ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

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Bassman2003 said:
Also, from a low oxygen brewing viewpoint, would it be possible to add your grain to the mash basket prior to sinking it down into the water? Sort of emulating an underletting approach. I wonder if the grain would fall through if you put it in there dry?
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I have done this. I have added the grain to the basket and then dropped it while the water is still below 135F.
 
Thanks for your reply. Since I am coming from an already build system, I am going over different scenarios of a possible hybrid setup with the Anvil at the core. I like the design although I wish the controller had more programmability for step mashes.
 
Bassman2003 said:
Thanks for the video Highland! Always enjoy your videos.

I am looking at one of these all in ones but am wondering about how much grain stuff gets left from the mash into the boil? In watching the Anvil instructional video it shows when they dough in there is quite a bit of grain already floating on the outside of the mash basket. Given the short dip tube it would seem that a lot of this would stay in for the boil. I will have to wait for the reviews as this would be my main concern.

Also, from a low oxygen brewing viewpoint, would it be possible to add your grain to the mash basket prior to sinking it down into the water? Sort of emulating an underletting approach. I wonder if the grain would fall through if you put it in there dry?
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I did not watch the demo video of theirs very closely, but alot of times with these systems, you have to be really careful if you have them all type in when you mash e otherwise you'll have some grain spill out. The mall pipe does not have any kind of a movable screen in the bottom. Like some of the other units in this category do so, except for dust and particles that are smaller than the holes that are in the mall pipe, I don't think you would have any issues. And the holes in them all, Piper, about the same size as I have seen in false bottoms for cooler mash tuns. I don't see any reason why you couldn't drop the basket in like and are letting in my opinion
 
Thanks. I could recirculate the mash at the end and pump the wort into a separate pot, remove any mash bits from the Foundry and pump the clean wort right back in for the boil. This would eliminate the lifting out of the grain basket and result in cleaner brewing wort. Sediment from the mash was my big issue with BIAB when I brewed that way a few years ago. This would solve this problem for me. I know many do not care about the sediment though.
 
highland_brewer said:
I got my hands on one. Here is my unboxing and initial review on it.
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Thanks much for the unboxing, looking forward to your report on first use.

Quick question, thoughts on whether this can handle more or less grain bill than the Robobrew? I am looking at the 65L Robobrew because I brew a lot of imperials. Hoping you can talk about the max amount of grain this might hold, and any comparison with similar sized Robobrew. Thanks much!
 
James R Kiffmeyer said:
Thanks much for the unboxing, looking forward to your report on first use.

Quick question, thoughts on whether this can handle more or less grain bill than the Robobrew? I am looking at the 65L Robobrew because I brew a lot of imperials. Hoping you can talk about the max amount of grain this might hold, and any comparison with similar sized Robobrew. Thanks much!
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It has a max capacity of 16 pounds of grain according to the info.
 
Highland, did the manual or any documentation come with dimensions? I can not find any on the website. If you know, could I ask if you could relay them here? Thanks?

Also, is the output spigot use 1/2" ID tubing? Thank you and looking forward to hearing what you think of the brewing!
 
I don’t post much, so pardon if I leave something out. I have downsized and am interested in these all-in-one systems. I read the instructions for the Grainfather and for the Anvil Foundry and am concerned I’m wrong and will embarrass myself, but a big difference (I think) is that the Grainfather specifies a partigyle 50/50 mash approach and the instructions for the Foundry indicate the sparge is just 1 gallon. If that’s true, seems like efficiency could suffer. If I’ve misstated this, please forgive me.
 
pkrist01 said:
I don’t post much, so pardon if I leave something out. I have downsized and am interested in these all-in-one systems. I read the instructions for the Grainfather and for the Anvil Foundry and am concerned I’m wrong and will embarrass myself, but a big difference (I think) is that the Grainfather specifies a partigyle 50/50 mash approach and the instructions for the Foundry indicate the sparge is just 1 gallon. If that’s true, seems like efficiency could suffer. If I’ve misstated this, please forgive me.
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You can sparge with however much volume you want for all three systems. The numbers each give are just recommendations.

You adjust down the mash volume and increase the sparge volume accordingly or vice versa.
 
alestateyall said:
You can sparge with however much volume you want for all three systems. The numbers each give are just recommendations.

