AG boiler review.

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AG boiler review.

Postby Pedro1970 » Sat Apr 25, 2020 4:50 pm

Hey guys N gals :greetings-waveyellow:
I'm starting this thread to see if anyone has one of the latest model Robobrew 65L/Guten 70L/Grainfather 60L set-up's?

I'm hoping in about 2 months my new work shed will be built with it's own dedicated brew room and thought now i've finally got the space i'd like to give AG brewing a serious go.

Having never used any of these before I thought i'd ask the brains trust ^:)^ of this site

Any feedback greatly appreciated :text-thankyoublue:
Pedro1970
 
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Re: AG boiler review.

Postby PeterC » Sun Apr 26, 2020 12:57 am

I have the 40L Guten setup. Using 8kg malted barley I can get 25L of wash. This is max capacity. So 2 batches fits in my 60L fermenters. If I had a bigger system I could not lift the malt pipe out unless I had help or a winch. You can get far more information on these from brewing forums (Check out The Home Brew Network on YouTube). I think these are great for brewing beer especially if you have multiple steps and different temperatures, but for whiskey where it is basically 65°C mash and a boil is not necessary then a more basic system will do the job and let you do even bigger batches in one go. Converted Iceboxes with a recirc. pump and heater can also do well.
Cheers
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Re: AG boiler review.

Postby Pedro1970 » Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:41 pm

Thanks Pete,
I had watched his Part 1 of Brewzilla 65L V Guten 50L from about 12 months ago but it looks like he never did a part 2 to finish off the caparison.

Do you do the icebox method as a BIAB? I have only made AG once and that too was in an esky... but I did not have pumps or anything so it was simply me giving it a good stir every 10 mins and due to not thinking it through thoroughly before I started, I used too much grain for what water I could fit in so i ended up soaking it twice before I sparged - lined a Chinois with my BIAB (which I split open towards the end) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinois that's probably why my back was stiff for a few days :angry-banghead:

But the esky (icebox/chilly bin) / pump idea sounds like a good value for money option... especially if I can get an esky with a built in drain :think:
Last edited by Pedro1970 on Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Pedro1970
 
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2016 10:42 am
Location: Scenic Rim
equipment: FSD Mac 4" SSG
FSD 2"Boka
FSD 50Ltr boiler

Re: AG boiler review.

Postby Ned » Mon Apr 27, 2020 1:25 pm

Pedro1970 wrote:Hey guys N gals :greetings-waveyellow:
I'm starting this thread to see if anyone has one of the latest model Robobrew 65L/Guten 70L/Grainfather 60L set-up's?

I'm hoping in about 2 months my new work shed will be built with it's own dedicated brew room and thought now i've finally got the space i'd like to give AG brewing a serious go.

Having never used any of these before I thought i'd ask the brains trust ^:)^ of this site

Any feedback greatly appreciated :text-thankyoublue:

Hi Pedro1970
I have been brewing for more than 10 years had a grainfather G30 for the last 5 years and ventured into spirits 2 years ago. I have just purchased a G70 that will do a batch of 60 litres. My aim is to do an Allgrain single malt whiskey. In the G70 you can get 17kgs of grain. What I am hoping to do is a 50 litre batch with 17kgs of JW pale ale malt using Saf M1 yeast. This I hope will give me about 8.6% ABV I will mash at 63 deg sparge at 75 deg mash out and than boil for 30 mins. This not only sterilise the wort but ensure that the wort chiller is also sterilised. If you go the Grainfather G70 you will need some sort of lifting device. I have an electric winch that comes down through the ceiling and not only for the GF, but the the 4" 4 plate Neutralizer from 5SD. The G70 does need a 15amp circuit so keep this in mind in your brewroom if you go that way. I know some distillers say its not necessary to boil, but being a brewer its hard to break that mould. The beauty about boiling is that you can decrease your wort volume and increase your ABV. (Fitting into the fermenter etc)
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Re: AG boiler review.

Postby hjubm2 » Mon Apr 27, 2020 3:26 pm

I've been using the Robobrew v3 30L (Renamed to Brewzilla in the current versions) for about a year and it's been great. Makes everything a lot easier for me and the temperature control is really helpful. I've made a lot of batches of beer in it and a few spirits and I have never had a problem with it except for a loose fitting on the pump arm and trying to clean the mesh screens afterwards. I just finished doing a batch with 5kg of Joe White Export Pilsner last night, came out at 25L @ 1.062 so I can't complain at all. The only down side to the Robobrew is the 30L capacity so the larger one would be great if your looking to do decent size batches.

For the price the Robobrew/Brewzilla can't be beaten. The v3 does need a bit of babysitting as it does not offer a ramp to temperature on the controller so you can have the time for each step starting only when a preset temperature is hit but I usually check on it's process every 2 minutes and set a timer so I know when to change temperature so it's not a problem for me. I think they may have added this feature in the version 3.1.1 if I remember correctly.
Last edited by hjubm2 on Mon Apr 27, 2020 3:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AG boiler review.

Postby Yonder » Mon Apr 27, 2020 3:33 pm

Ive brewed beer with the Robobrew 3 for a bout a year. Second what hjubm2 said. Only complaint is that there is no sight gauge and that makes topping up a bit of trouble. Never considered it for spirits, too small and too many bells & whistles.
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