Hangover68
Well-Known Member
I would sanitise any new equipment before use.
BIAB V All in one system for new All Grain brewer
- Thread starter John Nicolac
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I would sanitise any new equipment before use.
kadmium
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Technically sanitise is not needed, but a good clean is.
You need a good brewery cleaner like PBW or Sodium Percarb.
I use Keg King ABC cleaner. Its made in Australia and has more than just straight up Sodium Perc.
Mix about 10 litres in the robo, set it to 50c and add your cleaner. Then, set it to recirc and recirc the water while it heats. Make sure to run the circ through all the bits you intend on using, also open the ball valve and run cleaner through. Open close open close you may need to take the ball valve apart.
I got a SS ballvalve from KL and it was soaked in cutting oils which left a horrific smell and oil sheen on the water. So make sure its good.
Then give it a very good rinse, running water through the pump and everything else.
You need a good brewery cleaner like PBW or Sodium Percarb.
I use Keg King ABC cleaner. Its made in Australia and has more than just straight up Sodium Perc.
Mix about 10 litres in the robo, set it to 50c and add your cleaner. Then, set it to recirc and recirc the water while it heats. Make sure to run the circ through all the bits you intend on using, also open the ball valve and run cleaner through. Open close open close you may need to take the ball valve apart.
I got a SS ballvalve from KL and it was soaked in cutting oils which left a horrific smell and oil sheen on the water. So make sure its good.
Then give it a very good rinse, running water through the pump and everything else.
Yes always clean your kit before use, especially metal fabricated parts as they will have machine oil on them from the manufacturing process.
Look on YouTube for home brew network, he has a few videos using the brew Zilla you will get a good idea how to use it based off that
Look on YouTube for home brew network, he has a few videos using the brew Zilla you will get a good idea how to use it based off that
thesocialbrewers
Member
**WAR AND PEACE LENGTH POST - SORRY**
Hey John. I've been using my 35L Brewzilla for about 6 months and brewing every couple of weeks as we dial in recipes for a small commercial brewery (launching soon!). I have a manual from mine and I'm pretty sure I Googled and found it, but if you're stuck I'm happy to copy it and share. I run it completely manually because I can't be bothered to work out how to set all the timers etc. Brewfather app has timers and it's handier to have it all there with the recipe and records.
I didn't clean mine but suggest you should (I have now seen the error of my ways and have converted to a much more rigorous sanitation program).
Super easy to use - basically;
1. Fill (either from your hose through a charcoal filter or from your HWS - if you've got hot water taps close by you're a lucky lucky man)
2. Insert malt pipe (do this after you fill for better accuracy)
3. Heat water (pump off will raise temp faster). don't be afraid to blast both elements to get it there quickly. this won't take long if you fill from HWS or hot tap - writing this I've just realised I'm wasting time by not filling from my GF HWS... I've only been using for Sparge water!! what an idiot!!)
4. mash in (chuck the grain into the malt pipe) and give it a little stir to remove dough balls
5. hold at mash temp as per recipe - turn on your pump and recirculate at this point otherwise your efficiency will be way down. It took me ages to work out why mine dropped on brew 2&3... genius!)
6. Pull up your malt pipe - think about this when you pick where to place the BZ for brewing. I had mine on a bench so I could operate the controls without too much bending down (OH&S planning) but then had to climb a step ladder to pull the pipe up. Some of the bigger grain bills had me struggling to lift it... if you've got a 65L think about investing in a block and tackle or some other method... or a gym membership
7. Sparge. This can take a while. I don't use rice hulls, but loads of people do - it will save time in the sparge. I had one sparge that took 2hrs, but put it down to having grain milled too fine. It's a balance between efficiency (in terms of extraction) and efficiency (in terms of how long you want to listen to water drip from your malt pipe. Sparge can take an hour regardless (my brewing mentor tells me that the magic ingredient of brewing good beer is patience).
8. work out what to do with your spent grains. I'm planning on making dog treats one day... but commercially we donate them to a pig farm.
If you ramp up the temp to high 90c (or HH which is boil temp) during sparge you'll save some time.
