ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

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Noob_Brewer said:
You certainly have over 10x more brewing experience than I lol. Ive started my home-brew career with this 10.5g foundry. I will say that I have no clue what the anvil pump is rated for as far as temps but probably should know this myself. Occasionally, during the boil when it is starting and producing a nice foam, before I knew enough to simply lower the power to about 90% (Im on 240V), I simply ran the pump for a short bit at boiling to get rid of the foam. It worked and the pump never ceased but I only ran it for about a minute if that much. Nevertheless, I don't do that anymore because I simply lower the power to 90% to get a nice rolling and consistent boil. I will also say that this pump has worked flawlessly over my 16 batches brewed. I let all my hops roam free in the boil and whirlpool/steep and typically have about 6-7oz of hop pellets in the kettle before pumping to fermenter. when pumping the wort into the fermenter, even towards the end of filling the fermenter, the pump has zero issues when hops are coming through the pump. After done brewing, I simply do a CIP with PBW recirculating through the pump at 150degrees and the pump ALWAYS comes out squeaky clean as well. Although Ive never owned another pump, this pump simply works and works well for me with zero issues.
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I am not sure the pump is rated for boiling temperatures, but since it relies on the wort to help with lubrication of the impeller the steam given off by the boiling wort could cause undesired wear on the pump parts. I usually turn the power to 0% at the end of the boil, take my volume and gravity samples, and then turn the pump on when the temperature is about 3F to 5F below boiling.
 
mbg said:
My experience has been from tun/kettle. About 3-years ago my son gifted me a FastFerment conical. I don't brew enough to do any real A -vs- B process variations, but, last few brews I have used a method I read someone else use. Don't worry about the trub getting into the fermenter. Let the fermenter sit for a few hours, dump the collection jar, oxygenate the wort, and pitch the yeast.
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A conical definitely helps. I use plastic better bottles. Trub definitely won't hurt, but I definitely would prefer not having all the trub in the carboy. What I have done a few times, when doing low oxygen brewing, which they recommend removing hot break, etc., is transfer to a carboy, wait an hour and then do a closed transfer under pressure to another carboy. But I can't be bothered do it every time.
 
I had originally ordered a Mash and Boil as I was just fine with sticking with 120v and I couldn't see spending the extra money for the Foundry if not going 220v. Well, I got a bit of a surprise that my outside receptacles and therefore my back porch receptacles were on the same circuit. I found this out when trying out the M&B and the circuit ended up tripping with the back porch fan and lights on.

So, I got an RMA from AIH and ordered a Foundry 10.5 today during the pre-sale. I should hopefully have it some time in June! I plan to get the small batch ring as well so I can retire my 5.5 gal kettle and brew bag for my small batches.
 
All, I wanted thank you for your feedback on my questions from a few days ago. Yesterday I decided to fire up and play around with just some water in the system. I put 6 gallons of water and fired up the Anvil to 100% power at 120V. It took 1.5 hours for 57F water to reach 157F (water strike temp). I then raised the temp to 168F. After this I raised the temp to 212 (boil and still at 100%). This took another 45 minutes. This was a very slight boil at best. I then boiled for 60 minutes and as the manual stated evaporation was about 0.5 gallons. IMHO I don't think the 120V boil is adequate. Based on this I'm going to work on wiring for 240V option. I would like to still ask if anybody has experience using whole hops with this system and how you did this. ie did you just use the malt basket, or did you use both the malt basket and BIAB or maybe just a BIAB?

Also, their is a "Warning" in the manual that says "always remove the lid before bringing wort to a boil. Boiling wort can cause severe burns and damage to equipment". Does anybody know what this means? I understand severe burns to a human etc but not sure what damage to the equipment could be?
Thanks,
Paul
 
Paul M said:
IMHO I don't think the 120V boil is adequate. Based on this I'm going to work on wiring for 240V option
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Dang thanks for that info Paul. I was considering the Foundry too and was worried about exactly this. Ended up going with a SS Brewtech kettle that I can bridge across two burners on my stove, feeling better about that decision now even though it's still not exactly speedy. 240V isn't an option in my apartment
 
Paul M said:
All, I wanted thank you for your feedback on my questions from a few days ago. Yesterday I decided to fire up and play around with just some water in the system. I put 6 gallons of water and fired up the Anvil to 100% power at 120V. It took 1.5 hours for 57F water to reach 157F (water strike temp). I then raised the temp to 168F. After this I raised the temp to 212 (boil and still at 100%). This took another 45 minutes. This was a very slight boil at best. I then boiled for 60 minutes and as the manual stated evaporation was about 0.5 gallons. IMHO I don't think the 120V boil is adequate. Based on this I'm going to work on wiring for 240V option. I would like to still ask if anybody has experience using whole hops with this system and how you did this. ie did you just use the malt basket, or did you use both the malt basket and BIAB or maybe just a BIAB?

