{"id":6606,"date":"2016-12-17T10:33:02","date_gmt":"2016-12-17T15:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beersmith.com\/blog\/?p=6606"},"modified":"2017-06-05T18:50:47","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T22:50:47","slug":"blichmann-breweasy-electric-review-part-1-first-impressions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beersmith.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/17\/blichmann-breweasy-electric-review-part-1-first-impressions\/","title":{"rendered":"Blichmann BrewEasy Electric Review – Part 1 – First Impressions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blichmann BrewEasy Electric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week I take a up-close and personal look at the BrewEasy electric “turn-key” brewing system from Blichmann Engineering. For several years now friends have been pushing me to give up my ancient pot and igloo cooler for an electric system – so in part one I cover unpacking, setup and first impressions, and in part two I will discuss brewing on the system<\/a>. [Note – this is a long post – and full disclosure: Blichmann Engineering is a supporter of the BeerSmith podcast and websites, and affilitate links are used in this article]<\/em><\/p>\n

My Old Brewing Setup<\/h3>\n

Regular readers may have noticed that I don’t post many equipment reviews. That’s because I’ve been brewing on essentially the same 5 gallon setup since the early 1990’s. It consisted of two 10 gallon (38 l) pots for hot liquor and boiling, a 5 gallon (19 l) igloo cooler, a very old propane burner and several glass carboys. I also have a Barley Crusher<\/a> malt mill and some kegs. With the exception of adding a large grain bag for BIAB several years back, and one smaller pot I used for stove-top BIAB or extract batches, the system has not changed in years.<\/p>\n

Several factors came together to make me consider a new system. First, I wanted to go electric to be able to brew inside when it is too cold or hot to brew outside. Second I wanted a bit more automation after having brewed on three tier systems with friends. Third I was thinking of a larger 10 gal (38 l finish volume) setup since it is about the same amount of effort to brew 10 gallons as 5 gallons. Finally I wanted something compact – as the dedicated space I have in my basement for brewing is limited.<\/p>\n

The Search for a New System<\/h3>\n
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Boil Coil and Anvil Hop Strainer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I know some people believe Blichmann equipment is expensive, but if you compare turnkey 10 gallon (38 l) brewing systems, the BrewEasy is actually competitively priced. The list price for the 10 gallon electric BrewEasy setup is $2,263 at the time I’m writing this<\/a>. Three tier semi-automated electric systems often run twice the price or more, with many reaching the $6K range, and also require a lot of space that I don’t have for an indoor system. Even the much smaller fully automated Picobrew Zymatic system – which is literally a push button system (2.5 gal batches) runs almost $2K.<\/p>\n

Spidel makes a single vessel Braumeister 50l system (essentially a single vessel BIAB style setup) in the correct size, but it is almost the same price as the BrewEasy here in the US. It is a bit more compact, but the BrewEasy seemed more flexible to me with the Tower of Power controller, 20 gallon boil pot (75 l), 5,000 watt (vs 3200 watt) heating element, separate mash tun and March pump which can be used for a variety of tasks. I also liked the idea that components could potentially be reused later if I decided to reconfigure or expand my brewing system.<\/p>\n

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Brewmometer and Kettle Adapter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I looked at piecing my own system together, and it initially seemed promising but as you start to add up the price of the parts needed for a full system it gets expensive. The fact that Blichmann equipment is designed to last a lifetime, is made in the USA, and has been a supporter of BeerSmith certainly helped sway my decision.<\/p>\n

The Blichmann BrewEasy Turnkey System<\/h3>\n

The BrewEasy is a compact, Kettle-RIMS (K-RIMS) system<\/a> using two kettles stacked on top of each other. The 10 gallon (40 l) system I picked is really quite compact for a semi-automated recirculating mash system, with a footprint that is under 2 x 2 feet (60 x 60 cm) for the brewing unit and less than 12″ x 12″ (30 x 30c m) footprint for the Tower of Power LTE controller. It comes in a 5 gal (19l), 10 gal (40l) and 20 gal (80l) size, which refers to the finished batch size, and has both electric and gas heated versions. My electric 10 gal (38 l) system is 50″ (127 cm) high sitting on the KettleKart, so it is easy to access and mix grains in the mash tun.<\/p>\n

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Mashing In<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Operation is very simple. The mash kettle sits on top of the boil kettle using an adapter. You add water to both kettles, and the pump recirculates water from the bottom boil kettle back to the top of the upper mash kettle. A tube drains wort from the bottom of the mash kettle back into the boil kettle using gravity. Heating is done by the electric coil in the boil kettle. The control system throttles the heating element to maintain a set temperature for the mash.<\/p>\n

The system is essentially a two vessel RIMS system, but it uses the boil kettle as the heating source. Once the mash is complete, you just let the remaining wort drain into the bottom kettle, then remove the mash tun and adapter and start boiling. When you are done, the March pump makes quick work of transferring wort to the fermenter. The basic system does not include a chiller, but I added a separate Blichmann Therminator plate chiller.<\/p>\n

Here are the major components that were included with my 10 gal electric turnkey BrewEasy system<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Mash Tun False Bottom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n