Grainfather electric all-grain brewing tips

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fotofisher

fotofisher

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I recently received my Grainfather electric all-grain system (GF) and put it through 3 back-to-back batches (barley wine, Belgian trippel, imperial dunkelweizen) this past weekend. I was consistently near 80% efficiency with some complicated multi-step mashes and hit or exceeded all my OGs. I have been brewing since 1990, and seasoned as homebrewing goes, but really I am a newbie with the GF unit. I am already a more efficient brewer with the GF, but I know it can be pushed further. I made a video of some of my initial tips which may (or may not) be helpful for others in the US that are just now receiving their GF units. >>> https://youtu.be/WV8dVWvrpzY.

I don't know why I didn't go all-electric years ago. :confused:

.fotofisher.
 
I am going to try one of these. Can you share your mash profiles for those three beers? Love the tips!
 
Excellent video! Just a question...how did you find the boil? I've been reading that for some it isn't vigorous enough just wanted your thoughts.

:mug:
 
Sammy86 said:
...how did you find the boil? I've been reading that for some it isn't vigorous enough just wanted your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Sooooooo, here's my thoughts on "boil"....
A roiling boil to me is just a visual stimulus and over-rated. Once the wort reaches boiling temp and the liquid is moving around , does it matter how fast it swirls and moves? The more aggressive the boil = the more evaporation loss. The Reflectix wrap certainly helps with maintaining temperatures and reaching boil a tad faster.

With that said, the boil in The Grainfather is more modest than with a 50,000 BTU propane flame sitting on the arss-end of the boil pot. I actually like a more modest boil for a few reasons:
1) less evaporation loss
2) wort doesn't burn and muck up the bottom of the boil pot, which can give a burnt flavor to the beer
3) coming to a modest boil versus roil boil helps reduce boil overs during the first 20-mins or so.

I don't know this for a fact, but the Grainfather appears to have a built-in temp governor that when boil is reached, it maintains just enough heat to keep it going, not pushing it over the edge to a roil. I like that. How it knows when the wort is boiling or not is beyond me. I live at 4,200 feet, so boil temp is 203F. Sure enough, the wort boils and doesn't get too hot to scorch the bottom. Pretty darned nifty if you ask me.

So, full circle here - I don't need a roily boil to make me feel good about the wort. As long as the boil temp is reached and held for 60 mins or so, that does the trick for me.

.fotofisher.
 
chezhed said:
Can you share your mash profiles for those three beers? Love the tips!
Click to expand...

Belgian Trippel:
Protein Rest: 145-147F for 20 mins
Beta: 152F for 30 mins
Alpha: 158F for 30 mins
Mashout: 168F for 10 mins

Imperial Dunkelweizen:
Protein Rest: 145F for 20 mins
Beta: 149F for 30 mins
Alpha: 159F for 30 mins
Mashout: 170F for 10 mins

I can't remember what mash profile I used for the other recent beers I made. Probably just made it up as I went along!

.fotofisher.
 
fotofisher said:
Sooooooo, here's my thoughts on "boil"....
A roiling boil to me is just a visual stimulus and over-rated. Once the wort reaches boiling temp and the liquid is moving around , does it matter how fast it swirls and moves? The more aggressive the boil = the more evaporation loss. The Reflectix wrap certainly helps with maintaining temperatures and reaching boil a tad faster.

With that said, the boil in The Grainfather is more modest than with a 50,000 BTU propane flame sitting on the arss-end of the boil pot. I actually like a more modest boil for a few reasons:
1) less evaporation loss
2) wort doesn't burn and muck up the bottom of the boil pot, which can give a burnt flavor to the beer
3) coming to a modest boil versus roil boil helps reduce boil overs during the first 20-mins or so.

I don't know this for a fact, but the Grainfather appears to have a built-in temp governor that when boil is reached, it maintains just enough heat to keep it going, not pushing it over the edge to a roil. I like that. How it knows when the wort is boiling or not is beyond me. I live at 4,200 feet, so boil temp is 203F. Sure enough, the wort boils and doesn't get too hot to scorch the bottom. Pretty darned nifty if you ask me.

So, full circle here - I don't need a roily boil to make me feel good about the wort. As long as the boil temp is reached and held for 60 mins or so, that does the trick for me.

.fotofisher.
Click to expand...

Excellent! Thanks very much for the info!