Also, their is a "Warning" in the manual that says "always remove the lid before bringing wort to a boil. Boiling wort can cause severe burns and damage to equipment". Does anybody know what this means? I understand severe burns to a human etc but not sure what damage to the equipment could be?
Thanks,
Paul
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Paul - my son has had this system for about a year and uses it on 120V. Yes he wants to get a 240V line to speed up the process someday but has made many good beers at 120V.

I would think the lid warning is true for any boiling kettle. With the lid on it's pretty certain you will have a boil-over.


Mike
 
A buddy of mine who got me into this hobby is looking to upgrade to the Anvil 10.5. He is not on this site and I am trying to get him on it but he has been on several sites checking the "best" price and what he is finding is different pictures of the Anvil. One has a picture of the controls up high on the unit the other is down low, I see by checking this thread a mentioning of a first gen back a year or so ago, does that mean that the controls may have moved on the 2nd gen and if so which one is the latest?

Where are the best pricing for this?
 
TsunamiMike said:
A buddy of mine who got me into this hobby is looking to upgrade to the Anvil 10.5. He is not on this site and I am trying to get him on it but he has been on several sites checking the "best" price and what he is finding is different pictures of the Anvil. One has a picture of the controls up high on the unit the other is down low, I see by checking this thread a mentioning of a first gen back a year or so ago, does that mean that the controls may have moved on the 2nd gen and if so which one is the latest?

Where are the best pricing for this?
Click to expand...

The pictures with the controls down low are the previous version of the products.

The pictures with the controls up high are the current version of the products.

List prices are:
10.5 Gallon - $369.99 ($469.99 with Pump)
6.5 Gallon - $274.99 ($374.99 with Pump)

I believe vendors can sell them for whatever price they want, but they can't advertise lower prices than these.

Demand is high enough that I don't believe discounts are common!
 
Thank you for the quick response! He is looking at the 10.5 with pump, wants to get the ring for smaller batches as well as the hop spider. Anything else he should consider purchasing for it?
 
Hey MGB, thanks for your reply. I agree that good, and even great bier can be made with the 120V 10.5 gal Anvil. To be perfectly honest in gearing up for brewing on this system I've been reading a lot of post on this forum and my head is spinning! As stated I have about 27 years of homebrew experience but am not a chemistry major, not an engineer and have not stayed abreast of all the latest and greatest information available out there for over 10 years. I can tell you from my experience that every time I changed something in my brewing process....be it RIMS, chillers, fermentors, software etc etc that it comes with a learning curve.....brewing big beers verses small beers etc etc etc. For example I started with Glass fermentors (carboys) and have invested in a stainless conical....I went back to Glass as my perception as my biers were better. Went with a plate chiller and went back to my immersion etc etc etc I would never expect my efficiencies of this new system to be the same as my previous system....just learn and adapt until you are making good biers that you are proud to share with friends. Regarding my comment on how the Anvil boils with 120V I spoke with a friend (who I mentored in the early days) that is much more on top of this hobby for his opinion and he indicated that certain grains do not fare well with low boils I took this information to mean that this would affect what I want to brew and don't want this limitation when using this system.
All the best,
Paul
 
The science and the industry support low thermal load, but that takes a lot more time on brew day. I am going to try 240v just so I can go full bore on the ramp up to boiling then dial it way back once I get close to temps. Time is a factor for me.
 
TsunamiMike said:
A buddy of mine who got me into this hobby is looking to upgrade to the Anvil 10.5. He is not on this site and I am trying to get him on it but he has been on several sites checking the "best" price and what he is finding is different pictures of the Anvil. One has a picture of the controls up high on the unit the other is down low, I see by checking this thread a mentioning of a first gen back a year or so ago, does that mean that the controls may have moved on the 2nd gen and if so which one is the latest?

