ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

[Bassman2003]

I agree, Pro does not equal good. I should restate that my brewing heroes - the Germans and Belgians are inclined to have clear wort.

The Low O2 approach has captured enough of my attention that I want to give it a fair shake. So with this system I am going to try to do everything I can on the hot side to limit O2 and see how the beers turn out. If I do not see a huge difference I can always dial back the process. It is easier to do the cold side where the hot side is quite unforgiving imho.

 

[ashopis]

Question: Why are these systems considered options for "beginning brewers?"

Thanks!!!

 

[Bent-Brewer]

Question: Why are these systems considered options for "beginning brewers?"

Thanks!!!

This type of system is pretty straightforward- you don't have to mess with balancing the burner output, don't need pumps, coolers/ mash tuns, a brewing stand, or other equipment. A new brewer could effectively plug it in, run it (after learning to use the control panel), and pour straight into a plastic bucket to make an all grain batch pretty easily.

Less equipment, smaller footprint, and easily repeatable processes. So while more advanced brewers could happily use one, Anvil specifically wants to grab those new customers/ brewers.

 

[Bobby_M]

Question: Why are these systems considered options for "beginning brewers?"

Thanks!!!

Flip that. Why not? Even if a beginnner wants to brew a few extract kits first, use it as a boiler. Next stop, all grain town.

 

[Stand]

That system is slick.

If I didn't have so much invested in my current setup I would jump at this in a minute.

 

[ashopis]

This type of system is pretty straightforward- you don't have to mess with balancing the burner output, don't need pumps, coolers/ mash tuns, a brewing stand, or other equipment. A new brewer could effectively plug it in, run it (after learning to use the control panel), and pour straight into a plastic bucket to make an all grain batch pretty easily.

Less equipment, smaller footprint, and easily repeatable processes. So while more advanced brewers could happily use one, Anvil specifically wants to grab those new customers/ brewers.

Ah. That makes sense. It's not that a beginner would outgrow it as they became more experience. It's just a super easy entry point.

Thanks!

 

[WesBrew]

If this was out when I started in 2006.....I'd have a lot less *stuff* And maybe would have brewed a lot more if i were doing it indoors instead of out in the heat.

 

[Bent-Brewer]

Question for those with the system: what's your boil-off rate on 120V vs 240V?

Looking at getting this but can't really fit proper ventilation into my basement (doesn't look compatible with the steam slayer either).

 

[Stand]

If this was out when I started in 2006.....I'd have a lot less *stuff* And maybe would have brewed a lot more if i were doing it indoors instead of out in the heat.

I agree entirely, but I did extract batches in the house for a few years before switching to AG, and SWMBO would kill me if I tried to bring this back in the house. I don't mind the house smelling like grape-nuts for 2-3 days after a brewday, but she was not pleased. That said, getting 240v in the garage wouldn't be tough.

Seems like it takes a long time to get up to temp with these on 120v

 

[Satedbrewer]

Question for those with the system: what's your boil-off rate on 120V vs 240V?

Looking at getting this but can't really fit proper ventilation into my basement (doesn't look compatible with the steam slayer either).

@Bent-Brewer I've got 3 batches under my belt with this system on 120 and am getting between .5-.75g boil off, @5280 elevation, its not entirely a rolling boil but definitely more than a simmer.

ramping times have not been a problem at all about 75 minutes for 7.1g to go from 68-160(using the delay timer i haven't had to worry) and maybe 25-30 minutes to go from 168 to a boil, but am still looking into 240v cuz why not!

 

[BigChas]

Two quick questions.
1. Has anyone done a small batch (2.5-3 gal) on the larger unit?
2. Any suggestions as to what gap gives best crush ?

 

[Staestc]

If this was out when I started in 2006.....I'd have a lot less *stuff* And maybe would have brewed a lot more if i were doing it indoors instead of out in the heat.

I completely agree. I have got to look into this. Just now saw this thread!

 

[Spyderbyte07]

Question: Why are these systems considered options for "beginning brewers?"

Thanks!!!

Flip that. Why not? Even if a beginnner wants to brew a few extract kits first, use it as a boiler. Next stop, all grain town.

