I am a begining brewer who has never used an all grain system before and have a couple questions.
no problem
1. Do you have to carbonate the beer after it has reached the fermentor, if so is this done with CO2 or does it naturally occur?
The BREWTREE (or any brewing system, homemade or professional) purpose is to produce "wort" - or unfermented beer. That wort needs to be transferred to a fermentor, which is easy with the supplied hoses on the outflow of the "wort chillers" which simply cool the boiling hot wort to room temperature so you can add yeast to the fermentor and it can live at a comfortable temperature (otherwise you would kill the yeast if the temp was not reduced by the chillers.)
Once yeast is added to your wort in the fermentor, you put an airlock on the opening of your fermentor - this allows air/co2 to exit but nothing can enter. The yeast converts the wort into beer. The yeasts byproducts are alcohol, water and co2 during fermentation.
The co2 escapes by bubbling out of the fermentor. Since the fermentor is not pressurized, only a negligible amount of co2 stays dissolved in suspension (leave a soda open for a week and it will be flat, because the co2 only stays in liquid form when compressed, otherwise it escapes when trying to come into equilibrium with the environment)
So, after fermentation, your beer is always FLAT and the yeast has consumed all of the available sugars in the wort (which is food for them).
You can carbonate using two methods. (1) Add a measured amount of corn sugar or malt extract to the flat wort, then seal the container (must be a soda keg, or standard keg - i.e. a pressure vessel capable of handling the pressure). It will take 3 weeks to carbonate and will use some of the air in the headspace, although research shows the amount of air yeast uses is very small, so the remaining air may oxidize your beer over time....oxidation ruins beer lending a stale cardboard taste to it. Many people "prime" the wort with corn sugar, then use a tank of co2 to force the beer through a picnic faucet/tap to fill bottles, which they then cap and store in a dark place (cupboard) for three weeks and viola - carbonated bottled beer.
(2)The preferred method I use, and almost all breweries use, is to force carbonate the beer. You transfer the flat beer from the fermentor to a soda keg, seal the keg up and connect a tank of co2. The colder the beer, the easier it is to dissolve the co2 into it. It may be best to let your beer sit in the soda keg (sealed and purged of all air, leaving co2 in the headspace), and leave it in the keg-r-ator for 24 hours. Keep a thermometer in your keg-r-ator to measure the temp. Then, use the carbonation calculator on our website to determine the co2 settings for your regulator (which is based on target co2 volumes and temp of your flat beer). Roll the soda keg back and forth on the floor or shake it to agitate the liquid. Agitation makes the beer absorb the co2. When you no longer hear the bubbling of co2 into your keg, you hve reached your target co2 level. You MUST wait approx 2-3 days for the beer to fully absorb this co2, or all you will get is foamy flat beer. So, leave the keg in your keg-r-ator for a full 2-3 days and don't touch it.
After that, it is ready to drink. Hook it up to a tap and pour the beer, with the co2 hooked up at about 5 psi to keep the beer flowing.
If you wanted to bottle the beer, you would OVER carbonate it above your target level, follow the same procedures, and then use a counterpressure bottle filler (which we sell - or you can buy a competitors but there's cost more and arn't semi automatic). Naturally, you lose some carbonation during the filling process, so overcarbonating it brings you to the right level once a bottle is filled. We have instructions for our filler on our site.
2. How long after the beer has been brewed and fermentation is complete is the beer ready to be drunk ie what is the normal turnaround time from hot liquor tank to glass?
It takes 5 to 8 hours to brew, it all depends on how "on the ball" you are. That means, are you taking your time relaxing and having a homebrew, or are you doing the different brew steps sychronously, and one right after the other, as well as getting your fermentor(s) ready in the off time. You would then be waiting maybe a week and a half to ferment (ales), or 1 month (lagers). Lagers are fermented at colder temperatures, which slow the metabolism of the yeast, slowing the brew process, but also creating less off flavors (i.e. makes cleaner tasting beers).
Then you transfer to a keg to carbonate, and carbonation takes about 3 days. When a beer is flat, it is said to be "green". I believe it is still "green" for 1 week after you carbonate it. It is then in it's prime and tastes the best it will ever taste for the next 3 weeks. After those 3 weeks pass, the flavor changes slightly and stays the same for maybe a few more months.
So, in summary 8 hours work brewing, 10 days leaving it alone fermenting, a few hours transferring it and carbonating it (and cleaning/sanitizing your keg), then wait 1 week and drink.
I'd say if you did it the right way, we are talking 22 days. You could shave off 3 if you wanted to include the carbonating days in your 1 week of waiting. That would be 19 days. If you wanted to know when it is ready to taste (i.e. carbonated and comes out of the tap, that would be about 14 -15 days).
Keep in mind, most brewers brew several times a month, or once a month, so they are always having a beer available to drink, and are working on several beers at different stages of production all the time. You might work it out so you brew 2 batches one weekend, none the next, one the following weekend, etc...
The key is that the first brew is te longest wait, with additional brews being "no big deal" because you stagger the batches on purpose, so you arn't sitting around waiting.
A friend of mine runs a professional brewery and says the yeast he uses ferments his beer in 3 days...so yeast plays a big role. He also uses an open fermentor, and transfers right before the krausen subsides. The additonal oxygen exposure may play a role here. It also depends on how large your starter is. He uses dried yeast, in significant quantity to eliminate lag time before fermentation is in it's full throws. I recommend using liquid yeast at a rate of 1 liter per 5 gallon batch (i.e. 3 liters for a 15 gallon batch). Liquid yeast is available in many very complex flavor profiles (my favorite is weihenstephan wheat from wyeast - produces rich banana like flavors - it is REALLY unique). When using liquid yeast, you can add about 1 week from the time your smack pack (or pitchable yeast tube) is ready until you can brew, and you must build up your yeast cell count every day or two by adding more sterile (boiled/cooled) malt extract to the fermenting yeast starter.
If you are in a rush, just buy 3 tubes of white labs pitchable or some wyeast pitchable packs and you can eliminate building a starter. From my experience, white labs yeast ferments out VERY quickly, which can reduce your fermentation time. I have not had experience with wyeast pitchable yeast, but I'm sure it works just as well. I have alot of experience using Wyeast strains, and have found many of them are remarkable in flavor - they come from some of the worlds most famous breweries. Indeed, I feel wyeast may be getting looked over by brewers these days because they need pitchable yeast tubes like white labs. I comend white labs for closing this gap so brewers won't have to build starters.