Cheers!
 
Really like the GF. However, my concern is how will it boil in a cold garage in the middle of a Maryland Winter? The US version only being 1600 watts cause me concern....any thoughts after using yours?

Thanks
Dan
 
brew-in said:
...how will it boil in a cold garage in the middle of a Maryland Winter? The US version only being 1600 watts cause me concern....any thoughts after using yours?
Click to expand...

I have yet to brew in the winter since I got mine late July/early August of this year. I live in Colorado and will have the same conditions as you in MD. Thinking ahead, I built a DIY Reflectix blanket for the unit. See the video at: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Da6HKW1No[/ame].

The biggest issue I see: if it is used in a cold windy location, that will cool down the exterior faster than anything. If it is used in a cold garage, theoritically, there is no wind, so it should perform just fine - especially with the DIY Reflectix blanket.

Another thought - it's electric - so why not brew inside during the winter? That's one of the advantages that drew me to buying mine; I plan on brewing inside when it is just too cold to be outside.

.fotofisher.
 
Thanks for the profile info.
Do you track efficiency? I use Beersmith and yesterday's first batch was a big drop in efficiency from my other system....from 74 to 65.
How are you sparging? Any tricks?
 
i've been eyeing this thing. step mashing in an igloo cooler is a PITA. i'll be selling my kit soon.. heh.
thanks for the vids.
 
Thanks tons for the great video. I am sure the reflextrix insulation will go a long way to eliminating my concern with purchasing a Grainfather....

I worry about how the 1500 watt element will handle boiling at sea level (212 degrees needed for boil), in my garage, in the winter....
 
chezhed said:
Thanks for the profile info.
Do you track efficiency? I use Beersmith and yesterday's first batch was a big drop in efficiency from my other system....from 74 to 65.
How are you sparging? Any tricks?
Click to expand...

I do calculate efficiency, and I use Beersmith too. Here are a few of my thoughts...mind you, I am NOT a professional at this, I am just an avid hobby brewer that tends to get in the weeds with everything.

* I believe mash efficiency is driven by three things you can control: hitting accurate mash step temps, giving the mash step enough time, and sparging THOROUGHLY with sparge water. Hitting mash temps is critical for extracting the type of sugar you desire, waiting there long enough allows the mash water and temp combination to do the trick. Beta rests convert faster than alpha rests. Give alpha rests more time. And, sparging thoroughly will ensure you are washing all the sugars from the grains.

* with three batches through the Grainfather, I have experienced efficiencies from 69% to 91%. The 69% brew, I rushed the sparge process. With the 91% brew, I re-calculated and re-calculated and sure enough, it is 91%, I couldn't believe it. I didn't rush sparge on that batch, and even used a little extra sparge water that wasn't called for. That batch is still bubbling away in primary, 10 days into it now. So yes, there's lots of sugars there to eat - another clue that 91% may be more accurate than not.

just my observations, more batches with the Grainfather will prove out my system efficiency. For now, I just use 75% as a baseline.

.fotofisher.
 
brew-in said:
I worry about how the 1500 watt element will handle boiling at sea level (212 degrees needed for boil), in my garage, in the winter....
Click to expand...

There's no doubt a 1500 watt element will use every ounce of umphfff it has to keep a boil, especially at sea-level. The Relfectix stuff helps tons. I plan on doing a boil test or two, maybe I'll make a video of it, but there's already a video or two out there of the Grainfather boil test.

For me, as long as the water boils, I don't need it to be a level 5 tsumani in there to make me happy. If the water at least modestly roils and it steams off, the nasty DMSs are being released and the wort is reducing in volume. I've read that all the deeds are done in the first 15-20 minutes of a boil anyhow, so I question boiling longer than that with uncomplicated brews.

.fotofisher.
 
