Blichmann BrewEasy

Well after today's brew session, I'm one step closer to just pulling the trigger hard on one of these. I'm tired of tripping over stuff and leaks and now my Auber Sous Vide PID is not working. That is what I use to control my BobbyM RIMS tube. That little problem could be the final straw. I think electric is the way to go and that will eliminate trips to Home Depot for propane.

I'm either buying one of these or designing some kind of hard piped system with manifolds and valves. Back in March, I took Tom Hennessy's Brewery Immersion Course at Echo Brewing in Frederick, CO. It was so nice brewing on their Premier Systems 7bbl brew house. Everything was hard-piped and stainless. I just turned a valve and magic happened...sorta. Cleaning was even easier. But that is because they have floor drains.

I'm very interested to see everyone's results with the system to determine peak efficiency/technique and additionally maximal OG out of the 5, 10, and 15 gal systems. I just did some rough math and it seemed like I would have to stuff 45 lbs of grain into the 15 gal Boilermaker in order to make a full 12 gal of finished wort at an OG of 1.100. Has anyone gone Max. Grain yet with their BrewEasy?

medicalneedles said:

I'm very interested to see everyone's results with the system to determine peak efficiency/technique and additionally maximal OG out of the 5, 10, and 15 gal systems. I just did some rough math and it seemed like I would have to stuff 45 lbs of grain into the 15 gal Boilermaker in order to make a full 12 gal of finished wort at an OG of 1.100. Has anyone gone Max. Grain yet with their BrewEasy?

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I had 33 pounds plus 12 pounds of mashed pumpkin in mine the other night. it was tight but had about 2 inches of head space about the water level.

medicalneedles said:

I'm very interested to see everyone's results with the system to determine peak efficiency/technique and additionally maximal OG out of the 5, 10, and 15 gal systems. I just did some rough math and it seemed like I would have to stuff 45 lbs of grain into the 15 gal Boilermaker in order to make a full 12 gal of finished wort at an OG of 1.100. Has anyone gone Max. Grain yet with their BrewEasy?

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let me know if you end up doing this and if you hit your numbers

I just finished my second batch on the 5 gallon electric breweasy and could only hit 60 percent efficiency. It was breezy and chilly today making the boil a slow process.

Part of the efficiency issue is your grist to water ratio. Since you are not sparging, the percentage of total brew water in a no sparge system that is absorbed by the grist, is lost efficiency. If you lose 20% of your total brew water to grain absorption, that is 20% that you will never recover.

Even with 100% conversion efficiency (I'd verify this during each mash), if you lose 2 gallons of water due to absorption, with a total brew water load of 13 gallons, and 20lb grist (a light beer) you'd lose 15%. With a 30lb grist, you'd lose 20%... However, this places 60% eff. way out of the spectrum.

System losses should be nearly nil on this system I'd presume.

That leaves conversion efficiency that would be affected by water PH because of the thin mash, and the crush.

I've been out of brewing for years, just now building another 4500W electric RIMS, but to my knowledge these are all key issues. Some can be overcome with chemistry, not at all.

On my first electric HERMS, about 6 years ago, I'd mash with all of my brew water, no sparge, and still achieve 80% efficiency. I did build my water, and I did crush my own malt, and I did condition my malt as well. I also tested for conversion before the lauter.

ThePol2014 said:

Part of the efficiency issue is your grist to water ratio. Since you are not sparging, the percentage of total brew water in a no sparge system that is absorbed by the grist, is lost efficiency. If you lose 20% of your total brew water to grain absorption, that is 20% that you will never recover.

Even with 100% conversion efficiency (I'd verify this during each mash), if you lose 2 gallons of water due to absorption, with a total brew water load of 13 gallons, and 20lb grist (a light beer) you'd lose 15%. With a 30lb grist, you'd lose 20%... However, this places 60% eff. way out of the spectrum.

System losses should be nearly nil on this system I'd presume.

That leaves conversion efficiency that would be affected by water PH because of the thin mash, and the crush.

I've been out of brewing for years, just now building another 4500W electric RIMS, but to my knowledge these are all key issues. Some can be overcome with chemistry, not at all.

