Brewer's Edge Mash & Boil Detailed Review

[micraftbeer]

I just did a detailed review of the Mash & Boil electric e-BIAB unit. It performed very well and definitely is worth it's money, performing much better than its $300 price tag would make you think.

http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2017/09/hands-on-review-brewers-edge-mash-boil-electric-brewery.html

HBT No longer wanted to post hands-on reviews if vendors provided the equipment free of charge, so I had to go elsewhere. But if anyone has any questions about my experience that isn't captured in my review, feel free to drop me a line!

 

[ApolloMC]

Hi. Sorry to revive a year+ old thread, but I thought I'd ask here so others can see, rather than PM you.

I'm looking to buy one of the Mash and Boil electric e-BIAB systems. It seems like a great bang for your buck. I've been brewing all grain with a cooler Mash Tun, Hot Liquor Tank, propane burner setup, and my brew days are long. Looking to go e-BIAB primarily to shorten the day, but also simplify and to be able to brew inside.

I read your review and it gave a lot of great information, thanks! But I did have a question that you didn't mention... what sort of mash efficiency can you expect from this system? I assume it will be low due to it being BIAB, but I'm also thinking I could buy a wort pump and recirculate during the mash, which I expect would help.

My main concern isn't necessarily low mash efficiency, but the 7.5 gallon size. A low ME can always be fixed by just adding more grain, but not if your max boil volume is something like 6 gallons. Not that I do a lot of high ABV brews, but I'm just trying to get an idea of how limited I would be.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ajford19]

just a heads up, the 2nd version is coming out at the end of the month

 

[micraftbeer]

what sort of mash efficiency can you expect from this system?

I got about 72% looking at my profile I created in BeerSmith. I've evaluated a number of e-BIAB units, and for me, they all seem to be around there. The variables I've seen are if I'm brewing with a bag and give it a good squeeze/wrenching to get out all the juices, I usually gain about 2-3% efficiency. And the 72% is with doing some batch sparging, pouring about 0.5 - 1 gallon of 168F water through the malt pipe at a time. If I did full volume mash, I would see around 70%.

And I did exactly as you were thinking, I had a pump so I ran my own recirculating mash. That helped keep my temperatures more accurate as well on the controller. Or should I say, closer to the mash volume average.

 

[ApolloMC]

I got about 72% looking at my profile I created in BeerSmith. I've evaluated a number of e-BIAB units, and for me, they all seem to be around there. The variables I've seen are if I'm brewing with a bag and give it a good squeeze/wrenching to get out all the juices, I usually gain about 2-3% efficiency. And the 72% is with doing some batch sparging, pouring about 0.5 - 1 gallon of 168F water through the malt pipe at a time. If I did full volume mash, I would see around 70%.

And I did exactly as you were thinking, I had a pump so I ran my own recirculating mash. That helped keep my temperatures more accurate as well on the controller. Or should I say, closer to the mash volume average.

Awesome. Thanks! 72% efficiency doesn't sound too bad. Do you have any issues squeezing the bag? I've always heard never to do that for whatever reason. Off flavors I guess.

 

[ApolloMC]

just a heads up, the 2nd version is coming out at the end of the month

Thanks for the heads up. I did not know that. Worth holding out for.

 

[micraftbeer]

Do you have any issues squeezing the bag?

No issues that I've noted. I will add though, that my bag squeezing (pardon the phrase) hah been done on a different system that actually uses a bag. With the M&B malt tube, I suppose you probably could ram something down there to size the grains. The mash bag lends itself much easier to this though.

 

[Mybuddypete]

Hi. Sorry to revive a year+ old thread, but I thought I'd ask here so others can see, rather than PM you.

I'm looking to buy one of the Mash and Boil electric e-BIAB systems. It seems like a great bang for your buck. I've been brewing all grain with a cooler Mash Tun, Hot Liquor Tank, propane burner setup, and my brew days are long. Looking to go e-BIAB primarily to shorten the day, but also simplify and to be able to brew inside.

I read your review and it gave a lot of great information, thanks! But I did have a question that you didn't mention... what sort of mash efficiency can you expect from this system? I assume it will be low due to it being BIAB, but I'm also thinking I could buy a wort pump and recirculate during the mash, which I expect would help.

My main concern isn't necessarily low mash efficiency, but the 7.5 gallon size. A low ME can always be fixed by just adding more grain, but not if your max boil volume is something like 6 gallons. Not that I do a lot of high ABV brews, but I'm just trying to get an idea of how limited I would be.

Thanks in advance.

I'm not OP, but I've had a Mash and Boil for a little over a year.

I can get up to a 7.5% abv beer with about 70-72% brewhouse efficiency with the Mash and Boil. I use a DC powered small solar pump from Amazon ($25). I only picked up a few gravity points by recirculating. That's with a target fermenter volume of 5.25gal. I get about .8gal boil off per hour.

