Brewmation: An amazing turnkey brewery (not a Brew-Magic vs B3, but with comparisons)

[halucin8]

Good news. I can gravity feed through the plate chiller!!

 

[drmark50]

Here are some pics of my Brewmation. Sorry it took so long, but my computer was dead for a week.

I am busy now working on the best way to incorporate my plate chiller into the system.

Cheers.

That's a nice looking man cave! The brewmation looks like the centerpiece of the room. Can entertain with homebrew while homebrewing.

I have posted another short video on YouTube of how I chill on my brewmation. Here is the link

 

[drmark50]

Just posted another video, this one demonstrating the fully auto function of the brewmation.

 

[wreals]

That is a very nice system. I actually like the design of it and it seems pretty well thought out, even if it does remind me of my first job, washing dishes, at a pizza restaurant.

Is it just me or does that control panel look like an in-dash car stereo? I assume it requires 220v service.

It's on my gear-lust list now.

 

[SankePankey]

That is a very nice system. I actually like the design of it and it seems pretty well thought out, even if it does remind me of my first job, washing dishes, at a pizza restaurant.

Is it just me or does that control panel look like an in-dash car stereo? I assume it requires 220v service.

It's on my gear-lust list now.

I'll let you now how my first brew session goes. Memorial Day. T minus....

There's a bunch of info on the thread already for power requirements. 30A 220V Single Phase w/ GFCI is what's required/recommended. The brewmation uses 26 amps.

It reminds me of being a bar tender with the required (in NY at least) triple sink washing regiment for glassware. I bet you could deep fry some mean turkeys in this mofo , fo sho.

 

[Trouble_Brewing]

Thanks for he info! this looks like a nice setup for pilot brewing. I gotta say, while most posters here seem to be cool, there are also some real @sshats who have to dump on anything and everyone! Don't let them get you down...

 

[SankePankey]

Wow. I have a lot to learn. The brewmation worked great. I sucked.

Don't even know if it will ferment. We shall see.

I made a plethora of dumb mistakes and ended up with something I know not what. Was nowhere near my target gravity because I screwed up the mash. Didn't realize the shutoff valve to the recirc pump was closed for about 8 minutes at the start of the mash, so my mash got up to 180, at least on the bottom. I put in colder water as soon as I noticed to get the temp down. The mash tun probe works best about 4 inches down from the top of the mash lid, but not when you screw it up like this. I was watching a happy 156 degree mash until I actually started recircing and it shot up to about 180. I actually did get a boil over in the BK because I was so eager to 'crank it up to 11' and blinked with 15 gal and about 2 inches from the top of the kettle. Well, I can say the GFCI works great cause it tripped. Total operator error. The brewhouse did well. I sucked. My final gravity was way high so I had to add hot tap water to get it down (didn't even get it down all the way) and so I could let it boil for a 5 min to sterilize. Probably a stupid thing to do, but I'm not sure how to fix disasters like this.

Anyways, probably killed my beer. We'll see. A lot of my setup isn't even ready to go (oxygenation, grain mill, etc.) and I was really just rushing to get something in the fermenter. Probably not the best plan.

 

[SankePankey]

I will say that when I tripped the GFCI, then dried off the brewmation, and reset the breaker, my brewmation was right there with a "resume" or "restart" dialog and a "how much time elapsed in the boil" ..to start the timer where you want.

Nice.

Also, I'm happy to report that you if you need to adjust for disasters (like adding more strike water like I did, etc.) you can do so without tripping up the full auto brew session. It doesn't seem the brewmation is a prima donna regarding the auto cycle which is great.

 

[passedpawn]

Sooo... there still needs to be a human in the loop. Glad to know George Jetson's brewing automaton hasn't entirely obsoleted the brewer!

180 won't instantly denature all enzymes in your mash, so you are probably OK there. You'll just have to wait till the end of the week and see what kind of attenuation you get. I'll bet it goes just fine.

Adding water to bring down a high OG is something I do all the time. No worries there either.

 

[SankePankey]

I knew that was coming (immediately) Yes, the brewmation does require me to turn on appropriate valves to work correctly. It still felt very star trek, though I must admit. Once I do those "well, I'll never do that again" things... I'll get it right.

