Keg King ROBOBREW 35L SINGLE VESSEL BREWERY

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TwoCrows said:
Bingggo it depends on how you prepare your mash water.

Are you pre heating your water in the robobrew ? Or using a hlt to strike your mash in temp?
Hi,

I am heating the water in the robobrew - which grain addition method would you suggest?

Another question I have is whether people set the temp higher than their actual desired mash temp. In the last couple of brews, doing manual recirculation every 5-10m with a 2L jug, I've found the top of the mash is a few degrees colder than the temperature readout; so wonder if I should set it higher (or change my technique). I insulate it with a yoga mat and I'm going to get a pump - would that solve that issue?

Also, what's a good Beersmith mash profile to use, or is a custom one for the robobrew better?

Cheers,
B
 
I did my fourth robobrew, this time with a pump (which really helped the chilling it seemed), and in general the process went smoothly; but raised some questions I'd appreciate help with (with a note on my experience to illustrate what I'm doing).

Appreciate the wisdom!

Cheers,
B

----------------------------------

- what mash profile should one use, or create, to represent the single infusion sparge process from Robobrew? Do you deliberately have a mash out period, or just start the boil while the pipe is draining?
--------Backstory: I selected single infusion, light body, batch sparge which gave me the right estimated numbers compared to real life; but I used my own mash and sparge volumes. I'm guessing starting the boil heating up while the pipe is draining serves the mash out process.

- should I be stirring the full length of the malt pipe at intervals while raining in the grain?
--------Backstory: I've been heating 20L in the RB to the beersmith recommended temp, then slowly rain in grain while stirring the top of the liquid. I find that leaves the mash appearing thick and hard to stir, and probably explains why the top of the mash when I'm done is a few degrees below the desired mash temp (as all the grain has cooled the upper layer of water). I've seen videos where people dump in a kg or two quickly, then stir vigorously, then repeat. Is that the best way?

- is there a preferable recirculation start time and volume/minute? and is the 500w recommended if recirculating.
--------Backstory: I used the pump for the first time this brew, turning it on at 15m and leaving it running continuously. It seemed to improve wort clarity before the boil. I was only doing about 1.5L/minute, with the 500w on. The liquid coming out the hose seemed to remain at the mash temp, so guess 500w is enough. But the KegKing instructions contemplate using either element.

- what are the best options to control foaming with a 30L boil?
--------Backstory: My amber ale really started to foam up and I only just avoided a boil-over by briefly switching off the elements, blowing on it madly, and spraying with water and stirring a bit. It did that a couple of times during the initial minutes of the bittering charge too. I think someone in the thread commented on throwing in a few grams of Saaz or other hop to control foaming - does that mean adding it before the boil starts?

- what are people using in BeerSmith's efficiency, and crush?
--------Backstory: I'm not sure if it was my cool mash, or the LHBS crush settings, but I only got correct results from BeerSmith if I had a 63% efficiency. I noticed Gash on Cellar Dweller sets his for 68%, and I think some people here go higher?

- are there any tricks to getting trub to collect better, particularly if recirculating while cooling?
--------Backstory: I used the pump to recirculate at full bore while the immersion chiller was going, and 15 degree ground water cooled it to 19 degrees in about half an hour which was much better than my experiences without the pump. But while quite a lot of hop debris collected on the bottom, the wort seemed cloudier than my previous brews, as if more stuff was still suspended. Should I stop the pump for a while before draining into the FV?
 
Hi bingggo,

I am about ten-odd brews in on the robobrew, seem to be hitting my numbers and making decent beer. Below is from my experience only, ymmv.


what mash profile should one use, or create, to represent the single infusion sparge process from Robobrew? Do you deliberately have a mash out period, or just start the boil while the pipe is draining?
I use the standard BS mash profiles. Deliberate mash out period, ramp to 76o then hold for 10 min, with mash-pipe in. Remove mash-pipe and start heating for the boil whilst draining and sparging.

- should I be stirring the full length of the malt pipe at intervals while raining in the grain?
Yep. Makes the mixing a bit easier.

- is there a preferable recirculation start time and volume/minute? and is the 500w recommended if recirculating.
Leave the mash for 10-15 minutes before starting recirculation. When recirculating, keep about an inch of wort above the grain bed. Leave both elements switched on, tho not necessarily heating, all the time.

