- Joined
- Jun 27, 2019
- Messages
- 2,578
- Reaction score
- 7,772
- Points
- 113
That’s typical for Windsor. Very fast to get in and get out. Poor attenuator (I’d be shocked if you get better than 65%), but makes a really great beer.
A bit of help...
- Thread starter Blackmuse
- Start date
well at least you made beer.
i've heard 60% effeciency is normal. also read somewhere strike water should be 1.75qt per lb. wondering if some of your temp issues could be from too thick a mash with the recirculation.
EDIT: Nevermind- I see you were already on a 35l robobrew and likely know this
i've heard 60% effeciency is normal. also read somewhere strike water should be 1.75qt per lb. wondering if some of your temp issues could be from too thick a mash with the recirculation.
EDIT: Nevermind- I see you were already on a 35l robobrew and likely know this
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2018
- Messages
- 9,445
- Reaction score
- 17,203
- Points
- 113
You have a much bigger mass in this unit, so effecting a change throughout the mash will take time. My 35 is 110V with a 500W and a 1000W element, I use the 1000W element early on in the mash until temperature stabilizes. Without ever doing a calibration I have found the the temperature is pretty accurate between the probe, and the wort exiting the hose. Maybe a probe calibration will help.
I own a 65L, had it for two years now, one full year with 8 brews on it due to twins.
First thing I do is mash thin...2-2.5/qts per pound. Once i dough in i let it rest for ten minutes then start recirculating. I also stir my mash at 20 minutes and 40 minutes thoroughly and again let the grain bed rest and then recirculate.
2. My Brewzilla temp probe is a couple degrees high which I calibrated with my oxo thermometer and inkbird thermometer so I know my temps are spot on when I adjust it on the unit.
3. This might seem crazy and sac-religious but I don't fly sparge slowly. I literally dump 2-3 gallons on top at once and make sure to mix to get out all the good stuff.
4. Once i come up to a rolling boiling I drop the watts to 3K and I hit my post boil volume every time.
I've had really good success so far and as everyone has said previously once you've got it dialed in it will be easy peasy. Just don't clog the pump or the arm...PIA!
First thing I do is mash thin...2-2.5/qts per pound. Once i dough in i let it rest for ten minutes then start recirculating. I also stir my mash at 20 minutes and 40 minutes thoroughly and again let the grain bed rest and then recirculate.
2. My Brewzilla temp probe is a couple degrees high which I calibrated with my oxo thermometer and inkbird thermometer so I know my temps are spot on when I adjust it on the unit.
3. This might seem crazy and sac-religious but I don't fly sparge slowly. I literally dump 2-3 gallons on top at once and make sure to mix to get out all the good stuff.
4. Once i come up to a rolling boiling I drop the watts to 3K and I hit my post boil volume every time.
I've had really good success so far and as everyone has said previously once you've got it dialed in it will be easy peasy. Just don't clog the pump or the arm...PIA!
This is what I have found with my 35L as well. Works great. The larger mass is certainly effecting it. I will double check the probe calibration again though I remember doing it as soon as I unpacked it.
Thanks for the tips! I used 1.75 qts/lb for this one and it seemed like the water level kept getting very close to the top of the overflow pipe - this may have just been during dough in though so I'll just dough in a bit slower next time.
Since I did a brown ale last time, I suppose I should do the same recipe again - my dad will be happy! However, it won't be this weekend - it'll have to be next weekend.
Not at all sacrilegious: I also batch sparge with about 2 gallons. Just easier, and my goal for the sparge isn't necessarily to rinse out any remaining goodness from the grain, but to get up to my needed pre-boil volume. As @Blackmuse wrote above, if I were to add any more grain or water, the system would overflow. I do tend to use rice hulls and stirring to keep the bed flowing, but 7 gallons and 13 pounds in my 35 liter is just a bit too much.
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2016
- Messages
- 3,878
- Reaction score
- 3,326
- Points
- 113
I'm curious as to the preference for extremely thin mashing?
Beta amylase prefers thicker mash and alpha amylase does better with slightly thinner mash consistency. I dough in at less than 1 qt per lb for a protein rest and add water and raise temp for a first conversion rest (b-amylase) at 148 and a thickness of 1.25 qts per lb. I typically raise to 158 degrees (a-amylase) at a thickness of 1.5 qts per lb for a dextrin rest and then mash out at 168 with a thickness of around 2 qts per lb.
Extremely thin mashing leaves the enzymes swimming around in much more liquid in search of starch to convert.