Where are the best pricing for this?
Click to expand...

Pricing is fixed by Blichmann/Anvil. All dealers are required to sell for the same price. The price is the same if you order through your LHBS or directly from Anvil.
 
Paul M said:
All, I wanted thank you for your feedback on my questions from a few days ago. Yesterday I decided to fire up and play around with just some water in the system. I put 6 gallons of water and fired up the Anvil to 100% power at 120V. It took 1.5 hours for 57F water to reach 157F (water strike temp). I then raised the temp to 168F. After this I raised the temp to 212 (boil and still at 100%). This took another 45 minutes. This was a very slight boil at best. I then boiled for 60 minutes and as the manual stated evaporation was about 0.5 gallons. IMHO I don't think the 120V boil is adequate. Based on this I'm going to work on wiring for 240V option. I would like to still ask if anybody has experience using whole hops with this system and how you did this. ie did you just use the malt basket, or did you use both the malt basket and BIAB or maybe just a BIAB?

Also, their is a "Warning" in the manual that says "always remove the lid before bringing wort to a boil. Boiling wort can cause severe burns and damage to equipment". Does anybody know what this means? I understand severe burns to a human etc but not sure what damage to the equipment could be?
Thanks,
Paul
Click to expand...
A couple things. With the delay timer you can set the Foundry to be at strike temperature when you get ready to brew and totally remove that initial heating time. Second, covering the Foundry completely during the boil is likely to cause a boil over. That said, partially covering the Foundry with the lid, maybe 3/4's coverage will decrease heating time and improve the strength of the boil.
 
I've ordered a 10.5 directly from Anvil, delivery in June. The only good thing about the delay is that I'll have time to wire in 240V outlets. Oh, and maybe the pumps will be back in stock. I'm planning on 1 inside and 1 outside on the same circuit. That will let me brew where I want. If it's too cold outside (negative teens), I can fog up the basement.
 
I ordered mine from Morebeer on the 22nd of May. Hopefully i
I'll get mine as part of th June shipment.
 
My first brew on my Anvil went very well. Didn't mess with my mill gap yet and achieved 71.6% mash and 63.7 BH efficiency. Only issues I have are: 1) I need a new hop basket - mine doesn't go deep enough. 2) Chilling was slow with stock SS chiller. Ha - I currently have a 3-coil 75' of 3/8" copper tubing but it doesn't fit the Anvil. May also look at a whirlpool arm to save my arm.

(My error, dumped all the grain in the pipe before dropping it into the brewer. I mixed it well.)

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mbg said:
My first brew on my Anvil went very well. Didn't mess with my mill gap yet and achieved 71.6% mash and 63.7 BH efficiency. Only issues I have are: 1) I need a new hop basket - mine doesn't go deep enough. 2) Chilling was slow with stock SS chiller. Ha - I currently have a 3-coil 75' of 3/8" copper tubing but it doesn't fit the Anvil. May also look at a whirlpool arm to save my arm.

(My error, dumped all the grain in the pipe before dropping it into the brewer. I mixed it well.)

View attachment 683661View attachment 683662View attachment 683663View attachment 683664
Click to expand...

Nice setup! Looks similar to my backyard and the reason I bought the anvil so I can brew and semi-watch my kids (at least help the wife out a whole lot more than from my old half-barrel setup!)

I like the system a lot. It's been churning out some nice tasty DIPAs that my whole family enjoys.
 
I am looking into configuring some quick disconnects for the existing hoses and Wort Chiller that the system came with.

Curious if anyone has done this? I reached out to Anvil directly and they did not have anything they could suggest and advised I go the Local Homebrew store route.

I have brewed about 8 batches so far with this system and the biggest PITA for me is dealing with attaching the hoses via hose clamps and screw driver.

I also ferment these batches in a carboy and use the Anvil chilling system which comes with a chilling coil. Looking to find disconnects for those as well.

Thanks!
 
samandbekah said:
I am looking into configuring some quick disconnects for the existing hoses and Wort Chiller that the system came with.

Curious if anyone has done this? I reached out to Anvil directly and they did not have anything they could suggest and advised I go the Local Homebrew store route.

I have brewed about 8 batches so far with this system and the biggest PITA for me is dealing with attaching the hoses via hose clamps and screw driver.