I don't know if I even pitched right. So, we'll see. I know my oxygenation is inadequate. I'm just shooting it down the bev dip tube for now until my in line stone cap is made. I left quite a bit of trub/yeast in my 3 gal corny that I didn't pitch, so it's definitely under pitched. I think I may have forgotten to shake it up real good with the inch of starter beer. Can't remember.... But it's definitely an inch of yeast that I left I'm seeing this morning.

I guess I really felt the pressure to get a batch done while my rig really isn't completely done and is fairly complex, especially for a noobz. Cain't wait till I can show it off. Tried taking some vids yesterday and I just had to put it down....

 

[passedpawn]

I knew that was coming (immediately) Yes, the brewmation does require me to turn on appropriate valves to work correctly. It still felt very star trek, though I must admit. Once I do those "well, I'll never do that again" things... I'll get it right.

I don't know if I even pitched right. So, we'll see. I know my oxygenation is inadequate. I'm just shooting it down the bev dip tube for now until my in line stone cap is made. I left quite a bit of trub/yeast in my 3 gal corny that I didn't pitch, so it's definitely under pitched. I think I may have forgotten to shake it up real good with the inch of starter beer. Can't remember.... But it's definitely an inch of yeast that I left I'm seeing this morning.

I guess I really felt the pressure to get a batch done while my rig really isn't completely done and is fairly complex, especially for a noobz. Cain't wait till I can show it off. Tried taking some vids yesterday and I just had to put it down....

Sankey, it's a hobby, relax. It's great you jumped in there and got started. You were going to make a bunch of mistakes, just like everyone else here has.

My first all-grain batch got dumped on the grass due to a hopelessly stuck sparge.

Regarding pitching yeast from a flask, I decant all the beer off the top and then add some of the wort to it in order to "swish" the yeast off the bottom. I'm always pumping the wort into a carboy anyway, so it's easy to squirt some into the flask.

 

[SankePankey]

I'm going to wait till I see any signs of ferment, and then decide whether to just buy the same recipe and do again. I massacred the boil too, so not sure if I'll get any hop character like Dead Guy Ale.

Also, there is the possibility that my refractometer isn't calibrated. I'll need to get some distilled water and try it out.

Anyhoo, good tip on just putting some new wort into the starter vessel. Now I know what yeast is like. My starter looked/smelled good, I just didn't actually pitch all of the yeast. Pooop!

 

[kappclark]

Let us know how it turns out....how do you vent all the steam ?

I brew w/electric in basement, but if weather is nice, I do the boil on the cooker on the porch (big time saver fo me bec I only use 2KW, which gets to a boil in a longer time)

 

[SankePankey]

I brew in front of a window with one of those 2 fan in-the-window fans on 'exhaust'. Totally good enough.

Kevin (who makes them) brews in his basement/man cave with a very small bathroom vent installed above the BK. It's really only the BK that needs venting.

I will surely be posting videos and more commentary once I have all the kinks worked out and have brewed several batches. I had several equipment problems (like my mash element fried mid-brew and needed to be replaced) that Kevin readily fixed quite fast. It's nice that I haven't had to do any of that thru mail since he's an hr away from me and I travel near his house for my job. Fixes have been 24 hrs fast.

I will say that the above beer I questioned (in my newb doubt moment) turned out really verrrry yummy and so did my second batch. I mean, real yummy like I would definitely buy another 6'er of both. My fermenters and chamber are performing incredibly well though, which is even more important than what happens during the brew (as I am now noticing first hand).

I have done several mods to the brewmation that make it more suitable for me and can't wait to share. Did a Jamil-o-chill using the Mash pump - In-line aerator off the BK tri-clamp output.

Cheers.

 

[pickles]

How do you like the peristaltic pumps? Any specs on them, size brand etc?

 

[patrck17]

That rig is awsome. I would have never thought to just use stainless sinks to brew in but what a great idea. Good to know you are having such success with it.

 

[SankePankey]

How do you like the peristaltic pumps? Any specs on them, size brand etc?

