ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

[Knightshade]

Agreed, I was surprised & happy when I saw it. Overall I'm happy with this generation, having the new electrical plug and no ring to hold the grain basket. The only thing I wish it had was 1/2" NPT threads on the ball valve and swirly arm, but this is minor.

That upgrade..or change in the core offering is pretty awesome. I do agree though. Don’t understand why they don’t just take the same spout they put on their kettles on the foundry. Seems like a no brainer from a cost/parts consolidation perspective.

 

[Grizwold1]

No weld fitting..so outstanding.

@Knightshade--where did you find this no weld fitting?

 

[RyPA]

My brewhardware stuff arrived today and I got everything assembled -- it all went together as planned with no issues. The only missing piece is a cart/dolly which I am trying to figure out. I'm thinking about getting this one, and putting a few coats of poly on it. I wish they had something like this with a non-wooden frame - I'm trying to stay in the $30-$40 price range, but may need to go higher.

I am driving to my non-local LHBS on Saturday to stock up on grains and misc. supplies and may have my maiden brew Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Here's my parts list/links for those looking to put together a Foundry with camlock quick-disconnects on everything and upgrade to a better pump:

• 10.5g Foundry
  • Optional whirlpool tube / swirly arm
  • I did not purchase the Anvil recirculation kit, as the below parts are upgraded versions of the recirc setup
• Ferroday homebrew pump with stainless head
• BrewHardware Foundry Recirculation arm with 1/2" NPT threads
• 4x - BrewHardware camlock fitting with female 1/2" NPT threads (for foundry ball valve, recirc arm, swirly arm, pump input)
• 1x - BrewHardware camlock fitting with male 1/2" NPT threads (for ball valve on output side of pump)
• 4x - BrewHardware camlock quick disconnects (for 2 silicone lines)
• 1x - BrewHardware 3-piece ball valve (for pump output)
• 6ft - BrewHardware silicone tubing (pump to Foundry connection, pump to recirc/swirly arm connection)
• G to NPT thread adapter, 2 pack (for Foundry ball valve and swirly arm)
• Teflon tape (10 pk) - I didn't even go through a full roll and I went pretty heavy on all connections. I have enough teflon tape for the rest of my life.

Price breakdown - These are all final prices including tax/shipping

• Anvil Foundry - $454
• BrewHardware fittings - $128.68
• Pump - $69.05
• G to NPT adapters - $13.80
• Teflon tape (10pk) $6.35

Total damage to bank acct: $671.88

 

[Knightshade]

No weld fitting..so outstanding.

@Knightshade--where did you find this no weld fitting?

Brewhardware.com!

Sent an email over to Bobby to make sure that it would work and it works flawlessly!!!

 

[Knightshade]

@RyPA

If you want to keep your cost down, this dolly will work. Also a harbor freight pickup. I’ve used it on numerous brews, no issues yet. I’ve got outdoor carpet tiles in my garage, rolls across w/o issue in the rare event I need to move it when full. Just need to push low on the Foundry vs high.

It sits on either side of the carpeted section an inch or two on each side.

 

[RyPA]

@Knightshade I saw that one but IMO liquids and carpet aren't meant to be in the same place. Thought about grabbing that and getting a piece of some form of plastic board from home Depot and remove the carpet pieces and bolt up the board. Should only be a few bucks on top of the cost of the dolly

One of those immersion coolers is next on my list. Going to see how the SS one does while whirlpooling

 

[Knightshade]

Part of the reason why I laid down carpet tiles with the second go around. Rip up and replace sections as needed. I’m an odd bird tho having carpet in my garage at all.

That chiller is no joke..it goes from boil to whirlpool temp in what seems like a minute or less. I push 10G of water through and use that for cleaning after, then recirculate it back into a cooler and add frozen water bottles. Down to pitching temps by the time I’ve prepped the fermenter and maybe gotten some other cleaning done.

 

[RyPA]

How quick does the SS coil chill a 5g batch with the whirlpool turned on?

 

[RyPA]

I may try this one. I really only need room for the Foundry and the pump. It'll fit

MaxWorks 80854 Polypropylene Dolly-200-lb Capacity , Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C72GWLT?ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_dp_52B9N9E67AWH2BJ8EQ59

Edit: nevermind, it's crap, going to do the HF wooden one with a few coats of poly

 

[AlbertaBeer]

Bought a 10.5 a couple weeks ago, still in the box yet, haven’t had time to even look at it. Hopefully by this time next week I will have a chance to play around with it.

