Clawhammer Supply eBIAB Review

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smbdyshero

smbdyshero

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So I got the Clawhammer System all put together. I did not take too much setup time or technical know-how to put it together. If you run into any snags, just check out their youtube videos on setup for the system and also the element. The system was reading +/- 2 degrees Fahrenheit from what my thermapen read. I did a leak test and everything was good to go. I was not a fan of the plate chiller, but it does the job and is fairly easy to clean. It does not screw apart so cleaning has to be thorough. Below is a timeline of my first brew day with it because everyone wants to know the magical time it took to heat to mash and time to boil.

I brewed a brown ale with 10 lbs of grain, but could easily fit just over 20 lbs of grain with full water volume in the kettle. Grain bill was milled pretty fine and that definitely helped reached 1.050 gravity. I was shooting for 1.056 so I'm not too upset.

I started with 62F water and it took about 50 minutes to an hour to reach 152F for mash temp. To be noted, I do not have the system insulated. I originally planned on going with around 165F or 170F to compensate for the temperature drop from grain, but decided to see how quickly the element would get it back up to 152F. Temps dropped to around 144F and got back to 152F within minutes.

The system held 152F pretty well, with a few fluctuations up to 154F then back down.

Mashing out was easy. I lifted the grain basket and inserted the metal feet myself, but I don't think this would be possible with a larger grain bill. Assistance would definitely be needed. Vorloufed for about 10 minutes with the pump and partially opened ball valve.

It took a little over an hour to get to boil at 208F with the lid on. I reduced power to 75% with the lid on and it was still boiling more vigorously then I expected. I took the lid off and the temperature dropped to around 205F at 75% but I ramped it up to 100% and got it back to 208F fairly quickly. The boil was still rolling but not as vigorously with the lid off. You will notice more condensation and boil off obviously, so take that into consideration when planning recipe and water amounts. I ended up putting the lid back on and there was still a fair amount of steam coming out where the lid meets the hop spider.

The plate chiller performed very well with very cold ground water (I'm in Montana). After finishing up the chilling and pitching the yeast, I now got to see how long it would take to clean up. I need to get better at not spilling wort when removing the quick disconnects to empty out excess wort. I emptied them and reconnected everything, including plate chiller. I ran PBW through everything while cleaning up other random brew day accessories. I dumped the PBW and ran a rinse through the whole system, also reversing lines on the plate chiller. I hate seeing standing water in my kettle no matter how little of an amount, so I pulled off all the hoses and hung them up, unplugged the temperature sensor and unscrewed the TC clamp for the element and took the kettle to my utility sink and sprayed it out real quick. Gave it a quick dry and left everything unattached.

All in all, it took about 5 hours start to finish for the brew day, but a lot of the time waiting for it to reach temps I worked on other projects so it wasn't too bad. I know a lot of guys want a vigorous boil, but I prefer the boil with the system because it will probably never boil over while left unattended. I think after a few more brews and getting everything dialed in I will really enjoy brewing on it.

I'm hoping to get photos of the next brew day, my phone was acting up so I apologize for the lack of photos.
 
Thanks for the review smbdyshero. I have been debating this system as well as the brew-boss and the high gravity build.

Out of curiosity, why did you choose this system as opposed to others?

This is a tough decision for me and I am trying to collect as much review data as possible, so thank you.
 
The Brew- Boss "value" system is $1300 and doesn't have the SS basket, only a mesh bag, I wasn't a huge fan of their layout with the smaller control box, awkward recirculation arm and just the overall look especially for that price point. The CHS system is very similar to the HG system, besides the control box and the 2250W BoilCoil. I only had a 15a breaker already in place with GFCI in my basement where I have the brew system, so I would have had to upgrade to 20a breaker and didn't want to do any messing around with breakers or wiring, which is why I chose the CHS 120v system over some other 240v system. I really like the fact that literally everything on it is replaceable and not proprietary, but that can be said about the other two systems as well. The HG system is very similar to the CHS, but with the Bayou Classic kettle and the SS "basket" that it comes with you still have to use a mesh bag and I did not want that. The kettle quality of the CHS is much better than the quality of my Bayou Classic that I already own. The HG is just a little bit larger volume wise, but I don't see that making a difference in the beers that can be made.