On my first electric HERMS, about 6 years ago, I'd mash with all of my brew water, no sparge, and still achieve 80% efficiency. I did build my water, and I did crush my own malt, and I did condition my malt as well. I also tested for conversion before the lauter.

Click to expand...

This is a good point in regard to pH/water to grist ratio. Have people been using pH meter in their process? How have numbers compared to expected (or numbers attained on past systems)? Do any of you use B'run Water and if so, have you accounted for water ratio differently in the program?

ThePol2014 said:

Part of the efficiency issue is your grist to water ratio. Since you are not sparging, the percentage of total brew water in a no sparge system that is absorbed by the grist, is lost efficiency. If you lose 20% of your total brew water to grain absorption, that is 20% that you will never recover.

Even with 100% conversion efficiency (I'd verify this during each mash), if you lose 2 gallons of water due to absorption, with a total brew water load of 13 gallons, and 20lb grist (a light beer) you'd lose 15%. With a 30lb grist, you'd lose 20%... However, this places 60% eff. way out of the spectrum.

System losses should be nearly nil on this system I'd presume.

That leaves conversion efficiency that would be affected by water PH because of the thin mash, and the crush.

I've been out of brewing for years, just now building another 4500W electric RIMS, but to my knowledge these are all key issues. Some can be overcome with chemistry, not at all.

On my first electric HERMS, about 6 years ago, I'd mash with all of my brew water, no sparge, and still achieve 80% efficiency. I did build my water, and I did crush my own malt, and I did condition my malt as well. I also tested for conversion before the lauter.

Click to expand...

In BIAB you can squeeze the bag to reduce the losses associated with grain absorption. Using s typical 11-12# grist and 8.3G starting volume I squeeze until I hit 7G,. Still 15% loss of the original volume, but my usual efficiency is 70%, which I'm happy with. I wonder if there is a way to squeeze some more liquid from the grains in this system?


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Anyone out there have any experience brewing a BIG beer on the electric version? So close to buying one of these.

I was able to get nearly 80% efficiency on my last batch on the 10 gallon electric breweasy. It can be done.

@Danam : please detail your process! Grist, mash profile, any hiccups or anything pertinent por favor!


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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What he said. Please. Very happy to hear! :rockin:

Thanks to all of you on this thread, especially Danam. You helped me decide to finally pull the trigger on the 10 gallon Electric! I can't convey how freakin excited I am for it to get here!

@danam I am so hungry to find out how you achieved 80% efficiency in the brew easy system. Are you using and electric or gas system? What was your mash ph? Did you treat your water? If so how? Help me please. ....

I had a Counter Top Brutus 20 and I currently rebuilding in Stainless consequently the system will be very similar to a Breweasy.
I could get the B20s efficiency up with a simple sparge the Breweasy would be the same if I remember correctly I got into the 75% region.
On the system I'm building I'm modifying the drain tubing to allow me to recirculate a sparge without going through the kettle that will bump the % up a bit.

Atb. Aamcle

Hello homebrewers!!
Im not yet decided to buy a breweasy electric system with tower LTE or tower power full, somebody can tell me if is really a advantage buy a full tower or is not relevant.....(difference is around 300 usd!!)

thank´s

+1 on Bryan & Great Fermentations. I recently received my 10 gal. Gas system and am looking forward to first brew day. System was not too difficult to assemble. Agree with Danam instructions could be clearer and more illustrations would help. Nevertheless, I'll be checking in on this post and giving feedback (and probably lots of questions) after brew day #1. Great post everyone. Happy to have this as a resource. Cheers!

Remember, with any BIAB system, your efficiency will vary with the size of the grain bill. More precisely, the ratio of brew water to grist.

8 gallons of water and 10lbs of grist, will result in a loss of 1 gallon of the 8 to grist absorption.

9 gallons of water and 20lbs of grist, will result in a loss of 2 gallons of the 9 to grist absorption.

In both scenarios, your pre boil volume is the same, however your ratio of wort loss isn't.

In scenario one you lost 13% of your efficiency to wort loss in the grist.
In scenario two you lost 22% of your efficiency to wort loss in the grist.

