Brew Boss Systems

[MerlinWerks]

I have found once my gravity starts to go north of 1.060 a sparge helps a lot. To do this I'll do a 120 min boil which increases the total amount of water required. Once I get the total amount of water up to strike temp I'll pull about 1 - 1 1/2 gal and save that to sparge with once the mash and initial drain is complete. I generally will hit 1.070 + with 16 - 17 lbs of grain this way. FWIW my mill is set to .039"

HERE is some good info as to why this works...

 

[SeeMont]

MerlinWerks, thanks, i like you idea of pulling water for sparging. When you add the reheated sparge water, do you just poor it into the COFI? What temperature? 168? Good article and I like the idea a just using more water and then just use a longer boil. Would have to adjust your hop additions thought, which isn't a problem.

 

[MerlinWerks]

I don't bother reheating, it sits in a bucket until I'm ready to use it then I use a small pitcher (2 cup) to pour the sparge water as evenly as possible directly in the basket. I don't have a COFI system, but use an open top mesh basket, I use the small pitcher because it's easier maneuver inside the basket.

Before switching to this method for bigger beers (>1.065) I would be anywhere from 5 -10 pts low, now I am usually 2-3 pts high...

 

[Snicklefritz]

In regards to keeping the grains covered, maybe I had not interpreted that chart correctly. I took that chart as something like this: if I have 19 pounds of grain, that will fill the COFI filter to this height, and you will need X amount of water to keep those submerged. Is there a different way that this chart that Brew Boss provides is meant to be used? Is it even necessary to look at this? Based on your experience, it sounds like the only important part is keeping the temperature probe covered, and it is okay if some of the grains in the COFI sit above the water level, right?

You are definitely reading the chart correctly. The water is meant to completely cover the grain. Any grain sitting above the water is not going to get fully converted and will certainly drop your efficiency even lower. I do a sparge just like MerlinWerks and it bumps me up about 10% mash efficiency on bigger beers (1.060+). All that said I hit 78% mash efficiency usually so 55 seems way low

 

[lotzj07]

Thanks for the info, a sparge seems like it would be what I'm looking for to help me with the higher gravity and maybe help my efficiency too.

Snicklefritz, do you so this with the COFI system? If so, what do you do step by step? Sorry if I'm being a pain, just trying to figure out logistically how I should do my next brew. The brew boss is actually my first foray into homebrewing, so I'm still working on the learning curve.

 

[SeeMont]

When using the traditional mash tun and brewing a big beer, I would be able to do a Parti-gyle second running. I have tried it once with the BB but the second running had such a low SG, I never finished the brew process. Has anyone else come up with a workable process to brew Parti-Gyle with the COFI Brew Boss system?

 

[dbarbagelata]

Freddy, how are you enjoying your setup?
Would you do anything differently if you did it again?
Any issues with any size batch and OG?
The placement of your thermowell ok?
Do you like your recirculation setup?
What efficiency are you getting?

I'm ready to pull the trigger, but I just need to get this batch size issue fully thought out. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[FreddyMar3]

Freddy, how are you enjoying your setup?
Would you do anything differently if you did it again?
Any issues with any size batch and OG?
The placement of your thermowell ok?
Do you like your recirculation setup?
What efficiency are you getting?

I'm ready to pull the trigger, but I just need to get this batch size issue fully thought out. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

I'm very happy with how it turned out. The last beer I made only took me 4 hours including cleanup. Now that I have the app running well most of the time, brewing is a breeze.

I would only make a few small tweaks. I'd give myself an extra 1/4 or 1/2 inch of play on the basket diameter, so 14.5 or 14.75 inches instead of the 15 I went with. you should probably play it safe to add an extra .25 to the feet height as well and go with 3.75 inch feet, which means the actual basket part is 20 inches instead of 20.25 in order to fit in the kettle. I say that because my basket sits JUST above the dip tube. there is zero room to spare so if Utah Bio is off even slightly you might end up having it rest on the dip tube.

I'd also add a cheap ball valve on the pump outlet that leads to the recirc port so that you can adjust flow. I might still do this but for now I have been throttling on the inlet side with no cavitation issues.

I've done four 5 gallon batches so far and the biggest was 14lbs of grain. No issues at all with having enough water height to cover the grains. Now that I feel I've got everything dialed in, I'm trying a 10 gal batch of stout this Saturday which will use 28 lbs of grain. Will report back with results but I don't foresee any issues. Haven't made any big beers on it yet but plan to soon.

Placement of the thermowell is perfect. temp at the recirc arm is same as BB controller reads. the run from the kettle outlet to the inlet is so short that it doesn't have time to lose temp.

I like the recirc setup but might switch to a simpler design. In retrospect, the arms at the top that spray down are probably unnecessary.

Right now I'm averaging about 70% with no sparge and a press plate. I'm going to try sparging with the 10 gal batch this weekend to see if I can get better efficiency. plan is to just put 1.5 gal aside and use a pitcher to pour over the grains while the basket is draining. I'll report back on that.

