Since Ive become a frequent flyer with new equipment purchases over at SS Brewtech, those guys were nice enough to get me my Brewmaster Edition pre-order a little on the early side this year. Especially since I live just a stones throw from their location in SoCal, shipping was super-fast.
Since I know many of you are familiar with the standard line of Chronicals seeing as its blossomed into one of more popular conical fermenter options lately, Ill focus in detail on the features that make it unique from my standard edition 14 gallon Chronical.
For guys that are serious about brewing, myself included, the ball valves on my standard 14 gal were one of those things I always completely disassembled to clean post fermentation, just to make sure there wasnt any remnant hiding in there. This was one of the huge motivators to get my hands on a Brewmaster line
The new butterfly valves that come with the Brewmaster edition are unbelievable. They weigh roughly 5 pounds each, and are beautifully machined and finished. The squeeze trigger is easy to pull and operate, and both valves worked flawlessly out of the box. Upon further examination, the gasket material inside appears to have the same burnt orange color and feel as high temp silicone. The actual butterfly portion inside the valve is extremely thick and molded perfectly with no rough edges, so as it should be there is nowhere for bacteria or yeast to hide. Furthermore, the racking valve has been custom machined to fit their dip tube, similar to their TC ball valve, just as easy to rotate on the Brewmaster Chronical. The dump valve was designed with the larger 1.5 TC fitting, so opening the valve all the way up easily flushes trub/yeast etc.
The interior mounted coil is also something that is pretty slick since it puts the surface area contact of the coil into the center of the liquid volume, which after using it on its inaugural batch has been working great to hold temps. Its also extremely easy to remove to clean, just two lock nuts. However, I found that I really didnt need to; I used a bottling brush to get in between the coils with hot PBW, and everything cleaned up great. Same with the sampling valve, its the same valve used on their Brew Bucket line, so its easy to remove, and then its just one nut to loosen to access and clean the interior of the valve. The jacket that comes with the Brewmaster has all the cutouts for the new accessories including the chill coil and sampling valve.
Lastly, the large 3 ferule on the lid gives you plenty of room to add hops, or pour in Belgian Candi syrup etc. Im looking forward to the ability to add the CIP ball when its released, since I think that could further reduce cleaning times. But with a standard PBW/Starsan rinse on the butterfly valves, it already cut a lot of disassembly time from my normal cleaning routine for my 14 gal.
As far as the rest of the vessel, its nearly identical to the standard series, so everything else was super high quality and what I expected after having my 14 gal the last few years.
When I got the Brewmaster in the mail, I didnt have much grain on hand but I managed to throw together a quick cream ale just to get something in there ASAP. Everything worked great out of the box, I really like the sampling valve because it allows for much clearer hydrometer readings than the racking valve ever did on my 14 gal. I always used to get some yeast through the racking valve when I was trying to take samples.
After a few days, when it was time to dump the Trub, I put a bowl underneath the dump valve and let er rip. It opens much faster than the standard ball valves, and everything comes rushing out at once, which is really a good thing. Just be sure not to leave it open too long, maybe a second or two is all you need. The nice part is that the handles are large and easy to manipulate, so closing it in a hurry isnt a problem. Finally, once my fermentation was complete, I hooked on a ½ barb TC fitting onto the racking port and transferred to my keg, again really easy to sanitize and rig up quickly.
All-in-all it was everything I expected for the price, the valves are a huge upgrade alone, and although I didnt get to utilize the larger lid on the first go around, I look forward to the next IPA batch I throw in there. On top of that the accessories their going to be releasing should really add some nice features to the unit.
Another thing I have my eye out on is some of the upgrade parts for my 14 gallon. They told me they dont have the valves in stock yet, but I will definitely be upgrading my 14s ball valves and lid to start, then moving to a side mount coil after I get the new lid. Im stoked they will be offering the Brewmaster stuff for guys like me that invested in their equipment early on; good support, amazing quality, and new products is why theyll continue to get my business
Since I know many of you are familiar with the standard line of Chronicals seeing as its blossomed into one of more popular conical fermenter options lately, Ill focus in detail on the features that make it unique from my standard edition 14 gallon Chronical.
For guys that are serious about brewing, myself included, the ball valves on my standard 14 gal were one of those things I always completely disassembled to clean post fermentation, just to make sure there wasnt any remnant hiding in there. This was one of the huge motivators to get my hands on a Brewmaster line
The new butterfly valves that come with the Brewmaster edition are unbelievable. They weigh roughly 5 pounds each, and are beautifully machined and finished. The squeeze trigger is easy to pull and operate, and both valves worked flawlessly out of the box. Upon further examination, the gasket material inside appears to have the same burnt orange color and feel as high temp silicone. The actual butterfly portion inside the valve is extremely thick and molded perfectly with no rough edges, so as it should be there is nowhere for bacteria or yeast to hide. Furthermore, the racking valve has been custom machined to fit their dip tube, similar to their TC ball valve, just as easy to rotate on the Brewmaster Chronical. The dump valve was designed with the larger 1.5 TC fitting, so opening the valve all the way up easily flushes trub/yeast etc.
The interior mounted coil is also something that is pretty slick since it puts the surface area contact of the coil into the center of the liquid volume, which after using it on its inaugural batch has been working great to hold temps. Its also extremely easy to remove to clean, just two lock nuts. However, I found that I really didnt need to; I used a bottling brush to get in between the coils with hot PBW, and everything cleaned up great. Same with the sampling valve, its the same valve used on their Brew Bucket line, so its easy to remove, and then its just one nut to loosen to access and clean the interior of the valve. The jacket that comes with the Brewmaster has all the cutouts for the new accessories including the chill coil and sampling valve.
Lastly, the large 3 ferule on the lid gives you plenty of room to add hops, or pour in Belgian Candi syrup etc. Im looking forward to the ability to add the CIP ball when its released, since I think that could further reduce cleaning times. But with a standard PBW/Starsan rinse on the butterfly valves, it already cut a lot of disassembly time from my normal cleaning routine for my 14 gal.
As far as the rest of the vessel, its nearly identical to the standard series, so everything else was super high quality and what I expected after having my 14 gal the last few years.
When I got the Brewmaster in the mail, I didnt have much grain on hand but I managed to throw together a quick cream ale just to get something in there ASAP. Everything worked great out of the box, I really like the sampling valve because it allows for much clearer hydrometer readings than the racking valve ever did on my 14 gal. I always used to get some yeast through the racking valve when I was trying to take samples.
After a few days, when it was time to dump the Trub, I put a bowl underneath the dump valve and let er rip. It opens much faster than the standard ball valves, and everything comes rushing out at once, which is really a good thing. Just be sure not to leave it open too long, maybe a second or two is all you need. The nice part is that the handles are large and easy to manipulate, so closing it in a hurry isnt a problem. Finally, once my fermentation was complete, I hooked on a ½ barb TC fitting onto the racking port and transferred to my keg, again really easy to sanitize and rig up quickly.
All-in-all it was everything I expected for the price, the valves are a huge upgrade alone, and although I didnt get to utilize the larger lid on the first go around, I look forward to the next IPA batch I throw in there. On top of that the accessories their going to be releasing should really add some nice features to the unit.
Another thing I have my eye out on is some of the upgrade parts for my 14 gallon. They told me they dont have the valves in stock yet, but I will definitely be upgrading my 14s ball valves and lid to start, then moving to a side mount coil after I get the new lid. Im stoked they will be offering the Brewmaster stuff for guys like me that invested in their equipment early on; good support, amazing quality, and new products is why theyll continue to get my business