That system is slick.

If I didn't have so much invested in my current setup I would jump at this in a minute.

If this was out when I started in 2006.....I'd have a lot less *stuff* And maybe would have brewed a lot more if i were doing it indoors instead of out in the heat.

Agreed all around. If I had known I could have a 10.5 gallon brew kettle, insulated stainless mash tun, electric heat and a stainless immersion chiller for less than $400 I hope I could have talked my past self into purchasing it.

With that said, I am happy that I also have all my *stuff* and both brewing options have their place. And my Foundry has now proven its place with a successful brew day while I was solo parenting my two year old and nine month old.

My nine month old wanted to start the day even earlier than I had the delay timer set to be ready, but I'm going to go ahead and call that not the Foundry's fault From mash in to pitching the yeast my trial brew day was almost exactly 4 hours. I mashed for an hour, it took almost exactly an hour to bring approximately 6.5 gallons (volume measured at 178F) from 153F to boiling, I boiled for an hour, and then it took about an hour to cool to ~70F. I did not recirculate at any point but will look into this for future batches- I was noticed some significant (2-3 degree) temperature stratification during the mash (despite stirring), I had one moment of significant temperature overshoot during the mash (the display read 4 degrees above the set point, which resolved with a hasty stirring), and I suspect chilling will be much faster once I keep the wort moving. My efficiency was a lousy 62% but this was a no sparge with 23% red wheat malt, and I'm starting to suspect the red wheat malt is too small to be milled well at my LHBS. I plan to use only barley for my next batch to explore this variable. My one complaint about the system is it stubbornly displayed 203-205 degrees F during the boil, despite my thermapen confirming a boiling temperature closer to 211. It makes me wonder how much of the 2-3 degree temperature variation I observed during the mash was due to stratification and how much was due to measurement differences.

I also found a flaw in my plan of using a grommet and airlock in the lid

(Yes, I brewed with it enclosed in a safety gate in my kitchen) I briefly tried leaving the airlock like that but the star san kept leaking out. I attached a blow off tube to the center "stem" of the airlock and that worked perfectly for fermentation.

End result? I was done with my brew day before 11:30 am. That has never happened in the 6 years I've been home brewing. And I was able to watch my kids the whole time. That opens up a whole new world of brew day potential for me, and that's worth every penny.

 

[Andymot]

Agreed all around. If I had known I could have a 10.5 gallon brew kettle, insulated stainless mash tun, electric heat and a stainless immersion chiller for less than $400 I hope I could have talked my past self into purchasing it.

With that said, I am happy that I also have all my *stuff* and both brewing options have their place. And my Foundry has now proven its place with a successful brew day while I was solo parenting my two year old and nine month old.

My nine month old wanted to start the day even earlier than I had the delay timer set to be ready, but I'm going to go ahead and call that not the Foundry's fault From mash in to pitching the yeast my trial brew day was almost exactly 4 hours. I mashed for an hour, it took almost exactly an hour to bring approximately 6.5 gallons (volume measured at 178F) from 153F to boiling, I boiled for an hour, and then it took about an hour to cool to ~70F. I did not recirculate at any point but will look into this for future batches- I was noticed some significant (2-3 degree) temperature stratification during the mash (despite stirring), I had one moment of significant temperature overshoot during the mash (the display read 4 degrees above the set point, which resolved with a hasty stirring), and I suspect chilling will be much faster once I keep the wort moving. My efficiency was a lousy 62% but this was a no sparge with 23% red wheat malt, and I'm starting to suspect the red wheat malt is too small to be milled well at my LHBS. I plan to use only barley for my next batch to explore this variable. My one complaint about the system is it stubbornly displayed 203-205 degrees F during the boil, despite my thermapen confirming a boiling temperature closer to 211. It makes me wonder how much of the 2-3 degree temperature variation I observed during the mash was due to stratification and how much was due to measurement differences.

I also found a flaw in my plan of using a grommet and airlock in the lid

(Yes, I brewed with it enclosed in a safety gate in my kitchen) I briefly tried leaving the airlock like that but the star san kept leaking out. I attached a blow off tube to the center "stem" of the airlock and that worked perfectly for fermentation.

