Timothy Taylor Landlord brewed today with some helpful efficiency improving tips...

[@18centwood]

Great tips! Good to see you back. Cheers

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Hey Scott how's it going, how are your Brewtools brew days going?

[@18centwood]

@@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439 Well, I haven't even gotten 1st one under my belt yet but plan to in next 2 weeks and will be Southern Tier Pumking clone at that. I have either been working, working on my outside projects(while weather still permits, or helping my friend learn to brew on my old system). I will let you know how it goes. Can you vorlauf using standard latches or only using the longer optional ones? Thanks

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

You will be away when you get the first brewday under your belt, then be itching to do another, was brewday 58 on the B40 for me yesterday :-) Yes you can Vorlauf with the shorter latches, just be careful not to pull the malt pipe off the centre pipe, its easily done tbh, mine pulled off slightly yesterday, i just pushed the mash hat/Pipe down a bit so it re-seated and all was good...TOP TIPs...DONT have the pump power level any more than 50% when starting the Vorlauf, plus DO NOT have the Elements on either as they will likely become exposed during the process, plus its highly likely you will have to stir the grist bed several times in the 10 min Vorlauf to aid draining...best of luck with the first one :-)

[@ianjones6849]

Thanks for the videos.....watched most of them over the weekend. Nice to see someone local to me doing these informative vids. I am looking into buying the B40pro (had GF for many years but want to upgrade now), have you or do you know anyone who has bought the equipment direct from Brewtools in Norway? Cheers mate

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Hi Ian, appreciate the comments, where about are you based? I'm based in Rhyl/North Wales... I bought my B40 direct from Brewtools in Norway, literally a fortnight before The Malt Miller became the UK agents for Brewtools kit, its much easier to buy from TMM tbh, there is VAT and import duties which you have to pay to the carrier directly, saved very little money buying from Norway over buying from TMM but in my defence i didn't know TMM were becoming agents. The B40pro is just in a different league to the G30, the quality gap is immense as you will see if you buy one, i had a G30 for 12 months and enjoyed it initially.

[@ianjones6849]

Hi Gary, thanks for the quick response. I am just up the road in Holywell. I am awaiting confirmation from DHL re del prices, I had assumed that I would only pay VAT, your experience says otherwise but will let you know DHL's response. If its just VAT then I would save about £100 on a B40 for example, taking current exchange rates into account. Although the G30 works fine, it is a bit of a pain with the set up and cleaning, the B40 looks like a breeze to brew with.

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Tbh i didn't save much really over TMM prices, £100.00 is the cost of a new 3 way valve so its a good saving, the B40 is just on another level of brew kit, the G30 looks like a toy alongside the B40 and the level of brewing performance you get from the B40 blows the GF into the weeds, i had the GF myself so i know, easy to clean as well, you are welcome to come and have a look at my B40 if you like, i plan on brewing this Thursday as my work schedule has changed a bit so am squeezing a sneaky brewday in :-)

[@ianjones6849]

@@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439 I haven't received a response from DHL re del prices, been waiting 4 days. There may well be additional charges duty/import, since writing my first message to you I have read conflicting articles. Thats very kind of you to offer for me to come and have a look when you do your brew on Thursday! I'm off to Llanbedr in the morning and staying there til Sunday (trying to fit windows!) Maybe if you have a spare day when I have bought the B40 you can show me the ropes :).

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Hey Ian, yes no trouble showing you the ropes bud, the system does take a bit of getting your head round but once you know where the wort is going its pretty simple imo, i'd suggest doing plenty of research, my vids might be a good place to start, I pretty much do the same thing each time but with different recipes, i keep things nice and simple as the way i brew on the B40 works well for me...

[@adambroad3479]

Great video Gary. I hope the brew turns out as good for you as it did for me. If you can leave it to condition for 3 to 4 weeks after kegging it will be at optimum. Good to see you back on the YT screen.

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Thanks Adam, quality top tips from you...