Ok...so
3. What is the total cost is grains and hops to brew the average 15 gallon bach of something that is not too exotic.
$50-$60 if buying all ingredients and everything you might need (water salts, irish moss (a MUST HAVE ITEM), etc.. from your local homebrew shop paying FULL RETAIL.
If you know of a place that can provide lower prices on grain, you could half that cost, but you may need to buy in very large quantites (1000 LBS of grain!)
4. Do I really need to aquire more knowledge before I consider a sophisticated system such as this, or do the instructions that come with the system make it easy enough for even myself to pick up?
You do not need to acquire any more knowledge...although the information I provided above appears in-depth and possibly complicated, brewing itself is a simple task that has been done for thousands of years. We provide 2 dvd's - (1)Assembly/Parts identification and (2)Safety & Usage.
The Safety & Usage DVD guides you through a REAL brew session brewing our chocolate stout on a BREWTREE (recipe is on the brewtree instructions page). The system is designed for people that have never brewed a drop of beer in their life, all the way up to advanced brewers. The only difference is that you will find out your system has options you didn't know you needed, whereas experienced brewers will recognize the value of those options right off the bat.
We ALWAYS provide 24/7 customer support via email and can assist you once you get your BREWTREE up and running. We also provide the BEERSMITH calulator which assists you in many aspects of brewing from beginning to end, and this is all included with the cost of your BREWTREE. Our warranty of 1 year means we stand behind our product UNCONDITIONALLY for 1 whole year, and that includes UMLIMITED customer support.
What is the Mash Tun insulated with? Is it flame resistant, or is it intended to hold the temperature after strike.
The insulating jacket is not flame resistant...it is intended for single
infusion mash to hold the temperature after dough in. It holds the temp within 3-4 degrees over the course of 1 hour. (UPDATE - We now offer the SUPER Mashtun Jacket which is even more efficient and has a durable hard shell!)
Just come across your site on a forum yesterday. Looks very intriguing. Prices are right for sure. Do you guys sell the diagrams and parts listing for your systems?
While we do sell many components to help homebrewer's build their own systems, we unfortunately cannot supply the diagrams. If you look at our Compare & Save page, you can see that it would actually be less expensive purchasing a pre-made BREWTREE over building your own system. The reason is due to the fact that we get great quantity discounts from our suppliers and have worked hard to get these great deals so we can pass those savings along to you. We keep the overhead low on top of that. Basically, our production process is so streamlined that we can provide the highest quality BREWTREE brewing systems at an exceptional value & price - so good people actually ask us all the time how we can do it! Think about it - our best system "ULTIMA-BRU" is priced several hundred dollars below our closest competitors "worst system" that only produces 5 gallons (and ours produces 15 gallons and has tons of other features there's doesn't have - they can't even come close to our great deals!)
Do you guys just sell the BREWTREE stand?
Unfortunately no...the BREWTREE stand is an integral part of the system. Without the other components, the BREWTREE stand is useless. If you were to build your own system and did all of the other labor involved in plumbing, kettle conversion, propane/burner setup, insulating the mash tun, etc..., then it really would not be much more for you to construct your own stand and would probably help you save on shipping.
UPDATE: Having had received many requests from homebrewers that already had much of their equipment but no stand, we are now offering a stand option that comes with built in burners - please take a look at our "BREWING SYSTEM COMPONENTS" page for more details.
Do you sell the BREWTREE system without the stand?
No, the stand is an integral part of the BREWTREE system. Several components are built into the stand, so it is impossible for us to sell the individual components. If you want to build your own system, or have a problem shipping the stand, we might suggest you purchase one of our prefabricated kettles/burner combos.
UPDATE: Having had received many requests from homebrewers that already had much of their equipment but no stand, we are now offering a stand option that comes with built in burners - please take a look at our "BREWING SYSTEM COMPONENTS" page for more details.
I am interested in ordering a BREWTREE but have a question. Is it possible to substitue options? I do not need any filtration system, but would very much like the dual thermometers. If you can't substitute then prehaps you could credit the option change?
Unfortunately, substituting items is not optional. It actually costs more to substitute items than to make our standard systems. On top of that, since those options are not on the item page they do not show up on your invoice. While we do try to keep track of every email we receive, it does pose a problem tracking many customer's "special requests".
While we understand you would like dual thermometers instead of a filter, we must tell you that the filter is much less involved than adding dual thermometers. Our systems are already being offered at bare-bones pricing. If we issued customers credit and substituted some other options, we would have to "quote" pricing - which raises costs since we would be tied up in the quoting process rather than just automatically taking orders - freeing us to manufacture the BREWTREE systems.
I am interested in adding some special options to a BREWTREE system that are not currently offered. Can we discuss my ideas?
We would be more than happy to discuss the addition of "non-standard" options. While we think we have covered all of the important elements of Brewing System Design, it is creative energy from our customers that helps to spark new ideas and ways of improving the brewing experience. We are ALWAYS open to hearing your ideas and would be willing to work with you to make your brewing dreams a reality.
Why use a brewtree over other methods for brewing?
We encourage brewers and potential brewers to start brewing using traditional methods (single infusion mash) like that of the BREWTREE. It is actually easier to brew using the BREWTREE versus malt extract brewing on your stove. The brewtree is a self-contained system for the production of wort. All you do is hook up a propane tank and water hose to the unit. Then, through the use of valves, you control the production process.
Since the unit is for outdoor use only, it is easier to cleanup (just hose off the surrounding area and run water through the system). When brewing indoors using malt extract, or some gerry rigged all-grain setup, you will be up against all sorts of unexpected challenges. A major challenge is getting liquid to flow through the system. Most pots don't have any sort of valve attached to them, so you will be stuck trying to syphon hot water and hot wort - which is extremely dangerous (and not recommended). Most likely you will have a major sticky mess in the kitchen. On top of this, there usually is no real way to cool down the wort...so many homebrewer's make a concentrated wort and add it to cold ice water in the fermentor (this is not a sanitary technique - and it does not lend itself to consistent brews). If you have ever been near a brewery that was pumping out large volumes of beer, there usually is a smell of the production process (i.e. wort and hop oils that come off as steam). If you brew indoors, you will also have to wash all of your clothes in your house (hop oils permeate everything during the boil and generally make clothes smell unclean).
How are the spent grains removed before boiling the wort?
