Brew-Boss Opinions

[Lax coach]

I really like having mine low. Between the rolling planter cart it sits on and the step the cart is sitting on in my garage, the bottom of the pot is probably 8-10" above where I stand on the floor. Makes dealing with the basket/hoist and adding stuff to the pot really easy.

I originally thought about putting it on the countertop and removing the shelves above it, but in hindsight I much prefer having it close to the floor.

 

[cnash]

I really like having mine low. Between the rolling planter cart it sits on and the step the cart is sitting on in my garage, the bottom of the pot is probably 8-10" above where I stand on the floor. Makes dealing with the basket/hoist and adding stuff to the pot really easy.

I originally thought about putting it on the countertop and removing the shelves above it, but in hindsight I much prefer having it close to the floor.

The cart/stand I'm building is pretty low. It's about 30" to the top of the stand where the kettle will sit.

Anyone use the Brew-Boss Hop spider? I am looking into one now after brewing this beer that wasn't too hop heavy but still got some hop debris in the pump and in the whirlpool arm.

 

[Mike Howard]

I use the hop spider from BB along with their hops boss....works great.

 

[Lax coach]

The cart/stand I'm building is pretty low. It's about 30" to the top of the stand where the kettle will sit.

We have very different definitions of "low" Here is my setup:

When I brew, I roll it out to the left, then back under the counter when I'm done.

Anyone use the Brew-Boss Hop spider? I am looking into one now after brewing this beer that wasn't too hop heavy but still got some hop debris in the pump and in the whirlpool arm.

I use the BB hops spider as well, though since I use a steam slayer, I can't use the hops boss like Mike does. I think it works great. Since I also can't use the hooks due to the lid being on, I attached one of these magnets to one of the vertical bars with JB Weld Steelstik (NSF approved), and use the other on the outside of the kettle to hold it in place. Unfortunately, I lost the second magnet after my second or third brew, so for the last one I just set it on the floor of the kettle. Seems to work fine that way also.

 

[cnash]

Finally got my stand/cart basically completed.
Still need to do clean up and mount the controller but the look won’t really change.

 

[Mike Howard]

Nice, looks awesome!

 

[Conodor]

added a new piece to my BB system. The thermometer fits in the top. the heat element fits in the bottom(with a $20 adapter) so the heat element and controller can be used on both. Hope to give it a run this weekend.

 

[Lax coach]

What is everyone's efficiency looking like? I seem to be hovering right around 60%, which seems on the low side. I've got the water parameters dialed in finally, so I'm hitting my post-boil volume targets. But gravity is typically significantly lower than expected.

 

[cnash]

What is everyone's efficiency looking like? I seem to be hovering right around 60%, which seems on the low side. I've got the water parameters dialed in finally, so I'm hitting my post-boil volume targets. But gravity is typically significantly lower than expected.

My first one was 63% Brewhouse Efficiency, but I was WAY off on the volumes on that one (over a gallon left over).
This past weekend I was at 67% Brewhouse Efficiency, but I was still a little off on the volumes. (very little).
So I think once I'm dialed in I will be right around the 70% efficiency that is expected.

 

[jturman35]

Think I’m around 70% BH.

 

[h22lude]

For those looking at efficiency, I wouldn't use brew house or mash efficiency. I've always hated those two figures. The best figure to look at is conversion. That is all you really need to know. The reason I don't like BH efficiency is because it doesn't tell you much. You could have 98% mash conversion (which is awesome) but used 1/2 gallon too much water. You could have hit your OG exactly but your BH efficiency would still be low because you used a little more water. For home brewers, who cares if we use a little more water. If our mash conversion is as close to 100% as possible, that is all we really care about. Mash conversion is what you need to dial in your system for future brews.

 

[brewswithshoes]

What is everyone's efficiency looking like? I seem to be hovering right around 60%, which seems on the low side. I've got the water parameters dialed in finally, so I'm hitting my post-boil volume targets. But gravity is typically significantly lower than expected.