[@stripeyjoe]

Hi Gary, I’ve watched a few of your videos, all great! Have some questions on the valves… 1. Is the one on the right actually needed? It just seems to always be on, could you just connect the pump inlet hose directly to the dip tube angle thing? I guess if you were sparging via the pump it would make sense as you would have the HLT connected as well 2. The function of the two on the left seem to be to bypass the CFC, again, do you actually need to do that, could you just run everything straight through the CFC? Contemplating whether this system is for me, love the controller but not sure about the complexity of all the valves, especially when it comes to set up, cleaning and breaking it down again - I brew in the garden so everything has to be put away at the end of the brew day. Thanks in advance! Joe

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Hey Joe, happy to answer the questions for you. 1. On a B40pro you could easily not use the right hand 3 way valve, as you say just having an angled rubber pipe feeding the pump and completing the 'circuit' or wort so to speak, i do 23 litre batches where the amount of sparge water is anywhere between 9-15 litres depending on the recipe, using a HLT connected to the pump/sparge manifold it can pump through in a minute or less, i like to use a watering can and take between 10-15 mins slowly sparging, the watering can drenches the grist bed so well. If you had a B80 or B150 then with the amounts of sparge water involved a watering can wouldn't be the best option at all imo. 2. You are correct in that the 2 3 way valves on the left of the unit basically bypass the CFC, its really easy with 2 valves on that side to bypass the CFC and i always do, reason being: Why would you want to send the wort 20 feet around the CFC and back when in bypass mode it is literally 2 feet...less work for the pump and quicker imo. Cleaning is a breeze, takes 20 mins at the end of a brew day, i take all the valves/Tri Clamps/Seals off every 8-10 brew days and give them a 1 hours sodium percarbonate bath. The valve setup is as complex as you want to make it, i've seen 3-4-5 valves on brewers Brewtools setups, i stick to 2 as its easy and i know where the wort is and where its going at all times. I understand about brewing outside, before this i had a Grainfather and brewed in the kitchen, the Brewtools system is fabulous and although not cheap when you get you hands on one you will understand why its not cheap, everything is quality, well engineered and functional with an unbelievable amount of add ons and options to let the brewer set the system up whichever way suits their brewery best, its as near to pro level brewing i'll get to, the controller is very easy to use and intuitive, Brewtools have thought of pretty much everything with this kit and are constantly product developing for the end users, put the feelers out and try and sort a brewday out with someone in your area so you can see how it works...Best of luck to you...

[@stripeyjoe]

@@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439 Thanks for the considered reply! I'm busy trying to 'normalise' the price of the Brewtools system, I think it's the fact that the 'extra' accessory pack that looks like it is pretty much essential costs more than a lot of the other systems that puts me off a bit!!

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

I get that completely, another option is a 2nd hand unit, some brewers who get the B40pro then find themselves brewing more and more and have been upgrading to the B80pro for a much bigger batch size, there was a very nice B40 getting sold last week, 3 x 3wv, Trubinator, Lazer cut filter and lots more going for around the £1400.00 mark, way cheaper than if you bought everything new, this unit had 25 brew days on it, literally nothing, that's like a Bentley doing 5k miles and then being sold as second hand...just a thought...

[@stripeyjoe]

@@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439 wow, where did you spot that?

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Was on the 'Brewtools Owners Group' or the 'Brewtools Users Group' on Facebook, i wouldn't say deals like that are on there every day but are on there pretty often...

[@paulwakefield4329]

Do you sparge or just recirculate the wort? I’m having trouble with consistent efficiency..

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Hi Paul Thanks for commenting, I definitely sparge, i use a watering can and take around 10 mins to steadily reach my recipe boil volume, the Vorlauf which I do directly before the sparge after raising the malt pipe, is basically rinsing the grains through with the sugary wort, obviously the sparge water is hot [77 degrees yesterday] and imo the watering can delivers the Liquor over the grains brilliantly, drenches them thoroughly, think yesterday i sparged 15-16 litres to get my volume [33 litres instead of 32] and still beat the recipe numbers, the methods i use work really well for me...

[@paulwakefield4329]

@@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439 Watering can! Genius. I have the new sparge manifold which is ok, not perfect. I will try the Vorlauf next brew for sure. Thanks for reply, great video.

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

No trouble at all Paul, when you don't know you just don't know, I look back now to when i first got the B40 and my processes now are well different, most importantly my beers are better, its been quite a simple equation for me really, better processes = better beers...

[@alfiefranklin7831]

Another great Video Gary, I have a few questions if you don’t mind. I used a grainfather for around 3 years, I loved it, and could brew in my sleep, if you know what I mean. Then last September, I decided to invest in a B40. The kit is second to none, but here is my problem, my efficiency has took a nose dive, compared with the grainfather, and for some reason I struggle with clean up. Are there any tips you could give me, I will certainly try the tips you have given on this video. Sorry for the long winded comment, I’m just frustrated!