Lots of good tips and tricks in here, I’ll be keeping them in mind for sure!

 

[kevin58]

It's double your price point but if you have room take a look at this small scaffold. It's what I use and there is room for the pump, the Foundry and a bucket (for grain or setting your mash basket) on the platform... plus it has a fold out tool rest which I use to keep small things like thermapen... refractometer... hops... iPhone with brewing app running... etc.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/MetalTe...ool-Shelf-500-lbs-Capacity-I-IMCNAT/205477926

 

[RyPA]

It's double your price point but if you have room take a look at this small scaffold. It's what I use and there is room for the pump, the Foundry and a bucket (for grain or setting your mash basket) on the platform... plus it has a fold out tool rest which I use to keep small things like thermapen... refractometer... hops... iPhone with brewing app running... etc.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/MetalTe...ool-Shelf-500-lbs-Capacity-I-IMCNAT/205477926

Do you have a pic of your setup? I think my problem with that will be my brew space, which is usually my kitchen. I won't have anywhere to park that thing.

 

[RyPA]

I did a batch last night and it did not good as smooth as I was expecting. I brewed a Victory Hop Devil clone, I got a 1.062 OG instead of 1.063 as expected so not so bad I guess.

1. I made the mistake of recirculating immediately, resulting in the wort accumulating to the top of the mash pipe. Luckily there was not enough water to spill over the malt pipe so the grains remained in the pipe. After turning off the pump and doing some stirring, the wort bled out into the kettle.
2. This may be a result of my mash/recirculation issue, but my temp readings were way off. The screen read up to 10F higher than actual in some cases. I was trying to mash at 150F, the screen read 154F, but taking the temp manually it was as low as 144 at one point.
3. I am new to using a brew pump and I do like how much easier it makes the cooling process, though I did help it by stirring manually with a spoon. I need to upgrade to one of those 3-in-1 coils. I also need to remember to turn off all ball-valves when disconnecting a line.

1. Can anyone share their mashing process as far as rice hulls, stirring, and how you recirculate?
2. I am using the recirc pipe from brewhardware and the tip/spray piece is under the surface of the wort, is this expected? I thought it would hover over the surface and spray to the sides. I had 7.2g of water (6.2 strike, 1g sparge) and 13# of grain.

Found some hops stuck in my pump. May invest in a hop spider

 

[tracer bullet]

1. Can anyone share their mashing process as far as rice hulls, stirring, and how you recirculate?

My normal process (5-6% ABV beers, in the 6.5) is to use the included pipe with a Wilser bag. I crush my own grains at a 0.030" gap (set with feeler gages). Bag goes in the pipe, and there's still just enough space for the Foundry perforated disc to go on top. The disc is angled however needed to visually get a flow across the whole surface. I use the Foundry recirc pipe connected to a pump with a ball valve in between. I throttle the flow to about 1/4 - 1/3 (guesstimate) of full flow. I stir the grains (top 2/3 of it perhaps, mostly so I don't scrape the actual bag) along with lift & lower the pipe about 3 times over an hour, to be sure it all gets mixed in (especially the dead water space on the side). Pump is temporarily turned off of course.

Per Brewer's friend I'm running about 70 - 75% efficiency and I don't ever get anything stuck. I used to do 4 - 8 oz. rice hulls per batch but over time quit that altogether. My measured temps are consistently 2 degrees F lower than the display screen. So consistently that I just add 2 onto whatever temp i actually want to mash at, and walk away.

6.5's a little easier as it's the same diameter just shorter, so I do have less grain (vertically measured) than 10.5 users. I run 240V at 35% for mashing, not sure for 10.5 or what voltage you have but as an aside you may not want 100%.

I'd suggest off the top to reduce your recirc rate a bit. Or, a lot.

