Brau Supply

[TexasWine]

I'm assuming that this would still be a 120v system? I love the idea of not having to mess with 240v but I'd also like the extra capacity to be able to do higher gravity stuff.

Yes. You could get the 20 amp controller, but I would still recommend going with the 2 x 1500 watt elements rather than a single 2000 watt. 1500 watt allows you use 15 amp circuits as opposed to 20 amp, and 3000 watts total (2 x 1500) is much faster than 2000 watts

 

[TexasWine]

Tried to post a blog link before but it didn't seem to work... but anyways:

I think the flow problem Texas is talking about has to do with the basket. If you google 'stainless brewer' you'll find his blogspot blog and he had the same problem on a very similar system he designed. He solved it by replacing the regular basket and bag with a mesh basket. You can see it here, where he sold it (and I wish I was around to buy it... ha) https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=554044

Would love to see baskets like this become part of the actual Brau product...

Also.. do any of your brau systems have volume etchings on the kettle? I'm so sick of using a 'measuring stick'.

Just seeing this!

I don't think the problem is the basket. Lots of folks out there circulate with a bag + steamer basket combo. I'm 99% sure it's how fine I grind. Next brew day I will loosen up to 0.040 and extend the mash length to make up for larger grist particles. To keep my brew day length the same, I'm going to shorten the boil to 30 minutes. That'll save on both boil time and heating time because there's 0.5 gallons less water!

No etchings, but they're easy enough to do yourself. There's a sticky in the diy forum on how to do it. I have one kettle I etched following that method. My Brau kettle I added a sight glass to.

 

[newnick]

Those stainless baskets looking better every time I see them but you better make sure you get the right size mesh the first time, if your as tight as I am anyway.
There are only three variables to having problems recirculating as I see it, to fine of a crush, to small of a mesh bag and to much flow from the pump. There could be one more if your not using some sort of basket, which would be not enough free or dead space in the pot to supply volume to the pump or sucking the bag up against the suction of the pump. This should be able to be controlled with less pump flow if the first two variables don't become involved.
I use a calculator to figure the amount of water needed up front and use a gallon container to measure it (distilled water). I've got a good idea of how much it takes up front so I adjust if I don't agree with the calculator. I use a refractometer at the end of the mash time to see where I'm at and also near the end of the boil to see where I'm at, I can always boil longer if needed.
I've done several batches now without asking for a finer crush and it is working out very well.

 

[whovous]

I think getting the grind right is a huge part of the game. Until recently, I had my LHBS run my grain through the mill twice, with mixed efficiency resulting. Two brews ago, I finally used the cheap imitation Corona I bought a while ago, created flour, and got both a cavitating pump and 88% efficiency! That led me to buy a Barley Crusher, but I think I was too close to 0.030 on the most recent brew, as I still got a tiny bit of pump noise. I've bought a set of feeler gauges and think the sweet spot will be somewhere around 0.035 and 0.037. I think that will give me good circulation and good efficiency at the same time.

But yeah, that stainless basket is absolutely gorgeous! Not cheap, but oh so pretty.

 

[kanno]

No etchings, but they're easy enough to do yourself. There's a sticky in the diy forum on how to do it. I have one kettle I etched following that method. My Brau kettle I added a sight glass to.

Did you add the sight glass yourself or did Brau do it? I've read that a sight glass can serve dual functions as a volume reading and a manometer (probably in this thread.. lol). Problem is I don't have the tools to punch out SS.. hence why I'm buying this rig in the first place :fro:

 

[TexasWine]

Did you add the sight glass yourself or did Brau do it? I've read that a sight glass can serve dual functions as a volume reading and a manometer (probably in this thread.. lol). Problem is I don't have the tools to punch out SS.. hence why I'm buying this rig in the first place :fro:

Added it myself. I have a hunch that if you asked Steven to punch/drill a hole for you he would be more than happy to do it, maybe for a small fee.