End result? I was done with my brew day before 11:30 am. That has never happened in the 6 years I've been home brewing. And I was able to watch my kids the whole time. That opens up a whole new world of brew day potential for me, and that's worth every penny.

You fermented in it too?

 

[Andymot]

I think I’m going to buy this unit. I’ve never brewed before other than 2 extract brews with a friend 7 years ago. Is there anything that anyone would recommend me getting to help? I plan on fermenting in buckets and kegging to serve in my keezer.

 

[alestateyall]

I think I’m going to buy this unit. I’ve never brewed before other than 2 extract brews with a friend 7 years ago. Is there anything that anyone would recommend me getting to help? I plan on fermenting in buckets and kegging to serve in my keezer.

The instructions with the unit are pretty thorough and well done. They are written by Palmer who also wrote How to Brew (one of the best home brew books).

If available I definitely recommend joining a home brew club or at least brewing with someone else once or twice. Watching someone else helps demystify the process. Watching YouTube videos is also a good option.

 

[Spyderbyte07]

You fermented in it too?

Yep! I need to figure out a plan for temperature monitoring and control though. I intended to plug it in intermittently during fermentation to monitor the temperature but now I've missed that window. I'm also assuming a fermometer strip wouldn't be very accurate with the double wall, but maybe I'll try both of these on my next batch. I might even try leaving it plugged in the whole time. Can anyone think of a reason that might harm it? I've also been pondering ways to add a thermowell...

 

[augiedoggy]

How does the included pump compare to the RipTide? If money wasn't an issue, would it be worth it to buy the Anvil without the pump and then add the RipTide?

The riptide is great because it comes apart to loose the thrust washer.. I mean for cleaning so easily... short of that though, any pump will be powerful enough to work well with this setup, even the smaller dc pumps. the orange anvil pump is a smaller version of the mkII and I believe its rated at 5gpm vs riptides 7gpm... the riptide is made by march pumps.. anvil made in china likely by the manufacturer who makes some of the mkII variants.

 

[user 30639]

I agree entirely, but I did extract batches in the house for a few years before switching to AG, and SWMBO would kill me if I tried to bring this back in the house. I don't mind the house smelling like grape-nuts for 2-3 days after a brewday, but she was not pleased. That said, getting 240v in the garage wouldn't be tough.

I'm in the same position as you. I'd love to get one of these and move my brewing back inside out of the Texas heat. Unfortunately my wife HATES the smell of a brew day, especially if I'm brewing something hoppy. If I told her I was going to start brewing in the kitchen again, her reponse would be something along the lines of, "we bought a house with a garage instead of a condo so you'd have a place to brew. No way you're coming back inside." Only there would be a lot more curse words.

 

[Tom Foolery]

Agreed all around. If I had known I could have a 10.5 gallon brew kettle, insulated stainless mash tun, electric heat and a stainless immersion chiller for less than $400 I hope I could have talked my past self into purchasing it.

With that said, I am happy that I also have all my *stuff* and both brewing options have their place. And my Foundry has now proven its place with a successful brew day while I was solo parenting my two year old and nine month old.

My nine month old wanted to start the day even earlier than I had the delay timer set to be ready, but I'm going to go ahead and call that not the Foundry's fault From mash in to pitching the yeast my trial brew day was almost exactly 4 hours. I mashed for an hour, it took almost exactly an hour to bring approximately 6.5 gallons (volume measured at 178F) from 153F to boiling, I boiled for an hour, and then it took about an hour to cool to ~70F. I did not recirculate at any point but will look into this for future batches- I was noticed some significant (2-3 degree) temperature stratification during the mash (despite stirring), I had one moment of significant temperature overshoot during the mash (the display read 4 degrees above the set point, which resolved with a hasty stirring), and I suspect chilling will be much faster once I keep the wort moving. My efficiency was a lousy 62% but this was a no sparge with 23% red wheat malt, and I'm starting to suspect the red wheat malt is too small to be milled well at my LHBS. I plan to use only barley for my next batch to explore this variable. My one complaint about the system is it stubbornly displayed 203-205 degrees F during the boil, despite my thermapen confirming a boiling temperature closer to 211. It makes me wonder how much of the 2-3 degree temperature variation I observed during the mash was due to stratification and how much was due to measurement differences.

