Equipment Review: The BrewSSSential BrewSSSiphon

Just when you think that your pieces of your homebrewery are satisfactory, and you have everything that you need, you find something new just like the BrewSSSiphon. I was intrigued by the stainless steel construction and the supposed heavy weight of the unit, so I reached out to the Brewsssential to see if I could do a review of their unit, and let you all know just how on point or not it was. I was very happy when I got the news that I was going to get to test the BrewSSSiphon . So to try the BrewSSSiphon out, I had two brew a batch of beer! That was going to be a difficult task… 😉 There is always a tasty treat when doing a test, like a BrewSSSiphon review!

For this, I used a rye double IPA that I was brewing. I figured I would try a different original recipe that allowed for me to have something different on tap. So I brewed it up and then gave the BrewSSSiphon a shot.

Unboxing

The siphon came packed very nicely with the different parts.   There’s a few different cleaning brushes, there was the main BrewSSSiphon siphon body, as well as a neck and some silicon tubing, and finally a Carboy SSSleeve and SSSpring Clip.   It was nice to receive silicone tubing along with it, because that meant I didn’t have to see if I had the right sizes lying around, or have to go get some more tubing…so that is definitely a plus.

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The First BrewSSSiphon Trial

After brewing and cooling the batch, I brought the batch down into my brewing work area in the basement. I placed the brew kettle on top of a chest freezer and the fermenter on the floor. I then dropped the siphon in put the tubing into the empty fermenter.  A couple pumps and a way we were going.

I believe the siphon was working at a rate of about 48 seconds a gallon. This is great! I’m going to have to test that versus my regular plastic siphon and to see just how close it is in time, and I think there will be a world of difference. The siphon was solid it did not lose the flow in it any point. It moved my full batch very quickly leaving just a little bit of wort and trub left in my brew kettle.  I even found myself tipping the brew kettle on an angle so there was very little loss of wort along the way. I left behind just a small amount of trub.

I realized as the BrewSSSiphon was flowing, that I got so excited to get rolling, that I forgot to setup the SSSpring clip and Carboy SSSleeve.

Clean up was an absolute breeze for the BrewSSSiphon. I love the silicone parts, as they are very easy to clean.  The tubes themselves were very easy to clean with the provided brushes. I have no fears at all that the complete BrewSSSiphon was cleaned and sanitized along the way.   Also, with it being stainless steel it should stay very sanitary versus the plastic siphon, that could get a little gouging. Then a plastic siphon could potentially harbor some nasty bacteria.  This sanitary safeguard makes a huge plus for any homebrew setup.

The Second Trial of the BrewSSSiphon

As a second run, I moved my batch from the fermenter to the keg.  This time, I actually remembered the SSSpring Clip and Carboy SSSleeve!

I first matched up the desired height on the outside of the fermenter.  This would allow me to get the end of the BrewSSSiphon right down to just above the trub level. I attached the BrewSSSiphon, Carboy SSSleeve and SSS Clip to the fermenter and let it fly!  The process of moving nearly 5 gallons was quick and painless. This BrewSSSiphon does the trick.

At the bottom of my fermenter was a nice solid trub cake. In the keg was a great unfiltered batch of rye double IPA.

The Third Test of the BrewSSSiphon

As a final test, I decided to do a high temperature test.  I used the BrewSSSiphon and the provided silicon tubing to move my mashing water into my mash tun.  The water was right around 160 degrees fahrenheit. The BrewSSSiphon moved it like a champ. I was able to handle the BrewSSSiphon without it making my hands feel uncomfortable, and not worry about pouring around 9 gallons of water into my mash tun.  This was a great quick test to see how it did with higher temps and it passed with flying colors.

Pros of the BrewSSSiphon

So what do I like about the BrewSSSiphon? The weight. Hands down it feels solid. I love the fact that it feels like it’s something that’s going to hold up across the years. I’ve gone through many plastic siphons that I’ve snapped either when I was removing the tube to try and clean it or if it dropped or rolled off of something so I don’t have the feeling that this is going to happen with this unit. I love the fact that it came in a nice box that if I so choose I can use that as a storage unit for it between uses. The included brushes and tubing was a definite plus it’s an upgrade that I would recommend that everyone jump on as it’s just easier to have everything all at once.  The SSSpring Clip and Carboy SSSleeve is a solid add-on that is an awesome upgrade.

Cons of the BrewSSSiphon

Cons. Well cost. it’s going to take a lot of replacement siphons to cover the cost of the stainless steel BrewSSSiphon. But, if I was starting over from scratch, and I knew that I probably would get years and years of use out of it versus my short lived plastic siphons, I would pay the extra right up front. With that pontification, I say this is a very weak con.

Final Thoughts – BrewSSSiphon Review

So what are my thoughts with this BrewSSSiphon review? It is amazing to me that such a “trivial” piece of the home brewing setup can be upgraded so much.  Hands down, I love the BrewSSSiphon. The attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship is awesome. In future uses, I will hook up the Bouncer MD inline filter to it.  While I do expect there will be a slight loss of time by adding Bouncer to the BrewSSSiphon, I think the larger size will speed the filtering and movement of the beer. I can’t wait to see the long term wear and tear of this unit, as it should be in the shape it is now!

Disclaimer

Special Thanks to BrewSSSentials for providing the BrewSSSiphon Complete kit used for review in this review. Anthony and Alana run a great company over there, and even included a personalized note with the equipment for the BrewSSSiphon review!