But if you want to tackle it yourself, you can buy a cheap step bit on Amazon and a sight glass from Bobby at brewhardware.com. Easy peasy. And I'm assuming you already own a drill and know how to operate it

 

[kanno]

Luckily a power drill is one of the ~3 tools I do own. I've been doing the city slicker apartment living thing too long. I need a freakin' garage!

Though I might just send Steven an email with a small army of custom order questions... luckily I played Christmas smart this year and am loaded with my own small army of Brau Supply gift cards! I was gunning for the mini, but I'm thinking the 120v 2 element 5 gal batch version is worth saving a little bit for. The ability to run on regular 15 amp GFCI circuits means you can brew almost anywhere.. love it! Plus with two elements, even if one goes on the fritz you can still make it through your brew day.

 

[TexasWine]

The ability to run on regular 15 amp GFCI circuits means you can brew almost anywhere.. love it!

My thoughts exactly.

 

[whovous]

If I had a do-over, I'd get have a second element, too. Guess I need to learn about sight glasses.

 

[TexasWine]

If I had a do-over, I'd get have a second element, too. Guess I need to learn about sight glasses.

Another element is easy enough to install. Get a cheap punch or step bit, a hot pod enclosure and element from brewhardware.com, an old extension cord, and you'll be in business!

 

[lakota]

Has any minbrau owner added a valve to the discharge side of the pump to control wort flow?

 

[karmabrew]

My 5 gallon system with the 2 elements got delivered yesterday. Super fast shipping from Western Canada all the way to the East Coast of the US. I have assembled the kettle and plan on doing a run with just water very soon. Thank you Steven!!

 

[TexasWine]

Has any minbrau owner added a valve to the discharge side of the pump to control wort flow?

I sure did. Works great and now I run a lower risk of cavitation in the pump when throttling.

 

[TexasWine]

My 5 gallon system with the 2 elements got delivered yesterday. Super fast shipping from Western Canada all the way to the East Coast of the US. I have assembled the kettle and plan on doing a run with just water very soon. Thank you Steven!!

Let us know how it goes! Remember, don't crush too fine or you'll end up hating life while you're brewing.

 

[whovous]

Has any minbrau owner added a valve to the discharge side of the pump to control wort flow?

I did not install a valve, just a simple clamp on the discharge tube that I can squeeze to reduce the flow rate. It is not super precise, but I think it helps with cavitation, based on one try so far. Then again, buying a better mill and not trying to turn the grist into flour doubtless helped even more.

 

[rwiggum]

My mini system arrived last week and I was finally able to brew last night. As a condo owner with minimal space and 15A outlets, this hits the spot perfectly. Thank you, everyone, for the discussion of the foaming during the mash! I managed to catch it and trim out the ball valve to handle the issue. Was around 21F outside last night and it immediately froze on the concrete of my balcony! Sooooo... waiting for the warm weekend to clean that up the rest of the way.

 

[BroomVikin]

I'm looking at the 120v system with the 20A controller and I'm not sure about something. It says it ships standard with a 11g kettle (which is great for higher gravity 5g brews) punched for two 1500w elements but I can't tell if the price listed actually includes 2 elements or just one and I'd have to add on another one. Anyone order one in the past month or so?

 

[karmabrew]

I've got 2 brews under my belt with the 120v 5 Gallon system. I'm very very happy with my purchase! I'm still trying to get things fully dialed in, but that shouldn't take too much longer. I just brewed a milk stout with an expected SG of 1.062, and I ended up with 1.066!

 

[kanno]

Anyone know what happened to the Brau 15 Amp controller? They don't seem to be available on the site anymore. Kinda bummed since the Ranco is the only option now and I was interested in the timer features of the Brau controller.

 

[TexasWine]

Anyone know what happened to the Brau 15 Amp controller? They don't seem to be available on the site anymore. Kinda bummed since the Ranco is the only option now and I was interested in the timer features of the Brau controller.

I don't know what happened to it. Glad I got mine when I did. Might be talked into selling mine for the right price And it'd be a great excuse to upgrade something....