All in all, I really like the look of the CHS system and control box and I felt like the quality and craftsmanship was on par with what I was looking for and also in the price range I wanted for a 120v system.
 
Thanks for posting this review! I'm looking at the CHS system, and I have a few questions. On their website, they say it's a 10.5 gallon kettle but in the pictures, it looks more like 6 gallons. Which is it? Also, did the element come wired and assembled?
 
crooow said:
Thanks for posting this review! I'm looking at the CHS system, and I have a few questions. On their website, they say it's a 10.5 gallon kettle but in the pictures, it looks more like 6 gallons. Which is it? Also, did the element come wired and assembled?
Click to expand...

I ended up getting this system, it is a 10.5 and the element did not come wired or assembled. I brewed my first brew with it last night and I dig it. Efficiency wasn’t great but that could have been me.
 
crooow said:
Thanks for posting this review! I'm looking at the CHS system, and I have a few questions. On their website, they say it's a 10.5 gallon kettle but in the pictures, it looks more like 6 gallons. Which is it? Also, did the element come wired and assembled?
Click to expand...
The kettle is in fact 10.5 gallons. I believe their 1st generation test system was a smaller kettle. The element does NOT come wired. They've got a really good YT video walking through the steps to put it together.
 
timnagle said:
I ended up getting this system, it is a 10.5 and the element did not come wired or assembled. I brewed my first brew with it last night and I dig it. Efficiency wasn’t great but that could have been me.
Click to expand...
I had horrible efficiency my first two or three brews. I ended up milling grain super fine and now I'm back on track. I brewed this morning and was shooting for 1.050 and hit it right on the money. Didn't need to have longer boil either. Business as usual. Also, when you hang the grain basket to drain, I always put on my brew gloves and push on the grain to get that last drop of concentrated wort. I usually bump my numbers up about .005 doing this.
 
Thanks, guys. I'm also curious how much you have to baby this thing. I have a 3 vessel propane system that I do 10 gallon batches on. I love it. ...but I also have 4 kids. I'm looking for something where I can knock out the occasional 5 gallon batch with minimal supervision. I was looking at systems like the grainfather and robobrew, but the proprietary components worry me. It looks like you can pick up the the clawhammer system without the controller for $550 (I'd just get an inkbird for a hundred bucks).

...so I guess my question is whether it takes a lot of fiddling to get this thing working right. Can I leave it alone while waiting to hit temps, dump in some grain, leave, and then come back when it's time to do the boil?
 
I think that would be acceptable. I bought the system without the controller, they are out apparently which is why the system now exists without controller. I got the Inkbird and a thermowell. Gets to mash temp in a reasonable amount of time. Needed the lid on most of the way for the boil in my environment. Equipment in nice, videos are helpful for setup.
 
crooow said:
Thanks, guys. I'm also curious how much you have to baby this thing. I have a 3 vessel propane system that I do 10 gallon batches on. I love it. ...but I also have 4 kids. I'm looking for something where I can knock out the occasional 5 gallon batch with minimal supervision. I was looking at systems like the grainfather and robobrew, but the proprietary components worry me. It looks like you can pick up the the clawhammer system without the controller for $550 (I'd just get an inkbird for a hundred bucks).

...so I guess my question is whether it takes a lot of fiddling to get this thing working right. Can I leave it alone while waiting to hit temps, dump in some grain, leave, and then come back when it's time to do the boil?
Click to expand...