In scenario one, with 100% conversion, your max efficiency would be 87%. This assumes no losses to equipment dead space.

In scenario two, with 100% conversion, your max efficiency would be 78%. This assumes no losses to equipment dead space.

Both scenarios assume 100% conversion, so one should test for conversion. This is easy during the mash, as the wort should be homogenous.

Secondly, dead space needs to be calculated, this will be a constant.

Then, the variable, that will always change, is wort loss to grist.

Nail down conversion, calculate wort loss to dead space, and you can mathematically determine your efficiency by adjusting for the variable of wort loss to grist.

Hey guys,

Sorry it took me so long to get back with you on this, the forum never emailed me even tho I'm subscribed to this thread. My process takes a smidge of the "easy" out of breweasy, but it was worth it. I have the 10 gallon electric version.

First off, yes I did treat my water. This I believe is the biggest factor, it was my first time using a digital ph meter. I was using the spreadsheet before and just guessing based off my city water report, and it turns out it wasn't quite accurate. After initial spreadsheet additions, my mash ph settled at 5.8-5.9. I then tweaked it down to 5.5. so PH is big.**it effects this system way more than a traditional system.**the second is temperature.*

I have been having a very hard time trusting the controller for temps because my calibrated brewmometers always showed significantly different numbers.

*I sort of picked up on it when i was reading these forums.**One guy said (MN I think?) he uses the 2gpm orifice to get up to strike temp then swaps orifices to .75 After dough in.... i was like wondering would he do that, seemed like unnecessary work.**but i see why now.... it takes forever for the brewmometers to match the controller. Generally the reason for this is that once you set your auto sparge, it's only letting in as much water as your orifice is letting drain out... So adding .75 gallons per minute of 156 degree water to 8 gallons of 132 degree water will result in a very very slow ramp up time, even though your controller is reading 152 or 156 at the pump outlet.**Usually the controller reads 156 but the middle of the mash tun is still at 135.... and at .75gpm it takes almost an hour for the two to match... i think I (we) have been mashing way too cold.

The solution to this is to either recirculate faster or add hotter water to the tun... And I did both. Before you add grain, recirculate as fast as possible to quickly arrive at dough-in temps. After you dough in, you can't recirc that fast without getting a stuck mash, so if you want to increase temps after dough in, you must ramp the controller up significantly above your desired temp to get there in a reasonable amount of time. When trying to get to dough in temps, it was taking forever for the tun and the controller to match temps...as soon as i stopped and swapped In the 2gpm, the temps came right up and matched in 5 mins.**I added grain at around 130 (guessing, don't have my notes) and let it rest for 15 minutes. Once the rest was over, I switched to the .75 orifice and began ramping up to mash temps.

previously, as soon as i saw the controller stay at target mash temp degrees for 5 mins i started the clock on the mash... and i almost remember last batch that my brewmometer wasn’t reading into the 150 range til the last couple mins of the mash. So though my controller said I was at mash temp, in reality the grain bed was way too cold for conversion.**this time, i ramped the controller up to 170 after dough in, and it brought the temp up to my desired 156 in the tun in about 10 mins, then i backed it down to 156 once they matched, and temp on the controller and the mash tun brewmometers were nailed for the whole mash.**

I recirced at .75 gpm for a 7.5 gallon batch... Slower the better in my opinion. And then I ramped the temp up to 175 before I drained. With the .75 orifice it takes quite a bit to raise the temp up to 175 on the brewmometer. I actually ended up having to shut the pump off 3-4 times and let about 4 gallons drain down into the brew kettle, heat to 175, then turn the pump back on... The auto sparge does not let a ton of heated liquor up into the mash tun once you've reached your proper level, so ramping the temp up would've taken hours without doing this.. Even tho your controller says 175, the mash temp is still significantly lower. I also think this could've helped efficiency as I washed the grain bed several times through this process.... Letting half the pre boil wort drain down to the kettle then pumping it back into the tun a few times is sort of like sparking multiple times... In my mind anyway.


Once the center of the tun hit 175 I held for 15 minutes. I then drained with the smallest orifice.


