Electric Brewing - BIAB Options

[Dene McDonald]

I’ve been brewing with Kit and Kilo for just over a year now having made around 10 batches and while it’s getting better every time I can’t seem to shake that home brew taste that you get when using a “brew enhancer”. So I’ve been doing a bit of research and decided that BIAB is the route for me as it’s low cost, easy to learn, quick cleanup etc… I’m sure you’re all aware of the benefits of BIAB.

I’ve priced up all of the equipment I need for a gas setup and while it’s only the $50 for a pot and $80 for a burner it’s a bit of work on brew day to set it all up. I also can’t do it when it’s wet, windy or cold (which is all the time in Dunedin) as I don’t have a garage or shed.

So as an alternative to gas I’ve decided that an electric brewery is the right option for me. It’s easy to setup, I can do it inside, there’s no worries of running out of gas or having to get gas… the list goes on!

I’ve narrowed it down to two options:

A cheap URN

http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/retail-hospitali...

Brew Pot and Element

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/kitchen/pots-pans-bakeware/pot...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/food-beverage/other-beverages/...

So what I want to know is…

Urn

Does anyone own one of these urns and are they reliable? Would I be able to get a good boil going in it, or I there a safety cut out that stops boiling? If the element blows is it easy to replace or is it a proprietary element fixed into the system?

Pot system

Can anyone comment on doing this? Is it as easy as drilling a hole and screwing it into the pot (keep in mind that I am a complete novice and have no DIY skills at all)?  

Sorry about all the questions but this is my foray into the world of BIAB/All grain! The urn idea seems great as I can set it to my mash temperature and walk away, whereas the pot may need some heat applied from time to time. But if the element dies in the pot I can just swap it out, and the urn would need replaced!

[welly]

Whilst I didn't get that exact model urn, I did get a 40 litre 2000W urn from TradeMe for BIAB. It works really well. I priced up the options of gas and electric and there wasn't a lot in it but the convenience of the urn is great. My beers have improved a lot since moving to BIAB.

Any questions just ask.

Cheers

Welly

[Dene McDonald]

Thanks Welly - did you have to do any modifications to it at all or did it just work out the box? I've heard that some have a cut off that won't let you get a boil.

Dene

[welly]

I've not had to make any changes, it just merrily boils away. If I cover the urn then I can get quite a vigorous boil going. I then leave the lid balanced half over the urn and there is a pretty good rolling boil.

That's a good price on the urn - about half what I paid for my 40 litre one.

Welly

[Crusader-Rob]

Welly, what urn did you get?? I am interested to see the differences, as the one you posted dene looks like a cheapish chinese made one. That'll give you an idea of quality differences between welly's urn and the one your looking at. Personally if it was me, I'd spend the extra money and get a better quality one, maybe a birko (which is what I've been looking at recently) but its all about personal preference, I'm AG on gas, with mash tun etc., but I'm doing research into electric, as it seems more efficient etc.

[welly]

Just trawled through my TradeMe history and here are the details of what I bought;

Seller: cooltiger

Cater Master 40 litre Hot Water Urn/Boiler
"Huge Kettle" for club activities etc

18/10 Stainless Steel Urn & Lid
Water level site glass above tap
Ball Cock Type Tap
240volt 50hz
2000watt Element
Single Phase 10amp
Standard NZ 3 Pin Plug
Thermostat heat control 30-110 degrees

Unit Measures: 520mm high x 370mm wide
Weight: 7.1Kg

I've not seen a Birko one to compare but I would imagine that mine is not as good quality. Having said that though I've been using it for over four years with no issues (that's got to be tempting fate!).

Cheers

Welly

[Crusader-Rob]

birko one, seem to be the ones the Aussies use when they do this sort of thing. I dont know enough about the cater master, but on trademe it seems to look ok. Do you know what sort of grain bill maximum you can do for a full 23 litre batch? I assume, Imperial Style beers are out? although in saying that, you can do it with 2 urns lol. Is there anyone else on this site that uses the electric Urns?
Did you have to make any adjustments to the Urn?
do you use the fitted thermostat, and what do you set it to, for the boil?

I find gas hard work, and I'm building abrew shed, so a couple of these Urns would't go astray....

[welly]

The CaterMaster seemed to me to the best value available in NZ at the time. Adding an element (such as the Craftbrewer one linked to below) to a big pot looks a pretty good option - unless you are a complete tool-tard like me!

I've not brewed any really big beers. I typically use 5-6kg of grain and around 32 litres of water in my recipes and there is still room to spare. I accepted that limitation when I decided on the urn.

I've not made any alterations to the urn. I set the thermostat for the mash via trial and error and just turn it all the way to 11 for the boil. I no-chill so at the end of the boil I ram a piece of tube onto the tap and hold it in place while I drain to a cube. Actually, I have made one change, a piece of copper pipe attached to the end of the exposed thread of the tap on the inside of the urn as a pick up tube.

I'm currently gathering bits and pieces to make a recirculating system, so will be looking at replacing the tap with a ball-valve, silicon tubing to a pump, all controlled via a PID.

Welly

[Crusader-Rob]

Using your urn, an idea of the highest strting gravity might help me, most of my beers are around 1045-1065ish. But I'm looking at a couple of big beers at the moment......

Sounds like your onto a winner with the changes your making anyways

[welly]

Most of my beers are in the same range. The only higher gravity brew I've done was a Belgian Golden Strong at around 1075 (but that was with a healthy dose of sugar).

The changes to my brewing set-up should be great if I ever get round to setting them all up! Almost there now, though, just need to decide on quick disconnects and whether to order locally or from the US.

Welly

[mattd2]

I would be cautious with those elements as there have been a few go up in smoke. A regular hot water cylinder element will do the job, just need to buy a 1 1/4" BSP back nut and a silicon oring/gasket to suit. Then an extension cord and wire it up and cover the terminals with a junction box that suits. (Possibly cost less than that $100 also!)

 

 

[mattd2]

And it is going to be cheaper than the TM option (unless shipping from Oz is >NZ$45). Was there any confirmation that they are now shipping the new style because there was some issues with still getting the corded one if I remember correctly?

[Dene McDonald]

I feel like I'm leaning towards one of the elements from Craft Brewer and maybe a 50 litre keg if I can get hold of one (kegs are much cooler looking than a pot!). Then it's not a big step later on to move from BIAG as all that is required is a cooler mash tun. Use the kettle as the HLT and the boiler - seems a bit more flexible than the urn. Plus I'm not too sure about the build quality of a dodgy Chinese made urn! If I build my own and the element blows up it's only $AU45 to replace it.

I'm not too keen on the hot water cylinder option as there a change I'll zap myself as I know nothing about electrical stuff!