You adjust down the mash volume and increase the sparge volume accordingly or vice versa.
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It could be affected. You can reduce your mash strike amount and sparge more. I have a video of the first brew day on it coming soon. Based on my experience with it you could reduce your strike volume to allow for more sparging.
 
As far as Foundry efficiency, can’t recall, but I remember reading somewhere that an owner experienced 65%.
 
I would guess that Beersmith should have a profile of the equipment in due time. That would help make recipes accurate. Buying a little more malt is not a big deal as long as your know what you are working with. More malt flavor as well.
 
Bassman2003 said:
I would guess that Beersmith should have a profile of the equipment in due time. That would help make recipes accurate. Buying a little more malt is not a big deal as long as your know what you are working with. More malt flavor as well.
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There is a equipment profile available. I have it in the Anvil Foundry Facebook group.
 
highland_brewer said:
OK here it is .. my first brew day on the Foundry!!

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Hi Brian! Did you sparge with a gallon of sparge water? I knew your brew day was coming and listened and watched to see how much you used beyond the 3/4 gallon in your pitcher, but then you said, “...the rest...”
Like you, I am interested in this system because of, among other things, the 240v option.

Thanks! Cheers!
 
Thanks for the updated brew day! That kit is a pretty good one imo....Maybe the next brew you could do at 120v and report back any issues that may arise with less power.
 
pkrist01 said:
Hi Brian! Did you sparge with a gallon of sparge water? I knew your brew day was coming and listened and watched to see how much you used beyond the 3/4 gallon in your pitcher, but then you said, “...the rest...”
Like you, I am interested in this system because of, among other things, the 240v option.

Thanks! Cheers!
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Yes it was a full gallon. That's what I meant by the rest. On a side note the malt pipe drained really quick. I did not pull it until it pretty much stopped dripping all together. Only about 10-15 minutes.
 
Bassman2003 said:
Thanks Brian! Looks like a very nice system. How was the amount of sediment in the boil kettle after the mash and after chilling?
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No different than you would expect with 3.5 oz of hops.. I did use the pump to transfer and had no issues with flow. There was some trub left in it as you would expect.
 
czmkid said:
Thanks for the updated brew day! That kit is a pretty good one imo....Maybe the next brew you could do at 120v and report back any issues that may arise with less power.
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I've had several request for that. I think I might do one that way as well. (You realize it's like asking me to drive a corvette in the slow lane!!?? Lol)
 
pkrist01 said:
Any love for the non Facebook users? Can you copy here, if that’s even possible?
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I'll see what I can do. I may have to post it to my website. I'll let you know. It is supposed to be available as an add-on in beersmith at some point.
 
highland_brewer said:
I'll see what I can do. I may have to post it to my website. I'll let you know. It is supposed to be available as an add-on in beersmith at some point.
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If you are on the BeerSmith forum, uploading it there would reach a lot of users. Many new users start their search for profiles there.
 
WBB said:
So wait. It’s switchable to 240v/2800w? All you have to do it change the plug end? Cool. Wait where do I plug it in?

What if I want to brew in the basement? What if I want to brew in the garage? What if I want to brew in the kitchen?

And it’s an immersion chiller. And no Bluetooth?

Read the Q&A on the Great Fermentation’s site.

Not remotely in the same league as the Grainfather and price reflects that.
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I prefer an immersion chiller...greatly. Bluetooth...not sure I need that. Might come in handy, but far from a show stopper and not something I'd pay extra for. I like that it can do 120 or 240....I would start at 120 and then could easily switch when I can get my brewspace wired for 240. I can't see myself needing to switch back and forth.

Different feature set, but this feature set more closely matches my personal needs.
 
The larger unit looks to be tall enough that you'd want it sitting on the floor to make filling easier, and make it easier to lift the malt pipe. But if it's sitting on the floor that puts the controls down at floor level. That's not very convenient.

I guess you could get around this by having it on a table, and standing on a stool to lift the malt pipe, or using an overhead rope hoist to lift the malt pipe. But having to do those things just to make the control panel reasonably accessible seems to offset the supposed benefit of such a unit, which is convenience.

That and the long ramp times for heating is why I don't see this thing in my future.
 
