People always say that small-batch brewing is a lot of faff for not much beer, and they’re probably right, so I made ease of use and a quick brewday my top priorities. A one-pot recirculating system, like the Grainfather but smaller, seemed like the best solution.
And so the Grainbaby was born!
THE BUILD
To begin with, a ten-litre, 3kW Buffalo tea urn, on sale at Nisbets:
IMG_0121 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrPunching a hole for the steam to exit.
IMG_0138 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrGrinding the tap hole into a circle.
IMG_0148 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrA 15mm x ½” elbow goes into the tap hole, with a back nut inside. The o-ring from the original tap sits between the flange and the vessel wall.
IMG_0177 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrHop filter, 10mm copper pipe, and a ‘street’ elbow which wedges into the back of the elbow with the help of some silicone tube:
IMG_0565 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrOn the outside, a Topsflo TS5 pump and a Quick Disconnect:
IMG_0577 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrBack inside, a PT100 probe for the mash. It seemed neater to go in through the base:
IMG_0562 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrI wanted all the leads to be detachable, so added an XLR socket for the PT100:
IMG_0514 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr
IMG_0570 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr… and a kettle socket for the power cable:
IMG_0517 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr… and banana sockets for the pump. Here it is with everything plugged in and ready to roll:
IMG_0528 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrThe underside …
1) pre-tinkering:
IMG_0147 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr2) Post-tinkering, with the thermostat removed and PT100 added:
IMG_0521 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrI tried and failed to find a right-sized saucepan for the malt-pipe, so had to make one from a sheet of stainless wrapped around a piece of plastic chopping board, secured with stainless screws and bolts. It’s what you might call a bit agricultural but it works:
IMG_0505 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr
IMG_0541 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr
IMG_0561 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrThe finished Grainbaby slots into the existing five-gallon brewery, replacing the boiler (which you can see here relegated to the third division) and using the same chimney:
IMG_0592 (1) by Luke Vinten, on FlickrI mash at full-volume:
IMG_0532 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrDuring the mash, the element is switched by the PID/SSR combo which in the five-gallon brewery controls the HERMS system. I should probably reprogramme the PID but apart from an initial overshoot it keeps the temp fine as it is.
IMG_0610 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrDuring the boil, the chimney comes down…
IMG_0543 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr... and the Phase Angle Controller takes over:
IMG_0606 by Luke Vinten, on Flickr4.5 Amps for a nice rolling boil.
IMG_0582 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrMini-chiller:
IMG_0556 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrI made a Jamil-style whirlpool return, but I’m not sure it’ll work at this scale:
IMG_0550 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrBefore you know it, there’s a gallon of freshly-made wort put to bed in a £1.20 fermenter:
IMG_0555 by Luke Vinten, on FlickrVerdict so far: It’s amazing how quick and easy this thing is! Even during the trial run I was twiddling my thumbs and wondering why I didn’t have more to do. The only downside so far is lousy efficiency — 54% yesterday — but I may be able to improve that. If not, it’s only a few pence of grain.
Yup, definitely pleased with my baby so far!
