Brew-Tubers" get their free Gen 4 kit and tell us how great it is...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I returned to homebrewing with a robobrew 3 and was very happy but felt a little constrained by volume. Upgraded to a Guten 70 and that's working even better.
But was so pleased I dived in with a 35 litre system at the beginning.
You can buy a lot of extras such as counterflow chiller, modifying the plumbing and Smartpid and the new collar to increase boil volume with change left over in comparison to G40