In summary, the two things I did that seemed to help significantly were use salts/acids with a digital ph meter, and also make sure the mash tun brewmometer temps match what the controller was saying before I started the clock on the mash. It made the mashing process about 2-3 hours instead of 1-1.5... But well worth it and I think it'll go quicker next time now that I know the trick.. The extra time for conversion can do nothing but help.


17.5 pounds of grain for a 7.5 gallon stout recipe.
I *believe* I used 14 gallons of total water but I'd have to go back to my notes. It was either 13 or 14. That volume is a bit high but with a smaller batch on this system you'll have a thinner mash... Mainly because you need 5 gallons minimum in the bottom kettle to keep the electric element submerged.. Had to build on full power for 90 minutes (it was a 90 minute recipe) to hit final volume.
Hit 7.5 gallons on the nose into the fermenter at 1.055 OG according to a calibrated refractometer with ATC.... My brew software estimate 1.050 at 70% efficiency. Needless to say I was very pleased for the first time with this system.


Sorry for the long winded write up, most of it is incomprehensible ramblings, but it makes sense in my mind so hopefully it makes sense for some of you

By the way, I got a kettle kart. In true blichmann fashion, horrible instructions, overpriced, and 8 months later than promised, but quite a nice little product.

Cheers!

Thank you for such a thorough evaluation. Overall, your review was pretty disappointing though. System is pretty useless if its not easier and more time efficient. Didn't someone mention earlier that the best way to use this system was to keep the largest orifice in (or use none) and adjust flow using the pump valve and flow meter? Do you think this would have helped with your temp/speed?

Also, do you have the 240v 10 gallon electric?
Full tower stand or LTE stand?
Where did you get the cart from?

Changing orifices seems like a hassle. Also could you put the temp probe into the MT to know what temps are instead of reading the PID and the thermometer? Install thermowells to swap it back and forth from the pump to the MT if you feel the need?

I do not have this system, but am trying to pay attention as I really like the idea of it. Just not in a place to buy or sure it's what I really need.

Why not just use beersmith and calculate what temp you need to mash in at so you hit your desired mash temperature. Than the BrewEasy system would just maintain that temp for you. Mashing in at 130 seems way to low to me.

I am not sure why everyone gets hung up on efficiency. At the end of the day it is just a value that you account for in the recipe. Your grain bill might be a little higher but it doesn't make the system any harder to use.


Great review on how to increase efficiency for this system, thanks!

That review makes this system sound really cumbersome and less than precise with temp control. It doesn't sound like Blichmanns typical elegance at all.

If this is another version of BIAB, it seems like it misses the mark in several areas. Equipment heavy, expensive, cumbersome and I don't see the time savings.

I agree with the above post, why dough in at 130F? Your strike temp is probably close to 165F.

Interested in more reviews.

Oh dear......

As I said some place up the thread I had Brutus 20 and liked it and that I'm building again in SS.
From real user experience of the Breweasy it seems I'm going to have to insulate the M/T and all the tubing, I would have done so anyway as I had to insulate my recirculating BIAB tubing to get the same ( +-1°C) at the wort inlet and in the kettle.

I'm a bit sad about that though as the Blitchman pictures look so shiny.

Aamcle

There is another thread on the board here, and this guy had a completely different session. He heated to strike temp, let the machine work, doughed in, set the temp 3F above his desired mash temp, and the machine ran without intervention, holding temp in the mash precisely.

His eff was 70%, which with BIAB and dead space, is pretty normal.

Perhaps this is a really good machine, but folks are just operating it differently. His session sounded totally hands off.

I had no issues with the B20, get it to strike temp, mash in and away you go! I found it easier to do a batch sparge in the cool box than dunking a bag.

Aamcle

Yea I still can't figure out why the guy in the one post is mashing in @ 130. I read through the guide for the system and it says to heat your strike water to the calculated temp then mash in. It looks like a easy system to use but you still need to have some knowledge of all grain brewing.

molson said:

Yea I still can't figure out why the guy in the one post is mashing in @ 130. I read through the guide for the system and it says to heat your strike water to the calculated temp then mash in. It looks like a easy system to use but you still need to have some knowledge of all grain brewing.

