Brewzilla 35

Echoing the above, it took several batches to get the temperatures reasonably dialed in. One of my recipes is a Hefeweitzen with a 3-step mash, and I still do it manually instead of programming it, as the indicated temperature can be more than 10 F different (universally higher) than the temperature measured coming out of the recirculation hose.

I have the 220V version, and I pulse the big heater coil (30 seconds on, then 30 off) to be able to get temperatures to rise within a reasonable time. A bit of a pain, and adds wear to the switch, and there is a (small) risk of scorching...but this is what works for me.

I always recirculate at a fairly high rate with the top screen in place, and only stir once, as the grain is added. Batch sparge with whatever I need to get to my pre-boil volume (usually a gallon or so) at 170F with no separate mash-out (because of the pain of temperature changes).

For a single temperature mash, it is quite a bit simpler, but even then I usually have the controller set for 165 F to get 154F out of the recirculation tube. Because the temperature differential is somewhat inconsistent (so far) I have yet to program anything.
 
Donoroto said:
Echoing the above, it took several batches to get the temperatures reasonably dialed in. One of my recipes is a Hefeweitzen with a 3-step mash, and I still do it manually instead of programming it, as the indicated temperature can be more than 10 F different (universally higher) than the temperature measured coming out of the recirculation hose.

I have the 220V version, and I pulse the big heater coil (30 seconds on, then 30 off) to be able to get temperatures to rise within a reasonable time. A bit of a pain, and adds wear to the switch, and there is a (small) risk of scorching...but this is what works for me.

I always recirculate at a fairly high rate with the top screen in place, and only stir once, as the grain is added. Batch sparge with whatever I need to get to my pre-boil volume (usually a gallon or so) at 170F with no separate mash-out (because of the pain of temperature changes).

For a single temperature mash, it is quite a bit simpler, but even then I usually have the controller set for 165 F to get 154F out of the recirculation tube. Because the temperature differential is somewhat inconsistent (so far) I have yet to program anything.
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Thanks for posting!
Not sure when brew #5 will be, but looking forward to applying all I have learned!
 
Welcome to BF too by the way!
 
And I also assume that the temp is around 2C higher than the temp I'm seeing, (it was about that at the top and around 1C less at the bottom when I measured for the first 2 batches). I suppose I should use the calibrate function and just move it, though I hardly every mash at the top of the range, so it doesn't really worry me that much.
 
Brewing today, dialed efficiency down to 62%, mash was pretty thick, but no flow issues. I didn't use the top plate as I can't find the stainless top piece, made do with a copper fitting. Stirred 3 times during mash, checked conversion all good. Preboil gravity 2 points over so I am happy with that. When checking for conversion I am seeing some uncracked kernels, this must be my issue.
 
Craigerrr said:
On my first two brews I used my old BIAB bag in the malt pipe with just the bottom screen. Stirring was a PITA. I missed on gravity on both batches, but not as much as the most recent batch. Crush on the first two batches was with mill set at 0.031".
On the batch referenced in my post above I opened the mill up to 0.042", and wet conditioned the grains. Maybe I need to close the mill up a bit?
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Your Brewzilla is very like my Digiboil as far as volumes and limitations go. With the large volume of recoverable dead space I find efficiency begins to drop after about 11 lbs. of grain due to the limited amount of water available for sparging. The efficiency decreases exponentially as the grain bill is increased, so just another pound of grain can make quite a difference, shooting consistency in the a$$.

As @thunderwagn said, grain crush is really important. I have my mill gap set to .042" after playing around and finding that gives me a happy medium between efficiency and recirculation flow. I also went to a 90 minute boil to. For batches with more than 12 lbs. of grist I've gone back to using my cooler MLT and using my old MIAB method.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/forum/threads/emiab-2-vessel-system.11338/
 
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BOB357 said:
Your Brewzilla is very like my Digiboil as far as volumes and limitations go. With the large volume of recoverable dead space I find efficiency begins to drop after about 11 lbs. of grain due to the limited amount of water available for sparging. The efficiency decreases exponentially as the grain bill is increased, so just another pound of grain can make quite a difference, shooting consistency in the a$$.

As @thunderwagn said, grain crush is really important. I have my mill gap set to .042" after playing around and finding that gives me a happy medium between efficiency and recirculation flow. I also went to a 90 minute boil to. For batches with more than 12 lbs. of grist I've gone back to using my cooler MLT and using my old MIAB method.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/forum/threads/emiab-2-vessel-system.11338/
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Thanks Bob, ya basically the same unit without the programmable controller.
 
