TheOsprey
Brewing Bad
So I bought a Robobrew Brewzilla 3.1.1. I’d only done one AG brew, on the stove top and decided that I needed more effective equipment. The price difference between an effective 3 vessel system and a Brewzilla seemed so minimal that going all in on an all in one seemed like a good idea.
I did loads of research online, watched hours of videos, and decided the Brewzilla was for me. One waiting list and a ship bound from China later and I had one. Then I tried to use it, and realised that there is a huge difference between watching other people use a system and using it myself. Without a 3 hour ‘full brew day’ video available, I decided to do a dry run with just water. I wrote down everything I did as I went, researching along the way.
Then a week later, I did my actual brew day, cocked up loads of times and made some changes to my notes. Then I spilled wort on them, and decided typing them up would be a better idea.
Then I realised that other people were having the same issues as me - generally newbies to the hobby who don’t have years of experience of brewing with a 3V system. And try as I might, I couldn’t find an effective ‘manual’ anywhere – and the one in the box is… shall we say light on detail? I wanted something to tell me step by step how to use this system.
I figure, if someone in the world googles “How to use brewzilla” or “brewzilla manual” and stumbles across this, I’ve done a good turn.
[TL: DR]
Presenting:
The Dummies’ Guide to the Brewzilla
If this is the first time you have used the Brewzilla, run through this guide using just water. This takes the majority of the stress out of the first real brew day, while checking for leaks or other problems.
Strike Water
And that’s it. If you feel I’ve missed anything important, or got anything drastically wrong, please feel free to VAR me underneath. Only the 'official' guidance please - I know there's a lot of 'your mileage may vary' on these, but loads of contrasting ideas on which parts to not bother using are likely to confuse.
I may add a ‘optional extras’ section underneath – whirlpooling, cleaning etc – when it’s not 11pm.
I did loads of research online, watched hours of videos, and decided the Brewzilla was for me. One waiting list and a ship bound from China later and I had one. Then I tried to use it, and realised that there is a huge difference between watching other people use a system and using it myself. Without a 3 hour ‘full brew day’ video available, I decided to do a dry run with just water. I wrote down everything I did as I went, researching along the way.
Then a week later, I did my actual brew day, cocked up loads of times and made some changes to my notes. Then I spilled wort on them, and decided typing them up would be a better idea.
Then I realised that other people were having the same issues as me - generally newbies to the hobby who don’t have years of experience of brewing with a 3V system. And try as I might, I couldn’t find an effective ‘manual’ anywhere – and the one in the box is… shall we say light on detail? I wanted something to tell me step by step how to use this system.
I figure, if someone in the world googles “How to use brewzilla” or “brewzilla manual” and stumbles across this, I’ve done a good turn.
[TL: DR]
Presenting:
The Dummies’ Guide to the Brewzilla
If this is the first time you have used the Brewzilla, run through this guide using just water. This takes the majority of the stress out of the first real brew day, while checking for leaks or other problems.
Strike Water
- Add the false bottom into the empty Brewzilla and fill to your strike water level (this should be in the recipe) – if possible, measure the water before adding it in, in case the increments are inaccurate.
- Switch both elements on, put the lid on and set the temperature to the desired mash temperature, then press play. You may wish to check the temperature with a thermometer and change the mash temperature accordingly.
- When mash temperature is reached, turn off the 1900w element (this must be turned off when mash pipe is in).
- Construct the mash pipe (with bottom screen and malt pipe) with the handle attached. Add to Brewzilla. Put the black topper on the malt pipe.
- Add the grains to the mash pipe slowly, breaking up any dough balls as you go. Add the top screen and push down gently until it rests on top of the grain bed.
- Replace the black pipe cover with the silver siphon cone. Push down on the cone until it rests against the screen.
- Attach the recirculation arm and turn on the pump. Adjust the valve until the top screen stays at a constant level – never dry, never too deep.
- Leave with just the 500w element on for the length of the mash. Keep an eye to maintain the recirculation level.4
- When the mash is complete, turn off the pump. Lift the mash pipe and rotate so the feet sit on their stands.
- Pour sparge water over the top screen (from another source), making sure to move around the grain bed. Sparge slowly, again making sure the water level is never too high or too low.
- When sparge is complete, and wort has finished draining, remove the mash pipe and place into a container (it will continue to drip, and this wort can be added back into the Brewzilla).
- Turn the temperature up to HH and press play. Switch 1900w element back on (both should now be on).
- Once boiling, turn off the 500w element.
- Add hops at times detailed in the recipe, using a hop spider if you have one.
- Leave the lid off the Brewzilla for the boil.
- Switch off both heating elements.
- Use your preferred method for cooling the wort.
- If using the supplied immersion chiller, add a water supply to one end (through a hose) and an unconnected hose to the other end. Which end is which is not important.
- The immersion chiller can be used in reverse – i.e. feed the wort through the chiller, with the chiller in a bucket of ice water, but this requires a food grade hose.
- A counterflow chiller is available as an optional extra.
- The front tap and the recirculation arm can both be used to drain the wort into the fermentation vessel. If using the recirc arm, switch off the pump when it begins to gargle, as the pump should not be run empty.
- If using the tap, lightly tilting the Brewzilla forward can help to get more wort into the FV.
And that’s it. If you feel I’ve missed anything important, or got anything drastically wrong, please feel free to VAR me underneath. Only the 'official' guidance please - I know there's a lot of 'your mileage may vary' on these, but loads of contrasting ideas on which parts to not bother using are likely to confuse.
I may add a ‘optional extras’ section underneath – whirlpooling, cleaning etc – when it’s not 11pm.