Cheeky Peek Nano 50lt vs Guten/Brewzilla etc

[Andy C]

Greetings Aussie Home Brewers,
I am a beginner trying my hand at all grain brewing, and just wanting to ask some advice.

I am looking to purchase a 50litre eBIABasket from Cheeky Peak.
How do you think this compares to the Guten and Brewzilla systems. The Cheeky peak systems seem more Robust, and also like you can make mods pretty easily.
I am looking to do 15- 20 liter batches and would like to do high grav imperial stouts with pretty big grain bills. What do you think the pros and cons are for the systems?

Thanks for advice

 

[Nullnvoid]

Personally I would go the Cheeky Peak. The quality of their items are way ahead of kk/kl.

Also the versatility to expand it into a 3v down the track as well makes it a better option.

 

[Andy C]

Thanks for the advice.
Yes the Nano brew looks like a more heavy duty system. Although they look great value for money, I would worry about the temp control, or pump breaking/faulting on the other systems.
I hadn’t thought of the versatility of expanding to 3v, but that is another plus for the Nano.
cheers

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

I had a robobrew previously but was let down after I got wort in the circuit board. Have gone to a cheeky peak mash tun due to the low technology, there is really nothing to go wrong with them, I heat my water with the old robobrew and boil in another pot on gas.

50 L might be a bit big for 15 to 20 L batches, I have the 35 L tun and comfortably mash 6 Kg of grain.

As Nullnvoid says it will be easy to upgrade/add on when you are ready to do so.

 

[Andy C]

Thanks Sidney for sharing that experience with the all in ones. The main reason i was looking at the 50 l, is because i want to try my hand at high grav imperial’s. Even though I don’t mind smaller batches i am not sure if the 36 can take the grain bill?

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

In the 35L pot used as a mash tun only, with a false bottom and sparge arm, I can fit 10Kg of grain in 12 L of water, depending on your efficiency, at 75% you should be able to make 23 L in the kettle of 1.100 sg wort which could make a 10% ABV beer if you mashed right and used a healty yeast at 75% attenuation. You can also add sugar, syrup or DME to boost that gravity further.

I have a double batch (40L) fermenting at the moment, out of 6 kg of grain I got 44 L @ 1.038, this could have been 23 L @ 1.072.

What starting gravities are you looking for?

 

[Andy C]

Thanks again for advice.
I am planning on starting with the Biab method. My theory is to begin as simple as possible and add sparging depending on how poor my efficiency is. I see some people get good efficiency with biab, and others not as much.
I would like to try and hit 1.100 og. Do you think this is possible with biab on the 36?

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

It really depends on your efficiency, I've never done BIAB so I don't know what you are likely to achive, that said I would think the mesh basket would be more efficient than a pillow case as you can get the liquid to move through it easily by lifting it up and down.

Could someone with BIAB experience advise efficiencies please?

 

[contrarian]

I did BIAB for years before piecing together a fairly ghetto 3V system.

You can do imperials but your efficiency goes down a long way. I found anything over about 1.060 and it dropped off pretty fast.

One thing you can do is mash half the grain for 60 minutes and then mash the second half in the wort. It takes longer but you will get much better efficiency. You can then boil for gravity rather than volume.

A mate did an imperial on a 35L robobrew with 8kg of grains and reduced strike water so it is possible.

Most of the all in one systems need a second vessel to heat sparge water in so keep that in mind as well

 

[goatchop41]

I had a robobrew previously but was let down after I got wort in the circuit board.

How on earth did you manage that?

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

How on earth did you manage that?

There is no seal between the base where the electronics are housed and the body, the tap bulkhead fitting was not tightened up properly and leaked during the mash,dribbled down the side, into the base and fried the board.

 

[mattoo]

i get 62% to 74% in BIAB. I have a 50L kettle and swiss viole for the bag. post mash i zippie tie the bag and sit it on a baking rack & squeeze the hell out of it. i (99% of the time) boil for 90 mins, and always mash for 90 mins. i have done a double IPA at 11.14% ABV by doing the mash half and mash again in the same wort. for this brew i used Wyeast 3787 - Trappist High Gravity. the beer sat me on my arse.... it was the longest-lasting keg I have ever had.

I keep it simple. a good thermometer to get the strike precise enough, mash in & stir it a bit, and then cover it in my ski coat & blankets, drops maybe 2 degrees max in 90 mins. be it luck or OCD with cleaning, I have had zero issues in over 50 brews like this. This set up yields a 20L keg safely & if sub 5% ABV a sick pack as well.

i am going to upgrade to the cheeky peak 95LK biab at some stage. Yes its less efficient as a 3V system, but simplicity is a big attraction for me. also having produced 1000L of really enjoyable beer, i do not want to re learn & mess it all up!!!