Here is the build thread I posted with lots of pics: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=573718

 

[dbarbagelata]

Really appreciate the response! I am waiting for CO Brew to get back with me on a couple of questions, then it's time to make a decision!

 

[SansPants]

I had a bit of a bummer today, first brew of this year. When the heaters powered I was met with a nice loud POP and magic smoke escaping from the heater.



The heater itself ohms OK, obviously a short somehow. I noticed that the strain relief connector was not gripping the insulation, the cord had slipped through it.

Good news is that everything else seems to be OK with the exception of the relay controlling the heaters. The relay is stuck on with no control voltage present.

 

[bowtie]

Finally pulled the trigger and ordered the deluxe 20 gal system. Not sure what the lead time is on shipping? Excited to get brewing!

 

[kh54s10]

I had a bit of a bummer today, first brew of this year. When the heaters powered I was met with a nice loud POP and magic smoke escaping from the heater.



The heater itself ohms OK, obviously a short somehow. I noticed that the strain relief connector was not gripping the insulation, the cord had slipped through it.

Good news is that everything else seems to be OK with the exception of the relay controlling the heaters. The relay is stuck on with no control voltage present.

I hope you aren't planning to use that in some way without voltage control.

If the element is ok you might be able to rewire it, but I would only use it if it was fully rewired.....

 

[SansPants]

I hope you aren't planning to use that in some way without voltage control.

If the element is ok you might be able to rewire it, but I would only use it if it was fully rewired.....

Replacement element and relay are on the way. Not planning to use it.

 

[kh54s10]

Replacement element and relay are on the way. Not planning to use it.

Good, it sounded like it would still heat and you were planning to use it. It seemed very dangerous to me. Though I don't know much about electricity/electrical components.

 

[FreddyMar3]

Really appreciate the response! I am waiting for CO Brew to get back with me on a couple of questions, then it's time to make a decision!

Wanted to say that I did my first 10 gal batch last weekend. Oatmeal Stout with 27.5 lbs of grain and 14 gal of water. I held back 1.5 to sparge with and the thickness was still perfectly fine. Looked like a non-biab mash. There was plenty of headspace to go bigger, just not sure that I could do 15 gal of that exact recipe without supplementing with some extract or sugar. Lots of adjuncts and specialty grains.

I'll have to try a 15 gal batch soon.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Wanted to say that I did my first 10 gal batch last weekend. Oatmeal Stout with 27.5 lbs of grain and 14 gal of water. I held back 1.5 to sparge with and the thickness was still perfectly fine. Looked like a non-biab mash. There was plenty of headspace to go bigger, just not sure that I could do 15 gal of that exact recipe without supplementing with some extract or sugar. Lots of adjuncts and specialty grains.

I'll have to try a 15 gal batch soon.

Anyone calculated the reasonable max gravity by batch size, based on the limitations of dead-space, kettle size, and how much water you would need to cover the grains?

 

[FreddyMar3]

Andrew, just want to be clear my response was in regards to my diy system that is similar to BB but not BB itself.

 

[Schumed]

Had my first electrical issue...my breaker tripped and now wont set back...does that mean the breaker has gone bad?

 

[Schumed]

Had my first electrical issue...my breaker tripped and now wont set back...does that mean the breaker has gone bad?

Just a little more detail...breaker tripped while heating up water....I unplugged everything...tried to move breaker to off position than back to on...several times

I've brewed several dozen batches now with the system...first time ever having an issue.

Going to have an electrician come check things out

 

[h22lude]

Just a little more detail...breaker tripped while heating up water....I unplugged everything...tried to move breaker to off position than back to on...several times

I've brewed several dozen batches now with the system...first time ever having an issue.

Going to have an electrician come check things out

If your breaker tripped, it would already be in the off position? So all you need to do is flip it once. I may just be reading your post incorrectly.

If you flipped it back to on and it is still not work, you might have a bad breaker (doesn't happen often but it can). Have you tried checking with a voltmeter?

 

[joebob296]

If your breaker tripped, it would already be in the off position? So all you need to do is flip it once. I may just be reading your post incorrectly.

If you flipped it back to on and it is still not work, you might have a bad breaker (doesn't happen often but it can). Have you tried checking with a voltmeter?

I believe it actually goes to the reset position. You first have to flip it to off and then to the on position. At least that's how my breakers are.

 

[h22lude]

I believe it actually goes to the reset position. You first have to flip it to off and then to the on position. At least that's how my breakers are.

Oh yeah you are right. That is how most are. I did have some that went into the off position when tripped. That is what I was thinking of.

Just a little more detail...breaker tripped while heating up water....I unplugged everything...tried to move breaker to off position than back to on...several times

I've brewed several dozen batches now with the system...first time ever having an issue.

Going to have an electrician come check things out

Does the breaker stay on then trip minutes later or does it not even stay on?

Is the breaker GFCI?

Could be a short in the circuit (which is odd if you haven't changed anything and have done a lot of batches) or a bad breaker.