Usually hit about 80 - 82% Mash efficiency, and BH efficiency usually lands around 69%. I'm ok with my numbers now as i can typically hit consistent amounts from batch to batch. I've just started getting into water profiles, so am closely monitoring to see what that changes.

 

[Aristoi]

Been eying this system for some time and following this thread. Can't believe nobody has posted this yet, but systems are 25% off for Tax Day sale! This is just what i needed to put me over the edge to upgrade from my 120v system. 15 gallon is $1100, and 20 gallon $1200

 

[Conodor]

Been eying this system for some time and following this thread. Can't believe nobody has posted this yet, but systems are 25% off for Tax Day sale! This is just what i needed to put me over the edge to upgrade from my 120v system. 15 gallon is $1100, and 20 gallon $1200

Aristoi, most here i think own one, so we don't hit the brew-boss site often. Great if it's on sale! scoop one up. you will definalty be happy.

 

[h22lude]

For those looking to buy and have an android tablet, he removed the app from the play store because of knew guidelines for apps. Sounds like it was screwing up the app. So you now have to download the AFK file from his site. I think all tablets should be able to do this. You may have to allow 3rd party apps in settings to allow this. Took me a few minutes to do.

 

[brewswithshoes]

Thought i'd piggy back this thread with an opinion question.

Anyone ever attempt to use their COFI as a hop spider? I made my first NEIPA a week or so back and had a massive mess on my hands. Swirl boss clogged, counter flow clogged, yada, yada. I ended up having to siphon 150 degree wort to the fermenter.

Was thinking next batch that i do like this (combo of a metric ton of pellet & whole cone hops) i would just quickly dump and rinse the COFI, put it back in without the lid, and use it as a giant hop spider. I understand it's not as finely meshed as a hop spider, but thinking it would go along way for cutting the clogging problems down.

Thoughts/Opinions?

 

[cnash]

Thought i'd piggy back this thread with an opinion question.

Anyone ever attempt to use their COFI as a hop spider? I made my first NEIPA a week or so back and had a massive mess on my hands. Swirl boss clogged, counter flow clogged, yada, yada. I ended up having to siphon 150 degree wort to the fermenter.

Was thinking next batch that i do like this (combo of a metric ton of pellet & whole cone hops) i would just quickly dump and rinse the COFI, put it back in without the lid, and use it as a giant hop spider. I understand it's not as finely meshed as a hop spider, but thinking it would go along way for cutting the clogging problems down.

Thoughts/Opinions?

I ended up buying a hop spider from AliExpress. Essentially the same one Brew-Boss sells for 1/2 the price. (I was going to buy from Brew-Boss but shipping killed it.)

Only problem I have is using my Hydra with the Hop Spider, which is something I am trying to resolve now.

 

[Mike Howard]

Using the COFI should work IMO, but it might be easier to just invest in something from ARBORFAB. That would eliminate the need to empty hot grains and do a rinse. I use the BB Hop Spider but a lot of whole cone hops can overload it.

 

[Mike Howard]

What kind of grain load is everyone using? I just did a 16 gallon batch with 34 lbs of grain and was way low on my numbers. Recipe called for 19.5 gallons of water but had to boil off to 14 gallons in order to hit OG. Not what I was expecting at all.

Also, how is everyone doing their water additions? Are you adding the full water volume at start, or just covering the COFI and topping up later?

 

[cnash]

What kind of grain load is everyone using? I just did a 16 gallon batch with 34 lbs of grain and was way low on my numbers. Recipe called for 19.5 gallons of water but had to boil off to 14 gallons in order to hit OG. Not what I was expecting at all.

Also, how is everyone doing their water additions? Are you adding the full water volume at start, or just covering the COFI and topping up later?

I've only done 5 gallon batches up to this point but I do full volume (around 8-8.5 gallons depending on the recipe). Recipes so far have been between 12 and 15lbs averaging 14lbs.

