Maiden brew on the new rig

[Foxy74]

Nice rig! I got some of my parts from Kal

 

[Scooby Tha Newbie]

Fantastic site thanks.

Looks like you've followed the http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/ setup. Very nice! Did you buy all the bits and pieces from him, or source it all yourself and just follow his guide?

Great job

 

[kalW]

Nice job! Is that a First Wort Hop (FWH) you're doing in one of the pictures where I see (what looks like) pellet hops all stuck together while you're sparging?

Kal

 

[kalW]

That set-up looks AMAZING! But, really, you just punch in numbers and it does its thing?? Hmmm, not sure I would like that. It would be cool maybe once or twice, but I like being hands-on.

None the less, sweet looking system.

Nope - you don't just punch in numbers and wort comes out. The only numbers you set are temperatures. I really like to be hands on too so I didn't automate anything in the design that Doubleplugga followed. The only thing that is automated is holding temp which is great for doing long mashes or step mashes. But everything else I really like being hands on too. I want to flip the switches, move the dials, change the hoses, etc. There are other completely automated setups (push a button and wort comes out) and it's not at all where I wanted to go.

I get asked a lot why I didn't design something like that and it's just not what I'm into. Here's my canned response I usually provide:

Semi or complete automation is actually something we never wanted for our Electric Brewery. Some people have asked if it's because we didn't know how to do it or because we didn't want to spend the extra money, but neither is the case. We wanted to keep things 'simple' with what can best be described as manual dials and controls. We still want to feel like we're doing something on brew day. It's a hobby and we want to be part of it. Having a computer adjust some or all of the controls for us just wouldn't be the same.

We do use automation however: The PIDs we use are automated in that the brewer dials in the temperature and it is automatically maintained. That sort of automation makes sense to us. We let some components maintain certain control aspects of the system where it would be difficult for a human to do it, but for actually controlling the process steps, we want to be pressing the buttons and turning the valves ourselves.

We also feel that the time required to program the automated steps at the start of the brew day could or would likely take just as long as 'manually' changing certain settings when needed. For example, with today's highly modified malts, most times home brewers (including ourselves) are mostly brewing with single infusion mashes (a single mash temperature is used) so no special process steps are needed. On our setup, we simply set the mash temp and then an hour or two later when the mash is done we press the "up" button a few times to go to mash-out temperature. An automated system could automatically do this after the one or two hour period but what exactly is that saving?

Every other operation in a brewery requires disconnecting/re-connecting hoses so we have to go into our brewery for a few minutes regardless. Even this could be automated with valves and controllers but in our opinion that would be a lot of design/implementation/testing (plus added costs) to save only 5-10 minutes of work on brew day. It just doesn't make any sense to us and results in a more complex setup, which means it's just more things that may cause problems or break.

Feel free however to experiment and build your brewery any way you like using as little or as much automation as you feel is necessary. After all, it's your brewery!

I think there are a lot brewers who want to be in control at the end of the day like me. Let machines take over the annoying parts of the work but let the brewer still be in full control of everything else.

Kal

 

[syl]

Brilliant mate! May I ask where you got your conical from?

Cheers! You've done an amazing job there.

 

[Doubleplugga]

Hi syl, I got the conical from thhe US mate. More beer or adventures in homebrewing. Can't remember the exact price but even with shipping it was a **** load cheaper than getting it from the Australian distributor!

Thanks mate

 

[Doubleplugga]

G'day Kal, I didn't know you visited these forums mate! I was going to post some pics of the first brew day on your website but haven't got around to it yet. Yep you guessed right, FWH in the photo. First brew was the SN ruthless rye recipe from your site, one of my favourite beers so I will let you know how it goes, kegging it sometime this weekend.

I think a few people have looked at the brewery and bought due to the fact it has a large controller etc it must have some sort of automation, but you explained it well Kal. I too enjoy brewing and wouldn't want anymore automatic functions other than the controller. The alarm is one of the best features though, means I can do other work around the house until it sounds and I know to do the next step.

Thanks

 

[gava]

DoublePlugga, system looks sweet!!! I'm just starting my build of a TheElectricBrewery inspired control panel.
I've changed mine a little to suit my setup but I'm very jealous you've got yours up and running.

How did you cut the holes? I've got a step drill bit but I'm not to happy with using that I'm trying to source a punch that they've listed on the website but can't get any where i'm located in Bendigo. (well not yet anyway)

What'd you use to cut your PID holes?

Cheers
Gavin

 

[kalW]

G'day Kal, I didn't know you visited these forums mate!

I get around!

First brew was the SN ruthless rye recipe from your site, one of my favourite beers so I will let you know how it goes, kegging it sometime this weekend.

Let us know how it turns out... it's one of my favourites too - all that IPA goodness that I like with a little twist. Reminds me that I haven't had it on tap for almost a year now so I think it's time to queue it up again.

Kal

 

[gava]

KalW I looked at your basement reno.... and yes i greatly dislike you a lot

Your basement is better than houses I've lived in.

Gav

 

[Doubleplugga]

Hi gava. I used a dremel tool with a small cutting disc to cut the PID holes and also the hole for the heat sink. Just started with small holes drilled in the corners to give the dremel a start point and went from there. The round holes were cut with bi metal hole saws, the type you use with a drill. My friend has a workshop so I was able to borrow a lot of his tools! Helps a lot. Tidied them up with a drill with a die grinder attachment.
Hope this helps mate.

 

[5150]

Amazing looking set up Doubleplugga and congrats on finally getting to brew on it. Been following your build for a while now with anticipation.

 

[Doubleplugga]

Cheers 5150 ( any reference in your name to the classic Van Halen song of the same title?)
I will be kegging this brew on Sunday so in a couple of weeks I will have a verdict on the maiden brew!