I also found a flaw in my plan of using a grommet and airlock in the lid

(Yes, I brewed with it enclosed in a safety gate in my kitchen) I briefly tried leaving the airlock like that but the star san kept leaking out. I attached a blow off tube to the center "stem" of the airlock and that worked perfectly for fermentation.

End result? I was done with my brew day before 11:30 am. That has never happened in the 6 years I've been home brewing. And I was able to watch my kids the whole time. That opens up a whole new world of brew day potential for me, and that's worth every penny.

Could you use a stopper with a thermowell in place of the black handle in the lid and a blow off tube inserted into the grommet?

 

[Stand]

I'm in the same position as you. I'd love to get one of these and move my brewing back inside out of the Texas heat. Unfortunately my wife HATES the smell of a brew day, especially if I'm brewing something hoppy. If I told her I was going to start brewing in the kitchen again, her reponse would be something along the lines of, "we bought a house with a garage instead of a condo so you'd have a place to brew. No way you're coming back inside." Only there would be a lot more curse words.

I am in NC, and brewing outside as we speak. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself until painters showed up across the street. Now I feel nice and cool.

 

[FernridgeBrewing]

I was wondering what kind of efficiency people are getting out of this system

 

[user 30639]

I am in NC, and brewing outside as we speak. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself until painters showed up across the street. Now I feel nice and cool.

So true. We had our roof replaced last year and painted the house this year. You couldn't pay me enough to do those jobs.

 

[James R Kiffmeyer]

I purchased this after looking at robobrew 65L for months. I am trying to decide if I made the right decision. On the one hand, I prefer many parts of the Anvil. I prefer the pump being separate. I prefer the heater control being set by percentage. I prefer the simplicity. I prefer the lack of the center pole. I prefer the grain basket with holes on the side. I like the idea of using it as a fermenter, though I don't know that I will. I want to use 220v, and this is a cheaper way to get into 220 rather than the robobrew 65L.

Having said that, using it off 120 the other day was not a great experience. I don't mind the heat up time for mash, can set a timer for that. But the raise from 154 to 168 was slow, and the raise to boil was slow, and the boil vigor was very very low. I have no doubt it will provide good beer with that, I don't believe a huge boil is needed, but it did fail to meet expectations. I ordered equipment to plug it into my dryer outlet and am sure that will improve the boil and times.

But if I'm having to use 220, I wonder if over time I won't miss the larger volume of the robobrew 65L. I like to brew big beers, and brewing 1.1 beers and barleywine is going to be tricky in the Foundry. My current plan is to heat mash water in the Foundry and mash about 10 lbs of 2-row in a cooler BIAB style. Then mash the rest of the grain bill in the Foundry. After mash I will first sparge the Foundry with the 2-row wort from the cooler, and then add sparge water to meet pre boil volume target. That way the specialty grains are all sparged well to get maximum flavor from them, and I can hit my OG without resorting to a bunch of DME or sugar. If someone has a better idea for hitting high OG on the Foundry I'm all ears, my grain bill is between 25 and 30lbs. (aiming for 6+ gal over 1.1 in fermenter)

While I wonder if I would prefer the 65L robobrew, I do know the size of the Foundry is nice, and the 65L would be a lot more cumbersome, especially since the majority if time Foundry has plenty of space for my 6 gal batches, and has many features I like. And being able to bring it to a friends house and help him brew batches will be nice.

