3-in-1 "Boil Kettle, Jacketed Chiller, Conical Fermenter" by Brewha

[Jimmy82]

My apologies if this has been asked and answered in the thread already. Are those of you with armed and operational Brewha systems using the element for the "hot side" of the temperature control during fermentation with the water/glycol jacket for the cool side? I thought I recall seeing mention of setting the element at 1%. Any issues that have been seen? I am thinking primarily for ramping up at the later stages of fermentation or for Belgian styles that like to finish much warmer.

I typically use my glycol chiller for this with the help of an aquarium heater in the chiller bath. My basement is about 55º in the winter, so I'm generally trying to raise the temperature and this works quite well.

I am in the process of making a Berliner Weisse using the "Kettle Souring" method where you pitch lacto and hold the wort at ~110-120º until you reach your desired pH level (usually 2-3 days). During the souring stage, I used the electric element in the BIAC to hold the 120º and it wasn't an issue; it would hold at target temp +/- 1º. The beer is almost ready to keg, and I pulled a sample this morning - it's tasting great and no signs of any issues.

This setup is the perfect setup for the kettle souring method, BTW. You follow your normal process, but chill to 110-120º before pitching lacto, hold it there for a few days, then do your boil. The boil will kill any remaining bugs before you keg, preventing infection in your post boil equipment. It also has the nice advantage of being able to flood the fermenter with co2 before/during lacto fermentation. o2 is bad for lacto souring and will ruin your beer - the BIAC essentially lets you eliminate o2 during that stage...something that's fairly difficult with any other brewing setup.

 

[bhchrist]

Great point and something I have been thinking about in reading Michael T's book. I love the low ABV Berliner and Goze. It sounds like one can really go a lot of different directions with the BIAC.

 

[limulus]

Well lads, it is getting warm enough for me to start seriously thinking about this glycol chiller I bought. For those using chillers are you using the built-in reservoir or are you chilling a cold liquor tank (CLT) that in turn circulates through your fermenter jacket? I have two 10gal Coleman upright beverage coolers. They are the Coleman version of the Igloo or Home Depot coolers that many use for mashing. I also have a 25ft immersion chiller that I kept. I can easily place that inside the cooler/CLT and circulate solution from the glycol chiller. Then use a sump pump connected to the automatic valve that came with the BIAC system. I also bought a pressure regulator and a gauge.

My glycol chiller is 2300BTU, 1/3 HP and a 3gal reservoir. The pump runs continuously, so I would need a diverter valve that would open to allow glycol/water to flow through the jacket. I already have the electronic valve that came with the system. I could use that with some slight modifications. This way is the simplest and has the least amount of parts and it will eliminate clutter from having a CLT in the mix. As long as 3gal is enough capacity.

What are you others doing?

 

[Jimmy82]

Well lads, it is getting warm enough for me to start seriously thinking about this glycol chiller I bought. For those using chillers are you using the built-in reservoir or are you chilling a cold liquor tank (CLT) that in turn circulates through your fermenter jacket? I have two 10gal Coleman upright beverage coolers. They are the Coleman version of the Igloo or Home Depot coolers that many use for mashing. I also have a 25ft immersion chiller that I kept. I can easily place that inside the cooler/CLT and circulate solution from the glycol chiller. Then use a sump pump connected to the automatic valve that came with the BIAC system. I also bought a pressure regulator and a gauge.

My glycol chiller is 2300BTU, 1/3 HP and a 3gal reservoir. The pump runs continuously, so I would need a diverter valve that would open to allow glycol/water to flow through the jacket. I already have the electronic valve that came with the system. I could use that with some slight modifications. This way is the simplest and has the least amount of parts and it will eliminate clutter from having a CLT in the mix. As long as 3gal is enough capacity.

What are you others doing?

I only use the built in reservoir, and my pump runs continuously. I didn't bother with running a diverter valve - instead I chose to run the chiller at my desired fermentation temperature, and let it run through the jacket continuously.

 

[limulus]

I only use the built in reservoir, and my pump runs continuously. I didn't bother with running a diverter valve - instead I chose to run the chiller at my desired fermentation temperature, and let it run through the jacket continuously.

Well crap, I never even thought about setting it to 68F and running continuously! I guess I would have come up with that once I started playing with the temp setting. BTW, it did not come with any directions but it is actually quite simple. The guys who make their own from 5000 BTU window units are on to something.

 

[Jimmy82]

Well crap, I never even thought about setting it to 68F and running continuously! I guess I would have come up with that once I started playing with the temp setting. BTW, it did not come with any directions but it is actually quite simple. The guys who make their own from 5000 BTU window units are on to something.

