FermZilla with Partial Mash

[LeeAnth]

I’ve started a partial mash brew in a FermIlla and wondering how much loss I’ll have after the 2nd step - I’m not sure if there is sufficient space in the collection container to be able to properly “filter” the beer without having to filter it.
Does anyone have any experience brewing partial mash in the FermZilla?

 

[DVCNick]

I've never done a partial mash so not sure if there are any particulars there, but nothing you do with the collection ball is going to come close to "filtering" the beer.

Personally I've never removed the collection ball during fermentation and honestly would like it better overall if it was not there at all (they do make a version of it like that with the bottom closed off). Using it to dump trub or whatnot looks to me like a great way to introduce plenty of oxygen for little or no return.

If you are just looking for the clearest beer possible prior to transfer or even serving straight from the fermenter... assuming you have the ability to chill it, the fermzilla would make a great candidate to add gelatin in the fermenter since it can hold pressure and you could purge the headspace immediately.

 

[Wayne1]

If you want to remove yeast, chill the Fermzilla down to around 50F. Close the butterfly valve and VERY CAREFULLY, slowly unscrew one of the caps on the side of the collection chamber to release any built up pressure. Then you can unscrew the collection chamber.

I usually have a bowl under the FermZilla to catch any mess.

I would suggest you get a couple of carbonation caps to put on the collection chamber. Then, with a short cobra tap, you can put CO2 into the collection chamber and then exhaust it with the cobra tap. I do that about 10 times to reduce the amount of O2 in the chamber. Then I open the butterfly valve.

I, personally, find the collection chamber and the ability to remove yeast and to dry hop with very little O2 added to be the best part of owning FermZillas.