I don't know, I'm intrigued by the 10.5 gallon unit. It's one thing to setup and clean on brew day. The ease of doing traditional step mashes compared to infusions or decoctions. 120v can be used in my garage where I don't currently have 240v, and the flexibility to switch to 240v if I add it later on for faster ramp up times. The seamless integration with the turbo 500 condenser unit, I've been wanting to dabble in distilling. The small footprint can be stashed away in a closet. It's priced right, I already have a pump and can set it up to recirculate without spending the extra $100. I would keep my current equipment if I wanted to brew up a bigger beer, or larger batch sizes.

All that is to the say, I'm firmly in the "thinking about it" category. I'll probably wait to see some more hands-on reviews with, and without the condenser unit. Let them work out any kinks with this initial production run. Maybe hold off until closer to holiday season and see what kind of sales come up. I got my Anvil fermenter 15% off on their black friday sale.
 
a bit off topic, but has anyone modified their Robobrew mash pipe similar to the Anvil? (drilled holes around the sides)
 
Commenting so I can follow along. I've been thinking about an all-in-one system for a while now. This seems to check the boxes of what I want, especially for the price.
 
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I am thinking about the 10.5 gallon setup as well, but as a hybrid with some of my current setup. I am thinking I will keep my HLT and use it to pre boil my brewing water (low oxygen brewing) as well as use a separate pot to collect the wort in between mash and boil. My approach would be to recirculate the mash until clear then run it into a separate pot. While it sits for a second I will hose out the Foundry and get any excess grain and sediment out then pump the wort back in for the boil. This will stop any oxidation from trickling the wort out of the mash and make it easier to lift out the malt pipe in the end. I will also use a BIAB bag inside the malt pipe to keep more grain in. Point being, I want clear wort and this seems to offer a lot while giving the ability to improve upon its design.

I like the chiller and rotating spigot for easy cooling and clear transfer to the fermenter. Overall seems like a time saver from my current system.
 
LittleRiver said:
The larger unit looks to be tall enough that you'd want it sitting on the floor to make filling easier, and make it easier to lift the malt pipe. But if it's sitting on the floor that puts the controls down at floor level. That's not very convenient.

I guess you could get around this by having it on a table, and standing on a stool to lift the malt pipe, or using an overhead rope hoist to lift the malt pipe. But having to do those things just to make the control panel reasonably accessible seems to offset the supposed benefit of such a unit, which is convenience.

That and the long ramp times for heating is why I don't see this thing in my future.
Click to expand...

I already have a hook and ratcheting pulley for my MIAB rig, so that's no big deal to me. I'll put mine on my brew table if I get one. I'm seriously considering this rig. I'm also wondering if my Jaded Hydra would fit, but I seriously doubt it. I have it already set up with a SS whirlpool arm (something else omitted from the Foundry).
 
cswant88 said:
I don't know, I'm intrigued by the 10.5 gallon unit. It's one thing to setup and clean on brew day. The ease of doing traditional step mashes compared to infusions or decoctions. 120v can be used in my garage where I don't currently have 240v, and the flexibility to switch to 240v if I add it later on for faster ramp up times. The seamless integration with the turbo 500 condenser unit, I've been wanting to dabble in distilling. The small footprint can be stashed away in a closet. It's priced right, I already have a pump and can set it up to recirculate without spending the extra $100. I would keep my current equipment if I wanted to brew up a bigger beer, or larger batch sizes.

All that is to the say, I'm firmly in the "thinking about it" category. I'll probably wait to see some more hands-on reviews with, and without the condenser unit. Let them work out any kinks with this initial production run. Maybe hold off until closer to holiday season and see what kind of sales come up. I got my Anvil fermenter 15% off on their black friday sale.
Click to expand...

This mirrors my thoughts very closely.
 
I think this is going to be my next purchase. I'm interested to see if anyone else had experience brewing with it, and their thoughts.
 
So this unit is looking even more attractive after wrapping up my brew day out in the garage. It was 95 degrees today, 65% humidity in the afternoon, and I feel thoroughly disgusting. Completely miserable, even with a fan. I kept getting gusts of hot air from the propane burner, and had to remember to wipe my face so I didn’t drip sweat in the cooled wort. The whole time I was thinking how nice it would be to be inside brewing on one of those foundry units, set up by the stove or in the bathroom nearby an exhaust fan.

Edit: The worst part is it’s only going to get hotter.
 

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