Thank you for your interest in our BREWTREE systems. We have worked hard to make an affordable all grain system available to all levels of homebrewers. To answer your questions, the system is a 3-tier (actually 4-tier) system. This means that you have a seperate kettle for each part of the brewing process.
Quick Answers: You do not need to remove the grain before boiling the wort - boiling occurs in a seperate vessle (the bottom kettle) than the mash/lauter tun.
Yes - there is a sparge arm included with the system that hooks up to the Hot Liquor Tank and evenly sprinkles the mash bed with hot water.
Long Answers:
You heat water in the top kettle (Hot liquor tank) and run it into the middle kettle (Mash tun). You then add the crushed barley malt and stir well to make sure all grain has been thouroughly mixed with the water. Then the enzymes in the grain do their work. During the next hour you leave the mash tun alone, while heating sparge water in the Hot Liquor Tank.
Sparge water is just hot water (approx 168F) that you will be adding to the mash tun at the same rate as you transfer runoffs from the mash tun to the boil kettle. This process is intended to keep the grain afloat, while rinsing the sweet wort sugars from the grain and transferring the sweet wort to the boil kettle. The mash tun is equipped with a stainless false bottom (screen) that the grain sits above - effectively keeping the grain in the mash tun where it belongs. There is no need to remove the spent grains until you are ready to clean up at the end of the brewing process, since there is a seperate boil kettle.
How far is it from the bottom of the stand to the top of the Hot Liquor tank?
The height of each system is 7'8".
What is the recommended cleaning process after brewing is complete? Specifically, how are the grains removed from the Mash Tun? Also, what quanitity of water is initially boiled in the HLT and used in the Mash Tun? Then how much water is boiled to be sparge the grain?
The grains are easily scooped out of the mash tun using a small plastic
bowl. After the majority of the grain is removed, you can easily clean the
system by disconnecting the wort chiller (only need a wrench - it's
extrememly easy to do), and using a hose with a spray nozzle, hose off the
inside of the kettles, flushing all the debris through the system and out
the boil kettle outlet (where the chiller was attached)
We usually heat up 15 gallons in the HLT - but use about 1/2 to 3/4 that
amount. Generally, you fill the mash tun to 10 gallons - add the grain to
dough in, and stir. If you are afraid of overshooting the water level, you
may er on the side of caution and use less water (it is always easy to add
more).
The remainder of the water in the HLT will be heating with additional water
added to the HLT for a total of 15 gallons more. This will be used as
sparge water. You sparge the grain until you get close to filling the boil
kettle. After your initial vigorous boil and addition of hops, you can
always add more to top off the boil kettle. You try not to overfill at the
beginning because there is much more chance to foam over before hops are
added. Hops tend to break up the foam.
By the way, you never boil the water in the HLT. You heat it up above your
target temperature of the mash tun grain. Depending on ambient temperature,
you can count on a 20-50 degree drop in this water temp after you add the
grain, so you compensate by heating to the target temp + estimated dough in
temp drop (i.e. 20 degrees)thus reaching your target temperature.
How would I follow the instructions below using your system?
I see you must have gotten that information from a book or website. I want
to clear up a few misconceptions for you. Many homebrew books (possibly
websites too), are very misleading. See, back in the old days, like several
hundred years ago, the grain was not "fully modified" by the maltster.
Fully modified means that certain conversions in the grain have taken place
so that when you dough in at 168F you will get maximum saccharification
(converting starches to sugars by the enzymes) in a 1 hour time period.
Undermodified malt has not developed the full range of enzymes needed for
the starch conversions, or protein precipitation and so the brewer would
need to do all of those conversions themselves by doing multiple temperature
rests. (MOST MALT IS FULLY MODIFIED THESE DAYS - so you don't really have
anything to be concerned about)
Please, don't be fooled by what you read in those books. I spent 2 years
trying to do those multiple temperature conversions and basically was
wasting alot of time. Homebrew shops still preach the old ideology because
then they can sell you pumps, heating elements, temperature controllers
etc...
All the while while you are going broke, you are also having a much harder
time brewing beer (let's face it, nobody even had those gadgets a few
hundred years ago - and if brewing were that difficult beer would never have
been invented!)
You can follow the same "recipes" you see in that type of literature, but
please do a single step infusion (I.E. - you heat water above your target
temp, then when you dough in the grain the temp drops to your target temp).
You can do anywhere from 5-15 gallon batches on our systems. If your recipe
is for 5 gallons, just triple all quantities.
Our BREWTREE systems include a fully comprehensive instruction manual with
recipes as well as an instructional video showing you the step by step
process to brew all-grain beer.(The same process used by 95% of the major
brewereries in the world!)
We were interested in the BST-BRU System but are considering also the ultima-bru system. We know that we will order one or the other. We are discussing the differences. If you have any suggestions why we should buy one over the other your input will be appreciated. Thank you
They are both great systems, but the ULTIMA-BRU does have several additional features I will discuss below:
E-Z Dump Option - Allows for quick spent grain removal by simply unlocking the mash tun and swiveling to an inverted position - dumping spent grains into a trash receptacle below.
E-Z Go option - Allows for Easy movement of system between garage (for storage) to outdoors for usage.
$50 discount compared to purchasing the BST-BRU & E-Z options seperately.
Dual Counterflow "CHILL-KING" chiller allows for twice the thouroughput - (reduces chill time in half)
Dedicated Mash Tun Fill Arm & Valve
Dedicated Sparge Arm & Valve
Dedicated Fresh Water Valve to boil kettle (facilitates easy cleaning of wort chillers by forcing fresh water through them) & also works great for making sodas, mead, shrubbs, teas, and iced coffee drinks by bringing fresh filtered water to the boil kettle
Recipe Booklet covering delicious SOFTDRINKS from semi-traditional styles such as blackberry cream soda, home-made ginger ale, etc... to Olde World Styles like Shrubbs (a frothy concoction that pours with a head much like beer - but without the alcohol).
Built in WHIRLPOOL - boil kettle outflow is drawn from bottom side of kettle - you stir your wort in a circular pattern at the end of the boil, so trub goes to the center of your kettle and clear wort is drawn from the side (making sure the wort you ferment is clear - this also helps with clarification of the final beer)
I think the best "extras" are the E-Z Dump & E-Z Go options for obvious reasons (they really do speed up your brew day). Also, having a dedicated sparge arm & mash tun fill arm means you don't have to have a wrench to undo the fitting to switch between one & the other. It also makes brewday easier & quicker. The dedicated boil kettle water inlet is great because it helps you to flush your chillers when done using the system, leaving them clean for next use. The whirlpool option is a nice addition too.
