Newest Threads

**jammin** · 08-19-2012, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batfink

I only got 17l (4.5g) into the fermentor on that brew and Brewmate calculates a 70% brewhouse efficiency.

The wort leftover in your kettle is still part of your brewhouse efficiency. You just need to be wary of your kettle's deadspace and hop/trub absorbtion. This will allow you to plan accordingly for proper batch size (knowing ahead of time appx. how much you plan to leave in the kettle).

You need to set your efficiency to determine what sugar concentration you want in wort at the end of the boil. This way the wort is at the desired OG. You can adjust your batch size (end of boil) to accomodate for trub loss and dead space etc.. You're on the right track, just don't let the tail wag the dog by calculating efficiency based on what you siphon into the fermenter.

I always plan my recipes for 6 gallons. This way I can leave a half gallon in the kettle and still get 5.5 gallons in my fermenter. This gets me a full 5 gallons into my corny keg.

mattdru · 08-22-2012, 11:52 PM

Hello to everyone. I have been reading the message board for years, finally went out and bought a SB. Finally showed up, got my electrical done and I am ready to go. Good news is is that I am really excited. Bad news is is that I have never brewed beer before. I have read several books, watched all the You Tube videos (and yes I was devestated when I read Yanbor44 sold his SB...almost derailed a year of research at that point

), read a bunch of blogs and drank a lot of beer.

For you experienced brewers...do you see anything majorly wrong with my game plan for Brew #1? It is a Boulevard Wheat Clone (I like in Kansas City)...and it is a combination of a bunch of data I have gathered.

Grain Bill: lbs
MaltEurop American 2 Row Pale Malt 5.75 54.8%
Rahr White Wheat Malt 2.50 23.8%
Rahr Unmalted Wheat 2.00 19.0%
Belgian Munich Malt 0.25 2.4%
10.50

Crush grain at 1.25
Liters Gallons
Initial water 23 6.1

Mashing Schedule C F
6.5 minutes (mash in) 47 104
25 minutes 50 122
12 minutes 63 145
15 minutes 73 163
5 minutes (Knockout) 76 169

70 minutes (Boil) 102 216
(Add German Magnum Hop Pellets 10 minutes into boil)
(Add Simcoe Hop Pellets 60 minutes into boil)

Any advise would be helpful. I don't mind honest feeback, my goal is to spend time and effort trying to create some good beers and have fun.

Thanks
Matt

phoenixs4r · 08-23-2012, 12:12 AM

I don't have any experience with this particular machine, but from brewing for almost 2 years, I'd say its pretty fan hard to brew a bad beer! Good luck!

mjwitz · 08-23-2012, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inodoro_Pereyra

No, it can't, and it isn't. You can build a brutus type system for 1/3 what this system costs, and this system will never give you the flexibility a brutus will. For most of us here, it's not about having some cheap beer at hand, nor about how much we can brew: it's about learning from the process, so we can eventually make a better product, or one that's more suited to our particular tastes. Evolving.
That system could never give you that, simply because it takes control of the process. That way, you just become a material handler, not a brewer.

And that's great. If that's what you want, go for it. But, again, you can achieve the same goal, at a fraction of the money (and the work) by just brewing kits. But then again, it's your call.

I have to disagree here. It is a tool to make more consistent beer. The art is making a recipe and consistently brewing it again and again. The control lets you accurately do mash steps at the proper temperatures and is programmable to your recipe. Do you use your camera in manual mode? No, because you can't consistently take good pictures. I do think it is way to expensive but I would love to build one! If I can't figure out how to build one at a reasonable price I'll stick with my cooler mash tuns.

Toggels · 08-23-2012, 01:29 AM

Matt,
I recently bought one also and getting ready for the first brew... It is going to be a few weeks away (business trip), but please post how it goes.
I am interested in doing something simular for the first brew.... and trying to work out a recipe as well...

Mike

Soviet · 08-23-2012, 02:42 AM

You guys will love your new braumeister rigs. I am surprised to hear you spent that much money before you knew you were in LOVE with the hobby. Most of us started with a 5 gallon pot on the stove top with relatively low investments.

I wouldn't recommend brewing a beer with a lot of wheat as the VERY FIRST beer you brew. Especially if it's the first beer you've EVER brewed. I recommend finding a nice all-barley recipe because you will have a lower risk of getting a stuck mash or something related.

Good Luck!

Alex

**irish91001** · 08-23-2012, 04:39 AM

I just used mine for the first time last weekend. It was awesome to use and very easy. The only problem I had was that my control panel never got above 95C, even though there was a mild boil. I am not sure if it's because I live at 4,000 ft or something is wrong with the control panel. Not a huge detriment as the mash temps were hit and the boil was actually going. All in all, I am very happy with it.

**dinnerstick** · 08-23-2012, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soviet

I wouldn't recommend brewing a beer with a lot of wheat as the VERY FIRST beer you brew. Especially if it's the first beer you've EVER brewed. I recommend finding a nice all-barley recipe because you will have a lower risk of getting a stuck mash or something related.

agreed, although i did make a standard witbier with around 50% unmalted wheat for my first BM brew and it went fine, i would add- definitely don't try to get too tricky at first, and don't go for a high gravity wort until you know the machine pretty well. due to my staunch aversion to non-metric i couldn't face adding up your grain bill!! but if everything is flowing through the malt pipe well you will be fine. i wouldn't be afraid to give the mash an occasional stir during a pump break, and think in advance about whether you will sparge, as starting with 23 L and draining the tube for say 30min you will need to add quite a few liters back if you want 20L wort in the fermenter, i heat up a pot of ~8-10L water to mashout temp on the stove towards the end of the mash.

**Yambor44** · 08-23-2012, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irish91001

I just used mine for the first time last weekend. It was awesome to use and very easy. The only problem I had was that my control panel never got above 95C, even though there was a mild boil. I am not sure if it's because I live at 4,000 ft or something is wrong with the control panel. Not a huge detriment as the mash temps were hit and the boil was actually going. All in all, I am very happy with it.

What was your set temp at on e control panel?

**Yambor44** · 08-23-2012, 10:17 AM

Matt,

You made a great choice and actually saved yourself a ton of money by starting with BM in my opinion. The reason I sold my 50L BM was to get a 20L version so I can brew more and feel it will be easier to handle and clean. I haven't purchased one yet as we have been doing some construction on the house and remodeling and what not. I'll be back in the BM game before long!