Brew Boss Systems

[dleonard5]

My system is a 15gal as well doing 5 gal. batches. I think the power is 48-50% boil at 210 deg.
Can you see the picture below? Its on page 54.

 

[jturman35]

I’m boiling at 63% power at sea level. You guys are making me think I’m boiling to hard.

Are you guys above sea level a good bit?

 

[dleonard5]

I'm at 710' which is a bit lower than Merlin. A good boil is subjective of course so I'm sure your fine.

 

[SanPancho]

it does seem a bit wierd that rye would cause a problem but not oats or wheat. oats are just as much of a mess. we do a 40% rye on a 2.5bbl electric and i cant say i recall any above-average carbon on the elements.

are folks really getting carbon on the elements?

 

[MerlinWerks]

I have gotten carbon on the element on several occasions, but only 1/2" - 3/4" max, near the end closest to the kettle. Last weekend I got about 3/8" with a 53% wheat grist.
Never affects the taste. There is often a tan coating on the element which scrubs right off.

 

[Nmnbrewer]

I stir all of my batches and I use the COFI basket. Heck lately I don’t even bother putting the top of the basket on until I get ready to hoist the basket out. I also add the grain with the basket already in the kettle.

So in essence you are just doing a recirculation with a tube on top of the mash bed and not using the center tube/lid? This is exactly what I do. I just purchased a basket with a handle from arbor fab at the beginning and bypassed to cofi basket altogether.

 

[jturman35]

No, I have the COFI plugged up and running when I add the grain. This prevents and grain from entering the holes in the infusion tube. If you restrict the flow it prevents water from spraying everywhere. I leave the top off so I can stir the grain bed.

 

[Jtvann]

I wanted to bump this thread and jump in on it. I’m considering purchasing the 15g deluxe brew boss system with COFI.

Since this has been out for a few years now I wanted to get the feeling from you guys on how you like the system. Is it worth it? Does the system hold up over time? Is there anything that you wish you’d bought from the start, or regret buying?

Anything else to advise either way to recommend or warn against.

 

[markgalli]

I've owned the system for over four years now--the original system without the COFI etc. Just the brains, the wiring, and the 15 gal. brew pot. I have my own recirculation system that works well for me (not unlike the one in the picture above, but I have a cover, and with four tubes running water over the mash. Frankly, I would be less interested in the COFI system; just more things to go wrong, it seems to me. But I'm probably just jealous. I don't use the Hops Boss either--I like having something to do during the brew session

Anyway, I've VERY satisfied. It makes brewing such a pleasure. You do have to pay attention to programming--I sometimes have failed to put in the right amount of minutes before the next step, or failed to use the right code, etc. Just a lack of attention to detail on my part. It's very easy to program. And when I screw up, it's easy to temporarily stop the program, fix things, and then go back to the place with the brew session left off.

Also, if you have another wifi system in your house, the unit may zone out of the BrewBoss wifi and look for the home wifi, which of course, cuts out the programming, which means the temperature can go higher than one wants! But that has happened only twice in four years, and once I figured out the problem, I just had the Android "forget" the home wifi address.

There are some questions about using Rye above, but I don't understand the problem. I've use rye often and don't have burnt or stuck mashes. Of course, I do use rice hulls regularly--8 oz for normal and 16 oz for a mash intensive session. I don't see how rye could get burnt on my system: my bag sits in a cylinder which sits an inch above the heating element.

Also: Darin has never failed to get back to me immediately when I've had a question; that's huge to me.

Hope this helps. Happy to answer any questions....