One of the great things about these systems is their size - I built a brewing system when I was in college that took up my whole garage. The BREWTREE systems take up only a very minute amount of the garage floor space approx 3' X 3' . When I used the BREWTREE, I was really amazed at how much less time it took me to brew compared to my old system. I hope all this info helps.
Is the keg included in this system? Can you brew 15gallons at a time? Please get back to me asap. Thank you.
The keg that is used as the fermentor is not included in the system, however
we would be willing to offer it for an additional $99 to the systems price.
To answer your other question, the answer is yes - the system is designed to
produce 15 Gallons of Beer (All Kettles are 15 Gallons). If you are
interested, you can order the systems directly off of our website. If you
order the ULTIMA-BRU we offer a $50 Discount over buying the E-Z Go and E-Z
Dump Options Seperately - and there are several additonal upgrades on that
system. Feel free to sign up for our newsletter too. Thanks for looking.
I am only looking for a kettle with a false bottom for partial grain/extract brewing. Is the portion of this with the site glass in the picture the brew kettle? If so, can this be purchased by itself?
Yes, please see our BREWING KETTLES dept. Thanks.
Also, do the vessels (modified kegs) on the BREWTREE remove for cleaning. If so, does that that require a wrench?
Alot of people have asked if the kettles can be removed. We do not recommend removing them and reinstalling them regularly, as they have special bulkhead mounts and it would just add hours to your brewday.
There is absolutely no good reason to remove the kettles each time you brew. The system is built to clean in place by flushing the kettles with water and opening the outflow valves - which saves you time and is generally more efficient. If you have the swivel dump mashtun, then it is even easier since you simply invert the mashtun and hose it down.
I am looking at buying a super-ultima soon. What is the height of the system? I would like to brew in my garage and am concerned about it being able to fit. Also, what kind of assembly is required?
The system is 7'8" . If you needed it shorter, we could drop the height and add a pump on the outflow of the chillers (I would have to measure the actual amount we can drop the unit, but I believe it is at least 18", if not much more.)
Assembly is easy, as we have a numbered diagram with corresponding part pictures, and a DVD that shows the actual assembly. I hope this helps, please feel free to email me if you have any more questions.
My garage ceiling height is 9’2”, so I am assuming that this would be okay. The ceiling is finished (drywall/paint) and I am only concerned that the steam coming off the mashtun might collect and create a problem. Any thoughts on that? If we were to add a pump, would I have to worry about potential contamination due to difficulty of cleaning it? Any added cost?
Pumps can be purchased by you or us, but generally cost $100. Many people get turned off from this added cost. We don't recommend brewing indoors because of the fire/suffocation hazard - the burners eat up alot of oxygen so you would really need a good flow of fresh air, which is why it is best to brew outdoors.(UPDATE - We now offer an ALL ELECTRIC option so you can SAFELY brew indoors all year round!)
If you purchased a magnetic drive pump, there wouldn't be much contamination to worry about. You would need to fill it with iodophor to sanitize.
What does the Super Ultima-Bru weigh?
Approx 150LBS
I'm seriously considering an Ultima-Bru but would like a shorter stand and the ability to recirculate the wort.
Please see the E-Z Access Option - it lowers the system height by a full keg (20") The reason our systems do not come with this feature buillt in, is because that would raise the cost and thus the end price. In our efforts to keep the systems as simple and low priced as possible, we build the majority of them based on simple gravity feed which is a proven, cost effective method for making beer. However, we understand that some people would like a lower stand for better access to the lower kettles (boil kettle/mashtun), which is where the E-Z Access option comes into play. We add a pump on the chiller outflow and drop the height so the top of the mashtun is only 4.5' high. One of the side benefits of this feature is that it also lets you fill fermentors that may be a distance away from your system, or might be much taller than your chiller outflow (like conicals with legs, or keg fermentors in a chest freezer during lagering)
As far as a pump to recirculate, it really is not necessary. We recommend just recirculating the first few cups of wort by filling a small pot with the mashtun runoffs, and pouring it back on top of the mash. This really is the best and easiest way to achieve clear runoffs. If you stick a pump in the loop, then you are bound to get problems relating to suction, a compacted mash, which in turn leads to channeling and a diluted gravity.
The problem is that alot of brewing magazines, books, and even homebrew shop owners are just constantly misinforming brewers and telling them they need all this junk to clarify their beer, etc..(Have you read our article infusion vs RIMS?). We wouldn't be doing you a favor if we sold you a pump to recirc your wort...we would just be making money off of you and not really helping to tell you the "truth" about what needs to be done to brew good beer. The only reason breweries use a pump, is that they have more than a couple of cups of cloudy wort...so it is easier for them to do this, and their mashtuns are usually 50BBL's - so they don't have problems sucking a small amount of wort, due to the size of their mashtuns (i.e. no compacting/channelling like you would experience.
If you REALLY wanted a pump and REALLY felt you needed one, we could install it...but if you can understand where we are coming from when we say you don't need one, you will save yourself that much money, which you could use for a fermentor, or a batch of beer.
What would be the total cost (including shipping) of such a system that included a pump?
The SUPER ULTIMA-BRU is $1949...the E-Z Access Option is $150 (which covers the cost of the pump, rather than any labor which we absorb). Shipping is a standard $150 in the U.S. So, that would be a total of $2249. The ULTIMA-BRU would be $100 cheaper = $2149. You could also choose the used keg option to save a couple hundred dollars.
Additionally, how much do you think the total height could be reduced?
The E-Z Access option lowers the system height 20" so the mashtun is a comfortable 4.5', total system height would be slightly less than 6' tall, and you never need to get into the HLT anyways, so pretty much everything is at your fingertips.
How difficult is it to bypass the carbon filter to connect a separate water supply used only for wort cooling? My well water is not good for brewing but definitely colder than tap water, and I want to use it to cool the wort.
We can make any mods you desire...it isn't that difficult. We are willing to work with you to make your brewtree exactly what you want it to be.
Is it easy to brew smaller batches (5, 10 gallon) on this system? Are all of the transfers/thermometers located low enough on the system? I use soda kegs and would rather be able to brew frequent smaller batches.