Regarding efficiency, the first brew I wanted to try out full volume mash and see how that worked. I got 68% efficiency, but because my grain was milled quite fine, a lot of the grain went through the holes. The recirculating pump worked great to make the wort crystal clear, but once I pulled the basket there was a ton of flour/grit in the wort. I just ordered an appropriately sized mesh strainer to fit the basket so I can continue to mill fine without worrying about the holes in the bottom. The mesh bag can then be emptied and rinsed before using for hops. (cleaning the basket was a real pain so this will help that also. You can't spray up into the basket because water will shoot everywhere, so it was hard to get the grain out from the bottom of the basket. Easy to clean once that was done, so using a mesh strainer will make cleaning the basket faster also) I expect when I sparge next time I will get over 70% without a problem, doing no sparge and not being able to squeeze the grain it makes sense I was only at 68%.

Not much for other thoughts. The inside of the kettle had a decent size dent in it from something sharp, might talk to Anvil about that, shouldn't have arrived like that. But otherwise the packaging was solid, the equipment in general is solid, was easy to assemble and use. The chiller isn't fast, but it also isn't slow, probably appropriate for the price point. I hope to get a Jaded chiller at some point to speed things up, but will be happy to use the included chiller until then.

 

[Bassman2003]

Regarding efficiency, the first brew I wanted to try out full volume mash and see how that worked. I got 68% efficiency, but because my grain was milled quite fine, a lot of the grain went through the holes. The recirculating pump worked great to make the wort crystal clear, but once I pulled the basket there was a ton of flour/grit in the wort. I just ordered an appropriately sized mesh strainer to fit the basket so I can continue to mill fine without worrying about the holes in the bottom. The mesh bag can then be emptied and rinsed before using for hops. (cleaning the basket was a real pain so this will help that also. You can't spray up into the basket because water will shoot everywhere, so it was hard to get the grain out from the bottom of the basket. Easy to clean once that was done, so using a mesh strainer will make cleaning the basket faster also) I expect when I sparge next time I will get over 70% without a problem, doing no sparge and not being able to squeeze the grain it makes sense I was only at 68%.

Thanks for sharing. I am looking to buy one of the 10 gallon Foundries but I see it as a part of my brewing setup rather than the whole. I am picky so what woks for me might be way more than what works for others. All is good in my book.

My experience with BIAB was exactly the same - the fatal flaw of grist winding up in the boil kettle. With the Foundry, I will use these strategies:

1) Put a stir stick down the side of the kettle outside the malt pipe during the mash and run it around. This will kick up the sediment that fell out of the malt pipe and help it get sucked up by the pump. This will cause the mash to be even finer, so that would need to be monitored and dialed in. I think most of the sediment falls out in the early stages of the mash. So most of the stirring would be early.

2) As you do, use a mesh BIAB bag inside the malt pipe. This will help with cleanup and keep the larger bits in the mash. But, this does not stop the fine sediment.

3) I plan on draining the mash from below and pumping into a holding vessel instead of lifting the malt pipe. This is partly for low oxygen practice but also will allow me to do a quick hose out of the boil kettle before pumping the clear wort back in. I have stated this here before but I think it will be worthwhile. Others will think it is nonsense. All is good imho.

What do like about systems like the Foundry or Grainfather etc... is that all of the users have a baseline equipment setup. This sets the stage for nice interaction and growth as a community instead of all of us using different cobbled together systems.

 

[Spyderbyte07]

Could you use a stopper with a thermowell in place of the black handle in the lid and a blow off tube inserted into the grommet?

That’s an excellent idea, thanks! I would have plenty of time during the boil to remove the handle. I’ve also been looking at ways to put a tri clover fitting in place of the handle (a Brew Hardware weldless fitting might fit) but a stopper would be a nice, simple solution.

 

[AzOr]

Agreed all around. If I had known I could have a 10.5 gallon brew kettle, insulated stainless mash tun, electric heat and a stainless immersion chiller for less than $400 I hope I could have talked my past self into purchasing it.

With that said, I am happy that I also have all my *stuff* and both brewing options have their place. And my Foundry has now proven its place with a successful brew day while I was solo parenting my two year old and nine month old.