- what are the best options to control foaming with a 30L boil?
A good stir of the foam with your spoon/paddle. I've never really had a problem wth boil-overs.

- what are people using in BeerSmith's efficiency, and crush?
Not sure what my crush is as LHBS does it. I am using 60.5% efficiency and reliably hitting my numbers. When I get a mill I'll look into this some more.

- are there any tricks to getting trub to collect better, particularly if recirculating while cooling?
Get a bit of a whirlpool going with your pump. Once you finish cooling, stop the pump and let it sit for 30 min or so. I usually end up with a nice compact layer of trub and not too much gunk in the fermenter.

Anyway, this is just what I do. Hope something here is useful.

Cheers
 
Very useful! Thanks :)

With a relatively low efficiency, I guess it's best to just raise your base malt amount, rather than the spec grains as well?
 
Hey mate. I have brewed about 25 batches on my robobrew with one of the keg king magnetic drive pumps to recirculate during the mash. I like to max out the boiler; generally starting with about 30-31L pre-boil but I've never had a boil over - although I have been perilously close. Keep a spoon/paddle in one hand and a spray bottle of cold water in the other, spray it when the foam really starts to rise. Worst case scenario, you can switch off the 500W element, if it's getting out of hand (you might have to use a toe for this ;)).

I was getting 75%, but since I started wrapping up the robobrew (a few big beach towels wrapped around and over and clamped nice and tight) during the mash I am consistently getting 85% efficiency. I did this because I checked temps at various levels through the mash and found it really wasn't holding a good, consistent temperature throughout. Hope this helps, cheers!
 
bingggo said:
Very useful! Thanks :)

With a relatively low efficiency, I guess it's best to just raise your base malt amount, rather than the spec grains as well?
I tend to use percentages when formulating recipies, then scale the lot against my equipment profile to hit desired OG.

Increasing just the base malt would be fine to make up for a small differences in efficiency.

As I am currently getting consistent results, I am focusing on other areas (water and fermentation) before chasing efficiency.

Cheers
 
Hi Nattydstar

Nattydstar said:
I was getting 75%, but since I started wrapping up the robobrew (a few big beach towels wrapped around and over and clamped nice and tight) during the mash I am consistently getting 85% efficiency. I did this because I checked temps at various levels through the mash and found it really wasn't holding a good, consistent temperature throughout. Hope this helps, cheers!
Are you crushing your own grain?

I'll try the wrapping thing next brew day and see if my efficiency changes.

Cheers
 
I've got the Malt Muncher, purchased on ebay from country brewer I think. Hmm, I'm not sure how to measure the width. I get a pretty fine crush, but I've never had a struck mash/sparge.
 
+1 for Grain Crush having an impact.

I hadn't brewed in a while but yesterday I put down a Maris Otter/Citra SMaSH on the Robo with grain I bought from a different shop to my usual. I could tell the grind was coarser immediately as there was far less flour at the bottom of the bag and the mash recirculated perfectly. I hit my gravity target right on the nose and achieved 73% mash and 65% brew house efficiency. This was with no water chemistry amendments and with a simple 20L Mash 12 L Sparge.

I think I've finally worked out the system so will now move back into water chemistry/mash pH and then tool around with the volumes for mash and sparge.
 
I must say I've never once got anything that'd be considered GOOD efficiency on mine, using hbs milled grain. Look forward to having a mill and having a play.

But then, grain's cheap :p. If only hops were as cheap
 
robo2.jpg
 
I opened mine today, very excited to say the least!!
There have been quite a few adjustments from the previous Robobrews I have seen in pictures and on YouTube. Mine is without the pump as shown in the picture above.
Bring on the weekend so I can get a brew down!
 
I had a quick look on kegking for some more information on the new units but I couldn't find any information. Is there anywhere else that details the changes made?
 
Maheel said:
are the robobrew's concealed or "visable " element?
The original has a concealed element. You could most likely expect these new ones to be the same.
 
Dinham said:
I'm only stressing about the hop matter making it into the fermenter because I don't want clogged kegs again! That was a pain in the ass. I guess I need to either get a spider or sihpon off the top rather than try and use my fermenter's tap.

Is 110g a large amount of hops in a boil?
I hope you don't mind me chipping you about your usage of the word "ass". In Australia that's a donkey and it sounds silly used in that context. Please use "arse" as it has much more authority.
 
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