In a Kegland video for the RoboBrew/Brewzilla, the guy used the chiller outside of the kettle. He placed the chiller in a cooler of ice water then used the Brewzilla pump to send wort out of the ball valve, through the iced chiller, then back into the top of the kettle to both shorten the cool down time and to eliminate the need for a water source and water waste.

Thanks for the mention :-) Much appreciated!

Nice overview! Glad you covered the ramp up between temps using the controller. First time I used the new controller I was under the impression that it would not start the timer until it reached the set point. NOT the case. Cheers David! 👍🍻

Very nice guide. I am super tempted to buy one of these.

Hi David Another great and informative video. I used my Brewzilla for the first time yesterday and discovered that the 3.1.1 version now has two auto programs. You can set it to either start the timer and heater at the same time or force the system to wait until the desired temperature is reached and then start the timer. So no more ramping up calculations required. My thoughts on the brewzilla are that for the most part it is well constructed, however some components such as the filter and drain pipe are on the flimsy side and bend too easily. I suspect most people would be prepared to pay a little more for thicker materials. Apart from this issue I am happy with the functionality of the brewzilla and thank you for your many reviews on comparable systems. Thanks

Thank you David, this helped a lot

Thank-you so much love from India.

The 3.1 Version seems a big improvement on the previous versions. Very nice piece of kit.

Love your videos

Another great video David. I've just purchased a 65L Brewzilla and can report it's a significant step up in terms of robustness compared to my old 35L Robobrew (which is about on par with the Guten). I reckon it even feels a bit more robust than the Grainfather, which a good friend of mine owns. It doesn't have the snazzy Connect - but I'm old fashioned and prefer brewing manually anyway. In terms of value for money, I reckon it's a category killer. I would love to see you do video on the 65L model some day, but appreciate that takes time and money. I'm also looking forward to seeing a brew day on your new Brewtools rig. Talk anout drool worthy, holy crap! In terms of quality, that looks like it's the category killer, but sadly my wallet isn't fat enough to accomodate one. At least not yet... I also enjoyed your mention of Brewfather. I've been using this for about 6 months now and think it leaves Brewsmith in its dust. The tech support from@Brewfather is absolutely superb - every question I've asked has been answered within 24 hours.

Thanks for the review as always, which I read before buying the system in March. I note your tip on not trusting the onboard thermometer when cooling. I also found it very inaccurate when mashing, i.e. below 65 degrees it reads over by around 10 to 20 degrees. Simple answer is to use the system manually and use a cheap external bbq thermometer. I also found that mashing with max water volumes (25l) plus rice hulls stops any sticking. I have had 6 months of great brews from a dirt cheap system, thanks to trusting your test!

Again probably the most helpful guide out there, much better then the actual company who makes the product. Thanks again!

I’m buying the RoboBrew 63L 😁🍻

Hi David. Thanks for making and sharing this great video. I like to brew 10l batches and recently ordered a 35l Robobrew even though it does not have small batch pipework and I am not 100% sure I can use this unit for my 10l batches, however, I am probably around 80% certain I will be able to find a way to achieve this. I have read conflicting things online saying you can brew small batches with no problems and then other information saying the opposite. My plan 'A' when I receive my Robobrew (currently on order) is to try a full volume mash for one of my small batches and a plan 'B' if I do not get a satisfactory result I guess would be to see if I can get the GF small batch pipework to fit the Robobrew. Full volume mashing has the added appeal of shortening and simplifying my brew day which combined with 30 minute boils which I am very interested in for the same reason could potentially revolutionise my brew days. The reason I am inclined towards small batches and simple, short brew days is ironically so that I can do more brewing not less! I wondered if you had any thoughts on full volume mashing in the Robobrew or experience of using the GF small batch pipework in the Robobrew yet? Thank you again.

dont even have a brewzilla but still enjoyed it :)

It's also worth mentioning that once boil is achieved only the 1900w is needed to maintain boil. Having both elements on causes massive boil off. Also get the robo jack or make ur own insulation on the system to decrease temp ramp up times.

Thanks David for another great video. The Brewzilla is interesting as it comes in a larger size than Grainfather, but I have some concerns about it. The controller sits at the bottom and don't have the Bluetooth connection as Grainfather have. Putting it on a chair also for using the tap sounds like a solution, but then you have difficulties in lifting the grain basket. Specially on the larger system, it would be very heavy. Some pros and cons and more cons at this moment, so if you get the chance to try out the 65 liter system I really would like to see that video. All the best

Hi David, just wondering how you would transfer to the FV? The pump outlet seems to be on the bottom so would this mean all the hop and malt debris post boil are going in the fermentor? Is it better to attach whirlpool arm and use spigot? Cheers, keep up the good work!

Great videos! I purchased the Brewzilla 65l and did a 5 gallon batch yesterday. The recipe called for 15 qts. of strike water. That amount barely reached the bottom of the malt pipe. The Brewzilla is advertised as a 5 and 10 gallon system but it seems better for 10. I had to add more strike water to mash in. Not sure if that's a problem.

Hi, David. This may be a bit of daft question but how do we account for the dead volume in the robobrew? Simply add on the dead volume on top of the stated mash water in a recipe? Or does the Grainfather calculator account for dead volume? Cheers!

Hi David - Your youtube resources have been invaluable to me as I am rediscovering homebrewing after a frivolous distraction in career development and family building that somehow managed to persist since about 2001. So thanks! As a new robobrew owner a couple of questions occur to me: 1. Should I attempt to make things more complicated by programming a higher initial mash water temperature so that the addition of room temperature grains causes equilibrium of mash temperature at the intended target or is this unnecessarily complicated since the unit will quickly detect and correct the dip upon adding the grain 2. I notice that you advocate a jug for sparging a bit at a time - what if I opt to use my method from before I bought the robobrew - basically an elevated source of hot water and doing a fly sparge maintaining the same rate of water in versus rinsed wort out? Thanks again from Toronto Canada

Thanks for the video! When you are in boiling step, is recomended mainten the pump off?