My nine month old wanted to start the day even earlier than I had the delay timer set to be ready, but I'm going to go ahead and call that not the Foundry's fault From mash in to pitching the yeast my trial brew day was almost exactly 4 hours. I mashed for an hour, it took almost exactly an hour to bring approximately 6.5 gallons (volume measured at 178F) from 153F to boiling, I boiled for an hour, and then it took about an hour to cool to ~70F. I did not recirculate at any point but will look into this for future batches- I was noticed some significant (2-3 degree) temperature stratification during the mash (despite stirring), I had one moment of significant temperature overshoot during the mash (the display read 4 degrees above the set point, which resolved with a hasty stirring), and I suspect chilling will be much faster once I keep the wort moving. My efficiency was a lousy 62% but this was a no sparge with 23% red wheat malt, and I'm starting to suspect the red wheat malt is too small to be milled well at my LHBS. I plan to use only barley for my next batch to explore this variable. My one complaint about the system is it stubbornly displayed 203-205 degrees F during the boil, despite my thermapen confirming a boiling temperature closer to 211. It makes me wonder how much of the 2-3 degree temperature variation I observed during the mash was due to stratification and how much was due to measurement differences.

I also found a flaw in my plan of using a grommet and airlock in the lid

(Yes, I brewed with it enclosed in a safety gate in my kitchen) I briefly tried leaving the airlock like that but the star san kept leaking out. I attached a blow off tube to the center "stem" of the airlock and that worked perfectly for fermentation.

End result? I was done with my brew day before 11:30 am. That has never happened in the 6 years I've been home brewing. And I was able to watch my kids the whole time. That opens up a whole new world of brew day potential for me, and that's worth every penny.

Props to you. I have a 5 and 2 year old and on days when I'm watching them by myself, they're lucky to be fed let alone me brewing a batch.

 

[Spartan1979]

I'm in the same position as you. I'd love to get one of these and move my brewing back inside out of the Texas heat. Unfortunately my wife HATES the smell of a brew day, especially if I'm brewing something hoppy. If I told her I was going to start brewing in the kitchen again, her reponse would be something along the lines of, "we bought a house with a garage instead of a condo so you'd have a place to brew. No way you're coming back inside." Only there would be a lot more curse words.

My wife chased me out of the house and into the garage when she was pregnant 28 years ago. She couldn't stand the smell But at least she bought me a propane burner and a 10 gallon pot. I finally started brewing in the house about a month ago. It still stinks up the house but she can deal with it now.

 

[LittleRiver]

...My experience with BIAB was exactly the same - the fatal flaw of grist winding up in the boil kettle...

There is a fatal flaw here: believing the myths that some sediment in the boil kettle hurts the taste of the beer, or will cause the finished product to have poor clarity.

 

[M54B25]

On this system, what is the benefit of the screen on top of the mash pipe? Reducing channeling / preventing any grain from escaping the mash pipe, or something else?

 

[Bubman]

I am strongly considering getting the 6.5 gallon foundry. I biab 3 gallon batches and occasionally do a 1.5 gallon batch. Not sure if it can be done in this unit or not so I emailed Anvil and I'm waiting on their response. Not a deal breaker though.

I was hoping to read a review or see a video of a brew day with the smaller unit running on 120 volts. Wondering what the time from mash to boil is.

 

[Ryansod]

I was hoping to read a review or see a video of a brew day with the smaller unit running on 120 volts. Wondering what the time from mash to boil is.

Same here! I know the short circuited gentlemen has one, hope he will review it soon. His review of the larger unit was great and I have high hopes for the smaller one.

 

[Oginme]

I am strongly considering getting the 6.5 gallon foundry. I biab 3 gallon batches and occasionally do a 1.5 gallon batch. Not sure if it can be done in this unit or not so I emailed Anvil and I'm waiting on their response. Not a deal breaker though.

I was hoping to read a review or see a video of a brew day with the smaller unit running on 120 volts. Wondering what the time from mash to boil is.

I also do mostly 10 liter batches (2.8 gal) and am looking at this system. I was wavering between the 10.5 with the flexibility of being able to move to 10 liter batches when the mood hits me and the 6.5 gal which fits the majority (90%+) of my brewing needs. After talking to the Blichmann people at their booth at HBC, I am leaning more towards the 6.5 gal system.