You can brew anywhere from 0 to 15 gallon batches. While there may be a few pictures on our site of BREWTREE's with the therms mounted higher in the kettles, we have since switched to mounting them in the lower 5 gallons. This allows the brewer to get precise readings with the thermometers submerged even on small batches. What's great about the BREWTREE is that it is very flexible - you can brew small 5 gallon test batches, then scale up those recipes to brew full kegs for party's, gifts, etc... You can determine the fill level by dividing the keg into three sections, each section represents 5 gallons (the keg already has built in "rings" that help you see this division. I hope this helps.
How hard are your systems to assemble? Does assembly require any special tools or knowledge?
They are VERY easy to assemble. You only need a 14 mm wrench and a 14 mm ratchet. (or (2) 14 mm ratchets), and an adjustable wrench.
How hard are the systems to thoroughly clean after brewing?
They are easy to clean - as they are designed to be "cleaned in place". Of course, the higher end models have features that help facilitate cleaning. I will discuss those features in our SUPER ULTIMA-BRU.
The Hot Liquor tank never needs to be cleaned, because it only holds water. You may want to wipe off dust that may accumulate on the top of the tank, but the lid pretty much keeps this out.
The mashtun E-Z Dump Option means you just unlock the mashtun, swivel it upside down and dump out all the spent grains. You then just hose down the tank while it's in the inverted position with the E-Z Clean Up Option that is built in (a high pressure spray nozzle and hose)
The boil kettle may also be sprayed down with the E-Z Clean up option - just open the outflow valve and E-Z Sample/C.I.P. valve to flush all of the wort out of the kettle.
Is there a specific type of sanitizer that needs to be used with the system? If so, is there one you recommend over others? I presently use a no-rinse iodine-based product.
Iodophor is all we recommend, and only needs to be used for sanitizing the wort chiller. The rest of the system does not need to be sanitized - only the wort chiller and hoses that are positioned AFTER the boil kettle.
I saw in your FAQs you recommend rinsing (the kettles) only, and iodophor for the chiller. I get deposits in the bottom of my brew kettle and am in the habit of scrubbing the kettle. You don't need to scrub the Brewtree kettle?
No, the turbulence from the boil eliminates this to a great extent...definitely no scorching or stuck/burnt spots like you may be used to with extract brewing. I would only recommend using a scratch free sponge or scrubbie, and NEVER use steel wool, stainless steel wool, or copper scrubbies.
About how many batches does a propane tank last when used with the system? Do you recommend keeping a backup tank on hand?
Yes, I recommend keeping a backup on hand, just in case you run out during a batch. It also let's you use all the gas in a tank, even if there is not much left, rather than having to fill it up each time you brew.
Usage depends on your brew cycle - how long your boil is, how large your propane tank is, etc... As a rough estimate, you should get at least 2-3 batches per 5 gallon tank.
Is there a way to ensure that wort is cool enough for yeast pitching after a single pass through the chiller (a recommended flow rate for the cooling water, for example)?
Yes, the chillers both have an adjustable dial thermometer on the outflow - as such, you can monitor the EXACT temperature of the wort. It has been my experience in all my years of brewing, that these chillers achieve an outflow of approx 70 - 75F at FULL flow, even in the summer time. The SUPER ULTIMA-BRU is equipped with DUAL counterflow chillers, so the thouroughput of the flow of wort is twice as fast, and both chillers have thermometers built in.
Regardless of what chiller you are using, they are all dependant on one variable - that variable is the temperature of the tap water used to cool the wort.
Of course, the wort can only become as cool as your tap water. If your tap water is 80F, then you would need to put an immersion chiller in a bucket of ice and have the water flow through that before it enters the system (you would effectively be cooling the water down to an acceptable level so it can in turn cool the wort). I have only had one customer in all of the hundreds of chillers I have sold that has had a need to do this, and that was on a stand alone chiller, not a BREWTREE, and it was during the summertime. Perhaps he had well water, because I cannot imagine municipal tap water being that warm!
The standard configuration Brewtree won't fit out my garage door, which is >7' high. Seems to me it would be fine to operate the Brewtree in the garage if the garage door is open. It's a big door. What do you think?
The standard BREWTREE system is 7'6" tall. The E-Z Access option reduces the height to 5'8". Since I noted below you are not interested in the E-Z Access option, then I can suggest the following:
The 2 top models (ULTIMA-BRU and SUB) come with the E-Z Go wheel option already installed...otherwise you can add it to lower models as an additional option. That is really what you would need to move it in and out of your garage. I am assuming your garage has plenty of head space inside to accomodate a 7'6" system. Since you normally tilt the system so the trunk rests on your shoulder when you are wheeling it around, it can clear the 7' garage door opening with no problems.
I cannot and won't recommend you brew in the garage, even with the door open. When I built my first (non-brewtree) system, It was not mobile and was somewhat permenantly mounted in a 1 car garage, that had a fairly open back end. At any rate, the burners consume so much oxygen I became drowsy on occasion. It is not a good idea. You need plenty of fresh air, and then there is always a fire hazard. We recommend you follow the dvd instructions which state you should wheel the brewtree out to a safe distance from your garage and away from any flammable materials. It is better to burn propane outdoors than brain cells indoors :+)
We can't control what you do after you get the system, but ask you to use common sense and our instructions for saftey's sake.
The first picture on your home page looks like my situation with the door. Was the brewtree in the garage? How did you get it out?
I am assuming your garage has plenty of head space inside to accomodate a 7'6" system. Since you normally tilt the system so the trunk rests on your shoulder when you are wheeling it around, it can clear the 7' garage door opening with no problems.
I like the E-Z Access option that lowers the BREWTREE, but think the mash tun is too low to dump into my trash can and I prefer the original setup
I think the E-Z Dump option raises the mashtun slightly, but all gravity has it's advantages as well. I personally liked how the E-Z Access option made the system very small and compact...definitely easier to use as far as filling the mashtun and monitoring the process. The BST-BRU system is the system that is showcased with the E-Z Access option.
What must be disconnected/reconnected to use the pump to recirculate cleaning solutions through the mash tun, brew kettle, and counterflow chiller?
Nothing. The system is designed to be cleaned in place. The Pump is only built into a system with the E-Z access option, because it is too low to gravity feed to a fermentor. All STANDARD systems don't require the pump, because they are tall enough to allow for gravity feeding to a fermentor.
