All in one or tradition 3 tier

[johnnyrobbo]

Hello Guys and Gals.

I have a bit of a conundrum which I would like you opinions on as I'm very new to this but just know il soon be very addicted.

so 5 years ago I started buying my converted stockpots, I got my HLT and my thermo Mash Tun, both 70l and ended up injured at work. Long story short, 2 back operations and both shoulders operated on put me out of playing with boiling water for a few years. Well I consider my self back fighting fit and been in contact with my supplier for my brew kettle but this is where my problem lies. He mentioned these new all in on electrical systems such as the brewdevil and the brewzilla.

I'm now stuck on weather to go for the brewzilla 3.1 35l (after endless hours of research and videos) or just stick with my origional plan form 5 years ago and get the stockpot.

Also I hope to brew higher ABV beers once I finally get the hang of things such as imperial IPA end Imp stouts and I've heard you can't really achieve this with the 35l brewzilla. Does anyone know if this is true as I'm struggling to find the 65l on the UK. This makes me think my origional plan was the one to stick with.

Really appreciate any help on this and your views.

Thank you
Robbo

 

[cmac62]

From what i've read the all in ones are a great way to go. You can also consider BIAB if you already have a HLT and MT. If you can boil in any of these all you really need is a grain bag like a Wilser bag to do the mash in. Then a pulley to hoist it out of the MT, turn on the heat and go. From the title a three tier you will have to lift 5+ gallons of water up to the top every brew day. I'm currently looking into the Anvil Foundry 10.5 gal version. It has a capacity for 16 or 18 lbs of grain which is a pretty big beer if you are doing a 5 gal batch. I hope this was helpful. Enjoy

 

[johnnyrobbo]

Yes very much so thank you. I'm hoping to get quite a few responses and decide with the majority. I can always change my system as I get more experienced.

Sorry with three tier I should have stated that it will all be gravity fed, ive built an out house/bar in the garden so plenty of room.

Thanks

 

[cmac62]

Yeah, the gravity is the issue. I'm not sure you want to be lifting the HLT or the water that needs to go into it. Of course you can heat it lower and pump it up, but that defeats the idea of gravity fed. I have a More Beer Tippy Dump system that uses one pump. All three vessels have direct heat (propane burner) but the HLT is below the MT so the sparge is done with the pump. The benefit is that you are set up to recirculate throughout the mash. It also uses the HLT heat with a HERMS coil. It's a great system, but just too big for me. Good luck with making your decision.

 

[johnnyrobbo]

Aaah I get you, I should have though of that given the back operations Iv had

 

[myndflyte]

Yeah I'd say given the operations, you might just want to go with an all in one. Just get a pulley system hooked up to help raise your basket/bag and you should be good to go.

 

[Transamguy77]

I built a 3 tier several years ago and I love it! I wanted the same as you, a simple system and no pumps. I built my system using keggles and can brew 10 gallon batches of high gravity wort with ease.

I just use a hose to fill my HLT and have a sight glass so I know how much I’m putting in, I actually have a thermometer and sight glass on all 3 vessels so I know what temp and how much linguistics is in them.

The only real lifting is removing the MLT to dump it, you could put a bag in it, use a hoist or make a tippy dump.

 

[hottpeper13]

The most useful piece of equipment you can invest in is a pump!!!! when building my "system" I progressed from LME to steeping to 3 tier all grain ,then back to single vessel BIAB. Yeah I'm a little obsessed but you said you will be too. With all the stuff i have i can do any procedure there is and my biggest brew to date all grain is 1.134, 5 gal for a barrel. All my vessels are 15 gal so i can do 10 gal or 5 gal batches. My brewery is set up in my basement and is induction. You have lots to think about, those all in one systems look tempting but also a little confining for the obsessed.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

I started off building a three vessel system with a cooler mash tun. Tried BIAB on a lark, then sold my HLT and my mash tun has been gathering dust for a couple of years now. I regret spending money on building a 3v system. More vessels mean more things to clean, more things to store, and more things to deal with. I use a 15g converted keg, heat water on a propane burner, use a bag and a pulley, and that's about it. I do have a pump to whirlpool and help chill, and fill fermenters. The only lifting I do is filling the keggle in the first place, and unhooking the grainbag.

I would hold out for a 65L system. Even with 35L, you can do a smaller grainbill and then add DME/LME to hit your target OG.

 

[ChiknNutz]

Here's my two cents (or less). I am pretty new too, but started several years ago. I took a hiatus for about 5 years and am now back at it. Still, am very green at most of it, have only brewed extract batches,still use buckets and just bottle. However, I am currently trying to learn what I can so I can make better decisions about equipment and processes. My planned next steps are for better fermentation control and kegging. Throughout my recent influx of researching the crap outta this, the BIAB looks very appealing. It seems to help simplify some steps, reduces needed equipment (I think, except when talking about RIMS and HERMS) and most importantly...doesn't seem to shortchange the beer. This is what I might suggest spending some time researching if it may be right for you.

 

[johnnyrobbo]

Thank you guys, there's loads to think about with all your help and knowledge. I'm going to start with BIAB i think and maybe purchase another vessel just to sparge from and use my origional HLT as my boil kettle. I can get a heated water vessel from work with temp control (like a brewzilla kind of thing without the full set up) to sparge from. I'm also looking to see if my mash tun can be heated from the bottom as I'm sure it was supposed to fine with that as its stainless steel. I think il leave the all in one system until the 65l version is available in the UK and by that time I should have a few brew under my belt and il see by then if its worth the few hundred quid it will cost me. Il deffo be purchasing a pump from the local homebrew shop. Thank you again for you much needed help

 

[bwible]

I found that I can batch sparge instead of fly sparge, and by doing that I don’t really need 3 vessels. I just use 2. The kettle can be used to heat your mash water then your sparge water. With batch sparging you don’t need a third tank just to hold hot water. As long as your mash tun is big enough to hold your grain and all of your water for the batch. I do have the small electric Anvil 6.5 but I also held onto my other equipment for higher gravity batches. When doing these, I only use the Gott Cooler mash tun and my brew kettle. I don’t even have a stepped or tiered setup. Everything is at one level. I have a pump but I only use that for recirculation.

 

[johnnyrobbo]

I found that I can batch sparge instead of fly sparge, and by doing that I don’t really need 3 vessels. I just use 2. The kettle can be used to heat your mash water then your sparge water. With batch sparging you don’t need a third tank just to hold hot water. As long as your mash tun is big enough to hold your grain and all of your water for the batch. I do have the small electric Anvil 6.5 but I also held onto my other equipment for higher gravity batches. When doing these, I only use the Gott Cooler mash tun and my brew kettle. I don’t even have a stepped or tiered setup. Everything is at one level. I have a pump but I only use that for recirculation.

I have a false button in the bottom of my thermo stainless steel mash tun, would I need one in my other boil kettle also?

 

[cmac62]

I dont think you'll need one at all if you are doing BIAB. The false bottom is just to keep the grain from getting into the boil kettle.

 

[myndflyte]

No false bottom needed with BIAB. Once you lift the bag out, the grain is gone and you can just drain the wort.

 

[johnnyrobbo]

Cheers guys, always been worried about asking on forums and tried to study on my own but its so easy just to ask