I also ferment these batches in a carboy and use the Anvil chilling system which comes with a chilling coil. Looking to find disconnects for those as well.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If you look at my pic's above closely I have Camlock fittings. I'm looking to add a BrewHardware "Spincycle" whirlpool arm with a Camlock and will probably add a Camlock to the recirculation arm at that time.

One caution - if adding 1/2" NPT Camlock to the spigot use extra teflon tape because the spigot is not an NPT thread (think it's a straight thread.
 
So after not receiving any updates from MoreBeer and not even being given a definitive answer about whether or not I would receive the Foundry as part of the June shipment or not I ordered direct through Anvil for the July shipment and cancelled the order with MoreBeer.
 
I know on the Facebook group a bag in the malt pipe seems to be popular. Do the users here do the same? Brew Bag or Wilser bag?
 
I have both a brew bag and Wilser bag. Both work very well. I have a first heneration Anvil and the top plate fits really tight, so my preferred bag is the Wilser made bag whish does not have the support ribs.
 
Oginme said:
I have both a brew bag and Wilser bag. Both work very well. I have a first heneration Anvil and the top plate fits really tight, so my preferred bag is the Wilser made bag whish does not have the support ribs.
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I just bought a 10.5 Gal Foundry and should have it in a month or so. I'm excited to move to all grain from extract. What size Wilser bag do you use with yours? And would you recommend using a bag vs just using the grain pipe? Thanks!
 
BrewingWithFred said:
I just bought a 10.5 Gal Foundry and should have it in a month or so. I'm excited to move to all grain from extract. What size Wilser bag do you use with yours? And would you recommend using a bag vs just using the grain pipe? Thanks!
Click to expand...

First I would encourage you to try it both ways to see what you like best. I have a wilser bag in mine. Contact @wilserbrewer and he will ask you some specifics on the sizing of the anvil. After talking with him myself, I had my wilserbag made to fit the size of the actual kettle (10.5g) and not the malt pipe. This gave me the flexibility to do it either in the malt pipe or the kettle without the malt pipe.

I have done 20 brews on the anvil now and 18 of them have used the bag so that should tell you my preference lol.

FWIW if you are using the bag and have your own grain mill, you will have a TON of flexibility in how you want to run this system.
 
BrewingWithFred said:
I just bought a 10.5 Gal Foundry and should have it in a month or so. I'm excited to move to all grain from extract. What size Wilser bag do you use with yours? And would you recommend using a bag vs just using the grain pipe? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have the 6.5 gal unit and my the bag I used for my kettle was pretty close to the same size as the pipe for depth. A little wider than the malt pipe, but it fits pretty well. One of the issues with the early machines is that the distribution plate which sits on top was cut straight out of a perforated sheet and has sharp edges where the cut goes through perforations. I need to be really careful when using the brew bag since it is very snug with the straps and I don't want the edges to grab and tear the bag. Not sure how the newer distribution plates are, but they look to be thicker with smooth edges.
 
Oginme said:
I have the 6.5 gal unit and my the bag I used for my kettle was pretty close to the same size as the pipe for depth. A little wider than the malt pipe, but it fits pretty well. One of the issues with the early machines is that the distribution plate which sits on top was cut straight out of a perforated sheet and has sharp edges where the cut goes through perforations. I need to be really careful when using the brew bag since it is very snug with the straps and I don't want the edges to grab and tear the bag. Not sure how the newer distribution plates are, but they look to be thicker with smooth edges.
Click to expand...
I have the second generation distribution plate. It is nice and smooth but still a tight fit with the bag. So Im still careful about not pulling on the bag at all when the plate is in place. It works well. I have a wilser bag
 
Noob_Brewer said:
First I would encourage you to try it both ways to see what you like best. I have a wilser bag in mine. Contact @wilserbrewer and he will ask you some specifics on the sizing of the anvil. After talking with him myself, I had my wilserbag made to fit the size of the actual kettle (10.5g) and not the malt pipe. This gave me the flexibility to do it either in the malt pipe or the kettle without the malt pipe.

I have done 20 brews on the anvil now and 18 of them have used the bag so that should tell you my preference lol.

FWIW if you are using the bag and have your own grain mill, you will have a TON of flexibility in how you want to run this system.
Click to expand...
Can @wilserbrewer know the required bag size based on the Anvil Foundry 10.5 gallon, or will I still have to measure it? I just order the the Foundry myself and it is expected to ship mid July.
 

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