9. Boil and make all your hops additions.
10. Cooling. think this through. the BZ comes with a coil chiller which can drop your wort temp to around 20c as long as your tap water is cold enough and you don't mind pouring litres (and I mean many litres) onto your grass or garden or you have a rainwater tank you can return it to. Easiest way to do this without getting water in your wort is buying compression fittings and hose connectors or cam-locks. Standard garden hose will fit snuggly, but the coil will get hot and I've melted a couple of hoses and there's a risk of wasting an entire batch (or making a light beer). You could also transfer into plastic cubes and do no-chill. Have a mate who does this and he gets good results. The longer your late hops additions sit in hot wort the less aromas/flavours and more bitterness they're going to impart though.
11. transfer to fermenter and pitch away
12. wait 7-14 days and Robert's your Mother's Brother!
13. bottle/keg
Hope that helps! Have fun mate and feel free to msg with questions.
Hey John. I've been using my 35L Brewzilla for about 6 months and brewing every couple of weeks as we dial in recipes for a small commercial brewery (launching soon!). I have a manual from mine and I'm pretty sure I Googled and found it, but if you're stuck I'm happy to copy it and share. I run it completely manually because I can't be bothered to work out how to set all the timers etc. Brewfather app has timers and it's handier to have it all there with the recipe and records.
I didn't clean mine but suggest you should (I have now seen the error of my ways and have converted to a much more rigorous sanitation program).
Super easy to use - basically;
1. Fill (either from your hose through a charcoal filter or from your HWS - if you've got hot water taps close by you're a lucky lucky man)
2. Insert malt pipe (do this after you fill for better accuracy)
3. Heat water (pump off will raise temp faster). don't be afraid to blast both elements to get it there quickly. this won't take long if you fill from HWS or hot tap - writing this I've just realised I'm wasting time by not filling from my GF HWS... I've only been using for Sparge water!! what an idiot!!)
4. mash in (chuck the grain into the malt pipe) and give it a little stir to remove dough balls
5. hold at mash temp as per recipe - turn on your pump and recirculate at this point otherwise your efficiency will be way down. It took me ages to work out why mine dropped on brew 2&3... genius!)
6. Pull up your malt pipe - think about this when you pick where to place the BZ for brewing. I had mine on a bench so I could operate the controls without too much bending down (OH&S planning) but then had to climb a step ladder to pull the pipe up. Some of the bigger grain bills had me struggling to lift it... if you've got a 65L think about investing in a block and tackle or some other method... or a gym membership
7. Sparge. This can take a while. I don't use rice hulls, but loads of people do - it will save time in the sparge. I had one sparge that took 2hrs, but put it down to having grain milled too fine. It's a balance between efficiency (in terms of extraction) and efficiency (in terms of how long you want to listen to water drip from your malt pipe. Sparge can take an hour regardless (my brewing mentor tells me that the magic ingredient of brewing good beer is patience).
8. work out what to do with your spent grains. I'm planning on making dog treats one day... but commercially we donate them to a pig farm.
If you ramp up the temp to high 90c (or HH which is boil temp) during sparge you'll save some time.
9. Boil and make all your hops additions.
10. Cooling. think this through. the BZ comes with a coil chiller which can drop your wort temp to around 20c as long as your tap water is cold enough and you don't mind pouring litres (and I mean many litres) onto your grass or garden or you have a rainwater tank you can return it to. Easiest way to do this without getting water in your wort is buying compression fittings and hose connectors or cam-locks. Standard garden hose will fit snuggly, but the coil will get hot and I've melted a couple of hoses and there's a risk of wasting an entire batch (or making a light beer). You could also transfer into plastic cubes and do no-chill. Have a mate who does this and he gets good results. The longer your late hops additions sit in hot wort the less aromas/flavours and more bitterness they're going to impart though.
11. transfer to fermenter and pitch away
12. wait 7-14 days and Robert's your Mother's Brother!
13. bottle/keg
Hope that helps! Have fun mate and feel free to msg with questions.
G'day John,
I also bought a Brewzilla a few months ago. It's important to clean and sterilise the unit first as there can be residue from manufacturing inside. The system is brilliant and the latest model seems to have ironed out the problems reported from the earlier versions. As far as "Brewzilla for Dummies", I watched a few YouTube videos and that was probably enough. My only concern was the amount of deadspace at the bottom of the unit and I found that the Brewfather app allowed me to set the parameters correctly for the latest Brewzilla with a 6.75 litres deadspace.
