ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

[bleme]

Well the difference is when cooking or brewing on the stove top, you can quickly remove the pot from the burner to address boilovers.

I haven't tried it on the Foundry, but on the stovetop a spray bottle of water works really well to stop a boil over in it's tracks.

 

[mcmeador]

I haven't tried it on the Foundry, but on the stovetop a spray bottle of water works really well to stop a boil over in it's tracks.

That’s good to know. I used to use Fermcap. I tried baby gas relief drops last time and those worked well.

 

[Knightshade]

first time using the system today i think it works really well

That...is a beautiful thing!

I haven't tried it on the Foundry, but on the stovetop a spray bottle of water works really well to stop a boil over in it's tracks.

I typically just avoid boil overs on the stove cooking pasta by NOT covering the damn thing...but I don't always remember to do that....

When brewing...the spray bottle hasn't failed me. Problem is...I kinda forget the spray bottle of water until it is looking like it might boil over...which just leads to me staring at it, mash paddle in hand determined to break up any semblance of foam that may get too high. I guess I could spray Star San at it...that spray bottle is always nearby on brew day.

I've heard rumors about the wooden spoon across the top thing...not sure if that works. Never tried.

 

[szap]

In my experience, turning the Foundry off will result in very rapid drop in the amount of foam.

 

[myndflyte]

In my experience, turning the Foundry off will result in very rapid drop in the amount of foam.

Yup, this is what I do. Actually I never had to worry about boil overs with 120v but since upgrading to 240v, I've had to watch it. But since the power is already at 100%, it's pretty quick to get the power to 0% and that dropped the foam pretty quick.

 

[bleme]

My wife mentioned last night that she was thinking about getting me a PS5 for Christmas but was having trouble finding one. I'm hoping that my mention of a Foundry instead wasn't too subtle....

 

[cmac62]

This got mentioned a few pages back but are there any good still attachments people are using? I have the 6.5 kit with pump but am considering adding a 10.5 w/o pump to brew up some bigger batches of wash. Also need to start distilling my own water for my espresso machine.

J. the turbo 500 still supposedly fits on the lid with no modifications. The issue for me is that this is a reflux still good for making clear spirits, but I want a pot style still capable of doing whisky.

 

[Jsmith2154]

but I want a pot style still capable of doing whisky.

^this

 

[AkTom]

The 2” tri clamp adapter from Bobby will fit the the lid hole perfectly. Then attach whatever you like...

 

[szap]

Well the difference is when cooking or brewing on the stove top, you can quickly remove the pot from the burner to address boilovers. Can’t really do that with an all-in-one electric system like this. Not sure if yanking the plug out of the wall or turning the burner off at the controls has the same effect, but the latter may not be easy in a panic. In my experience brewing on the stove, those boilovers can happen fast and you have to be ready to immediately remove them from heat if you see signs of them coming.

I have found turning the Foundry off works about as fast as moving a pot from a stove top.

 

[tracer bullet]

The 2” tri clamp adapter from Bobby will fit the the lid hole perfectly. Then attach whatever you like...

Have you done it? Mine fits a 1.5" slightly loose. Even though there's some slop, I don't think a 2" would be possible.

 

[AkTom]

Have you done it? Mine fits a 1.5" slightly loose. Even though there's some slop, I don't think a 2" would be possible.

 

[AkTom]

 

[AkTom]

It fits a 1 3/4” hole. 2” TC up top. You might want one a little taller as the clamp tightener thingy is close to the lid. Works well for me.

 

[AkTom]

At brew hardware.com item #TC2WLF

 

[tracer bullet]

Cool, thanks. I had figured the extra 1/2" flange would mean an extra 1/2" hole, but it is actually just 1/4" bigger hole. Good to know.

 

[NobleNewt]

Recirc kits are 50% off with the purchase of a Foundry on Anvil's website today.

 

[Summa_Brewologica]

Just FYI if you are like me and have a pump and decided against the recirculation kit but talked yourself into purchasing the perforated disk, it does not come with the eye bolt. I haven’t been able to find the right size available in stainless at any of the big box stores. Don’t really want to purchase a special drill bit to widen the center hole, but I guess that is the solution.

 

[mbg]

Just FYI if you are like me and have a pump and decided against the recirculation kit but talked yourself into purchasing the perforated disk, it does not come with the eye bolt. I haven’t been able to find the right size available in stainless at any of the big box stores. Don’t really want to purchase a special drill bit to widen the center hole, but I guess that is the solution.

