Looks like a nice little system. We all get comfortable with our process but I’m sure after a few brew days you’ll be dialed in again with a new process! Enjoy the new system and cheers!!!
😂🤣I'm laughing as I have done 2 brews on it so far, and I'm still off on a few things. What I really need to do is, is to do at least two or three boil-off tests to get my boil-off dialed in, as I've been way off on that twice now. The 2nd time I thought I had it, made an adjustment during the boil, and was off even worse compared to the first time. I also need to buy the 3-way valve with the T-type to fix the moving of the tubing. As for the chilling, I need more ice and to be a bit more patient.
Thanks for sharing. It's always a struggle when learning a new system but, that's the fun of home brewing learning from our mistakes and how to make the process better. Cheers!
I love a good challenge and this was just that when I first got it. Even with a few issues, mainly me, I really enjoyed brewing on this equipment and am learning a lot about hardware I didn't have exposure to previously.
It’s a nice system love Blichmann. Word of warning do not pump boiling wort thru the Riptide pump. Let it cool to 205 before cooling. It will ruin the pump. Trust me I’ve ruined a couple.
Great advice but I do wonder what it is rated for. On the pump provided with the Anvil Foundry, I know it can take up to 212 F but only for short durations. I've always pumped a little bit (5 to 10 seconds max) to flush any unboiled wort. As for the cool down stage, I could see where the wort could be well over 205 for a bit longer than the pump would be able to handle. I'll keep that in mind during my next brew. Thank you and have a great new year!
Thank you and for me it is a learning experience that I am enjoying and trying to share to help anyone interested. I swear you could easily get a workout just lifting the pump as it is crazy heavy. (I swear Blichmann intentionally made this thing extremely heavy just to mess with people.)
How hard is it to clean that fermenter? What do you clean it out with? I have a Big Mouth Bubbler (Semi Retired) and a 3 and a 6 gallon Fermentasaurus...I clean those with a Sous Vide probe, water and OxyClean clear...lets me not scrub and I get an unattended wash cycle. Chubby there has some things in its' favor, but it looks like you can only clean it with a brush, manually. Awesome brewday - can't wait for tasting - the brewsystem is too over the top for me...I swallow hard on Clawhammer pricing and can't do a 240 volt setup anyway.
I've only had to clean it once so far and it was really easy. Sadly you can't get your hand inside which makes the big mouth bubbler a lot easier to clean but it seems very solid. I have to fermonsters as my I accidentally melted my Big Mouth Bubbler. The Clawhammer and the BrewEasy are both a bit expensive but the hardware is still very impressive.
@@BitterRealityBrewing An honorable death for the BMB...much better than being despised because of the unsealable lid design and replaced by a competitor. I guess that if I had a keg washing system - I'd like 'ol chubby!
Sorry for the delay as I've been moving. (Excited as I'll have an amazing brew space once everything is setup.) Honestly I like both a great deal but they both of course have their pros and cons. Currently the only negatives I see on the King fermenter is that you can't get your hand inside but cleaning for me on the last two brews I fermented inside of it were pretty easy to clean. The other would be the current price although they did have a major sale on it very recently but that has passed for now. The fermzilla all rounder does allow for you hand to go inside to make cleaning a bit easier if you have a hard to clean spot and is a bit cheaper on my last price check (it has been going up a lot and very regularly since I bought my first one.) The other issue I have with the fermzilla is the straps! They are required to keep the fermenter from accidentally tipping over (easy to do) and I've had a few issues with mold developing on the straps during fermentation that have required me to buy mold inhibitor spray and to regularly wash the straps to help reduce the problem. (The straps getting mold is not something most of us would imagine but in a fermenter at Ale Temps is a perfect breeding ground for mold.)
@@BitterRealityBrewing thanks for the reply! I was also concerned about the cleaning but I recently made a keg washer and it gets my all rounder pretty clean and I don’t have to stick my hand in it. I haven’t noticed any mold on my straps yet but I’ll definitely keep an eye out now that you’ve said that. I might pick the keg king up if they have another sale. Thank you!
There are pros and cons, but I found it enjoyable to brew on. It may be due to the system or simply because it was so different from what I am used to on the Anvil Foundry. I like both systems a lot and will be coming out with a "Huge" first impressions review as I've learned a ton after only two actual brews and one mock brew (water and cleaning). Maybe I should do a comparison video between the two systems, as that would probably be really helpful to a lot of people. (Thanks for the idea.) The BrewEasy Compact has a lot of advantages, mainly from the high-end components, but two advantages of the Anvil Foundry right off the top of my head would be the ability to quickly switch from 120 to 240 with a simple switch, plus I feel it is easier to brew a 6 gallon batch on the Anvil Foundry. Plus cost difference of course, which might be why I own two Anvil Foundries.
I actually looked at the Unibräu several times in the past. This was supplied by Blichmann to me as I had mentioned in several other videos going over the parts and unboxing. The Unibräu is very nice, although I wish it was a bit more customizable on their purchase page but I'd expect someone could call them to modify what you wanted in the purchase. I've used counter flow chillers, immersion chillers, and now plate chillers and would prefer their plate chiller over their counter flow chiller personally.
@@BitterRealityBrewing full volume brewing is mainly used with brew in a bag. It’s pretty much using all the water you would be brewing with. He pretty much eliminate the need for sparging.
You can add a three-way valve to this system so you don't have to disconnect the hose from the flow monitor so you can pump wort into your fermenter.
I actually bought one a few months back but haven't had a chance to use it.
Looks like a nice little system. We all get comfortable with our process but I’m sure after a few brew days you’ll be dialed in again with a new process! Enjoy the new system and cheers!!!