Hi David, big fan of your videos here. I have a question, are you supposed to have the pump on for the whole mash process? A fellow brewer mentioned he recirculates just before lathering (in another system) to avoid tannin extraction. On the other hand I read in a forum that the recirculation ensures that all the grain is at the same temperature during mashing.

Thanks. You don't mention emptying the vessel and I assuming that is done via the Tap/Valve I can see in the pictures. That does mean that the device must be either placed high enough to get a container underneath or a separate pump.

Hello! Thank you very much for the great video! I am thinking about using the brewzilla 35 L with a hop spider. What is the maximum length of the spider I could use with the brewzilla 35 L?

While chilling your beer with included chiller do you run the pump? Also what is the best way to transfer wort into the fermentor? Can I use the valve or the pump on the brewzilla?

I had problems draining into fermenter. The filter would clog up and tap would barely flow,just a drip.I supose this is the unwanted proteins cloging the filter. I have seen people using the pump to evacuate the machine but this is obviously wrong. I think I can replace the gauze filter on the tap for a much bigger one. That should help. Is there a reson why I had so much thick protein? I just scooped the clear wort out with a jug until I got to the thick cloudy stuff. I was aiming for 5 gals,gat 3.5. Ok I suppose

When you say the mash volume is 3l x grain bill in kg, do you not have to add the dead space of 3.5l ? so for a 5 kg grain bill 3x5+3=18l. I find it too thick with the 3 x ?kg and cant dough in without recirculating slightly. I tend to use the 2.7l x ?kg +3.5l method as the 2.7xkg was what I used in the old ice box mash tun days + the aprox dead space under the malt pipe (although i think its more like 5.4l to the bottom of the pipe). I'm not sure that while its recirculating during mashing if you are supposed to have an air gap between the bottom of the malt pipe and the wort reservoir below. I find that the Robobrew info is very vague and can find a hundred sources of info on the web..all different! Love the videos! very informative.

Thanks for the video, David. In Brewfather, would you recommend the default equipment-profile for the Brewzilla or would you recommend another setup?

David, do you know where to buy Brewzilla 65L in Europe? Brewkegtap.co.uk has only 35L version. Buying it from outside eu is not economical due custom and high shipping charges.

What is your experience? great vids by the way.

I never quite understand how to mash in Robobrew. In a standard mash it sits in the liquor you then re-circ through false bottom or such until clear and then sparge...In the robobrew when you mash and circulate, are you trying to get the water circulating through the mash basket (so you would want a void between the bottom of the basket equal to the water you have on top and overflowing), or is just sat in a big tub of wort and some would travel through the grain basket. It would not really want to travel through the grain bed if this was the case it would be just sat in it and some would percolate through. If it was the former that would make the strike water calc very import. I only say as my extract efficiency reduces the more strike water I use for a fixed amount of grain. I find its better to have a very thick mash before i put the top screen on and start to circulate..What is your experience? great vids by the way.

Hi David, thanks for the video, I'm a bit confused re the pre heat though, why is it necessary to set the 1st step to 21 oC over 6 hours? Thanks again.

Hi David, how have you found the bottom filter plate on the robobrew when doing a whirlpool. Even doing a whirlpool with the paddle you can feel the filter plate lifting and getting throne around. Causing possible and sometimes pump blockages

Regarding creating a whirlpool and submerging the chiller in boiling water: what is the best way to do this? Do you first submerge the chiller in boiling water to sanitize, remove and then whirlpool, or should you whirlpool boiling water and then submerge the chiller? If the latter, how long do you wait after creating the whirlpool to submerge the chiller?

Hi David, can you brew a black tea on this machine?

@David Heath. A quick question. When I try to whirlpool the bottom plate lifts and all the hops and trub go the bottom of the unit ..... What sould I do?

Brilliant stuff. Would it be possible to brew smaller batches with this too? Cheers

Is the controller a PId controller or just a generic element on/off type.

Is not possible to do the brewing as if it were BIAB? You have to sparge?

Hello David, thanks for the video. I bought my brewzilla last week and i have a question... Why i need preheat the mash water over almost 8 hours..... This don t mak sense for me.........For example: i wanna make a beer 9 am..ok...then i will put and prepare the mash water around 8 am and wait to start the mash 9 am....Can you help me please, it s my first time! Thanks again.

Hi, can you tell me what products you use to clean all the equipment?

I find I have about 5l recoverable mash dead space below the false bottom/grain basket so have to add this to my mash volume

I see you didnt use a filter for Hobs. To me that stuffed the filter when I was gonna drain to the ferming tank.

Easier than doing the math: Just get software. I used to use Beer Alchemy on my map, and that thing was stunningly good

When calculating the mash, you might want to add a blurb about the "dead space" under the false bottom and add that water to the needed amount.

Can you tell me if heating coil is in direct contact with brewing mass ? The lid is hermetic ?

Shouldn’t the strike water be higher than your mash temp in order to account for the drop once you dough in?

The Boiler Perforated False Bottom lift up when i do the whirpool :( and the trub go down to the pump site

What is the purpose of the tap on the side? Is that just for wort sampling?

Will you also test the big one at some point? I don't have any intention of changing out my grainfather but it would be interesting to see how big it is and how that affects the brew process.

I find i cant have the pump going during the mash, as it clogs up too easily. I haven't noticed any detrimental effects by not using the pump, though

Ive found an aftermarket PID Controller for the robobrew that has wireless capabilities. It's called the smart PID. smartpid.com

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