I brewed this morning. Literally threw 7 gallons of water in, set mash temp for 154 and walked away. Set the alarm to come on when it hit mash temp, which was about an hour. Mashed in then played darts and cleaned my garage. I'd come back and stir every 15 mins but that's not really necessary with recirculation. Then pulll grains and bump PID to 100%. Maybe 5 mins to squeeze excess wort from grains. Put lid back on and set alarm to come on when it reached 208. Ran down to my basement where the system is and threw in hops. Went back to cleaning. Came back at 30 mins for more hops. 15 mins later I threw in whirlfloc and recirculated wort through chiller. I usually stay with the system during recirculation through chiller until I'm done brewing. The system is really accurate and doesn't need to be babysat. I absolutely love it. I was in the same boat you are in, wanting a simple system yet not proprietary. If anything breaks, I can easily order a new part online and have it up and running ASAP.
 
The only thing it's missing is the delayed start function of some of the other systems. That would be nice to wake up to mash ready water
 
I was a 3 vessel AG brewer back in the day (before I got divorced and lost my rig in the settlement) and wanted to get back into brewing. I saw this set up and it looks like a good rig for an apartment. Would this be feasible to run in the kitchen of an apartment? Also, is this classified as a BIAB set up?

Thanks
 
This will work great for your setup. I have it setup in a small utility room in my basement. You might have a little condensation buildup but it dissipates quickly. Yes it is classified as BIAB. You will need a grain mill to grind the grain finer to hit your gravity or you could possibly request for grains to be double milled when you buy them.
 
I was getting about 50% efficiency until I started milling really fine. Last batch I was aiming for 1.050. I hit 1.038 ish after lifting the grain basket, hit 1.042 after pushing on the grains to get more liquid out, and hit 1.050 on the money after boil. It will be very hard to mill too fine for this basket.
 
Perfect, thanks, I was worried about that, I had this last batch milled once and it seemed pretty fine so I didnt go further. Next time I will mill twice if not more. I did put a plate into the grain basket and pushed but maybe I will add a weight to further squeeze more of that sweet wort out. I dont recall them showing the squeezing of the grains on any of their videos.
 
They don't do any squeezing of the grains, not sure why. It definitely helps with hitting those numbers. I got a pair of those Blichmann gloves and push on the grain. Usually pushing more towards the outside so the liquid comes out the sides. This last batch was milled ridiculously fine, just to see if I could get a stuck sparge. It only helped
 
So, I did my second brew on the Clawhammer system. I decided to do a basic Cream Ale. I had the grains double crushed and assumed an efficiency of 60% when building the grain bill. Nailed the OG of 1.055, but that is at 60%, I really want to at least hit 70%.

So I have two things I want to try...

1. Hold back about 1-2 gallons and sparge when the basket is raised up out of the water.

2. Crush my own grains, and crush them super fine. This means I need to buy a mill.

Thoughts?
 
I ended up buying that cheap grain mill from homebrewing.org. I think it was 100$ and I set it up using my drill to crank it. Did you end up pushing on the grain after raising the basket? I love the system, but I think I will need to incorporate more grain into my grain bill to hit the numbers more consistently. Im gonna be brewing a simple Pale Ale soon. I'll post my results too.
 
I didn’t push on the grains at all, I was so happy I hit the numbers I wanted I completely forgot. So if we are adding grain to hit numbers we are compensating for lack of efficiency.
 
I agree. I usually get about .005 bump in gravity from pushing on grain. Gonna try one more batch at regular grain bill and see where I end up. If not, I don't mind adding a little bit more grain to help it out. System works flawlessly otherwise. Still trying to disconnect hoses without spilling wort. I usually put a small bucket under the QD as I pull it off
 
Do you think that the stovetop really brought your time down from mash to boil? I've kinda committed myself to brewing in the basement after hanging up the control box and pump. I wouldn't mind an induction burner under the kettle if I need to reduce brew day timeline. Right now I usually find some project to work on while waiting for mash and boil temps to be reached. In the near future I'm going to be trying a few short and shoddy recipes like the ones Brulosophy does. I will be happy as long as I consistently hit my numbers though.
 