Ranco is significantly cheaper, so if I were buying my system again I'd probably go that route. The benefits of controlling mash to within 1/10th of a degree is debatable.

 

[kanno]

Finally pulled the trigger on a dual 1500w 11G rig with the ranco controller! I ultimately decided that even though the extra features on the brau controller are cool, they weren't worth a $200 jump in price.

Came to my house yesterday afternoon, and I literally spent ALL night reassembling and disassembling just to get the thing to not leak. It was a lot harder than I expected honestly (although I didn't get an element socket wrench piece like the instructions said I was supposed to, so that may have made it harder than it had to be). I will say a few things:

1. The teflon tape is your friend. Mummy wrap the heck out of threads.
2. I had much more success installing the elements after switching to the instructions provided by brewhardware.com on https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/hotpod-ewl3.htm
3. I found the elements have to be really tight, but the ball valve just has to be snug. I had problems with being over-tight on that gasket.

After I finally got it to not leak for a 20 min or so period filled at least halfway, I left it overnight for further leak testing. Woke up to find one tiny droplet formed overnight from one of the element holes, but I think I'm just going to leave it alone. I don't want to risk going through hours of reinstallation again to improve on a one drop per 12 hours "leak".

The pump fired up right away and had no issues with hose/QD leaks. No cavitation noise whatsoever, the pump is actually very quiet. Was great to see it in action after the frustrating build.

Today I'm gonna hook up the rest of the electrical wiring and test out the elements! Then I need to do a full water process test and figure out all the deadspace/evap rate/etc stats that beersmith needs for a new equipment setting. I promise to take some pics when I actually brew something next week!

Can't wait to try it out for real!

 

[TexasWine]

Finally pulled the trigger on a dual 1500w 11G rig with the ranco controller! I ultimately decided that even though the extra features on the brau controller are cool, they weren't worth a $200 jump in price.

Came to my house yesterday afternoon, and I literally spent ALL night reassembling and disassembling just to get the thing to not leak. It was a lot harder than I expected honestly (although I didn't get an element socket wrench piece like the instructions said I was supposed to, so that may have made it harder than it had to be). I will say a few things:

1. The teflon tape is your friend. Mummy wrap the heck out of threads.
2. I had much more success installing the elements after switching to the instructions provided by brewhardware.com on https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/hotpod-ewl3.htm
3. I found the elements have to be really tight, but the ball valve just has to be snug. I had problems with being over-tight on that gasket.

After I finally got it to not leak for a 20 min or so period filled at least halfway, I left it overnight for further leak testing. Woke up to find one tiny droplet formed overnight from one of the element holes, but I think I'm just going to leave it alone. I don't want to risk going through hours of reinstallation again to improve on a one drop per 12 hours "leak".

The pump fired up right away and had no issues with hose/QD leaks. No cavitation noise whatsoever, the pump is actually very quiet. Was great to see it in action after the frustrating build.

Today I'm gonna hook up the rest of the electrical wiring and test out the elements! Then I need to do a full water process test and figure out all the deadspace/evap rate/etc stats that beersmith needs for a new equipment setting. I promise to take some pics when I actually brew something next week!

Can't wait to try it out for real!

Congrats! Thankfully I didn't have the woes that you did with the install. Weldless bulkheads can be a pain.

Let us know how the first brew day goes. And don't forget, you should be able to turn the controller down to 50% or so when you're boiling in manual mode. That should help minimize the amount of water you need.

I brewed two batches this weekend on mine. Tried a new to me technique of conditioning the grains, and tightened my mill down to 0.035 from 0.040. Went smooth as silk.

 

[BroomVikin]

I promise to take some pics when I actually brew something next week!

Can't wait to try it out for real!

I'm eyeing the same system. I'd love to see the pictures and hear your test results (times, evap. rates, etc.).

 

[alhounos]

I'm also getting close to ordering the 120v 5 gal (9gal kettle) system. The one with the ranco controller. All updates and info from current owners is appreciated.

 

[kanno]

Got some brewing in today with the unibrau! Decided to make Centennial Blonde, because I heard they'll revoke your posting privileges if you don't brew it within your first year here...