 

[RyPA]

My normal process (5-6% ABV beers, in the 6.5) is to use the included pipe with a Wilser bag. I crush my own grains at a 0.030" gap (set with feeler gages). Bag goes in the pipe, and there's still just enough space for the Foundry perforated disc to go on top. The disc is angled however needed to visually get a flow across the whole surface. I use the Foundry recirc pipe connected to a pump with a ball valve in between. I throttle the flow to about 1/4 - 1/3 (guesstimate) of full flow. I stir the grains (top 2/3 of it perhaps, mostly so I don't scrape the actual bag) along with lift & lower the pipe about 3 times over an hour, to be sure it all gets mixed in (especially the dead water space on the side). Pump is temporarily turned off of course.

Per Brewer's friend I'm running about 70 - 75% efficiency and I don't ever get anything stuck. I used to do 4 - 8 oz. rice hulls per batch but over time quit that altogether. My measured temps are consistently 2 degrees F lower than the display screen. So consistently that I just add 2 onto whatever temp i actually want to mash at, and walk away.

6.5's a little easier as it's the same diameter just shorter, so I do have less grain (vertically measured) than 10.5 users. I run 240V at 35% for mashing, not sure for 10.5 or what voltage you have but as an aside you may not want 100%.

I'd suggest off the top to reduce your recirc rate a bit. Or, a lot.

Thanks, that's helpful.

Cliffs notes for next time around:
1. Wait 15 mins before circulating
2. Only stir the top 75% of the bed
3. Lift/lower the basket every 20 min.
4. Add 2F to my target temp
5. Check/adjust my mill gap

 

[kevin58]

Do you have a pic of your setup? I think my problem with that will be my brew space, which is usually my kitchen. I won't have anywhere to park that thing.

Yeah, a kitchen will probably make using this problematic. I brew in the basement. It's cramped. My laundry room "brew house" is only about 10 feet wide and 7 feet deep. Here is a pic from an early brew...

 

[RyPA]

My brew day is not starting well. My Foundry temp screen reads 169 while my mash temp is actually 155. Starting to regret buying this thing.

Edit: It evened out once I did a few lifts of the mash basket and got the pump going. But I wish Blichmann/Anvil would correct this issue, somehow.

 

[tracer bullet]

My brew day is not starting well. My Foundry temp screen reads 169 while my mash temp is actually 155. Starting to regret buying this thing.

Edit: It evened out once I did a few lifts of the mash basket and got the pump going. But I wish Blichmann/Anvil would correct this issue, somehow.

That's how temperature stratification works. Hot water, cold grains, heater on the bottom, lack of recirculation or stirring to even it out... no company on the planet can say what grain temps you actually have.

I'd recommend lifting and lowering the basket (to mix the dead space on the sides) into the rest, as well as some stirring, every 15 minutes or so, the exact time isn't important but do it a few times. Keep the heater at a lower %, just enough to let things stay hot but not overshoot (try 50% and go up or down from there). And recirculate.

I find my grain bed is a very static 2 degrees less than what the temp sensor reads, and since it's by the heater that makes some sense. I account for that when I set the temp and good to go.

 

[RyPA]

That's how temperature stratification works. Hot water, cold grains, heater on the bottom, lack of recirculation or stirring to even it out... no company on the planet can say what grain temps you actually have.

I'd recommend lifting and lowering the basket (to mix the dead space on the sides) into the rest, as well as some stirring, every 15 minutes or so, the exact time isn't important but do it a few times. Keep the heater at a lower %, just enough to let things stay hot but not overshoot (try 50% and go up or down from there). And recirculate.

I find my grain bed is a very static 2 degrees less than what the temp sensor reads, and since it's by the heater that makes some sense. I account for that when I set the temp and good to go.

They don't need to know the grain temps, I set the strike water temp based on the amount of water, amount of grain, and grain temp. I wish they had a way to accurately give the temp of the water throughout the height of the basket and then maybe average it to make it more realistic. Maybe temp sensors along the sides of the kettle?

The 15F difference in temp in the first 15 minutes leading up to my first basket lift and turning on the recirc pump made me panic a bit, but it was smooth sailing aside from that. I just got done cleaning up, start to finish including cleanup was 4.5 hours.

When considering the Foundry I thought it was a much more set-and-forget process from a temperature control perspective but I find it's about the same as with traditional equipment. You cant just set it to X, you have to set it to X+Y and then you have to babysit the temperature .

This was only my second brew so it's just me not used to the equipment, I'm sure after a few more brews I will get better with it.