Sorta a tangent to this thread, but somewhat relevant. I like to meddle with mash profiles in my brews. So, I put together a cheat sheet for my purposes, to remind me of recommended mash profiles from the classic books and BYO magazine articles over the years. Thought it would be useful for others meddling with Grainfather mash profiles...

http://www.pixachrome.com/example_mash_step_profiles.png

.fotofisher.

example_mash_step_profiles.png
 
Sorry if this isn't exactly on topic, but in case anybody here doesn't already know and might be interested.
I have developed a firmware replacement for the STC-1000 thermostat to be a full fledged one vessel brew system controller. The STC-1000 has the same physical dimensions as the controller supplied with the grainfather.
Some features are:
  • programmable mash steps time/temperature
  • programmable power output during mash and boil
  • alarm when user intervention is required (dough in, grain removal, hop additions)
  • can control a pump (some extra off the shelf cheap hw required)
  • can control up to two heating elements
A cheap Arduino board is all that is needed to reprogram the STC. Only thing to be wary of is that several STC-1000 knockoffs exist, so you need to order from the correct vendor (the manufacturer has a store on aliexpress).
It is completely open source and also free (as in beer). You can find it here:
https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p-ovbsc

Cheers!
 
I do calculate efficiency, and I use Beersmith too. Here are a few of my thoughts...mind you, I am NOT a professional at this, I am just an avid hobby brewer that tends to get in the weeds with everything.
Click to expand...

I agree with your thoughts on efficiency. I and another local brewer who has one of these both have attributed lower efficiencies to sparge techniques. Reviewing Grainfather's videos, they say to spend 30 minutes on sparge. So with that in mind, I will :).
And my past brews with high efficiency also churn away in a fermenter longer. I have had to tell new brewers in the store that is a good thing....they always want to rush....:p

A cheap Arduino board is all that is needed to reprogram the STC.
Click to expand...
That is so far over my head I don't even want to know.....:D

When I was in San Diego at NHC, I had the opportunity to go through this thing from an engineering/user point of view. One thing I wanted was a thermometer at wort out on the chiller. So I put one on. Very easy, some 1/4" brass fittings (tee, nipple, female hose barb to replace the male, and a 1/4" to 1/2" reducer) and a 4" probe thermometer.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9qgfldezu630q0r/20150825_174431.jpg?dl=0
 
chezhed said:
That is so far over my head I don't even want to know.....:D
Click to expand...

It's really not that complicated, as a bunch of people in the STC-1000+ thread will also tell you. You basically run 5 wires from the arduino to the STC, connect the arduino to your computer with an USB cable an run a program.
You can always ask for help or possibly order a preflashed unit from @smithabusa if you ask nicely :)
Now, I'm not sayin' you need to do this, you can probably brew just fine with the stock controller, but the people I know that have done this modification, does not regret it :) I'm just asking to keep it in mind if you are looking to add a bit more automation to the GF.

Cheers!
 
just posted more brewing tips working with multiple-step mash profiles, achieving and keeping a roiling boil, and working with small batches in the Grainfather electric all-grain brewing system:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHHGNkdfmc[/ame]

.fotofisher.
 
Anyone here have it at sea level? I'm literally "at sea level" im at 75FT, so boil temp is 212F. I'm just wondering if it's worth it for me. I'm just about ready to pull the trigger, and the boil is turning me off, especially for my altitude.
 
boicutt said:
Anyone here have it at sea level? I'm literally "at sea level" im at 75FT, so boil temp is 212F. I'm just wondering if it's worth it for me. I'm just about ready to pull the trigger, and the boil is turning me off, especially for my altitude.
Click to expand...

Some folks will use a heat stick (a manually-placed water heating element) as a secondary heat source to get to temperatures more quickly and achieve a vigorous boil (but just a "boil" is needed not "vigorous boil"). The heat stick can be added/removed as needed throughout the process. Of course, you will have to make sure the heat stick is plugged into a different electrical circuit than the grainfather. Certainly, not ideal, I know. Perhaps the grainfather has a US 220v version which could be used in a household 220v outlet that would alleviate the issue of "boil"?
 
I am at sea level it works great. It takes some time to get the rolling boil. I am doing 5 gallon batches. From sparge to boil takes a good 15-20 minutes I haven't actually timed it thats a guess. I turn it up to boil when I start the sparge after mash out. I did order one of the $9 stick heaters from amazon and am going to see how much time that saves. I am brewing this weekend and will let you know. It is worth every penny in my opinion. Makes life so much easier than the cooler method I was using before and my wort is crystal clear.
 
pagrider said:
I am at sea level it works great. It takes some time to get the rolling boil. I am doing 5 gallon batches. From sparge to boil takes a good 15-20 minutes I haven't actually timed it thats a guess. I turn it up to boil when I start the sparge after mash out. I did order one of the $9 stick heaters from amazon and am going to see how much time that saves. I am brewing this weekend and will let you know. It is worth every penny in my opinion. Makes life so much easier than the cooler method I was using before and my wort is crystal clear.
Click to expand...