Click to expand...

Yep. This isn't a Brewbot.

This was a step mash with a protein rest... It had oatmeal in the grain bill.

I doughed in at 128 according to an oatmeal stout recipe, and then ramped up to mash temp.

Look guys,

The protein rest I used for this brew was an optional step, not required for 90% of the batches you'll make.... Only required when using unmodified malts.. But I'm not gonna spend time on what you already know. Maybe people read that, got confused, and stopped reading. A step mash is always more cumbersome, regardless of the system... But I probably should've omitted it to alleviate confusion. Could I have achieved the same results by removing that step and mashing in a few degrees higher than desired mash temp (as you would with any other system)? Yes ofcourse.

The point of my long write up was this: check your ph, and don't trust the digital controller completely as gospel.

Is this system as easy to use as Blichmann advertises? Yes absolutely,
If you're happy to boost your grain bill and accept efficiency in the mid 60's.

Is it capable of much more? Yup. Which is what I wanted to prove. It's much more of a pain to get there, and I may not go this far every time, but it's possible.

At the end of the day it's still much easier to use and clean than my previous 3-tier Gravity, cooler, and propane rig.


10 gallon Breweasy, 240v electric. System and kart purchased at great fermentations

molson said:

Yea I still can't figure out why the guy in the one post is mashing in @ 130. I read through the guide for the system and it says to heat your strike water to the calculated temp then mash in. It looks like a easy system to use but you still need to have some knowledge of all grain brewing.

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Surely in your vast body of knowledge of all grain brewing, you've heard of a protein rest.

Take the time to write a thorough review and someone insults your knowledge and intelligence. This is why I never post here... I just figured I'd try and help those who are on the fence about this system, being that I was one of the first to buy one.

I've been brewing for 7 years, and my "knowledge of all grain brewing" netted me 80% efficiency on a system that is only advertised to achieve 70% under optimal conditions. Can you attain 60-70% in a simpler manner? Sure. That's been well documented. I brewed a smaller test batch taking extra measures to see exactly how much efficiency I could squeeze out of the system. What I did was successful, and I decided to take the time share it, apparently so people like you could skim it then pick it apart. But I'm glad you read the manual online, you've truly added to the discussion. Anyone who spends or is considering spending $3k on this system has probably brewed all grain before, and has probably read the 12 page manual that comes with it, and is familiar with the contents. If doing what was written in the manual easily hit the 70-80% efficiency most of us are used to, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion would we? Is there any other knowledge you'd like to bless me and other lesser Brewers with? Maybe you've read more things in instruction manuals of products you've never used? You should take your knowledge to another thread, "guy".

@danam404

Your review made my day and I was excited to read your process and experiment.

I plan on continuing to document my progress with the system and I think it's a new experiment that is worth sharing the knowledge from.






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Primary:


Secondary:


Kegged: north of the border Vienna lager, Janets brown sister ale


RIP: Kern River Citra DIPA


On Deck: Stouts

I

Danam404 said:

Take the time to write a thorough review and someone insults your knowledge and intelligence. This is why I never post here... I just figured I'd try and help those who are on the fence about this system, being that I was one of the first to buy one.

I've been brewing for 7 years, and my "knowledge of all grain brewing" netted me 80% efficiency on a system that is only advertised to achieve 70% under optimal conditions. Can you attain 60-70% in a simpler manner? Sure. That's been well documented. I brewed a smaller test batch taking extra measures to see exactly how much efficiency I could squeeze out of the system. What I did was successful, and I decided to take the time share it, apparently so people like you could skim it then pick it apart. But I'm glad you read the manual online, you've truly added to the discussion. Anyone who spends or is considering spending $3k on this system has probably brewed all grain before, and has probably read the 12 page manual that comes with it, and is familiar with the contents. If doing what was written in the manual easily hit the 70-80% efficiency most of us are used to, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion would we? Is there any other knowledge you'd like to bless me and other lesser Brewers with? Maybe you've read more things in instruction manuals of products you've never used? You should take your knowledge to another thread, "guy".

Click to expand...

