Anyone using the mash and boil or robo brew?

[Coastalbrew]

I'm looking at getting one of these systems to do ebiab brewing of primarily 5G batches and would like to hear feedback from folks who have owned either of the systems. I generally don't brew beers over 7-7.5% abv, so I don't have large grain bills generally and like the simplicity of the biab no sparge method .

*What do you like and dislike?
*What would you add ?
*In a biab setup, do you have enough volume for grain bills and all your water on batches in the 1.070 range?
*For lower gravity session type beers, is there enough volume to push the batch size up to say 7.5-8G?

 

[Rev2010]

Had the Robobrew v3, didn't like it at all... big headache. Sold it. I've never used the Mash & Boil but I'd probably go with the Mash & Boil with the pump. It's double walled so better insulated than the Robobrew, 100w more power to the elements, no annoying center overflow pipe, and from the pictures it looks like the malt pipe is one solid piece - the Robobrew had screens that slide in and sit on a lip. I think the one piece pipe would better prevent any grains from getting past the screen which I believe can lift slightly in the Robobrew when stirring the mash. The Robobrew has slightly more space available but for most beers the difference won't matter much.

Do you currently have any traditional equipment? (ie. Kettle, mash tun, etc?). I opted to go with a Hotrod heatstick with gas assist on stovetop and am much happier.


Rev.

 

[verboten]

I use my robobrew on average about every other week since August. I've never had a clog, i have not had any grains in the boil, and getting to a boil is much faster when you leave the lid on until it's going.

I have the jacket, it holds heat that is for sure, as i found when I am cooling I will now remove it.

I bought the whirlpool arm from brewhardware.com and that made chilling so much faster with the included IC. I also got the nifty sightglass because I like toys.

 

[Coastalbrew]

Thanks for the feedback on the robo brew fellas.

@Rev2010 , I read your thread regarding your experience with the system a while back. It was very informative. I do have a 10.5G kettle and chiller now. I've been trying to use it on the stove top which does not work well for a variety of reasons. I've thought about going the heat stick route as well, but our range hood hangs low over the stove top and there is not enough room to lift out the grain bag at the end of the mash. So I have to continually handle the hot and heavy kettle off and onto the stove. Not fun. I have limited space and time so like the idea of single vessel brewing and the potential for at least some automation in the brew day is appealing too.

My gut is intrigued by the simplicity of the mash and boil, but would like to hear the experiences of people who have used it before pulling the trigger.

 

[Veets]

I use my robobrew on average about every other week since August. I've never had a clog, i have not had any grains in the boil, and getting to a boil is much faster when you leave the lid on until it's going.

I have the jacket, it holds heat that is for sure, as i found when I am cooling I will now remove it.

I bought the whirlpool arm from brewhardware.com and that made chilling so much faster with the included IC. I also got the nifty sightglass because I like toys.

I haven't used mine this much, I've had no troubles with it, other than the immersion chiller not extending far enough down into the wort. About 1/3 of the coils are not immersed during a 5-gallon batch, which is disappointing. Otherwise, I love it.

 

[Coastalbrew]

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

 

[Leapsandbounds]

I’ve used my robobrew twice now. I used the malt pipe once and BIAB the other. I like using the BIAB method and obtained a higher efficiency (possibly due to a thinner mash).

So far I really like it. The automation is nice and I like having more control over temps. Also, the boil isn’t too strong so boil overs are unlikely. It definitely heats slower than my propane burner but at least I don’t have to worry about having enough propane. It’s pretty easy to clean too (especially without the malt pipe).