I will definitely go over the pumps on my followup. At work, they are great. I did actually have one break and Kevin got a replacement from the manu. He says its the first he's seen break. Then about a week later one of the other fellows who got one in this group buy had one break in exactly the same way, so we're all guessing a bad run at the manufacturer. I'm relatively confident now in them, but I will revise my review of them as being 100% steel. The articulating arm that holds the rollers is polycarbonate and it broke. My guess is the manu had a bad run casting plastic. Anyhoo, it was (according to Kevin) an easy swap for the new part, so I may decide to get a spare articulating arm from the manu if any doubts persist. (I didn't actually get that fixed pump back, they sent him a brand new one for me, he just checked it for me to see how user serviceable it is, which it is.)

As far as the specs, dunno. They are what they are (speed/flow) to get a perfect sparge. The level of liquid in the mash tun simply does not change with the volume one pump is inputting sparge water from the HLT and the other in tandem sending wort to the BK. And with the sparging lid dispersing evenly out 16 pin holes, pretty near perfect IMO. The sparge is not very fast as it shouldn't be- takes maybe 40 min, dunno haven't timed.

The rig does come with other pumps that are good for what they are. They are bilge/sump pumps. The HLT recirc pump is as fast enough to be like (or above really) good house water PSI and works great with the chiller. The mash recirc pump is the same kind of pump but electrically speed reduced. It's about the right speed for mashing or say whirlpooling, which is what I diverted it to do also (so it would all be push button controllable via the control box). It isn't rated for boiling though, so I have to stir the chiller for about 7 min until it's more around 170 degrees, which the pumps can take. I could upgrade the pump if I want, but I don't have a prob with a little stirring action.

I appreciate the understanding for the amount of time it takes me with a followup review from everyone. Broke my arm last week, so don't think I'll be brewing for a little, just drinking. Damnation Well, at least I have 2 tasty batches to drink!

 

[SankePankey]

That rig is awsome. I would have never thought to just use stainless sinks to brew in but what a great idea.

You passed the test. You're not a ******!

 

[sicabeer]

This past weekend I went down and visited the brewmation laboratory. Kevin is a great guy, and his setup is pretty interesting. I am going to steal his setup of basically building the brewmation on top of a counter top, drilling 3 holes in it for drainage. He also has a sink built out of the front, which is a pretty good idea.
Now it is going to become more of an issue of carpentry and trips to the store to wait for a scratch and dent sale on some counter tops.

I will promise to take some pictures of my setup. I wasn't ready to jump in fully, so I have a partial system, which looks fantastic! the drainage looks different that the other pictures, but that is OK, I like how mine looks better.

 

[ocluke]

I will promise to take some pictures of my setup. I wasn't ready to jump in fully, so I have a partial system, which looks fantastic! the drainage looks different that the other pictures, but that is OK, I like how mine looks better.

Any pictures?

 

[ocluke]

I would appreciate hearing from any of you guys who did a group buy on this Brewmation setup. By now, you should have been able to run about 13,000 brew sessions through that automated device

I'm in the market for a system, and although a build sounds very fun, I'm not really in a position to spend the amount of time required to do my own thing.

 

[SankePankey]

I would appreciate hearing from any of you guys who did a group buy on this Brewmation setup. By now, you should have been able to run about 13,000 brew sessions through that automated device

Yeah, unless you broke your arm. I have a few batches under my belt and am wanting more brew history with it before I post my final review. I would have no problem sharing my experience with you in a personal message until then, but I didn't want to get into any hot piss throwing exchanges because I don't have proper experience. I hope to post more than just pics in the end.

My arm is mending, so I am getting back into business. Besides, I've done drunkted all my beer, so I'm in need! But long story short, despite some technical difficulties in ironing out the kinks, my beers have been very tasty as of batch one, which is what matters.

I think we all have made some cool mods too. I'm still working on some (and even some with Kevin's help, which is very generous of him).

Feel free to PM me.

 

[halucin8]

I am 15 batches in on my Brewmation since receiving it in May. I am enjoying the hell out of it so far.

There have been a few glitches here and there, but I must say that Kevin has always been readily accessible for tips and software changes to suit my brewing style better. I have not lost any beer from a glitch.

