SSBrewTech - SVBS

[coltr88]

I brewed a Pilsner today and made some of the crush tweaks and used the diffuser properly.

Brewhouse was up to 70%. I did have to boil at 85% to hit 1.5/hr loss.

Cleaning the basket is my only gripe so far, using a toothpick to pick out grain sucks. Other than that I am still loving this system.

 

[passedpawn]

I might get one of these things.

 

[passedpawn]

Got in and started to clean it up, I’ll brew on it this evening.

I underestimated the size it’s taller than I envisioned, especially with the grain basket pulled out. I ordered a 34” high stainless table and will need to chop it down a bit.

Super easy to set up, the only thing was getting the mash recirculating piece connected to the TC on the bottom. That took me a minute to get both arms down in there while holding it still and tightening.

The main issue I see is the recirc diffuser doesn’t really spray water in a radius, just trickles out. If I invert that stainless cap and play with it it has the capability to, it just doesn’t by itself. Not sure yet if that’s by design but I posted a video it turned all the way up backing down and turning the valve up again.

The fan sounds louder than it is on the video, I don’t even notice it after a while.
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In that first video, is that the hop blocker at the bottom? How well did that work? @coltr88

 

[sketchykg]

Cleaning the basket is my only gripe so far, using a toothpick to pick out grain sucks. Other than that I am still loving this system.

Might be easier to let it dry out then take another shot at cleaning it.

 

[passedpawn]

 

[Wagon_6]

That’s a cool unit, looking forward to seeing some brew day video. Great design to recirc below and above the mash.

 

[passedpawn]

 

[passedpawn]

This guy does good videos. His first brew day on the SVBS.

 

[calandryll]

I brewed a Pilsner today and made some of the crush tweaks and used the diffuser properly.

Brewhouse was up to 70%. I did have to boil at 85% to hit 1.5/hr loss.

Cleaning the basket is my only gripe so far, using a toothpick to pick out grain sucks. Other than that I am still loving this system.

What size crush did you use? I picked one up myself, and have gotten it cleaned up. I'm waiting on a few other items to come in before I start a brew.



Ignore the mess, I'm still finishing up my basement brewery.

 

[passedpawn]

What size crush did you use? I picked one up myself, and have gotten it cleaned up. I'm waiting on a few other items to come in before I start a brew.

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Ignore the mess, I'm still finishing up my basement brewery.

Looks like you haven't used it yet, but what's your general impressions? I've been putting together a comparison list of the all-in-ones, and there just isn't that much info on the SVBS yet.

 

[calandryll]

Looks like you haven't used it yet, but what's your general impressions? I've been putting together a comparison list of the all-in-ones, and there just isn't that much info on the SVBS yet.

My previous setup was a 110V Unibrau V1 setup I bought in 2017, that I put quite a few batches into. It's starting to have some issues with connection on the temperature probe and I've wanted to upgrade to 220V. All of my fermentation stuff, brewbuckets and glycol chiller, are SSBrewtech so that's why I went with them.

The SVBS is a hefty unit, since I don't have a sink in my basement as of yet, it's a bit of a pain to carry it up the stairs so far. But it feels nice and I like the ease of switch between the various ports on the pumps. I plan on doing some tests tonight and tomorrow for boil off, etc., and to get more familiar with the setup. I did reach out to SSBrewtech about crush size and their response was non-committal. I'm also curious to see if it's possible to do small batches with the system as well.

I did see this review this morning: Ss Brewtech SVBS Review: All-In-One Electric Brewing System I think I'll reach out to him to see what his crush size was.

 

[passedpawn]

My previous setup was a 110V Unibrau V1 setup I bought in 2017, that I put quite a few batches into. It's starting to have some issues with connection on the temperature probe and I've wanted to upgrade to 220V. All of my fermentation stuff, brewbuckets and glycol chiller, are SSBrewtech so that's why I went with them.