Mark

 

[SeeMont]

JT:
I have had the 15 Gallon with the COFI and have run well over a hundred brews on it. I did have the heating element go out of it, it was a poor design, Got the new heater and cables, all is well. have five brews on this fix. The one thing that I like is the support from Darin. This is has been a big positive. I like the system, 15 gallon is the way to go, I can brew 5 or 10 gallon batches. It is more industrial than some of the new systems and way more powerful. I have brewed side by side with the Grain Father and RoboBrew, there are smaller but not as powerful.
I have been able to make this my own, built a rolling cart, I see Darin has one know too.
Good Luck and happy brewing

 

[jalc6927]

I love my system, I don’t have a winch yet so I only do 5 gallons, once I get the winch I’ll do 10 gallons

I love the tablet operation making it easy and completely repeatable so beer is consistently good

It took a few batches to get the water volume figured out

I’m sold on it

Had it since nov 2017, and brewed about 40 batches

I do use the bag not the cofi

 

[jturman35]

I have the 15gal system as well and probably pushed dozen or so beers through this system. My only gripe is there is no redundancy with the controller. My radio quit communicating with the controller in the middle of a mash and I ended up having to finish my beer using my old gas pot. Darin sent me a free radio and everything has worked great ever since. I have the Cofi filter and never had issues if I don’t crush the grain to fine. After brewing a handful of beers using gas there is no way in hell I would go back. I can hold a whirlpool 170deg all day long. I would buy this system again. I export all of my brew steps from Beersmith which really makes this easy.

 

[andrewmaixner]

I have the 15gal system as well and probably pushed dozen or so beers through this system. My only gripe is there is no redundancy with the controller. My radio quit communicating with the controller in the middle of a mash and I ended up having to finish my beer using my old gas pot. Darin sent me a free radio and everything has worked great ever since. I have the Cofi filter and never had issues if I don’t crush the grain to fine.

Hm, on that topic, I wonder
1) what parts might be good to keep on hand
and
2) if a rheostat override could easily be wired in to the base controller, for emergencies. Electrical guys?

 

[Jtvann]

Could be a good reason to keep a propane burner on hand just in case

 

[Jtvann]

I’d like to see if I can get some advice on numbers for a particular recipe. I’ve got my 3 tier system dialed in exactly, but with the brew boss it’s going to be starting from scratch. I’ve never done a full volume mash before. Always fly sparged. I’ve had the luxury of just having extra water in the HLT to make sure I reached final volume.

Is there someone here that minds me going direct with them asking some specific questions about BeerSmith settings? Hate to tie up this thread with it.

I do treat all of my water starting from RO, using a pH meter. Hoping that will help my efficiency here with biab.

 

[Jtvann]

Basically does 9 gallons seem like an outrageous starting volume for a 12.5lb grain recipe, making a 6 gallon into the fermenter batch.

On my first run, Its hard to estimate system losses through the plate chiller, hoses, kettle etc ... as well as boil off rate.

There’s some assumptions in there, but the first run will be a major system testing and learning run.

 

[andrewmaixner]

On my first run, Its hard to estimate system losses through the plate chiller, hoses, kettle etc ... as well as boil off rate.

Put in some water. Drain it like you would when transferring to a fermentor.
dump all remaining liquid into a bucket and see how much you have. Boom, there's your 'dead space' volume loss.

I personally use 13.5g water with 19-20lb grain, 30-45min boil at 50% on a 5500w element, to get a 1.045 wort with 10.5-11 gallons into the fermentors. If off a little at the end, I top up with water or dump some, but those numbers generally work for me.

 

[jturman35]

I’d like to see if I can get some advice on numbers for a particular recipe. I’ve got my 3 tier system dialed in exactly, but with the brew boss it’s going to be starting from scratch. I’ve never done a full volume mash before. Always fly sparged. I’ve had the luxury of just having extra water in the HLT to make sure I reached final volume.

Is there someone here that minds me going direct with them asking some specific questions about BeerSmith settings? Hate to tie up this thread with it.

I do treat all of my water starting from RO, using a pH meter. Hoping that will help my efficiency here with biab.

Shoot me a PM I use Beersmith.

 

[jturman35]

I personally use 13.5g water with 19-20lb grain, 30-45min boil at 50% on a 5500w element, to get a 1.045 wort with 10.5-11 gallons into the fermentors. If off a little at the end, I top up with water or dump some, but those numbers generally work for me.[/QUOTE]

I’m still dialing in my boil power rate. I started off with my first few batches at 70-67% and recently dialed it down to 62%. Something tells me I can maybe go lower. Seems like I read somewhere your boil off rate needs to be under a certain percentage. I think somewhere below 15% but don’t hold me too it. For this reason I have been trying to lower my BO rate.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Seems like I read somewhere your boil off rate needs to be under a certain percentage. I think somewhere below 15% but don’t hold me too it. For this reason I have been trying to lower my BO rate.