I do think it helped a lot. Especially maintaining a decent roll with the lid off. When I went to clean I put the kettle centered over two burners and used the element to warm up the water and yes, it was really quick to get to 150. Can’t hurt, would only use it to get close to mash temp and then get to boil and maintain.
 
smbdyshero said:
Do you think that the stovetop really brought your time down from mash to boil? I've kinda committed myself to brewing in the basement after hanging up the control box and pump. I wouldn't mind an induction burner under the kettle if I need to reduce brew day timeline. Right now I usually find some project to work on while waiting for mash and boil temps to be reached. In the near future I'm going to be trying a few short and shoddy recipes like the ones Brulosophy does. I will be happy as long as I consistently hit my numbers though.
Click to expand...

Read this thread with interest. I don't have the CHS system but built my own modeled off of theirs. The only difference is I'm using a bag instead of the basket. Been getting pretty consistent 70% efficiency by crushing my own grains at a 0.30in gap. I use a commercial style induction burner and it really speeds things up. I just run it off a separate 15amp circuit from the element circuit. I generally cut 30 min. off the ramp up time for my mash and 20-30 min. off the ramp up to the boil - even in my detached garage which is around 41F lately here in Vancouver. Works really well and I can get a good rolling boil although like you I try to keep it to a low roll. You should give it go if it's an option. Keep posting your observations. Cheers.
 
Great review. Thanks for the insight. I'm Still on the fence with purchasing the CH system. According to Emmet, the 240V setup is still a few months away. I was strongly considering buying the kit minus the panel and purchasing EBS's 30a 240 panel with 5500w element... But that's easily $1350.00-$1,400.00. Also, with Ss Brewtech releasing their electric brewing systems very soon, things should get interesting.

Back to the CH system, One concern I have is the kettle thickness of .08mm compared to Spike / Ss / Anvil of 1.27mm. Does your kettle feel thin, or would denting be a concern?
 
I have compared it to my Spike Kettle and even though its thinner, it definitely does not feel like it is. Also, I had one of the original mesh baskets and the mesh starting coming off the metal frame, I emailed Emmet and he said they were not happy with the V1 so they created a newer version. It was in the mail the next day after reaching out to them. I even offered to pay for it and he said its on the house! Great customer service and a great system!
 
I am not a fan of the plate chiller. I think I have been getting a weird off flavor in various styles and after sanitizing and cleaning the hell out of everything I am blaming the chiller. I will be brewing this weekend and using my immersion chiller to see if I can get rid of that off flavor. The only other thing I have done differently lately is yeast starters, but I boil in the ehrlenmeyer flask so I don't think sanitation is an issue there. Any suggestions?
 
As far as regular BIAB and double milling goes, I was getting 65-70% efficiency but the other day I had the local shop double mill my grains and I was able to hit 84%. Super happy about that
 
vwluv10338 said:
As far as regular BIAB and double milling goes, I was getting 65-70% efficiency but the other day I had the local shop double mill my grains and I was able to hit 84%. Super happy about that
Click to expand...
I just brewed an IPA yesterday and I made that grain dang near flour. I got 85% efficiency. We will see if it adds any unwanted flavors to the final product.
 
I can echo smbdyshero's comments on Clawhammer's customer service....top notch.

I've had questions ref. other piece of equipment purchased there, and Emmet always responded the same day, or the next morning (depending on when I emailed him). Great advice, and he always helped find a solution for me.

They are taking pre-orders now (I understand they are short kettles now but expect them in early MAR). I ordered the BIAB system, sans controller and heating element (I already have them from another system).

Can't wait to give this system a go.
 
I just got it from ups and I was impressed from just the packaging of the equipment. I unpacked it all and watched the YouTube video. The only thing I would have liked was a basics diagram on assembly. It would have made assembling a lot easier. It took about 1 hr to assemble . Now to go get some grains
 

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