HowlingWolf
New Member
Regarding the coil chiller...any thoughts on recirculating the hot wort through the coil itself whilst the coil sits in ice in an esky? Saw one of the youtube vids with this done and wondering.if anyone has cooled their wort this way.
thesocialbrewers
Member
I haven't cooled that way, but I have also seen lots of vids suggesting it's better. My only concern with this is the additional cleaning and not being able to see that any debris and/or build up has been cleared. Would have to cool at least twice as fast to be worth the effort IMO, but as I said I've never tried it.
John Nicolac
Member
Absolute champion... Very informative and helpfull, much appreciated
Grmblz
Well-Known Member
@thesocialbrewers A good effort but I disagree with your sparging advice, high 90s' especially with rice hulls is just asking for tannin troubles.
A little primer on sparge temp's, short and to the point, explaining in plain English why 90c is a bad idea. What Temperature Should Your Sparge Water Be?.
Cheers G
A little primer on sparge temp's, short and to the point, explaining in plain English why 90c is a bad idea. What Temperature Should Your Sparge Water Be?.
Cheers G
thesocialbrewers
Member
Hi Grmblz - apologies. The intention is to say that the kettle should be ramped to high 90c range while you're sparging to reduce ramp time after sparge. I sparge at around 75c.
thesocialbrewers
Member
I also learnt a lesson on my last brew (a Hefeweizen) that you need to take your time sparging. I stirred the mash and the grain bed (first time I've done it) didn't settle well. Ended up with a super fast sparge and efficiencies in the 50% range and had to bring up the SG with DME (buy some of this and keep it on hand to produce beers at expected SG/OG while you're dialing in the system).
Yup. Hefeweizens are a different beast to a degree to the usual mash, because of the high proportion of wheat malt.
I batch sparge, and because I have a relatively small mashtun, I add a mashout volume of water.
After this is added, I wait about 5 or so minutes to allow the grain bed to settle.
After this, I have no problem with running off, even though I don't use rice hulls, but I tend to do it rather slowly. My total time for run off and sparge takes about 45 minutes for 35 litres into the kettle.
The other issue I find is to cut the mash, as the fine flour tends to set on top of the grain bed, slowing down the run off. Simple cut channels close to to the surface to allow the water to rinse the grain bed.
By the way, Robert is my middle name, and I am not intimately related to your mother, or in any other way.
I batch sparge, and because I have a relatively small mashtun, I add a mashout volume of water.
After this is added, I wait about 5 or so minutes to allow the grain bed to settle.
After this, I have no problem with running off, even though I don't use rice hulls, but I tend to do it rather slowly. My total time for run off and sparge takes about 45 minutes for 35 litres into the kettle.
The other issue I find is to cut the mash, as the fine flour tends to set on top of the grain bed, slowing down the run off. Simple cut channels close to to the surface to allow the water to rinse the grain bed.
By the way, Robert is my middle name, and I am not intimately related to your mother, or in any other way.
thesocialbrewers
Member
HaHa!!
Thanks for that philrob. I'll be taking those tips into my next Hefe brew day! I did manage to step mash and get a much more pronounced clove/spice flavour in the wort. Hopefully setting the fermentation temp at the higher end of the recommendation for the strain (Safwheat) will give it a decent banana hit to balance it all out. That's the plan anyway!
Grmblz
Well-Known Member
No worries mate and certainly no need to apologise, OP has never done it before and might have come away with the idea that near boiling water for all his sparging was a good idea, sorry if I came across as critical of your advice, was just adding my two bobs worth to what will be his first endeavours.
thesocialbrewers
Member
Absolutely no offence taken mate!
Nullnvoid
Well-Known Member
I would think a quick rinse wash to get rid of any manufacturing bits/oils but you should be ok.
Instructions or guides are on their website, but here is a link to the instructions
https://www.kegland.com.au/media/pdf/BrewZilla 35L - Instruction Manual.pdf
Instructions or guides are on their website, but here is a link to the instructions
https://www.kegland.com.au/media/pdf/BrewZilla 35L - Instruction Manual.pdf