No, I don't think that matters either way. Boiloff is just something you need to account for, whether it is 0.1gal or 2gal. It can be used to concentrate high gravity worts also for strong beers.

 

[DiegoBrewer]

I've had my 15 gallon with COFI for about 3 years and three dozen batches. I pull out the old turkey fryer set up if I need to do a double batch to remind me that I'll never go back to gas vs. a semi-automated electric system. Efficiency is steady at about 65% (wish it were higher). The droid tablet crashed constantly (even when replaced) until I turned of the Bluetooth and now it's rock solid. In hindsight: I'd buy a 20 gallon kettle/COFI to allow me to do 10-gallon batches with up to 30 lbs of grain.

 

[Jtvann]

Looking at options on his website, I’ve got a few more questions.

Is the price difference in the 15 vs 20 really only 100 dollars?

Is the 20 just as good at making 5 gallon batches

Is there any difference in the hops boss versions other than tube capacity and price

 

[DiegoBrewer]

Looking at options on his website, I’ve got a few more questions.

Is the price difference in the 15 vs 20 really only 100 dollars?

Is the 20 just as good at making 5 gallon batches

Is there any difference in the hops boss versions other than tube capacity and price

Good questions, but probably better answered by Brew Boss

 

[jturman35]

I average around 70% Brewhouse efficiency. For doing 5 gal batches you can’t go wrong with the 15g. Just my .02

 

[jturman35]

 

[mcgimpkins]

I wanted to bump this thread and jump in on it. I’m considering purchasing the 15g deluxe brew boss system with COFI.

Since this has been out for a few years now I wanted to get the feeling from you guys on how you like the system. Is it worth it? Does the system hold up over time? Is there anything that you wish you’d bought from the start, or regret buying?

Anything else to advise either way to recommend or warn against.

You can find the water to grain weight charts here: http://www.brew-boss.com/category-s/115.htm

If I were looking at getting a COFI, I would probably just buy the 20 gallon one, it will give you more flexibility as far as if you want to expand to 10 gallon batches.

Honestly I had the 15 gallon COFI, sold it and bought a 20 gallon custom kettle from Spike and a custom solid sided basket from Colorado Brew Supply. I recirculate the water with a SS Mash Re-Circulation Manifold.

The main thing I did not like about the 15 gallon COFI was that it was a little small, so it could fit around the camlock inside the kettle. This meant if I wanted to do any high gravity beers, I was somewhat limited in what I could do. I mean the max grain weight is 24 lbs, not enough for some Barley Wines or Russian Imperial stouts. That said, you could always cut some 2-row from the recipe and add in DME during the boil to hit your numbers.

One other thing I found a little weird about the Brew Boss Pots, are the placement of the temp probe. I asked around to several other people on the forums about Temp Probe placement and they had them at the same height as their electric element. In the pot I had built I did the same, and have had no problems with maintaining an accurate temp during the mash. On the Brew Boss design, since it is higher you run a higher risk of exposing it, and scorching your wort, a mistake I did once with my COFI.

Ultimately I had been brewing for awhile with it and wanted to expand to doing 10 gallon batches and ended up choosing the custom pot and basket route. I don't regret buying the 15 gallon COFI, it is solidly made, I mainly wanted to be able to do 5-10 gallon batches.

As for efficiency I routinely got 70% with the COFI doing no sparge. With the solid sided basket and sparging, I usually get around 78%-80%, I would get somewhere around 65% not sparging with it.

I still use my Brew Boss Controller, it is by far the best controller on the market and I could not say enough good things about it. As long as you have a dedicated tablet to the Controller you are good to go. Apparently their app does not play well with other Apps, so whatever tablet you get, needs to have Brew Boss on it and nothing else. I would recommend buying a cheap $50 Android tablet from Best Buy and using that.