 

[AlbertaBeer]

I’m not sure what you expect them to do. It takes time for everything in there to heat soak. If they were to move the sensor to the top or whatever, I guess you would see the lower temperature there, but the temperature down by the element is going to be way higher. Then you’d be whining that it’s way too hot at the bottom

 

[RyPA]

I’m not sure what you expect them to do. It takes time for everything in there to heat soak. If they were to move the sensor to the top or whatever, I guess you would see the lower temperature there, but the temperature down by the element is going to be way higher. Then you’d be whining that it’s way too hot at the bottom

Well that's the problem for them to figure out. Maybe multiple sensors and average them together, I don't know. Do all all-in-ones have this same issue?

 

[tracer bullet]

This was only my second brew so it's just me not used to the equipment, I'm sure after a few more brews I will get better with it.

That is definitely true. I use a calculator to set my temps.

# pounds grain at # temperature
# gallons of water in the foundry at # temperature
becomes # pounds of grain at your target mash temp after it's all mixed together

Basically everything is known and entered except the foundry temp for the strike water and it's what gets calculated. You set the Foundry to that, give it the time to heat to it, and when you enter your grain and stir it in you are basically at the temp you wanted. The lift / lower, stir, recirculation, 50% or whatever power setting and etc. just help keep it there.

Short version is that you should be able to mash in and basically hit your temperature right away. After that it's easy to hold.

 

[RyPA]

That is definitely true. I use a calculator to set my temps.

# pounds grain at # temperature
# gallons of water in the foundry at # temperature
becomes # pounds of grain at your target mash temp after it's all mixed together

Basically everything is known and entered except the foundry temp for the strike water and it's what gets calculated. You set the Foundry to that, give it the time to heat to it, and when you enter your grain and stir it in you are basically at the temp you wanted. The lift / lower, stir, recirculation, 50% or whatever power setting and etc. just help keep it there.

Short version is that you should be able to mash in and basically hit your temperature right away. After that it's easy to hold.

Yeah, the mash temp I took manually was exactly what I wanted based on my calculations. It was the temp on the Foundry screen being 15 over that I wish was closer to reality. But it is what it is, there's that pool of water below the grain basket that will be hotter than the water in the mash basket.

 

[Grizwold1]

I do not use the mash basket anymore, instead use a false bottom and brew bag. It seems to have pretty much eliminated the temperature variance and with recirculation the on-screen temperature is pretty much dead on.

 

[RyPA]

I do not use the mash basket anymore, instead use a false bottom and brew bag. It seems to have pretty much eliminated the temperature variance and with recirculation the on-screen temperature is pretty much dead on.

I plan to switch to a brew bag. I have one of these in my Amazon cart: https://a.co/d/dqZ5Rai

Is a pulley a requirement to lift it out after mashing? How do you sparge?

 

[AlbertaBeer]

I’d say the pulley setup would be a very wise decision unless you’re physically capable of lifting the bag and holding it there while it drains, or have a helper to put a grille or something on top of the kettle to rest the bag on while it drains

Sparging seems to be (like everything) a whole can of worms. Some guys say it’s not necessary when doing biab, they just pull the bag and let it drain out into the kettle (some guys squeeze it out).

 

[Grizwold1]

As for sparge, in the past I have lifted the bag and put it into a large collander set over a big pot to drain, then just poured sparge water over it. This past brew I left the bag in the anvil, drained into the separate pot, and poured in the sparge water into the brewer, stirred and let it sit for a few minutes then pulled the bag, put it into the collander and squeezed the bejesus out of it. A bit convoluted but it seemed to work well. All in all, I think a pulley system might be a smoother way to go, but I have been too lazy to get into it. AlbertaBeer's take on it is true--it's a bit of a kluge however you go about it.

 

[RyPA]

I don't have a dedicated brew space so I am thinking about making a pulley that rests on the top of door trim, similar to those contraptions you can buy to do pullups with. Should be pretty easy, and cheap. Or just use the pull-up unit I have and add a pulley to it

 

[AlbertaBeer]

Yea something like that would definitely do the trick. Or even a tripod that you can stow away when not brewing, that’ll give you the convenience of not having to brew in the doorway!

 

[doug293cz]

Yea something like that would definitely do the trick. Or even a tripod that you can stow away when not brewing, that’ll give you the convenience of not having to brew in the doorway!

I use a step ladder from which to hang the pulley.

Brew on