So here it is setup and on my table. I purchased the 11 Gallon kettle with two 1500 watt elements and Ranco controller.

Top View:

Here's a short video with both elements fully on, boiling 8-9 gal of wort.

https://youtu.be/bLHs33mxDvE

It took just under an hour to get from tap water temps (60ish) up to strike temp of 154. I forgot to mark down the time from mash out to boil, but it really was just about the same time it takes when I do 2.5 gal batches on my stovetop.. maybe 15-25 min or so? It felt pretty quick on the unibrau.

System worked great, I hit my pre boil gravity and got 83.92% mash efficiency according to the brewer's friend calc. I didn't hit my post boil gravity however, so I think I still have work to do punching in boiloff numbers and such. Forgot to add volume markings or make a ruler, so I didn't even record any volumes tonight.. whoops.

Anyways, hope this helps, hit me up with any questions.

 

[TexasWine]

It took just under an hour to get from tap water temps (60ish) up to strike temp of 154. I forgot to mark down the time from mash out to boil, but it really was just about the same time it takes when I do 2.5 gal batches on my stovetop.. maybe 15-25 min or so? It felt pretty quick on the unibrau.

System worked great, I hit my pre boil gravity and got 83.92% mash efficiency according to the brewer's friend calc. I didn't hit my post boil gravity however, so I think I still have work to do punching in boiloff numbers and such.

Thanks for the update!

Quick q. When heating up to strike temp were you using both elements or just one? I use both if I'm in a hurry, but only one if I've got stuff to take care of before doughing in.

And yup, sounds like once you get your boil off numbers dialed in you're gonna be on the money.


Edit: Forgot to mention, the pictures above aren't showing up on my end. But maybe it's just the app acting up.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I hit my pre boil gravity and got 83.92% mash efficiency according to the brewer's friend calc. I didn't hit my post boil gravity however, so I think I still have work to do punching in boiloff numbers and such. Forgot to add volume markings or make a ruler, so I didn't even record any volumes tonight.. whoops.
.

Congrats on your success and new system.

Just an FYI, and you most likely realize that without very accurate volume measurements, your efficiency calculation is merely an estimate.

So I guess we can say your efficiency was 83.92% plus minus 5% lol

Good job either way

 

[alhounos]

your pictures don't seem to be working, but thanks for the video. looks like a good strong boil, especially on that much volume.

did you do a full volume mash (no sparge)? if so, getting 10 or so gallons up to mash in an hour sounds pretty impressive. I'll probably do 3 gallon batches 70% of the time and 6 gallons for split batches occasionally.

did you order the plate chiller with it? thanks for the update.

 

[kanno]

Weird about the pics... they show up on my end. I'll throw em on imgur and relink them.

>Quick q. When heating up to strike temp were you using both elements or just one?

That was with both elements.

>your efficiency calculation is merely an estimate.

I did know the exact volume that I started with (9.1 gal), so the efficiency calc is correct. Note this is just mash efficiency, not a full brewhouse efficiency.

I did actually measure out the volume of everything that came out at the end as well... I ended up with ~7.25 gal iirc. 5.6 went to fermentor and the rest was .8 gal of deadspace + wort I just dumped because I was sick of waiting for the kettle to drain

Oh yeah.. the bazooka screen clogs really easily. I already took it out for next time.

>did you do a full volume mash (no sparge)?

Correct, the only time water was added was in the very beginning. After the mash I just pulled the bucket and let it drain for a while during the ramp up to boil.

>did you order the plate chiller with it?

No, for chilling I just used my usual immersion chiller while the wort recirculated. I forget how long it took to chill to 68 but I'd say at least 20 minutes. I might need a bigger chiller though.. the one I have is tiny in the context of this 11gal kettle.

 

[whovous]

The pics work for me now.

That bazooka screen clogs if you go commando with a lot of hops, but I don't want that much additional trub to wind up in my fermenter. I suppose a whirlpool would help.