Yeah if I'm gonna be buying a $1000 system, I dont want to be adding anything, I want this system for ease of use. Thanks for the input! :)
 
I'm damn near sea level, 31 ft. I took mine to New Orleans to show and brew a batch for a friend...that's below sea level :p Works fine, about 20+ minutes to boil on 6.2 gallons. At home I use a heatstick I had made for other brewing. It gets me to boil in 5 minutes:D
 
Hey foto...any updates on using this during the winter and the ability to get to a boil? I live in SLC so I have elevation on my side as well (thought will fight against cold temps).
 
tallguybrewer said:
Hey foto...any updates on using this during the winter and the ability to get to a boil? I live in SLC so I have elevation on my side as well (thought will fight against cold temps).
Click to expand...

I got a nice Grandfather boil on a 120V, 20 amp, dedicated circuit using no extension cords and the ‘Gaincoat’ installed in a rather cool basement (60F). Time to boil from mash temp of 154F: 35 minutes. Total boil volume: 7.5 US Gals. Very happy with my first Grainfather brew day (Janet’s Nut Brown Ale, SG: 1.065) – the system performed exactly as advertised – very happy with it. I needed to clear the filter with a long handled spoon several times when the hops slowed the pump, but the (CFC) wort chiller performed exceptionally well. The hose going into the chiller was too hot to touch, the hose going into the fermenter felt cool to the touch and ready to pitch yeast. Awesome!
 
Hobo said:
I got a nice Grandfather boil on a 120V, 20 amp, dedicated circuit using no extension cords and the ‘Gaincoat’ installed in a rather cool basement (60F). Time to boil from mash temp of 154F: 35 minutes. Total boil volume: 7.5 US Gals. Very happy with my first Grainfather brew day (Janet’s Nut Brown Ale, SG: 1.065) – the system performed exactly as advertised – very happy with it. I needed to clear the filter with a long handled spoon several times when the hops slowed the pump, but the (CFC) wort chiller performed exceptionally well. The hose going into the chiller was too hot to touch, the hose going into the fermenter felt cool to the touch and ready to pitch yeast. Awesome!
Click to expand...

Any idea how much water it took to cool? If not how long did it run for 7.5 gallons. Thanks.
 
Anyhowe said:
Any idea how much water it took to cool? If not how long did it run for 7.5 gallons. Thanks.
Click to expand...

It took about 20 minutes to pump the wort (6 Gal) into the fermenter. You need to slow the wort flow down enough to maximize the heat transfer from the cool water. Amount of water to cool? I never measured it.
 
6 gallons took 7 gallons of PA tap water to cool down to 64 degrees.
 
Anyhowe said:
Any problem with 2.5 gal batches on the GF?
Click to expand...

I done a 4 gal batch. With small batches you don't need the outer tubing of the drain pipe. If i were to do such a small batch i might do a full volume mash.

That said i don't think the GF is the right fit from someone wanting to do small batches - i would just use BIAB on the stove. But it will work.
 
Fotofisher, I want to thank you for all your tips, videos and info sharing. I recently purchased a Grainfather here in Canada (yes we run on 110-120V too) and was able to "pimp up" my unit and do lots of reconnaissance. The timer was a great idea, although I went with a rugged, waterproof Taylor with a magnetic bracket. As well, I'm going to wrap my Reflectix with a Graincoat as soon as it arrives. I also use a heatstick (Allied Precision) in a Grainferment to heat my spargewater. Also added is a Yellowjacket GFI and a custom adapter for my aerator tap. All in all, my brew day went well, as I hit the low end of my target OG. The Northern Canadian Light Ale from Noble Grape - a Maritime based chain like Northern Brewer - is happily gurgling in the fermenter. On deck is an Old Peculiar English Brown Ale. Noble Grape is producing custom kits like the "Grainkids"...ie - specifically for the Grainfather. I'm thinking these are good all grain kits to help establish a baseline. From there on, I'll go to my Beersmith supply guy who will build custom kits for any purpose. I'm looking forward for folks here sharing information and I'll soon post videos and pics of my build and process here. It would be nice if we could possibly start a Grainfather sub forum here...
 

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