My reason for running it that way was to avoid running glycol. It saves you from screwing around and having to switch between municipal water and glycol for chilling, no worries about evaporating glycol mixture, no extra plumbing required, etc. If your water evaporates from the reservoir, just top it up!

 

[jamiller]

my reserve is 7 gallons. What I do is I have an additional 2 gallons of glycol mix in a Home Depot bucket. When I switch from municipal water to glycol, I fire up my pump and as the pump draws the glycol into the BIAC I have a large funnel and I slowly add the additional 2 gallons so the pump doesn't run dry. When my beer is done and being kegged, I just drain the 2 gallons back into the bucket and save for the next time. It works really well.

 

[CrimsonBrew]

Anyone else have the small BIAC? The biggest element that I can find that fits is 2000 watts and it just took an hour to get to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[limulus]

Anyone else have the small BIAC? The biggest element that I can find that fits is 2000 watts and it just took an hour to get to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is the controller sending full power to the element?

 

[bhchrist]

A question for the gycol pump users from someone considering this option: What is the thought process behind switching back and forth from municipal (well water in my case) to glycol?

Nevermind. Thinking about it a bit, I would guess the issue relates to the inability to re-cool the glycol after the first run given the small volume relative to the thermal mass of the hot wort. Therefore, using water from the faucet to cool to pitching temperatures then then hooking up the glycol pump to maintain temperatures.

Let me adjust my question slightly. How do you handle ramp up temperatures in a glycol pump set up? Just use the element at 1%?

 

[Jimmy82]

A question for the gycol pump users from someone considering this option: What is the thought process behind switching back and forth from municipal (well water in my case) to glycol?

Nevermind. Thinking about it a bit, I would guess the issue relates to the inability to re-cool the glycol after the first run given the small volume relative to the thermal mass of the hot wort. Therefore, using water from the faucet to cool to pitching temperatures then then hooking up the glycol pump to maintain temperatures.

Let me adjust my question slightly. How do you handle ramp up temperatures in a glycol pump set up? Just use the element at 1%?

You're reasoning on switching back and forth is correct.

I ramp up temperature by using an aquarium heater submersed in the glycol chiller bath. The glycol chiller and aquarium heater are plugged into a dual stage temperature controller that has heating & cooling functionality.

 

[limulus]

You're reasoning on switching back and forth is correct.

I ramp up temperature by using an aquarium heater submersed in the glycol chiller bath. The glycol chiller and aquarium heater are plugged into a dual stage temperature controller that has heating & cooling functionality.

Are you using an STC-1000? I built one just recently for the same purpose. I was planning to use a bucket heater instead of an aquarium heater. But, the aquarium heater may work better with the STC 1000 since I think the bucket heater draws too many amps.

 

[Jimmy82]

Are you using an STC-1000? I built one just recently for the same purpose. I was planning to use a bucket heater instead of an aquarium heater. But, the aquarium heater may work better with the STC 1000 since I think the bucket heater draws too many amps.

Yup. STC-1000 with 300W aquarium heater submersed in the liquid bath.

 

[jamiller]

Hello. I just use the heating element at 3% plugged into the auber temp controller the system comes with and it holds temp within 1.5 degrees

 

[limulus]

Hello Guys, for those of you who have had your BIAC in the warmer months did you have trouble cooling? I have only had mine since January and the water was cold. I just checked our water temp and it is now 66F. I still have a 40 plate chiller mounted to a stand with a pump that I can use with my old Cold Liquor Tank if necessary. But I wonder how it will cool with 66F water. The 66F was inside, maybe it is colder from an outside faucet.

 

[jamiller]

Hey there. I am using a glycol chiller with 20% mix. I can still get boil temp down to 80-85 degrees with muni water then let the glycol chiller do the rest. It takes about 30 minutes to go from 85 to 65-68.

 

[limulus]

Hey there. I am using a glycol chiller with 20% mix. I can still get boil temp down to 80-85 degrees with muni water then let the glycol chiller do the rest. It takes about 30 minutes to go from 85 to 65-68.

Yeah, I have a glycol chiller too. I have not used it yet and I forgot that all I have to do is get it down below 100 and then switch to glycol which was my plan back when I bought this stuff...doh! I even posted a photo of it on the previous page. Sometimes I need a good kick in the head to get me going.

 

[cuda6pak]

Just to add to the thread after about 6 or 7 brews, I just purchased some sanitary 304SS butterfly valves from Glacier referenced earlier in the thread. I've found that even moderately hopped beer can plug up the port with ease.

 

[JB_Brewing2]

cuda6pack,

Do you use hop baskets from Brewha?