Contact Anvil - I purchased just the disk and it came with the eye-bolt and two nuts.

 

[Summa_Brewologica]

Contact Anvil - I purchased just the disk and it came with the eye-bolt and two nuts.

Thanks for the heads up. I sent them an email.

 

[NobleNewt]

Just looked on Northern Brewer, and they have the 10.5 with recirc for 419.99, which is the same deal Anvil had on Friday. Looks like it’s through today.

 

[NobleNewt]

So, I pulled the trigger and ordered the 10.5 gallon Foundry from NB yesterday. What kind of timeline have y'all seen for shipping? I figure Blichmann has a streamlined system as much as they drop ship from the big homebrew shops across the country. Hoping to have it by this weekend for a brew, but not holding my breath either.

 

[Dovage]

So, I pulled the trigger and ordered the 10.5 gallon Foundry from NB yesterday. What kind of timeline have y'all seen for shipping? I figure Blichmann has a streamlined system as much as they drop ship from the big homebrew shops across the country. Hoping to have it by this weekend for a brew, but not holding my breath either.

I bought mine in January. Seems like it came sooner then I'd expected. Want to say 5-6 days? Don't remember for sure though. Hope it makes for the weekend it's fun to use

 

[Ogilthorpe2]

I bought mine in January. Seems like it came sooner then I'd expected. Want to say 5-6 days? Don't remember for sure though. Hope it makes for the weekend it's fun to use

I ordered directly from Anvil as soon as the Blake Friday sale started, late on Thanksgiving night, and still have not received notification that it’s shipped yet.

 

[NobleNewt]

I bought mine in January. Seems like it came sooner then I'd expected. Want to say 5-6 days? Don't remember for sure though. Hope it makes for the weekend it's fun to use

Thanks! I’m looking forward to it. Cheers!

 

[NobleNewt]

I ordered directly from Anvil as soon as the Blake Friday sale started, late on Thanksgiving night, and still have not received notification that it’s shipped yet.

John Blichmann posted in the FB group and asked everyone to be patient as they got a lot of Black Friday orders. Understandable, just hope they ship soon!

 

[Summa_Brewologica]

Has anyone purchased the NO MALT PIPE version of the brew bag for the foundry? Was curious if it could still fit in the malt pipe or if it would be better to just stick with the regular bag. Don’t really plan on going much higher than 16 lb grain bills but could be nice to have the flexibility, just in case.

 

[McKnuckle]

For anyone using the Foundry 6.5, what is the minimum batch size one can brew without modification? Is it possible to brew a 1 gallon batch with, say, 6-8 liters (1.5 - 2 gal) of water plus grain in the mash?

 

[Oginme]

From the measurements I took on my 6.5 Gal Anvil, there are 3.28 liters below the bottom level of the basket. You can use that to configure your recipe for grain volume, boil off, and trub left after the boil, to see how much water is left in contact with the grains for mashing. In my system, I would not do anything under 6 liters at the end of the boil. I did try a 5-liter batch, but ended up with a bit more than that at the end of the boil and a very thick mash (so therefore a low efficiency) even with a full volume mash.

 

[cmac62]

From the measurements I took on my 6.5 Gal Anvil, there are 3.28 liters below the bottom level of the basket. You can use that to configure your recipe for grain volume, boil off, and trub left after the boil, to see how much water is left in contact with the grains for mashing. In my system, I would not do anything under 6 liters at the end of the boil. I did try a 5-liter batch, but ended up with a bit more than that at the end of the boil and a very thick mash (so therefore a low efficiency) even with a full volume mash.

Yeah, with almost a gallon below the basket it would be hard to see doing anything short of two gallons at a minimum. Of course you could mash outside of the AF and use it as your boiler. I'm thinking about doing that with the 10.5, do a small mash in my old cooler mt and use the AF to boil it in.

 

[myndflyte]

Yeah, with almost a gallon below the basket it would be hard to see doing anything short of two gallons at a minimum. Of course you could mash outside of the AF and use it as your boiler. I'm thinking about doing that with the 10.5, do a small mash in my old cooler mt and use the AF to boil it in.