If you want to get a higher abv, while strictly using the Mash and Boil, you can always add some DME or LME.

Another idea: keep your cooler mash tun and use the Mash and Boil to heat up strike water and for a boil kettle. Actually, this is what I do. I only use my Mash and Boil on super cold winter days in the house. My primary system is a DIY 240v RIMS system that I use ~9 months of the year.

My process:
1. Heat strike water in the Mash and Boil
2. Mash into the 10gal cooler
3. Heat sparge water in the Mash and Boil and transfer to a smaller 5gal cooler.
4. Drain the cooler mash tun into the Mash and Boil and batch sparge.
5. Boil in the Mash and Boil.

 

[ApolloMC]

I'm not OP, but I've had a Mash and Boil for a little over a year.

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions. That's a good idea, just using it to heat strike / sparge water separately from a propane burner. It sounds like there are a few different ways the M&B can help my brew days, whether it's a full eBIAB solution or a just another heating element that I can automate.

My wife has been asking me for gift suggestions, and I can't see much better for the price point.

 

[ApolloMC]

just a heads up, the 2nd version is coming out at the end of the month

Can I ask where you heard this? I don't see anything on their website about it. I also searched these forums but didn't find anything there either.

 

[Jag75]

Can I ask where you heard this? I don't see anything on their website about it. I also searched these forums but didn't find anything there either.

I heard it also . My aunt owns a homebrew store . She told me she heard around xmas time .

 

[ajford19]

I heard it also . My aunt owns a homebrew store . She told me she heard around xmas time .

Can I ask where you heard this? I don't see anything on their website about it. I also searched these forums but didn't find anything there either.

i emailed brewers edge and they told me that the distributor would be getting them at the end of the month and to have my lhb reach out to buy.

 

[ApolloMC]

i emailed brewers edge and they told me that the distributor would be getting them at the end of the month and to have my lhb reach out to buy.

Cool. Thanks. I'll hold off on my purchase then.

 

[MrBaloo]

I wish they would announce what changes they are making.. I want to get one of these to use while I build my system.. (tired of not having homebrew) but would like to know if it is worth holding out for....


Baloo

 

[Jag75]

I wish they would announce what changes they are making.. I want to get one of these to use while I build my system.. (tired of not having homebrew) but would like to know if it is worth holding out for....


Baloo

Rumor I heard was a pump and immersion chiller . Could be more to it then that but that's what I heard

 

[ajford19]

its basically the same thing + a pump. i did not hear anything about a chiller or any changes in size/power. (i could be wrong)

A lot of places are going to have the first version on sale for around $240 for black friday. you can buy that and a Bayite pump for ~$25 on amazon to recirc.

Thats what I am going to do to get me through the winter (and for small batches and recipe development) until I can evaluate the upcoming SS single vessel system..

 

[ApolloMC]

its basically the same thing + a pump. i did not hear anything about a chiller or any changes in size/power. (i could be wrong)

A lot of places are going to have the first version on sale for around $240 for black friday. you can buy that and a Bayite pump for ~$25 on amazon to recirc.

Thanks for the info. I would rather have a pump separate anyway I think. If it breaks, it's easier to replace. And I can pick the pump I want rather than being locked into whatever comes with the unit. I see lots of complaints about the Robobrew built in pump.

I was hoping they were going to increase the size. I would gladly spend another $100 for the increased capacity. But if I can find any good black Friday deals for the v1 I think I'll take it.

 

[Beenym88]

I know this post is super old but I use the mash and boil and have a question. Does anyone else have an issue with the draining taking an extremely long time. I brewed today and let it drip and sparged for almost 90 minutes. I also use a brewbag so as time went on I started messing with the bag to make things faster.

 

[Dancy]

I know this post is super old but I use the mash and boil and have a question. Does anyone else have an issue with the draining taking an extremely long time. I brewed today and let it drip and sparged for almost 90 minutes. I also use a brewbag so as time went on I started messing with the bag to make things faster.

Other posts mention long sparge times though not 90 minutes. I just did my second batch on the M&B with pump — a 4.25 gallon recipe but 14+ lbs of grain (Belgian Strong Dark Ale) with a Wilser BIAB in the malt pipe. The sparge — just guessing — was maybe 45 minutes with 1.75 G and I squeezed the bag as I always have. The flow was better on this brew than it was on the first 9lb, 5G batch — I think a 1/2 lb of rice hulls made a big difference. I haven’t entered my #s in an efficiency calculator yet but I know it is definitely better that the first batch. I know the max on this unit is 15 lbs but that is likely pushing it so rice hulls makes sense, I stirred frequently even with the recirc pump.View attachment 710858