The E-Z Access option simply puts the pump right after the boil kettle valve, but before the chillers. You need not modify your sanitization procedure from a standard system in any way. The recommended sanitization procedure is highlighted in the dvd "BREWING WITH THE BREWTREE - Safety & Usage" and basically shows you how to boil 5 gallons of water, open the boil kettle valve and let it flow through the chillers into a 5 gallon bucket. You then let the chillers sit maybe 5 minutes, open the coolant valves, and run 5 gallons of iodophor through the now cool chillers and into an empty 5 gallon bucket...then close your boil kettle valve. You leave the iodophor in the chiller lines until you are ready to chill your wort at the end of the brew session - you would then open the boil kettle valve and let wort push the iodophor out. Once you see only wort coming out of the clear vinyl chiller tubes, then you put those tubes into your fermentor(s).
With the E-Z Access option, the only difference is that you turn on your pump after you open the boil kettle outflow valve. If you shut off the valve right when your boil kettle finished draining the iodophor, there should be sufficient iodophor in the line so you won't need to "prime" or "fill" the pump. Either way, gravity guarantees your pump will be filled within 10 seconds and you are ready to pump your wort through the chillers and into the fermentors. There is a valve on the outflow of the pump you can use to regulate how fast you chill your wort. Use this valve in conjunction with the dial thermometers on the wort chillers to regulate outflow temp.
With the STANDARD system gravity feed, the flow rate through the chillers is such that you will ALWAYS be within 3 degrees of tap water temp. With the E-Z Access PUMP, it pushes the wort much faster, so you may need to throttle the valve on the outflow to adjust. Either way, the pump will definitely speed up your chill time which is already marginal considering you have dual counterflow chillers.
From the counterflow chiller, would I be able to drain into a 7 gallon carboy - will your system allow this?
Yes...our standard systems are tall enough to gravity feed to a keg, or anything as tall as a keg, which is generally 24" tall. The only time this would not apply, is if you ordered the E-Z Access option, which is a lower system, but has a pump on the chiller outflow so you could conceivably fill up a much taller fermentor. So, I guess no matter what system or option you choose, you can always fill a vessel at least 24" tall, and taller if you choose the E-Z Access option
Would like to see more specifics regarding your system - above and beyond the Brewtree Anatomy page. Would like to make sure it would replace my system - but allow me to not compromise my process. Would it be possible to get access to your instruction manual?
Our instruction manual web page is more of a safety manual, rather than covering the actual brewing process. There are also a ton of beer and soft drink recipes, which are reserved for owners of a BREWTREE (sorry, but it would just not be fair if I shared those with everyone, because that is part of the system paqckage, I hope you can understand.) If you wanted to see the system in action, you could order our dvd "brewing with the brewtree" - however, this dvd is based on our first prototype model, and we have made numerous changes and upgrades to the features, design and function of all of our systems. We will be updating this dvd in the spring.
I am open and available to answer any and all questions you might have regarding our systems, to help you decide if it is suitable as a replacement for your current setup. I believe our website has alot of pictures to help you get a feel for what our BREWTREE systems can do. The DVD would also help, but does not cover all the options that are currently available, and it is not based on the Super Ultima-BRU.
On the same note, I could refer you to a customer or two so you could get an independent evaluation of what our systems can do.
I do high gravity beers - sometime as much as 18 pounds of grain. How many gallons is your mash tun and will it support this?
The BREWTREE mashtun is 15 gallons. A normal gravity beer (approx 1.056 O.G.) uses 8LBS of base malt per 5 gallon batch, and then you would have to add your adjuncts. If you were doing a full 15 gallon batch, you would use 24 LBS of BASE malt, and probably about 1-3LBS of flaked barley (for head retention), plus your specialty malts. I believe the mashtun can hold well over 35LBS...Our chocolate stout recipe that comes with the system uses 33 LBS of grain, and I know there is still room in the mashtun.
My OG came out lower than I expected. I suspect that my mash wasn't very efficient and/or I sparged it to rapidly. I have 2 hydrometers and I am not sure which one is wrong but one read an OG of 1.040 and the other 1.030.
Do not stir the mash directly before, or during the sparge. You especially want to avoid doing it during the sparge because the sweetest wort willl be at the bottom of the mashtun, and the weakest watered down wort at the top of the mashtun. Mixing it waters down all the wort and makes for low gravity beer.
Your goal during the sparge is to match the inflow with the outflow - to "float" the grain so the water can slowly trickle through the grain bed. Probably the longer you take to sparge, the better. You also might want have your sparge water at 168F so it will help liquify the sugars in the mash so they end up in your boil kettle.
Prior to sparging, I like to raise the temperature of my mash tun to 168and let it rest for 10 minutes.I do this by draining the mash tun, then boiling the liquid, then returning it to the mash tun. It appears there is no burner on your mash tun?
Our systems do not require a heated mashtun, or a burner to heat the mashtun However, we have added this as an option for those that feel it is necessary.
(168F mashout temp. question part II) Would I drain into the boil kettle and then return it to the Mash Tun? Or, could you design a burner on the mash tun?
You could, although I don't recommend this.We have actually been considering offering this as an option (just added it after this question was posted), but had not added it yet because we don't really see a need...we would only add it because people desire this, but those people generally don't realize that they don't need it. They are the same people still stuck in the whole "step mash" wrong way of thinking. At the same time, adding a burner would mean we have to eliminate the insulating jacket...it is more likely that a burner would make the process more difficult rather than simplifying it - it would cause people to easily overshoot/undershoot mash temps. Besides, without the insulating jacket, maintaining mash temp would be very challenging.
Basically, our BREWTREE system follows the same principles as professional breweries. Professional breweries generally just have an insulated vessel for their mashtun (no heat source), since there is no longer a need for step mashes due to the highly modified malt available today. In fact, you would have to go out of your way to find a malt that is not fully modified, and the only one in existence is Budweiser BUDVAR...so, unless you are determined to use that malt, there really is no need for a multiple temp rest. Multiple temp rests can actually damage your beer if you are doing the step mashes with fully modified malt (99% of the malt available in the world today). I realize you were not asking about step mashes...just thought I'd add that note.
On another note, I can understand your desire to get your mash to 168F - to liquify the sugars. I don't recommend draining your mashtun at all EVER. If you do so, you will be leaving alot of sugars on the grain in the mashtun, and the grain will become compacted, so when you add the boiling wort back to the mashtun, it really is not the same as never having messed with it...you are very likely to get either a stuck mash, or a very diluted original gravity because of channeling, since you would have pockets of compacted mash that the "hot liquor" would go around rather than through.