 

[Mike Howard]

I was a little worried to add the full volume right at the start because I didn't want an overflow, so I added about 13 gallons, lowered the grains and then topped up until the COFI was covered. I added the final amount after I raised the grains and began to bring it to a boil.

 

[cnash]

When you add the water after you are diluting your extraction. If you are going to do this you should add 170 degree water and sparge it over the COFI grain imo.

 

[Mike Howard]

Yea, I realized after the fact that I should have sparged....

 

[TennBrewer]

If you are making a 5 gallon batch in the 15 or 20 gallon COFI basket and recirculating the wort, how much of the recirculated wort is released above the grain bed? How much force is used, determined by how far from center it travels? I have not had a good experience when wort is sprayed over the grain bed, even at very low pressure. Beer after primary fermentation has a bad disgusting odor and taste, hard to describe but it's very phenolic and kind of metallic. When I do 5 gallon batches in my 20 gallon setup, I recirculate the wort using a Loc-Line and make sure it is well below the surface with no wort swelling on the top.

 

[Mike Howard]

Well, I won't be brewing any 5 gallon batches, but has anyone tried sparging through the COFI with the grains suspended above the kettle? I rigged up a "T" to allow me to raise the grains with the sprayer still attached to the wort loop so I can sparge after the mash. I am going to try it on the next batch to see if I can capture some of that sugar.

When I emptied my 34 lbs of grains I noticed it was very sticky and sweet and that, I am sure, contributed to me missing the OG. I think if I run the pump while suspended above the wort, I'll get better results.

 

[TennBrewer]

Well, I won't be brewing any 5 gallon batches, but has anyone tried sparging through the COFI with the grains suspended above the kettle? I rigged up a "T" to allow me to raise the grains with the sprayer still attached to the wort loop so I can sparge after the mash. I am going to try it on the next batch to see if I can capture some of that sugar.

When I emptied my 34 lbs of grains I noticed it was very sticky and sweet and that, I am sure, contributed to me missing the OG. I think if I run the pump while suspended above the wort, I'll get better results.

I'd be very interested to know how it works out and what the setup looks like. I guess you would have a second kettle with a separate heater/burner available to heat the sparge water, then, how much sparge water would you have available. Assuming you have a 20-gallon kettle, your last batch used 34 pounds of grain, even at 1.5 qt water / lb of grain would require 12.75 gallons of water. I don't think this would be enough to cover the grain bed. Grain absorption will rob at least 3 gallons leaving 9.75 gallons. An 11 gallon batch may require 13 gallons pre-boil volume leaving 3.25 gallons for sparge. I think this will be taken up by the extra water you need in the mash to cover the grain bed. I don't see how this could work out unless my figures and calculations are off.

 

[andrewmaixner]

The difference in gravity made by water temperature in a pour sparge is minimal... I think brulosophy did it once and got .001, not worth the trouble. I use room temp water.

 

[Mike Howard]

Yea, I guess sparging might be a bit of a misnomer....I was thinking more of lautering I guess. Just recirc my wort through the raised grains right after Mashing and before Mashout. No extra setup needed, except the T configuration that allows me to raise the grains and keep the pump on at the same time. Still need to run some test batches, obviously, as I have a couple different methods I want to try. One being compress the grains, the other being to not compress the grains as they are raised.

 

[cnash]

Brewed a Sweet Stout yesterday (5 Gallons in the 15 Gallon Kettle) and I got great efficiency. The best so far on this system.
My Mash Efficiency ended up at 78%, so I slightly overshot my OG by 2 points, but it won't really affect the final beer I don't think. I'm just glad I am getting dialed in with volumes and stuff, next is actually dialing in my efficiency.

 

[Mike Howard]

Finally got around to building my fermenter setup for my BB20. I only have one of the three fermenters connected and under control right now, but my plumbing is all ready for when I get the new parts for the other two. Also added a plate chiller connection for transfers from the kettle to the fermenter.