The SVBS is a hefty unit, since I don't have a sink in my basement as of yet, it's a bit of a pain to carry it up the stairs so far. But it feels nice and I like the ease of switch between the various ports on the pumps. I plan on doing some tests tonight and tomorrow for boil off, etc., and to get more familiar with the setup. I did reach out to SSBrewtech about crush size and their response was non-committal. I'm also curious to see if it's possible to do small batches with the system as well.

I did see this review this morning: Ss Brewtech SVBS Review: All-In-One Electric Brewing System I think I'll reach out to him to see what his crush size was.

Thanks for all of that, and that's a GREAT review at that link. I think I'm going to get one. The ONLY reservation I have is the batch size - I have a 10g system now. For some beers, 5g is plenty. But for my house IPA or summer pilsner, I'd probably do back-to-back batches on the SVBS.

 

[coltr88]

What size crush did you use? I picked one up myself, and have gotten it cleaned up. I'm waiting on a few other items to come in before I start a brew.

View attachment 813413

Ignore the mess, I'm still finishing up my basement brewery.

I went .075 on my first and .05 on the second brew. I’m gonna go a little finer on my next one.

Good call on the brew cube, I’ve got one on the way as I havr mine on a 36” tall table and needed a chair to brew. It’s a hefty unit!

I still love mine, still making some tweaks to get to 70% efficiency in my brew day. I am going to try leaving the whirlpool cracked open next time to create a better flow like the short circuit guy mentioned.

 

[calandryll]

I had been eyeing the brew cube for awhile, I had looked at other stainless steel options like stand mixer tables, etc. It's a hefty and I like it a lot.

 

[calandryll]

I had a chance to do some testing over the weekend. At 75% power, I had a pretty good boil going with a boil off rate of about 1 gallon. My biggest complaint about it, is it's hard to screw in the power and controller cords if you have large hands.

 

[kevin58]

I had a chance to do some testing over the weekend. At 75% power, I had a pretty good boil going with a boil off rate of about 1 gallon. My biggest complaint about it, is it's hard to screw in the power and controller cords if you have large hands.

That has been my complaint as well.

 

[passedpawn]

 

[PCABrewing]

I'm intrigued.
Question for the BIAB method; It seems that you need to lift that basket and let it drain on the way up.
Roughly how long does that take?

 

[coltr88]

My main knock is the software should be better. Touch screen is cool and all but it would be nice to automate and monitor on the phone, that was a big miss. Overall I still love the system.

I just did a 18lb mash and the basket was super easy to lift out and drain. I usually let it drain over the pot for 10 minutes, agitating it halfway through then just place it in a 5 gallon bucket before I clean it. Hardly collects in the bucket that would make it worth dumping it back in.

 

[PCABrewing]

Seems to be right-sized for the market. My biggest mash was 18.5lb and it says that it will handle 20.
So for us 5-6 gal. batch brewers it seems to be about right.
I just noticed in the photos that the brackets on the basket bottom edge are used to hold the basket out of the liquid so that answers most of my question. You answered the rest thx.

Do you feel that they are missing the feature/price point balance for the more rudimentary controller?

My only other issue is that I need to rewire my table saw & compressor outlet to a L6-30 (10 ga.) from its current L6-20 size.

 

[strataron]

Customer service @ SSB (poor)

 

[coltr88]

Customer service @ SSB (poor)

I have found that to be the complete opposite. I had an issue with my mash basket and lid and they shipped a new one out immediately. I’ve always had great customer service from them.

 

[passedpawn]

Customer service @ SSB (poor)

do you have a story to tell? I'd love to hear all, I'm considering.

 

[kevin58]

So here is my first brew on the SVBS. Things didn't go as planned. Be warned you will learn very little about the SVBS or even see very much of it.

 

[passedpawn]

So here is my first brew on the SVBS. Things didn't go as planned. Be warned you will learn very little about the SVBS or even see very much of it.

Haha, I like you more now. That was a good video, well done. Of course, I want more SVBS, but I was entertained nevertheless.

 

[bike2brew]

So here is my first brew on the SVBS. Things didn't go as planned. Be warned you will learn very little about the SVBS or even see very much of it.

Loved your video. Keep up the great work.