I recommend following normal sparge procedures whereby you maintain the liquid level in the mashtun slightly above the grain bed at ALL TIMES.
If you want to "mashout" at the 168F, it would be best for you to just heat your sparge water to a higher temperature, which would inturn raise the mash temp, or at least the hotter the water is, the better a job it will do to "rinse" the grain of the sugars, which is what you are trying to accomplish with a 168F mashout anyways. Now, there is a downside - if the water is too hot, it can leach out tannins from the grain husks...too hot is probably "boiling hot". You should use your better judgement. Basically, too hot is when the mashtun internal temp rises above 168F - that may take alot of extremely hot water to do this, since there is so much grain and liquid in there already that the sparge water has to come to an equilibrium with it.
1) Does this item have a 5/8" hole in the center or not?
Yes
2) When the item is in the Keg (hinges ~flat), how wide is the gap between the two halves?
Negligible - you can almost not tell there is any gap
3) Are there any supports between the false bottom and the concave portion of the Keg (center ~3-4" diameter) to prevent the weight of the grain from causing the item to "butterfly" (fold up)?
You can install stainless screws available at any hardware store if you desire the support. The way these screens are made, they would only butterfly up if you pushed from the bottom up. When weight is on them from the top, the hinges make the screen ridgid.
mashtun liner
If you are concerned about problems with grain getting past your screen - I recommend a backup plan. In our BREWTREE systems and our stand alone mashtun, we use BOTH a stainless false bottom AND a Mashtun Liner. That liner will make your life much easier, as you can easily pull up on the liner to "reset" your mash if it becomes a stuck mash. This beats any other method of dealing with the headaches of a stuck mash (you will never have a stuck mash with these liners)
Any of your clients brew in Davis? The water is horrible. I'd probably forgo the water intake and water filter you offer (fine for Sacramento water) and use bottled water. Your thoughts?
As far as filtering is concerned, they have some pretty good filters that go down to .5 micron which should work fine. If you still want better water, you can always use a reverse osmosis filter but keep in mind your water will be like distilled water - and you will need to add salts/minerals back to the water to make it taste good. With reverse osmosis you ultimately have the most control since you could duplicate the water exactly the same as any region of the world if you know the recipe for their minerals/salts in ppm, have access to those salts and can accurately measure and add them to your water.
That is probably going to be overkill....I think you should simply try a .5 micron filter first. Bottled water is going to cost you a ton of $$$$$.
Are your kettles all stainless? Are they converted beer kegs?
These kettles are all stainless - and you are 100% correct - they are converted beer kegs (the cheapest brewpot makes a less expensive system.) We will add you to the newsletter...and thanks again for stopping by our site.
How does the Kettle E-Z Upgrade program work?
Please see each kettle for actual discounts provided when upgrading to a BREWTREE system at a later date. You must have purchased a stand alone brewing kettle from brewtree.com in order to qualify for the upgrade discount.
We are the only brewing equipment supplier to offer stand alone kettles that can be easily adapted to your BREWTREE stand! The kettle support legs can easily be removed and the kettle mounted to a BREWTREE. For those kettles equipped with a burner, regulator & hose, there is an even greater savings when upgrading! When you upgrade to a BREWTREE system, we will simply leave off the items you already have, and provide you with instructions for mounting your own kettle/burners to save you big buck$$$. Brewing is now both E-Z and Affordable!!!
Is there a better way to drain last of the the boil kettle other than with a hose and siphon? With the tap on the side, it leaves a bit of wort in the kettle after the siphon is broken at the bulkhead.
I recommend pushing the leftover wort out with cold water, then using a sponge to absorb the small amount that won't drain. There was no way to install a drain in the middle, and if you use a clean jumbo sponge it should absorb all of the water with one dab of the sponge.
Would siphoning the hot wort from the brew kettle into the fermenter through your counterflow chiller (ie, one pass) get me to pitching temperature once cold water was added to bring volume up to 5 gal? If not, how would you recommend the chiller be used with my setup?
We suggest using a bulkhead/valve/diptube combo with the counterflow chiller. This will eliminate the need to syphon boiling hot liquid through the counterflow chiller. To use chiller:
boil hot water in converted pot (with bulkhead assembly attached), run through chiller to sanitize
fill pot with 2 gallons or so of cold iodophor/water solution (amber color - mixed according to manufacturers recommendations) - run through chiller (and leave in chiller during brewprocess - it keeps chiller sanitized and also keeps the syphon going)
boil your wort (full 5 gallons if possible)
Open ball valve (on bulkhead assembly) to allow wort to run through chiller - making sure you have the hose attached to the chiller and are running cold water through the unit at the same time hot wort is going through the chiller
The thermometer on the outflow end of the chiller will tell you if the wort has reached a safe temperature to pitch the yeast. Run cooled wort into fermentor (through vinyl tube attached to outlet of chiller)
Pitch yeast
(This chiller is more than capable of chilling your wort to pitching temperature. If you ned to, you can always slow the flow of wort into the unit by adjusting the ball valve.
I hope you will help me-- I bought one of these a few months ago and just getting to use it and can't find the directions you included. Actually, I am not sure I bought it from you but mine looks exactly like the one you are selling. I think I got it figured out except I am not sure if I keep circulating the wort back into the brew pot until it is cooled or only send it theourgh the chiller once. Either way if you have any directions, I would really appreciate your emailing them--- thanks so m
Please see our instruction page - we list all instructions for all of our products.
Would you recommend Counterflow or Immersion?I just started home brewing and purchased a 30 qt. pot to do a full 5 gallon boil.Which is "easier" to deal with? It appears the counterflow may be faster, is it?
I highly recommend counterflow chillers over immersion. For one, immersion
displaces wort in your kettle, so you couldn't have the kettle full. Second,
counterflow chillers are simply more efficient and faster. There will be
less time that your wort is just sitting around waiting to be cooled - and
less time for bacteria to have any chance to act on your wort. For your
situation, we recommend the counterflow chiller/bulkhead/ball valve combo to
facilitate easy connection to your kettle. With the counterflow chiller, you
can leave the lid on your boil kettle once the boil subsides and the burner
is off, that will help keep bacteria away.
Hi, I bought your chiller a couple of weeks back and I was wondering if a need a pump, or does gravity do the trick? Thnx. Dave.