You could also do something like this if you're going for something stronger and will be using more than 16 lbs of grain. My max in the actual AF is using almost 17lbs of grain with a no sparge. But I'm also using a bag in the malt pipe and also squeezing the bag so my grain absorption is set to about 0.06 gal/lb as apposed to 0.1 gal/lb when I don't use the bag.

 

[mbg]

Yeah..and because it was due to I'm assuming negligence as classified by Anvil (which makes sense) the damage wasn't covered.

View attachment 707598

Did you see this guys latest post on FB? He made lemonade from lemons. He is an excellent CAD designer and made a 3-D printed shield for the AF control unit. He even made a short animated video of it!

 

[Knightshade]

Has anyone purchased the NO MALT PIPE version of the brew bag for the foundry? Was curious if it could still fit in the malt pipe or if it would be better to just stick with the regular bag. Don’t really plan on going much higher than 16 lb grain bills but could be nice to have the flexibility, just in case.

I purchased a Wilser bag, so can't provide too much here. I went with a bag using the malt pipe, because I didn't feel like spending the time to figure out which false bottom exists out there that would work and..it is a hell of a lot easier to lift up the malt pipe w/bag vs. bag alone. Yes..I could do the winch thing but then I"m restricted to one specific spot in the garage and that ain't gonna fly w/me.

Did you see this guys latest post on FB? He made lemonade from lemons. He is an excellent CAD designer and made a 3-D printed shield for the AF control unit. He even made a short animated video of it!

Sounds cool..no FB for me tho so I'll just have to use my imagination.

 

[ThenFalcon]

From the measurements I took on my 6.5 Gal Anvil, there are 3.28 liters below the bottom level of the basket. You can use that to configure your recipe for grain volume, boil off, and trub left after the boil, to see how much water is left in contact with the grains for mashing. In my system, I would not do anything under 6 liters at the end of the boil. I did try a 5-liter batch, but ended up with a bit more than that at the end of the boil and a very thick mash (so therefore a low efficiency) even with a full volume mash.

What is the diameter of the malt basket as compared to the inside of the AF? It looks to be 1 to 2 inches less. There would be more water in that space between the two walls that would not be in contact with the grain.

 

[McKnuckle]

It isn't a problem with these systems, because the wort is continually pulled from the side of the vessel and recirculated over the top. So all of it does make contact with the grain. (Unless you don't recirculate, but I consider doing so essential for this type of system.)

 

[ThenFalcon]

Right, so if you recirculate, the space below the basket should not be critical either.

 

[cmac62]

Right, so if you recirculate, the space below the basket should not be critical either.

except you still want the grain to be saturated, and with almost a gal under the pipe the mash would be pretty thick if doing less than 6 l at a minimum.

 

[ThenFalcon]

Ok, so in terms of mash thickness, we need to consider the amount under the pipe as well as the amount around the sides, which looks like it could be another couple of liters. I'm not sure what the boil off rate is for the 120V version, but probably somewhere around 1.8L per hour. For 6 liters of 1.055 wort into the fermenter, you would need about 1.4kg of grain @75% efficiency. Total water would be 6 + 1.8 + 1.4 = 9.2L. Mash thickness would be 9.2 - 3.3 - 2 = 3.9L divided by 1.4kg = 2.8L per kg. Does that look about right?

 

[Noob_Brewer]

To be honest, I haven't concerned myself with mash thickness in the foundry too much. I typically sparge 1-1.5gal on total grains of 14-18.50lbs and Im typically mashing in with 7.0-8gallons of strike water. Been able to achieve ~75-76% mash/lauter efficiency that way. My last brew on sunday, I had 17lbs of grain and 0.75lb of rice hulls with 7.82gal of strike water and sparged 1.25gallons. SO while beersmith showed me that I was at 1.762 qt/lb, I know it was lower in the actual malt pipe itself. It was definitely on the thicker side lol. Since most of my brews use a lot of grains, I am simply adjusting the strike water volume to mash in with based on the "mash volume needed" in beersmith. I know if I stay under 9.3ish gallons, then that gives me enough space to recirculate and its not overloaded. So with my process here, my mash thickness will vary usually between 1.68 and over 2.0 qt/lb.

Just to clarify - Im on the 10.5gal foundry

 

[NobleNewt]

Can anyone tell me how deep the 10.5 malt pipe is as well as the diameter to the outside of the kettle? I’m going to make a bag while I wait for my 10.5 to get delivered.