 

[DiegoBrewer]

I'm (sort of) glad to see that I'm not the only one with the Brew Boss Cofi system who are struggling with their efficiencies. I'm using the Beersmith 15 G Kettle, 5 G Batch default, but have been missing my SG's by a full percentage point. I brewed a Rye Pale last week, with the following grain bill:

10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row)
2 lbs 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
1 lbs 8.0 oz Rye Malt
3.4 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)

14 Lb 7 total grain bill.

Expected SG = 6.6%, Measured at 5.6% even after a 90-minute boil.

The grain bill is actually 2 lbs more than an on-line recipe called for because my expected low efficiency.

I've heard of sparging over the grains while the basket is draining at the end of the mash, however, at the end of my 60 min, 154 degree mash, I heated the wort to 170, and then recirculated it for 15-minutes, so this would seem to be the same as sparging.

What do you guys think?

 

[itsratso]

i've been happy with my effs (75% so far). i stir my grains in the basket for a full 5 min and that has helped a lot.

 

[h22lude]

I'm (sort of) glad to see that I'm not the only one with the Brew Boss Cofi system who are struggling with their efficiencies. I'm using the Beersmith 15 G Kettle, 5 G Batch default, but have been missing my SG's by a full percentage point. I brewed a Rye Pale last week, with the following grain bill:

10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row)
2 lbs 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
1 lbs 8.0 oz Rye Malt
3.4 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)

14 Lb 7 total grain bill.

Expected SG = 6.6%, Measured at 5.6% even after a 90-minute boil.

The grain bill is actually 2 lbs more than an on-line recipe called for because my expected low efficiency.

I've heard of sparging over the grains while the basket is draining at the end of the mash, however, at the end of my 60 min, 154 degree mash, I heated the wort to 170, and then recirculated it for 15-minutes, so this would seem to be the same as sparging.

What do you guys think?

When you say 6.6% and 5.6%, do you mean estimated OG of 1.066 and you got 1.056?

I'm guessing it is either your crush or your not stirring the grains enough.

 

[MerlinWerks]

I'm (sort of) glad to see that I'm not the only one with the Brew Boss Cofi system who are struggling with their efficiencies. I'm using the Beersmith 15 G Kettle, 5 G Batch default, but have been missing my SG's by a full percentage point. I brewed a Rye Pale last week, with the following grain bill:

10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row)
2 lbs 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
1 lbs 8.0 oz Rye Malt
3.4 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)

14 Lb 7 total grain bill.

Expected SG = 6.6%, Measured at 5.6% even after a 90-minute boil.

The grain bill is actually 2 lbs more than an on-line recipe called for because my expected low efficiency.

I've heard of sparging over the grains while the basket is draining at the end of the mash, however, at the end of my 60 min, 154 degree mash, I heated the wort to 170, and then recirculated it for 15-minutes, so this would seem to be the same as sparging.

What do you guys think?

Recirculating wort through the grain bed is not the same as sparging.
The idea with sparging is that after your initial runoff you rinse the grains again with plain water to get any remaining sugars. Wort is already saturated with sugars so you will not gain much, if any by running it through the grain bed again. One method for BIAB would be to reserve a gallon or so of your strike water before you mash-in. After your initial drain, gently pour the reserved strike water over the grains in the COFI to extract more sugars.

I'm also thinking it would be more helpful to express your gravity (SG) as Specific Gravity i.e. 1.055 instead of a percentage.

Increasing your grain bill is a common way to compensate for lower system efficiency, but 2.75 pounds of crystal seems to be a lot for the recipe you listed. You would normally compensate mostly with the base malt.

 

[h22lude]

I'm not sure a sparge when recirculating the mash will get those lost 10 points. When recirculating the sugars stuck in the grain with be about the same as the sugar in the wort. Worth a try though

 

[MerlinWerks]

Initially I only had issues missing my OG with beers >1.065. Once I started doing a small pour-over sparge that issue was resolved. Yesterday I hit my target of 1.075, the first time I brewed this beer, without a sparge, I got 1.063.

Your recipe looks to be 1.065ish so you could be in a bit of grey area. As someone mentioned it could simply be your crush. Do you mill your own grain?

What's your water make-up/mash pH? That most likely would not account for -10 points by itself, but if it's off by too much it could aggravate the situation.

Edit: I didn't account for the fact that you added two extra pounds to the original recipe, so subtracting that, it looks more like a 1.055 beer. That should be totally doable without a sparge, I would definitely be looking at your crush in that case...

 

[h22lude]

As soon as I started crushing my own grains, my efficiency went up. Online stores and LHBS don't always have the best mill gaps. Most LHBS owners brew. They most likely crush the grains based on their own equipment. It may work for them but it won't work for everyone. Not their fault, just something homebrewers need to deal with. Best way to deal with it is to crush your own grains at the gap you need.

I'm going with crush as well.

 

[Brewphish]

What are you guys crushing at? I've been going on the coarse side at .050 and have been lower than expected, even when I tried sparging with a gallon and a half. Wish there was enough room to get the top off/on of the COFI while it's in the kettle.