The side drainage from the malt pipe in the 10.5 gal system is a concern to me in that much of the recirculating wort may end up bypassing the center of the malt pipe with smaller grain bills. This was confirmed by the engineer who stated that he would not recommend a batch less than 4 gal, John Blichmann who said that a 3 gal batch would be as low as he would possibly go, and another person from Great Fermentations who said he would not recommend going below a 3.5 gal batch. I don't like running a process at the edges of its capability as it generally leads to higher variation.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I purchased this after looking at robobrew 65L for months. I am trying to decide if I made the right decision. On the one hand, I prefer many parts of the Anvil. I prefer the pump being separate. I prefer the heater control being set by percentage. I prefer the simplicity. I prefer the lack of the center pole. I prefer the grain basket with holes on the side. I like the idea of using it as a fermenter, though I don't know that I will. I want to use 220v, and this is a cheaper way to get into 220 rather than the robobrew 65L.

Having said that, using it off 120 the other day was not a great experience. I don't mind the heat up time for mash, can set a timer for that. But the raise from 154 to 168 was slow, and the raise to boil was slow, and the boil vigor was very very low. I have no doubt it will provide good beer with that, I don't believe a huge boil is needed, but it did fail to meet expectations. I ordered equipment to plug it into my dryer outlet and am sure that will improve the boil and times.

But if I'm having to use 220, I wonder if over time I won't miss the larger volume of the robobrew 65L. I like to brew big beers, and brewing 1.1 beers and barleywine is going to be tricky in the Foundry. My current plan is to heat mash water in the Foundry and mash about 10 lbs of 2-row in a cooler BIAB style. Then mash the rest of the grain bill in the Foundry. After mash I will first sparge the Foundry with the 2-row wort from the cooler, and then add sparge water to meet pre boil volume target. That way the specialty grains are all sparged well to get maximum flavor from them, and I can hit my OG without resorting to a bunch of DME or sugar. If someone has a better idea for hitting high OG on the Foundry I'm all ears, my grain bill is between 25 and 30lbs. (aiming for 6+ gal over 1.1 in fermenter)

While I wonder if I would prefer the 65L robobrew, I do know the size of the Foundry is nice, and the 65L would be a lot more cumbersome, especially since the majority if time Foundry has plenty of space for my 6 gal batches, and has many features I like. And being able to bring it to a friends house and help him brew batches will be nice.

Regarding efficiency, the first brew I wanted to try out full volume mash and see how that worked. I got 68% efficiency, but because my grain was milled quite fine, a lot of the grain went through the holes. The recirculating pump worked great to make the wort crystal clear, but once I pulled the basket there was a ton of flour/grit in the wort. I just ordered an appropriately sized mesh strainer to fit the basket so I can continue to mill fine without worrying about the holes in the bottom. The mesh bag can then be emptied and rinsed before using for hops. (cleaning the basket was a real pain so this will help that also. You can't spray up into the basket because water will shoot everywhere, so it was hard to get the grain out from the bottom of the basket. Easy to clean once that was done, so using a mesh strainer will make cleaning the basket faster also) I expect when I sparge next time I will get over 70% without a problem, doing no sparge and not being able to squeeze the grain it makes sense I was only at 68%.

Not much for other thoughts. The inside of the kettle had a decent size dent in it from something sharp, might talk to Anvil about that, shouldn't have arrived like that. But otherwise the packaging was solid, the equipment in general is solid, was easy to assemble and use. The chiller isn't fast, but it also isn't slow, probably appropriate for the price point. I hope to get a Jaded chiller at some point to speed things up, but will be happy to use the included chiller until then.

I have a 50 qt rectangular cooler with a fitted bag that I've mashed 1.128 OG beers in (25.5 lbs of grain, batch sparge, collected 9.5 gallons wort and boiled for 3 hours). My current rig uses propane and a 10+G kettle.

Instead of a split mash, why not do the full mash in your cooler and do a batch sparge? You can heat your strike water with the foundry, start the mash in the cooler, then heat the sparge water during the mash, move to a secondary cooler used as a HLT, drain to the foundry, sparge from the HLT, etc? I've been thinking about one of these all in one BIAB type rigs and that's my plan for the big, boozy stouts I like to brew. I've figured I can follow the same process I use now with the only changes being that water is heated in the foundry and I boil in the foundry.