I closed my gap to .040, also wet conditioned the grist, might just keep it there and tick my efficiency up to 63, or 64. All I really care about is getting consistent results.
 
After reading the posts here I'm a bit concerned about using my Brewzilla 35L. I used it twice but felt something just wasn't right and I did not get to my planned gravity for both batches. I plan on brewing a Belgian tripel next weekend but not sure I can use the grain volume needed to get a 9% ABV 5 gal brew in the Brewzilla. For this one I may go back to my fired kettle.
 
Frankenbrewer said:
After reading the posts here I'm a bit concerned about using my Brewzilla 35L. I used it twice but felt something just wasn't right and I did not get to my planned gravity for both batches. I plan on brewing a Belgian tripel next weekend but not sure I can use the grain volume needed to get a 9% ABV 5 gal brew in the Brewzilla. For this one I may go back to my fired kettle.
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I still have my coleman cooler mash tun, if I ever do a super bigh gravity beer like that I will probably put it to use. Including one pound of honey, yesterday's brew came out to 1073 (62% efficiency) , and it went pretty smooth. I think that the struggle to go much higher would be the mash thickness, it is tough with 6.75L volume below the malt pipe. I think the work around there would be a longer boil, and lower ending volume.
 
Frankenbrewer said:
You know what, I didn't buy this thing to sit on the shelf. I'm going to not worry so much and just try dialing in the facts about the unit and improvise from there. BREWZILLA 1, ME 0
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It is just a new tool that you need to dial in to work for you.
 
Brewed today, bumped efficiency up to 64%. Wet conditioned grains, and milled with gap at 0.040. Came so close to numbers and volume that I will say I hit them spot on. I am happy now.
 
I made one other change. I had a fairly significant amount of grain that I had to skim out of the boil kettle last brew, so I put my old BIAB bag on the outside of the malt pipe, worked like a charm!
 
Almost done mashing my Friar Tuck II. Is my 1st attempt in my Brewzilla. I have brewed this before so I'm looking for differences from my old flamed brewpot
20201107_104944.jpg
 
Frankenbrewer said:
Almost done mashing my Friar Tuck II. Is my 1st attempt in my Brewzilla. I have brewed this before so I'm looking for differences from my old flamed brewpot
View attachment 12777
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Monitor your temperatures in the mash, as the indicated is always higher than actual, in my case by about 10 F.
 
I have found that the indicated temperature on mine is 1C low, I therefore set the mash temp 1C higher than desired. This seems to work well for me.
 
OK Here it is. I am so off my anticipated numbers with my Brewzilla that I had to start drinking earlier than normal. My expected OG was supposed to be 1.075. I came in at 1.056. Here is where I think I went wrong. I did a full volume mash with 12lbs of grain and 7.2 gallons of water (1.8 qts/lb). No sparge. I mashed at 149F for 70 min. My mill is set at .60. A 60 min boil.
6lbs 2 row
4 lbs Abbey Malt
2 lbs Carame Vienne 20L
1 lb Belgian Candi Sugar
1 lb Turbinado

All comments welcomed.. I have to figure this thing out. Sorry for the long post.
 
Frankenbrewer said:
OK Here it is. I am so off my anticipated numbers with my Brewzilla that I had to start drinking earlier than normal. My expected OG was supposed to be 1.075. I came in at 1.056. Here is where I think I went wrong. I did a full volume mash with 12lbs of grain and 7.2 gallons of water (1.8 qts/lb). No sparge. I mashed at 149F for 70 min. My mill is set at .60. A 60 min boil.
6lbs 2 row
4 lbs Abbey Malt
2 lbs Carame Vienne 20L
1 lb Belgian Candi Sugar
1 lb Turbinado

All comments welcomed.. I have to figure this thing out. Sorry for the long post.
Click to expand...
I missed my numbers for my first few batches by similar amounts. I worked out I was just adding too much water. The extraction numbers were good (low 90%) but everything after that was struggling due to too much water. I've taken to leaving a few litres out for the mash. If I'm too high, then I can add it back in at the end of the mash. Haven't needed it for the last few batches so I've just adjusted my equipment profiles to hit those numbers. I'm also doing 13 litre/3 gallon batches, which may change things from your experience, but the rest of the process is the same,
 
I guess Ill cut down on the mash water. What's the difference if I use 7 gal for mash vs 4 gal mash and sparge with 3 gal?
 
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