I have been getting a pretty consistent brewhouse efficiency of 74-77%. I experimented using the BrewMagic style mash recirc with just the hose laying on top of the grain bed, but went back to the mash lid after two batches. I did a little work on the mash recirc manifold. I used some cpvc to construct a manifold that, I feel, better circulates over the top of the mash. Mash temps stay within +/-1df of setpoint. I had Kevin add a mashout step to my software and the MT can bring the temp from 153 to 168 in around 15 minutes.

I have a cleanup routine down and never even remove either of the vessels.

Here are a few pictures.

I am very happy with the system and Kevin. I find myself brewing much more than with my previous system. I just have to start drinking more!!

Cheers.

 

[bobbytuck]

I am 15 batches in on my Brewmation since receiving it in May. I am enjoying the hell out of it so far.

There have been a few glitches here and there, but I must say that Kevin has always been readily accessible for tips and software changes to suit my brewing style better. I have not lost any beer from a glitch.

.

What have some of the glitches been?

 

[halucin8]

I've only really had a couple brewery glitches. One was blowing a fuse on one of the BK burners. Kevin researched the cabling and code requirements and discovered that I could run 20A fuses instead of the 18A ones it came with. He mailed out the new fuses immediately. No problem since.

The other was the MT temp probe not being recognized when I first received it. The ground wire got knocked loose during shipment. I like the fact that the brewery does a check of these things and won't allow you to brew if something is disconnected.

Other than those two, everything else has been personal preference stuff like adding the mashout step, speeding up the mash recirculation pump, etc.

Kevin has been truly great with everything. You couldn't ask for better support.

Cheers.

 

[SankePankey]

Both me and DrMark had one of our peristaltic pumps break. They were part of the same order that Kevin placed for them during assembly, so obviously a bad run at the factory or whatever, can't blame him. Also, my mash tun element fried. Kevin employs a shop that forms them in conjunction with the false bottom so it is out of his hands for part of the process (which I believe he is now doing himself. I'd say some of his parts suppliers have been the source of most issues.

I will say that if Kevin weren't great to work with and very responsive and willing to take care of you quickly, this would be a no go and I would not recommend. Great communication and follow thru with customers is all you can ask from any vendor, especially for one you would be putting that extra bit of faith in for such a radical system. The full auto capabilities are so nice. Kevin's working on programming a step mash schedule and hop addition alarms for me as we speak. For the automation part, it has been pretty flawless. It has been really well built and functioning.

 

[SankePankey]

I have a cleanup routine down and never even remove either of the vessels.

Here are a few pictures.

Those are some hot pics halucin8. I'm gonna have to keep up with the Jones's and post some soon. I like your chiller placement. You gravity feed that thing?

I'd love to know what your cleanup routine is. I haven't gotten it all down yet.

I am thinking about replacing the mash sump pump with a 12v March 809 so I can start the whirlpool right at 212*. It's another $200+ though. I could have bought a Corola at this point-sheesh!.

EDIT: OK. I'll bite: Here are a couple of my mods---
1- 'the assembly'- The hose goes to my whirlpool pump (which is also the mash pump) and the instrument tee before is both a hop-back and an in-line oxygenator (depending on whether I have a cap or my cap/diffusion stone weld on the underneath clamp... still a work in progress)
2- The bazooka screen is to give extra height so I don't get any reduced flow for a whirlpool. Without a whirlpool, the stock config is fine, but with a whirlpool, I got a significant reduced flow with pellet hops.
FYI- Kevin helped me install both of these. Thanks Kevin!

 

[limulus]

I think this is a neat system. It is a bit spendy if you are the diy type, but there are lots of guys, me included, who are just tired of building things. I generally wind up with the wrong parts about 1/2 the time and have to exchange or get refunds. I still use my diy system, but I appreciate this for what it is. It does remind me of a system called the Beermatic 2000 posted by an Aussie on youtube:

 

[Yambor44]

That's where I saw that! I knew it looked familiar.

 

[CenturyStanding]

Would this system be suitable for commercial applications? Seems like a great pilot system for a brewery to test new batches on, one keg at a time, without too much labor investment. You could set it and forget it and just go about your regular brew day.

Any thoughts?