Am I missing something?

 

[cswant88]

On this system, what is the benefit of the screen on top of the mash pipe? Reducing channeling / preventing any grain from escaping the mash pipe, or something else?

It's for use with the recirculation pump, to break up the stream of wort coming back in the top and prevent channeling. You can also pour your sparge water through it for the same purpose.

 

[James R Kiffmeyer]

I have a 50 qt rectangular cooler with a fitted bag that I've mashed 1.128 OG beers in (25.5 lbs of grain, batch sparge, collected 9.5 gallons wort and boiled for 3 hours). My current rig uses propane and a 10+G kettle.

Instead of a split mash, why not do the full mash in your cooler and do a batch sparge? You can heat your strike water with the foundry, start the mash in the cooler, then heat the sparge water during the mash, move to a secondary cooler used as a HLT, drain to the foundry, sparge from the HLT, etc? I've been thinking about one of these all in one BIAB type rigs and that's my plan for the big, boozy stouts I like to brew. I've figured I can follow the same process I use now with the only changes being that water is heated in the foundry and I boil in the foundry.

Am I missing something?

I have done the same as you, with 27 lb of grain in a cooler and batch sparge. You aren't missing anything, but when I think of that process there are a few things I don't like. I don't want to risk having to boil for 3 hours, I don't want to run first runnings into a different container, I don't want to lift 37 lb of grain and water out of the cooler (I want to do this in my kitchen so can't use a rope on garage rafters like in the garage). I'm hoping by sparging the 2-row biab wort through the basket, and then sparging with a gallon or two of 170 degree water, I can get all the flavor and most of the sugar, but lower volume, allowing me a 60 minute boil. I can see the measurement in the kettle while sparging and stop at the right volume, with the full grain bill and batch sparge in the cooler it is hard to hit your volume numbers precisely, too much and you boil forever, too little and your efficiency takes a hit or you have to do a third batch sparge (been there). I absolutely think I can get higher efficiency with this method, without fighting to squeeze a 37 lb ball of grain trying to get all the wort out of it.

But having said all that, I'm open to the idea it won't work as well as I think, or that there is a better plan. I'll try to update this thread on Friday once I try it out.

 

[Bubman]

The side drainage from the malt pipe in the 10.5 gal system is a concern to me in that much of the recirculating wort may end up bypassing the center of the malt pipe with smaller grain bills. This was confirmed by the engineer who stated that he would not recommend a batch less than 4 gal, John Blichmann who said that a 3 gal batch would be as low as he would possibly go, and another person from Great Fermentations who said he would not recommend going below a 3.5 gal batch. I don't like running a process at the edges of its capability as it generally leads to higher variation.

This leads me to believe with the 6.5 gallon system the smallest batch size would most likely be around 2 gallons, possibly 1.5 which is what I am hoping for.

 

[M54B25]

It's for use with the recirculation pump, to break up the stream of wort coming back in the top and prevent channeling. You can also pour your sparge water through it for the same purpose.

Thanks-- that's what I was thinking. Just pondering the benefit of their recirculation kit vs. a "bring your own pump" option, especially since it looks like the recirculation kit is on back-order right now. Seems like it shouldn't be too hard to rig something up with maybe a stainless steel head pump in the same ballpark as the price of the Foundry+recirc.

 

[Oginme]

This leads me to believe with the 6.5 gallon system the smallest batch size would most likely be around 2 gallons, possibly 1.5 which is what I am hoping for.

The gating factor here would be the space underneath the malt pipe, which was pretty much the same for both units. Too much volume under the malt pipe may become an issue with not enough volume actually in contact with the grains to get efficient wetting and extraction.

 

[Bubman]

The gating factor here would be the space underneath the malt pipe, which was pretty much the same for both units. Too much volume under the malt pipe may become an issue with not enough volume actually in contact with the grains to get efficient wetting and extraction.

Good point.
I failed to realize that both units are equal in kettle diameter so mashing with only 2.5 gallons may be insufficient volume.

Thanks!