 

[kanno]

I managed to clog (well, partially anyways) it with a whopping 1 oz total of boil hops. By the last gallon the stream into my fermentor was just a trickle, but A) I didn't want to reach in there to scrape it and B) it seemed to be doing a nice job filtering.. I had really nice clear wort!

But yeah.. I took that sucker right out. I think I'm gonna convert over to the "dump everything in the fermentor" camp and stop worrying about trub. I remember reading a brulosophy experiment about it where he fermented one with a little bit of trub and a second with tons of it, and the excessively trub'd fermentor actually came out a tad better iirc. Guess it would just be more work for the next transfer to keep trub out of your keg.

 

[TexasWine]

I managed to clog (well, partially anyways) it with a whopping 1 oz total of boil hops. By the last gallon the stream into my fermentor was just a trickle, but A) I didn't want to reach in there to scrape it and B) it seemed to be doing a nice job filtering.. I had really nice clear wort!

But yeah.. I took that sucker right out. I think I'm gonna convert over to the "dump everything in the fermentor" camp and stop worrying about trub. I remember reading a brulosophy experiment about it where he fermented one with a little bit of trub and a second with tons of it, and the excessively trub'd fermentor actually came out a tad better iirc. Guess it would just be more work for the next transfer to keep trub out of your keg.

Took my screen off and haven't looked back. But I do use a hop screen.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Guess it would just be more work for the next transfer to keep trub out of your keg.

No, not really anymore work at all, the trub packs down in the fermenter and racking clear wort off the top is pretty much effortless.

Your fermenter losses will be a little higher with all the trub, but I'd imagine still much less than your kettle loss if you try and leave the trub there.

 

[h22lude]

Kind of odd these guys are selling the Brew-Boss system. I didn't think Darrin sold those anywhere else besides his own site. I wonder if they are buying the units from him and reselling them without him knowing.

 

[TexasWine]

Kind of odd these guys are selling the Brew-Boss system. I didn't think Darrin sold those anywhere else besides his own site. I wonder if they are buying the units from him and reselling them without him knowing.

They have some sort of deal worked out between them. But don't take my word for it. I'm sure either of them would be happy to confirm if you emailed them.

Or maybe Steven @Brausupply will chime in here?

 

[brausupply]

Taking a chance like selling something that was unauthorized from someone else just isn't my cup of tea. I'm guessing that it would be tough to make a profit as well considering I'm selling them at the same price as Brew-Boss.
Darin customized the controller too to work with our Unibräu Pro all in one system, and the pump outlet can be used for fermentation control with a firmware upgrade. Super sweet!

 

[h22lude]

Taking a chance like selling something that was unauthorized from someone else just isn't my cup of tea. I'm guessing that it would be tough to make a profit as well considering I'm selling them at the same price as Brew-Boss.
Darin customized the controller too to work with our Unibräu Pro all in one system, and the pump outlet can be used for fermentation control with a firmware upgrade. Super sweet!

Thanks for the reply.

 

[kanno]

btw, my boiloff rates ended up being somewhere around 1gal/hr with both elements 100%, and .5gal/hr with 1 element. It was sort of a chaotic brewday so those aren't super precise, but definitely in the ballpark.

 

[BroomVikin]

Taking a chance like selling something that was unauthorized from someone else just isn't my cup of tea. I'm guessing that it would be tough to make a profit as well considering I'm selling them at the same price as Brew-Boss.
Darin customized the controller too to work with our Unibräu Pro all in one system, and the pump outlet can be used for fermentation control with a firmware upgrade. Super sweet!

Any idea when the 20A 11g system will be back in stock?

 

[BroomVikin]

This might be a question for another thread but since there seem to be pretty few relating to the Uni-Brau on the forums I thought I'd ask here. Can anyone tell me what the deadspace (under the basket) of the 11g kettle is? I'm asking because I'd love the flexibility to be able to do some 1g test batches but I'm afraid the 2g pre-boil amount wouldn't be sufficient to cover the grains. Anyone try this out?