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wyzazz · 12-10-2011, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beefeater

Need to get some FermCap, but the stuff isn't for sale in this country. Anyone know some online shop who will send small items as a letter or small flat-rate box? International shipping fromMoreBeer is insane.

Pick up some Baby Gas Drops (unflavored) at your local pharmacy, it's the same active ingredient and works just as well.

**rico567** · 12-10-2011, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beefeater

Did a brew today with the copper hat, gasket and flexible hose to vent off steam. It worked great! No steam in the kitchen.

Bent the hose down first, then up under the middle of the ventilator over my stove. Made a hole in the hose at the lowest point to drain condensed water into a box.

Boiled without the thermocollar and set the temperature to 102 degC.
Had some boilover in the beginning. It oozed up into the hose and into the box. Some oozed out between the hose and the hat because I didn't fasten it with a hose clamp. But the stuff kept inside the unit, hose and box so no mess in the kitchen.

Need to get some FermCap, but the stuff isn't for sale in this country. Anyone know some online shop who will send small items as a letter or small flat-rate box? International shipping fromMoreBeer is insane.

Boiloff went down from 10 to 8.6% pr hour. Still enough!

To secure something that may be approximately as efficacious as Fermcap-S, you might try any "anti-gas" patent medication containing "simethicone" or other ingredient. That's what those things do- suppress the bubbles, and I have read on several threads that people have used it successfully. I'd just be sure you don't get any of the flavored kinds....

Getafix · 12-12-2011, 08:19 PM

Had a great brewday yesterday, brewed this Weissbier I posted earlier:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/speidel-braumeister-brewmaster-229225/index113.html#post3555997

It was the shortest brewday for me on the Braumeister, clocking in at 7 1/2 hours. I was a couple points shy on my numbers, but nothing to loose sleep over. A few things I would change for next time:

Crush coarser, I'm still crushing a bit too fine.
Add more rice hulls, for this type of grainbill perhaps add 8-10% of the weight of the hulless grain.
Take Speise after final cooling, rather than pre-boil. Taking it pre-boil messes with the numbers too much, until I get a better handle on it.

**Sudz** · 12-12-2011, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Getafix

Crush coarser, I'm still crushing a bit too fine.

What are you guys using for your crush setting on these? I've seen the question asked but haven't seen any input from anyone.

beefeater · 12-12-2011, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudz

What are you guys using for your crush setting on these? I've seen the question asked but haven't seen any input from anyone.

I have only two brews with my new mill and I haven't measured the gap but I think I've found a good setting on the Crankandstein. It's the simplest model with eccentric bushings for adjustment.

First brew was too fine. That was on the factory setting, "1/2"
Last brew felt just right. That was 1/8 turn from the widest setting.
Quite coarse.

apratsunrthd · 12-13-2011, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudz

What are you guys using for your crush setting on these? I've seen the question asked but haven't seen any input from anyone.

I hit 68% on a Barley Crusher with a .036 gap.

apratsunrthd · 12-15-2011, 04:09 PM

Just a quick update. I'm still sitting right at 68%. I'm trying to only change one thing at a time. This time, I used 5.2 pH stabilizer. Next time, I'm going to add either gypsum or calcium chloride as my water is a bit calcium deficient. Depending on those results, I may crank down my crush and add rice hulls next time.

apratsunrthd · 12-15-2011, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beefeater

I have only two brews with my new mill and I haven't measured the gap but I think I've found a good setting on the Crankandstein. It's the simplest model with eccentric bushings for adjustment.

First brew was too fine. That was on the factory setting, "1/2"
Last brew felt just right. That was 1/8 turn from the widest setting.
Quite coarse.

Do you have some feeler gauges you could measure the gap with? What efficiency are you hitting?

beefeater · 12-15-2011, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apratsunrthd

Do you have some feeler gauges you could measure the gap with? What efficiency are you hitting?

I don't have any feeling gauges but it looks more than one, less than two mm. So 1.5mm or 0.06 inches.

I get about 85% "Efficiency Into Boiler" as per Beersmith.
This is quite high. I think allways doing a mashout and allways sparging with 9 liters of 78 DegC water for a 22 liter batch helps in achieving this. Also allways boiling for 90 minutes which lets me sparge some more than if doing 60mins.

**Sudz** · 12-15-2011, 06:06 PM

You really need to invest in a set of feeler gauges. They are the only way to know what you're doing when you play with the gap. Just a few thousandths of an inch can make a big difference in your crush and efficiency.