😂🤣I'm laughing as I have done 2 brews on it so far, and I'm still off on a few things. What I really need to do is, is to do at least two or three boil-off tests to get my boil-off dialed in, as I've been way off on that twice now. The 2nd time I thought I had it, made an adjustment during the boil, and was off even worse compared to the first time. I also need to buy the 3-way valve with the T-type to fix the moving of the tubing. As for the chilling, I need more ice and to be a bit more patient.
congrats on the new system.
Thank you and hopefully my learning and video helps others either with like systems or looking to buy one.
Thanks for sharing. It's always a struggle when learning a new system but, that's the fun of home brewing learning from our mistakes and how to make the process better. Cheers!
I love a good challenge and this was just that when I first got it. Even with a few issues, mainly me, I really enjoyed brewing on this equipment and am learning a lot about hardware I didn't have exposure to previously.
It’s a nice system love Blichmann. Word of warning do not pump boiling wort thru the Riptide pump. Let it cool to 205 before cooling. It will ruin the pump. Trust me I’ve ruined a couple.
Great advice but I do wonder what it is rated for. On the pump provided with the Anvil Foundry, I know it can take up to 212 F but only for short durations. I've always pumped a little bit (5 to 10 seconds max) to flush any unboiled wort. As for the cool down stage, I could see where the wort could be well over 205 for a bit longer than the pump would be able to handle. I'll keep that in mind during my next brew. Thank you and have a great new year!
A bit jealous of the system! Cheers!
Thank you and for me it is a learning experience that I am enjoying and trying to share to help anyone interested. I swear you could easily get a workout just lifting the pump as it is crazy heavy. (I swear Blichmann intentionally made this thing extremely heavy just to mess with people.)
How hard is it to clean that fermenter? What do you clean it out with? I have a Big Mouth Bubbler (Semi Retired) and a 3 and a 6 gallon Fermentasaurus...I clean those with a Sous Vide probe, water and OxyClean clear...lets me not scrub and I get an unattended wash cycle. Chubby there has some things in its' favor, but it looks like you can only clean it with a brush, manually. Awesome brewday - can't wait for tasting - the brewsystem is too over the top for me...I swallow hard on Clawhammer pricing and can't do a 240 volt setup anyway.
I've only had to clean it once so far and it was really easy. Sadly you can't get your hand inside which makes the big mouth bubbler a lot easier to clean but it seems very solid. I have to fermonsters as my I accidentally melted my Big Mouth Bubbler. The Clawhammer and the BrewEasy are both a bit expensive but the hardware is still very impressive.
@@BitterRealityBrewing An honorable death for the BMB...much better than being despised because of the unsealable lid design and replaced by a competitor. I guess that if I had a keg washing system - I'd like 'ol chubby!
I've been looking at those anvil keg king fermenters but I haven't really seen any reviews for them. How do you like it compared to the fermzilla?
Sorry for the delay as I've been moving. (Excited as I'll have an amazing brew space once everything is setup.) Honestly I like both a great deal but they both of course have their pros and cons. Currently the only negatives I see on the King fermenter is that you can't get your hand inside but cleaning for me on the last two brews I fermented inside of it were pretty easy to clean. The other would be the current price although they did have a major sale on it very recently but that has passed for now. The fermzilla all rounder does allow for you hand to go inside to make cleaning a bit easier if you have a hard to clean spot and is a bit cheaper on my last price check (it has been going up a lot and very regularly since I bought my first one.) The other issue I have with the fermzilla is the straps! They are required to keep the fermenter from accidentally tipping over (easy to do) and I've had a few issues with mold developing on the straps during fermentation that have required me to buy mold inhibitor spray and to regularly wash the straps to help reduce the problem. (The straps getting mold is not something most of us would imagine but in a fermenter at Ale Temps is a perfect breeding ground for mold.)
@@BitterRealityBrewing thanks for the reply! I was also concerned about the cleaning but I recently made a keg washer and it gets my all rounder pretty clean and I don’t have to stick my hand in it. I haven’t noticed any mold on my straps yet but I’ll definitely keep an eye out now that you’ve said that. I might pick the keg king up if they have another sale. Thank you!
Congratulations on your new system. How would you compare brewing on it to the Anvil Foundry?
There are pros and cons, but I found it enjoyable to brew on. It may be due to the system or simply because it was so different from what I am used to on the Anvil Foundry. I like both systems a lot and will be coming out with a "Huge" first impressions review as I've learned a ton after only two actual brews and one mock brew (water and cleaning). Maybe I should do a comparison video between the two systems, as that would probably be really helpful to a lot of people. (Thanks for the idea.) The BrewEasy Compact has a lot of advantages, mainly from the high-end components, but two advantages of the Anvil Foundry right off the top of my head would be the ability to quickly switch from 120 to 240 with a simple switch, plus I feel it is easier to brew a 6 gallon batch on the Anvil Foundry. Plus cost difference of course, which might be why I own two Anvil Foundries.
@@BitterRealityBrewing Thank you for the quick reply and the helpful information. I look forward to your review and a comparison video would be great!
Did you also consider the Unibräu system?
I actually looked at the Unibräu several times in the past. This was supplied by Blichmann to me as I had mentioned in several other videos going over the parts and unboxing. The Unibräu is very nice, although I wish it was a bit more customizable on their purchase page but I'd expect someone could call them to modify what you wanted in the purchase. I've used counter flow chillers, immersion chillers, and now plate chillers and would prefer their plate chiller over their counter flow chiller personally.
Can you do full volume water with this system ?
Give me a bit more detail on what you mean by full volume?
@@BitterRealityBrewing full volume brewing is mainly used with brew in a bag. It’s pretty much using all the water you would be brewing with. He pretty much eliminate the need for sparging.