In your original post you stated that you mashed in @130 and then tried to ramp it up to 156. I just couldn't figure out why you were doing that, maybe if you had stated you were step mashing it would of made sense. In normal use of the system you the thermometer on the pot and the controller should match if the strike water is calculated correctly. So the only reason you would need to switch the orifice is if you want to ramp the mash up during step mashing. Also chill out.

molson said:

I

In your original post you stated that you mashed in @130 and then tried to ramp it up to 156. I just couldn't figure out why you were doing that, maybe if you had stated you were step mashing it would of made sense. In normal use of the system you the thermometer on the pot and the controller should match if the strike water is calculated correctly. So the only reason you would need to switch the orifice is if you want to ramp the mash up during step mashing. Also chill out.

Click to expand...

If you had actually used the system in real life, you'd know that this is incorrect. Which was the exact point of my post. But you haven't. By all means though, teach me more.

How is this different then mashing in a cooler? If I use beersmith to calculate what temp I need to mash in at and mash it at the temp the mash temp will settle at my desired temp. So if I set the controller to 154, calculate what the strike water needs to be to hit that then the mash will settle at 154 to. Why would the controller and thermometer be different?

molson said:

How is this different then mashing in a cooler? If I use beersmith to calculate what temp I need to mash in at and mash it at the temp the mash temp will settle at my desired temp. So if I set the controller to 154, calculate what the strike water needs to be to hit that then the mash will settle at 154 to. Why would the controller and thermometer be different?

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Because a cooler is insulated. The mash tun in this system is a stainless kettle, which dissapates heat very rapidly. Your temperatures will match briefly, but almost immediately the tun begins to shed heat and the massive heating element in the bottom kettle begins to fire to compensate.

You can see how you'd develop a temperature gradient in a hurry.

The problem, as best as I can wrap my head around it, is that it takes much less energy to bring the liquid in the bottom kettle to mash temps, than to bring several pounds of grain in the top kettle up to temp. So the controller heats the Liquid in the bottom vessel to 152 or whatever you have set, senses that temp at the pump outlet, and says ok that's good. Even though it's not enough to keep the top kettle at the correct temp.

Danam404 said:

Because a cooler is insulated. The mash tun in this system is a stainless kettle, which dissapates heat very rapidly. Your temperatures will match briefly, but almost immediately the tun begins to shed heat and the massive heating element in the bottom kettle begins to fire to compensate.

You can see how you'd develop a temperature gradient in a hurry.

The problem, as best as I can wrap my head around it, is that it takes much less energy to bring the liquid in the bottom kettle to mash temps, than to bring several pounds of grain in the top kettle up to temp. So the controller heats the Liquid in the bottom vessel to 152 or whatever you have set, senses that temp at the pump outlet, and says ok that's good. Even though it's not enough to keep the top kettle at the correct temp.

Click to expand...

OK got it now, so the system isn't very good at maintaining mash temperature. That's kind of disappointing. What you said is probably right, it's able to heat the liquid in the bottom much quicker and then since the sensor is at the pumps outlet it's turning off the heating source. Would setting the controller a few degrees above the desired mash temp work?

molson said:

OK got it now, so the system isn't very good at maintaining mash temperature. That's kind of disappointing. What you said is probably right, it's able to heat the liquid in the bottom much quicker and then since the sensor is at the pumps outlet it's turning off the heating source. Would setting the controller a few degrees above the desired mash temp work?

Click to expand...

Yes.

molson said:

OK got it now, so the system isn't very good at maintaining mash temperature. That's kind of disappointing. What you said is probably right, it's able to heat the liquid in the bottom much quicker and then since the sensor is at the pumps outlet it's turning off the heating source. Would setting the controller a few degrees above the desired mash temp work?

Click to expand...

Yeah that's basically what I was getting in my original post but with a lot more words. HOWEVER. This only seems to be necessary at the beginning of the mash. Once everything gets stabilized for a Few minutes, the controller does fine.

Like I said, the Breweasy works as advertised and will get reasonably acceptable efficiency by following the manual... But if you want to take the extra time and effort it can do much more. Same as everything else, the more you put in, the more you get out.