Good single vessel for new to All Grain?

[Cman]

Hey guys

Been out of the game for a while but just bought a kegerator and the brewing obsession is returning with a vengeance.

I previously boiled and hopped extract but looking to try all grain. I live in a small apartment and don't have any all grain gear so brewzilla35/guten40 are pretty appealing. I already have fermenting temp control sorted and was really enjoying the hoppy extract IPAs I made before.

Having watched a few vids, I was wondering about what sortof gravities and batch sizes people pull out of these and whether or not I'd need to sparge.

I am fine with a single batch but am just wondering what kind of gravities I can pull off to comfortably fill 1 keg without having to push uncomfortable boil volumes etc.

I wouldn't always be aiming for super strong but it would be nice to be able to fill a keg with 6-7% beer when I'm feeling the urge. I'd consider getting say a secondary urn to sparge but am also interested in what people have managed with a no-sparge full volume mash.

Also, are people finding these recirculate well? Watching homebrew network (Gash) on youtube he seemed to be constantly stirring during mash because his recirculation kept clogging and his boils were often scarily close to the top.

Would be cool to hear how people have gone.

 

[hoppy2B]

The easiest single vessel would be something like a 30 litre pot with BIAB. You can probably get an element to hang over the side. For higher gravity you could put a second bag in after taking the first out, or just add sugar in the same way as the monks do.

 

[Cman]

I'd consider BIAB, though I feel like there'd be way more room for me to not hold a stable repeatable mash temp (even though I'm sure plenty of people manage to). Happy to pay a bit for ease of temperature control as long as it otherwise does what I want.

 

[Frothy Boi]

I have a 40l crown urn BIAB recirculating via a 20$ ebay little brown pump and temp control via stc1000, I hit low 70% efficiency pretty consistently with no sparge just squeezin the old bag. I do mash for 75 - 90 mins tho. I brew around 6 -6.5%. any stronger on tap and i'd be a full blown pish head.

 

[The Mack]

Brewzilla/ Robobrew/ Guten. All ready to go 1v systems at a pretty low cost. Kegland also have a "Digiboil" that is about $150 that would be perfect for a BIAB vessel if you added an external pump.

Can vouch for the Robobrew, reliable, maintains a steady temp, can fit comfortably about 6.5kg of grain in the malt pipe but if you want to brew a DIPA for eg it'd be either a decreased volume or a glucose top up.

 

[Schikitar]

I use a Crown 40L as well, I don't have a pump though, just the bag and a stirring paddle! I consistently brew 6-7% beers (at about 73% efficiency) pretty comfortably, if I ever want to go any stronger (rarely) then I just do a reiterated mash. You could probably do the same in the Digiboil for a little less $'s but you might just lose a bit of space in the kettle for slightly bigger beers. I can comfortably brew to fill a keg no worries and being single vessel and no-sparge it's all pretty easy - you do need some sort of pulley system though to lift the bag out but otherwise it just doesn't get any easier.

 

[Cman]

Yeah I imagine either a Zilla 35 or a BIAB urn would both be decent options. I would probably often brew no more than ~ 5.5% just like the option to go a bit higher when I feel the urge. As I said as long as it's possible to hit 6-7% I'll be happy especially for a first setup. I do like strong IPAs and was into some of the dark Belgian stuff though I gather for Belgians you're adding simple sugar anyway, plus you can't really have many with the really strong stuff.

Pretty sure I can't really run a pulley where I live. It would probably have to be freestanding and I don't really have the space.

I think I'm leaning towards a brewzilla but I gather an urn could also do a good job if i learn to use it properly and like lifting hot sacks.

I guess I can weigh the options up a bit more while my wallet recovers from the kegerator purchase and I focus on filling 3 kegs as soon as possible.

 

[JDB]

I've got a Guten 50L, seems the perfect size for me. Can do big grain bill 21l brews, or push it to the limits and do a double batch and get 40L. Finding that with kids and limited brewing time, I'm doing more double batches than I thought, and storing half in a cube for fermentation at a later date. Means I can play around with different dry hops schedules and different yeasts too. Very happy with it so far, and think the extra size gives a bit more flexibility than the smaller Robobrew and Guten options.

 

[Cman]

Yeah I'd actually really love the extra headroom and the potential to double batch but I rent in a unit 21 floors in the sky so I doubt 15amps would be possible. Seems like all the bigger units need that extra juice. Also I imagine pulling the malt pipe out by hand on a double batch could be rough.

I might look a bit more into how say the zilla 65 goes on 10 amps with the converter or whatever but I'm assuming the extra power was put in for a reason.

 

[Silverfox]

Yeah I'd actually really love the extra headroom and the potential to double batch but I rent in a unit 21 floors in the sky so I doubt 15amps would be possible. Seems like all the bigger units need that extra juice. Also I imagine pulling the malt pipe out by hand on a double batch could be rough.

I might look a bit more into how say the zilla 65 goes on 10 amps with the converter or whatever but I'm assuming the extra power was put in for a reason.

I've heard that you will struggle to get a boil without the full 3500w and also will take much longer to heat up. If you can't get the 15A, I would stick with the smaller 1V's (from what I understand).

 

[Schikitar]

I'd be inclined to go the 35L Robobrew if I were you. You can always do double batches, reiterated mashes, or adjuncts etc., for those occasional higher ABV beers..

 

[Cman]

Yeah that's what I figured Silverfox. No harm in starting single batch I guess. I think if I stuck with it longer term I would want to explore larger options, but decent chance I'm back in a house by then anyway which could expand my options a bit.

Pretty sure 35L Brewzilla is winning for me but good to get some input.

OT but my first IPA brew to fill this new kegerator is taking way too long (might have underpitched a bit, just a US-05 for 15L 1.061). Ended up caving in and buying a fill of XPA from Monkey Tree in Underwood for about 80 bucks. We have now entered the beer on tap era. Feels good.