Beta amylase prefers thicker mash and alpha amylase does better with slightly thinner mash consistency. I dough in at less than 1 qt per lb for a protein rest and add water and raise temp for a first conversion rest (b-amylase) at 148 and a thickness of 1.25 qts per lb. I typically raise to 158 degrees (a-amylase) at a thickness of 1.5 qts per lb for a dextrin rest and then mash out at 168 with a thickness of around 2 qts per lb.
Extremely thin mashing leaves the enzymes swimming around in much more liquid in search of starch to convert.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 1,720
- Reaction score
- 2,736
- Points
- 113
Thinner mashes are commonly done by German brewers, the equivalent of 3 quarts to one pound and they convert just fine. I wouldn't do it because the minerals in the water could potentially raise pH of the mash. But in the end you would have the same gravity and the same amount of minerals, so I think it's splitting hairs. But it definitely works.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2017
- Messages
- 1,820
- Reaction score
- 2,388
- Points
- 113
Laziness? It's just extremely simple to do full volume mashing with my equipment and I haven't seen it hurt my conversion unless I'm doing a beer under 4.5% ABV. For those I'll hold some water back and just top up the mash. Haven't bothered with a sparge in ages.
I'm using the 35L Brewzilla, but using a bag instead of the pipe.
Last edited:
True the one time I used no sparge my efficiency was low 70's maybe i need to revisit I like a trimed up brew day these days with a little munchkin at my heals
You guys will never guess what I just found! I was setting up for a brew day and went to recalibrate on the 65L Brewzilla per our discussion here and sure enough all of my other thermometers were reading 114 F and the Brewzilla was at 127! I went to adjust the calibration and found the offset at +7 - That's 7 C - nearly 14 degree difference in F! I put the offset back down to 0 and lo' and behold - the temp changed to 114 F - spot on with my tother thermometers!
How it got to +7 is beyond me!
Honestly though, this is probably the best case scenario. I would recon come brew time - my mash will be within a few degrees of the probe reading and I will be happy!
WHEW!
How it got to +7 is beyond me!
Honestly though, this is probably the best case scenario. I would recon come brew time - my mash will be within a few degrees of the probe reading and I will be happy!
WHEW!
Actually I do know! The night before my last brew day I tried to program the unit to turn on and start heating before I woke up! I helpd the TIME button thinking I was setting a timer to turn on 7 hours later! In the morning when I woke up to find the unit never turned on - I shrugged it off and decided I'd at least get to see how long it takes to heat up.
- The TIME button is what you hold to set the calibration offset! DANG! lol
Had a great second brew day today! I did much better with the calibration set back to zero! I took a bit of notes on the MASH - I'll post them here. - I doughed in with a ratio of rought 1.6 quarts per pound. - Thicker and much better than my last ratio (personally anyway).
## Mash
Doughed in at 161
Dropped to 156 - grain bed was at 145 at start of mash
Started recirculating - grain bed rose to 153 in 30 minutes.
Set temp to 154 at 30 minutes.
15 Min. out from end of mash - set temp to 165 - in 13 minutes grain bed hit 158.
Collected 13 gallons - temp correction = 12.5.
Ended up with 11.5 gallons left... just shy of 6 gallons in one fermenter and 21 L in the other.
Boiled 100 minutes (10 over due to multitasking!) with 3000 Watts.
- Thanks @Donoroto for the hole in the screen trick - worked great for double checking temps and seeing that they do even out over time. I now have a decent idea of what my typical infusion mash looks like. All-in-all, awesome brew day! 10 gallons of Shuttz Brown Ale is sitting in two fermenters and yeast has been pitched!
## Mash
Doughed in at 161
Dropped to 156 - grain bed was at 145 at start of mash
Started recirculating - grain bed rose to 153 in 30 minutes.
Set temp to 154 at 30 minutes.
15 Min. out from end of mash - set temp to 165 - in 13 minutes grain bed hit 158.
Collected 13 gallons - temp correction = 12.5.
Ended up with 11.5 gallons left... just shy of 6 gallons in one fermenter and 21 L in the other.
Boiled 100 minutes (10 over due to multitasking!) with 3000 Watts.
- Thanks @Donoroto for the hole in the screen trick - worked great for double checking temps and seeing that they do even out over time. I now have a decent idea of what my typical infusion mash looks like. All-in-all, awesome brew day! 10 gallons of Shuttz Brown Ale is sitting in two fermenters and yeast has been pitched!
Excellent job!
Thanks! - and I'm with you on the 3K for boil. I did try 2.5K for a little bit and while it maintained a boil it just seemed more vigorous at 3K.... However, the manual says the 2,000 element alone would keep a rolling boil! Have you tried this?
I may try 2.5K for the whole boil next time - just to see.