As of yet, I've never had to resort to using a propane burner as a backup.

I hope this helps you out in whatever decision you make.

 

[Jtvann]

Very good informative write up.

Talking with Darin, there is a version 3 of the system coming out soon. I haven’t been able to get an exact time frame from him, but I’m hoping he means around the holidays.

I had initially planned on going with the 15g version. I have never made 10g batches, and really don’t see myself wanting to at the home brew level. My kegs are all 5 gallon, and who wants 2 kegs of the same beer.

That being said, I could keg 5g and bottle 5g. If my kegs were empty, I could catch up and make 2 at once. The tipping point for me will be Price. I’ve seen the website say that the only difference is 100 dollars. At that price point, it’s an easy choice, I’ll go the 20 gallon route.

I am concerned though about the 20 gallon making 5 gallon batches. Is it just as good and practical as the 15 gallon version at making 5 gallon batches.

I know the 15 gallon “can” make 10 gallon batches, but it wasn’t designed for that. Is the reverse true for the 20? It “can” make 5 gallon batches, but are there drawbacks. It seems that it was designed to make 10 gallon batches.

Even at a 100 dollar price point, my goal is to make 5 gallon batches. I want the system that can best do that.

 

[Jtvann]

Brew Boss owners

I am looking for a tablet to get and dedicate to brewing.

Main purpose is to run the brew boss system.
Second purpose would be to run tilt hydrometer
Third for beersmith
Last for Brunwater

I doubt I'll have any other apps at all on it. I hear the advice to dedicate a tablet for just the brew boss. Is this seriously that important... to have literally only that app? Could I feasibly run all the apps listed, not all at the same time ofcourse.

I read that the program will run on a 7 inch tablet but better on a 10 inch. Checking to see if there's been any problems running on an Amazon fire HD 7. That tablet is only 50 dollars. If it's important to run on a 10 inch, I could get that one for 100-150

 

[mcgimpkins]

That being said, I could keg 5g and bottle 5g. If my kegs were empty, I could catch up and make 2 at once. The tipping point for me will be Price. I’ve seen the website say that the only difference is 100 dollars. At that price point, it’s an easy choice, I’ll go the 20 gallon route.

I am concerned though about the 20 gallon making 5 gallon batches. Is it just as good and practical as the 15 gallon version at making 5 gallon batches.

I know the 15 gallon “can” make 10 gallon batches, but it wasn’t designed for that. Is the reverse true for the 20? It “can” make 5 gallon batches, but are there drawbacks. It seems that it was designed to make 10 gallon batches.

Even at a 100 dollar price point, my goal is to make 5 gallon batches. I want the system that can best do that.

The 15 gallon version is a pretty solid choice if you only plan on doing 5 gallon batches. As a heads up, with my 20 gallon pot doing 5 gallon batches, every once in a while, I end up having to do a 2 hours boil because of water levels getting low during the mash. I have a boil off of 1.30 gallons per hour, so I will add an extra 1.30 gallons of water to make sure that I have enough water cycling around.

To me it is not a big deal, extending the boil on the Brew Boss is super easy. I don't know if you're chomping at the bit to buy something now, however if you keep an eye on the For Sale section of HBT, I have seen Brew Boss pots and COFIs go for sale at really good prices. Right now I see some guy selling 20 Gallon Brew Boss Pots for $150 a piece. Note: I am in no way associated with the sale of the Pots.

 

[Jtvann]

Yeah, I'm not in a hurry at all right now. I'm dying to upgrade and go electric, but I'm going to wait and see what the various offerings are.

I've got a plethora of ss Brewtech stuff from the past few years. I do t like the idea of abandoning all that stuff.

I do like the idea of going electric brew in a basket. I'm looking forward to cutting my brew day down to less than 4 hrs. I like the looks of the automation from the brew boss controller.

I'm wondering if it makes more sense to buy a complete turn key system from Darin, vs piecing together his controller, an arbor fab basket and an ssbrewtech ekettle.