Please see our instructions listed on this site. Gravity is all that is needed for the counterflow chiller - just make sure it is at a level below your boil kettle - and I am assuming it is attached to a ball valve with a dip tube going to the bottom of your boil kettle. In that case, you need to make sure that you formed a syhon when sanitizing the chiller that will allow you to simply open the ball valve to start the flow of wort through your chiller. If the syphon breaks, you may need to back flush water through the chiller and boil kettle for a moment to begin the syphon. Their are also some products on the market you can use to start syphons that would eliminate the need to do this.
I have a question about your Cf Chiller. I am curious as to why you make it 25 feet long? Reason I ask is that I have seen other (and more expensive ) CF Chillers such as the xxx and xxx that are not nearly that long. I am not trying to flame or troll, I am genuinely curious about this. Any help you can give me to understand why the is such a difference in lengths will be greatly appreciated
The convoluted copper tubing chillers like the xxx and xxx
claim to be more efficient, so they state they can cool your wort down to
room temperature using a smaller length of copper tubing. The truth is, our
chillers are guaranteed to cool your wort to 70F or less or your money back.
Our CFC's also come with a dial therm on the outflow to monitor the temp so
you will know exactly how cool your wort is. Our chillers only require a
single pass from the boil kettle to the fermentor.
While we don't sell or use convoluted chillers, straight walled copper tubing works fine and is actually MUCH cheaper in price than the convoluted. Basically our CHILL-KING chillers do the same job for about $40 less. The CHILL-KING is basically two chillers in parallel...each with 1/4" of inside diameter...to make a total of 1/2" inside diameter...or actual flow.
Since most brewers use 1/2" valves on their kettles, our CHILL-KING gives you full flow, and the same thoroughput and cooling time as a convoluted chiller - most claim to have a 1/2" inside diameter as well. Regardless, if you are using a standard bulkhead and valve, our CHILL-KING gives you the maximum flow rate.
About the only benefit we can see about the convoluted chillers is that they
do use less water. But unless you are really in a drought area, this is not
an overwhelming benefit that justifies paying more for a chiller that does
the same thing. Remember...water is considered a renewable resource. If you intend to use a venturi wort aeration device, you will actually want a higher water flow rate.
Yes, we agree shiny convoluted coppers do look nice when new...but remember...copper tarnishes easily, especially when exposed to heat and water. While it can be cleaned, most people will let it turn the oxidized brown color which isn't that nice to look at. Our chillers have a beautiful blue jacket that needs only to be rinsed off to clean. I guess you just have to ask yourself if it is worth spending $40 more for a very temporary luster, all other things considered equal.
If you decide to spend more anyways, please make sure they offer a moneyback
guarantee (even if you use it a few times). If they are not willing to
guarantee it, I would ask myself why.
I wish you the best of luck, and hope you can save some money brewing better
beer.
Hi,can you please calculate shipping cost to Belgium, Europe
Yes, we do ship world-wide. Please provide your full shipping address including postal code in your next email, and we will calculate shipping costs against all carriers to find the cheapest shipping options. As it stands, it is approx $1000 to deliver to Belgium.
How much is tax (I'm not sure what your local sales tax rate is) and shipping on a Super Ultima-Bru?
Our tax rate is 7.75%. If you order the SUPER ULTIMA-BRU, you simply multiply the cost times the rate of $1999 x 1.0775 = 2100. Keep in mind, you only need to pay sales tax if you live in California.
Why are your prices so much lower than everyone else's?
At www.brewtree.com , our mission is to provide homebrewer's the best equipment at the lowest prices found anywhere, hands down! This is a hobby that does not need to be expensive, and shouldn't be. We hope you decide to make us your #1 supplier to show your approval of our honest goals to make brewing a better hobby for everyone.
It is no accident that our brewing system prices are the LOWEST prices of ANY brewing system on the market. We STRONGLY believe in providing AFFORDABLE brewing systems to homebrewers and understand that most homebrewers do not have deep pockets. Do not be mislead by our low prices - our systems are guaranteed to be the HIGHEST QUALITY and most USER FRIENDLY design of any systems on the market! We are so confident that you will be pleased with your brewing systems that we offer a 1 year warranty on our systems free of charge.
Our prices are rock bottom because we are simply willing to work harder to earn your business. Our mission is to provide the highest quality brewing equipment at the lowest prices around - Hands Down!
Why don't you guys sell malt extract kits?
We believe in making the best beer possible. It is not possible to make beer taste even as good as that you can buy if you use malt extract. The companies that make that extract have to remove much of the water through various processes. Much of the good flavor gets removed when this happens, and frankly, messing with the wort like this just isn't natural...which is why your beer can never achieve it's true potential if you use malt extract.
Why are your ebay auctions slighlty higher price than the same items on brewtree.com?
Unfortunately, our prices are so low that in order to cover ebay fees we must include those auction fees in the final auction price. We would prefer that brewers come to our site for the best deals since we are not charged fees based on the items we sell on our site. You can consider our site as your one stop shopping source for the lowest prices on the net!
I'm wanting to brew my own beer to sell in my pub can i do this?
Yes, you can brew your own beer for a pub. I'm not sure what volume you will be selling, but you may need to brew several batches a week (the BREWTREE makes 1 keg at a time). If you wanted something of a higher volume, we might be able to work something out for you. Keep in mind you will need to get the proper licensing to do this legally. You do not need licensing if you are brewing beer for your own consumption - only if you are selling that beer (get licensing from ATF - Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms).
How do you completely drain all kettles?
The Hot Liquor Tank Has a dip tube which goes to the bottom center of the kettle and should suck up every last drop of water when you open the outflow valve. As an extra measure, we install a drain in the rear bottom side of the kettle. You can open this drain to quickly drain the kettle.
The E-Z Dump Mashtun is designed to be easily inverted to dump spent grains and hose down. It also has a drain in the center bottom which allows easy draining of any water or wort.
The boil kettle has a drain in the lower bottom side of the kettle. This placement facilitates whirlpooling your wort. It is also nearly impossible to put a drain in the bottom center because of the heat that drain and pipe would be subjected to from the burner...a weld would be prone to cracking, and bulkhead fitting gaskets would melt. As such, the current design means there will be maybe a cup of water in the bottom of your kettle when you are done cleaning it. Simply buy a JUMBO sponge and use it to absorb that water. You should only need to set that sponge in the bottom of the tank once to absorb all of the excess water. We figure this is easier and cheaper than welding a fitting in the bottom, which could crack in the middle of a boil and leak out all your wort.