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Hey Alfie I'll do some tips for you no problem, Like yourself i moved from the GF, liked it at first as i just didn't know any better as i was brand new to brewing, was initially impressed with the GF but got sick to death of the filter coming off nearly every brewday, and several other irksome things, a major peeve was Grainfather bringing nothing whatsoever in way of aftermarket products to market even when users were screaming for them for months, then the software debacle...that was it for me, luckily its not hard to see the quality that is Brewtools kit is it, and the myriad of aftermarket options is unreal, hard to keep up with all the add-ons tbh, Its different level kit as i'm sure you now appreciate, which you can customise to your hearts content, which you can't really do with the GF. Right tips, firstly take your time mashing in, i take a minimum 10 minutes to mash in around 5 kg of grains, half a kg at a time and stir it in well each time, when its all in the malt pipe, just leave it for 20-30 mins for the mash rest, it helps the grains to hydrate and plump up. Start the mash off steady and don't have the flow too high initially, if the levels in the malt pipe and kettle are somewhere around level or the malt pipe is a couple of inches higher that's fine, take constant note of the levels, simply slow it down if the level in the malt pipe is too high and let it equalise. I use around 100 grams of Rice Hulls in every recipe, it helps... If the mash goes well then the next step for me is a 10 minute Vorlauf, simply raise the malt pipe as if to sparge, have the flow to 'UP Centre' no more than 50% pump power though, just let it go for 10 mins, you will have to stir the grist bed a few times to help the flow, this is usual.[for me] Then Sparge, i use a watering can as i find it therapeutic and it drenches the grains in the liquor really well, I don't sparge an actual volume of liquor, i sparge until i hit my pre boil volume of [usually 32.08 litres] which i nearly always overshoot by 0.5-1.0 litres but just about always hit the numbers or better, i usually have 18-20 litres in my Digiboil HLT and nearly always use it all even though Brewfather says to use 14-15 litres to hit my volumes i'll be using 16-17-18 litres, use what you need to get the required pre boil volume. Boiling: Sure you realise no the B40 is a beast and has a ferocious boil at full power [far better than the pitiful boil on the GF] my boil off rate is around 5 litres per hour [or so] i have the Steam Hat which exhausts my brew room in a pipe, works well for me. My Grain Absorption Rate is 0.8 L/KG and my Water/Grain Ratio is 3.6 L/KG, did have it set to 3.5 L/KG for several brew days but found it too dry tbh so went to 3.6 and that's a sweet spot for me. Whirlpool as usual, no real tips to offer here. Cooling: After whirlpool i cool to around 30 degrees [return temp] then turn the pump off and just leave it settle for 25-30 mins, the wort tends to clear up a bit and the trub/hop matter settles in a nice cone, i have the Trubinator... Cool to pitching temp after 30 mins of a wort rest then transfer to the FV, that's my brewday in a few paragraphs. My efficiencies are usually 85-86% Mash, and 75-76% brewhouse with the above tips, occasionally a bit more and sometimes a point or 2 less. Hope these help...Regards Gary

[@alfiefranklin7831]

Gary, I cannot thank you enough for that, and you taking the time to give me the tips. 100% agree with everything you said about the grainfather, the Brewtools kit is real professional brewing equipment. I take on board everything you have said, and I’ll try the tips out on my next brewday. Thanks again.....

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Hey Alfie, no worries, hope the tips improve your efficiencies, let me know how your next brewday goes...:-)

[@vochomebreweryusingbrewtoo9439]

Forgot to mention cleanup, as soon as the wort is in the FV i drain the kettle of the wort/hop dregs etc, rinse it out, give the inside of the kettle a bit of a scrub to remove any stubborn scum/hop matter, then [twice] put in 6-7 litres of clean hot water that is saved from cooling the wort, prime the pump, then recirculate around the kettle, then after a few seconds recirculate around the CFC, after about 1 minute i drain the system, then repeat, then put 8-10 litres in the kettle but mix first with sodium percarbonate, then CIP everything for 10-15 mins, rinse through again with clean water then its all good for me, i usually repeat this the day before a brewday as no matter how thorough you have cleaned everything it still starts to ming a bit after a week or so...hope that helps.

[@alfiefranklin7831]

Hello Gary, I’ve just finished my brewday (Tropical English IPA, my own recipe!). I followed your instructions to the letter, and everything went great, I hit all of the numbers from my recipe, which is a first for me using the B40. I’ve had the kit a year now, but I’ve only managed maybe 10 brews on it, because we moved house in January, and I’ve spent my whole year renovating the place, but the end is in sight, so I will have brewdays every fortnight! Thank you again for giving me your advice and tips, I really appreciate it. Cheers......