 

[limulus]

Still love the butterfly valves! They are so much easier to clean and far less bulky than the ball valves. The butterfly valves can be cleaned in place if you wish. I use a butterfly on the bottom and the cone. Everywhere else, I kept the ball valves since those areas are for the mash recirc or the cooling jacket.

I only have the one hop basket with my BIAC but I also have two of these from Amazon. I can easily get 1oz of whole Cascade Hops into one of these. I've never come close to filling one with pellets. As you can see, they are a lot less expensive.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X4LGIO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[jamiller]

I have the butterfly valves from glacier as well. I tried just throwing hop pellets right into my last batch with no strainer. The butterfly valve clogged bad. Even with a little co2 pressure I couldn't unplug. I had to use a fiberglass pull through rod and jammed it up the bottom. Needless to say I will be using the hop baskets going forward. I will be making a "hop venom" clone this weekend. The beer from boneyard. It will be intense!! 38 lbs of grains and 17oz of hops! Should be interesting.

 

[limulus]

Holy crap! That is a lot of grain and hops I assume that is going to be 1/2 bbl. You must have a lot of people coming over to drink that much beer.

 

[cuda6pak]

I have the butterfly valves from glacier as well. I tried just throwing hop pellets right into my last batch with no strainer. The butterfly valve clogged bad. Even with a little co2 pressure I couldn't unplug. I had to use a fiberglass pull through rod and jammed it up the bottom. Needless to say I will be using the hop baskets going forward. I will be making a "hop venom" clone this weekend. The beer from boneyard. It will be intense!! 38 lbs of grains and 17oz of hops! Should be interesting.

Wow, was hoping the butterfly valves would be clog proof! I have been throwing the hops in loose so far, was a little worried of not getting the full aroma of the hops by using a strainer. The hop basket from Brewha seems like it would let most/all of the pellets through the strainer, its a bit more coarse than say a tea strainer.

 

[jamiller]

Lol. I know. It is for 10 gallons! There are mash additions. First wort additions. Keg hopping and dry hopping. I will take some photos today and post.

 

[Jimmy82]

My IPA uses 33.5oz of pellet hops in a 10 gallon batch (1.5oz @ 60 min, 16oz at flameout and 16oz dry hop). I've been using butterfly valves and don't have an issue with clogging. Sometimes it's a slow drain, but I haven't had to do anything other than apply a little pressure/work the valve to release the hop plug.

 

[cuda6pak]

My IPA uses 33.5oz of pellet hops in a 10 gallon batch (1.5oz @ 60 min, 16oz at flameout and 16oz dry hop). I've been using butterfly valves and don't have an issue with clogging. Sometimes it's a slow drain, but I haven't had to do anything other than apply a little pressure/work the valve to release the hop plug.

Do you throw the pellets in loose?

 

[Jimmy82]

Do you throw the pellets in loose?

Yes.

 

[jamiller]

How do you not clog?

 

[Jimmy82]

How do you not clog?

1.5" bore on the valve and pressure seems to work. Lots of small breweries use 1.5" butterfly valves on their tanks along with pellet hops. Not sure why this would be any different.

 

[dserbin]

Is there a way to whirlpool in the BIAC? Is it even necessary? I'm wondering about hop steeping with ipa's. Usually I whirlpool them in my boil kettle to keep them suspended. Could I recirculate from the bottom and then back in through the racking port?

Here's a radical way to whirlpool:

Rather than buying a Brewha, I will save a few bucks by modifying a 1/2 barrel SSBrewtech chronical to take a Blichmann 20 gal BoilCoil heater (should fit perfectly) and use the temp control lid for chilling and fermentation control. Here's a link to SSBrewtech

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/ftss/products/ftss-temperature-control-for-half-barrel-chronical

I will also add a whirlpool port and recirculate the wort during chilling. The BoilCoil, being circular, should not interfere with the whirlpool. On the outlet of the pump I will have a trub strainer from Brewers Hardware. Here's a link to the strainer.

https://www.brewershardware.com/Trub-Strainer/

As the wort cools and is circulated out the bottom port and through the pump, the trub will be filtered out prior to the wort returning to the fermentor through the whirlpool port.....just like flushing a toilet <GG>

Mashing will be similar to Blichmann's BrewEasy system, with the fermentor acting as a lauter grant for heating and recirculating the wort to the mash tun (a 70qt Coleman Extreme modified to have a mesh screen false bottom).
Optional sparging with a second Coleman cooler HLT via gravity.

The entire system should be under $1900, including a BIAB 240V controller (DIY).

I call this the FUBAR system
Fermentor
Used for
Boiling
And
Recirculation