Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

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Does anyone use Speiel’s Fermenters? It looks like they would work pretty good and really don’t come in at a price that is too far out of line.
 
Batfink said:
Let's see how my brew day goes and if manage to hit my pre boil gravity 1.117. Cut down the malt bill a bit because my refractometer scale only goes to 1.120 and I would at least like to have an idea of what my SG is before boil. I'm now going to mash 18.3kg grain with the total water amount being 48l for a 23l batch size. It's hard to predict mash efficiency on this kind of a project, but I set it to 55% in BrewMate. I can barely wait to get started tomorrow morning, it's gonna to be a loooong brew day. :)
Click to expand...


Yesterday was the longest brew day so far (11h). Did three mashes 6,1kg each, the first with 26l water and ended up at 1.052 which dropped down to 1.047 after I sparged with 5 litres.

The sack of base malt I got had a way too fine crush, and it caused me alot of headache in the last two runs. During the second mash I started to get problems with the mash getting stuck. I did stop the program a couple of times to stir and was able to get some flow, but my SG was only 1.084 after the second run. I now knew I wasn't gonna hit my pre boil gravity, never the less get 23 litres into the fermenter.

At the beginning of the third mash I was screwed. The pumps just wouldn't push any wort through the malt bed, so I took out the upper screen and tightened the malt pipe back in. Then I put the program in pause and ran wort into a bucket which I poured back onto the maltbed. That way I got a quite nice and loose mash, which I just let sit for 40 min just to even get some conversion out of the last batch of grain. The gravity luckily went up to 1.103, and though I didn't hit my target, and the mash efficiency was ridiculously low, I still was pleased to go over 1.100 all grain.

I decided to further bump up the gravity by throwing in all the DME I had on hand (250g) and 200g of table sugar into the boil. And after cooling the wort down to 18 C, I measured an OG of 1.140.

After taking a closer look at my refractometer I noticed that even if there is no 1.130 marking, the lines goes to 1.136. And when measuring, the refractometer floated about 4 points above that last line.


Now I just hope this bad boy will ferment out and that the final gravity will be around 1.030- 1.040. I did only get 15 litres into the fermentor, so with my 6,5 litre starter with two vials of yeast, I at least didn't under pitch. :rockin:
 
Hello folks,
Thanks to all of you for your generous contributions!

I've been reading this thread for days. I'm only up to page 88! I have also subscribed; so I am getting new posts as well.

I have never brewed beer. My only experience was a few weeks ago on September 16. My Son-in-law brought his equipment over (brew kettle, plastic buckets, etc) and brewed a batch of Northern England style brown ale. (It' gone now!). He used LME. A week later I ordered the 20L from Thorsten.... still waiting...

I have been using my waiting time learning all I can. I have purchased and read Charlie Papazian's and Dave Miller's books, and a couple of others and have joined AHA and received my first issue of Zymurgy. I've also picked up a couple of BYO special issues (30 styles of clone recipes, 250 clone recipes, and kegging). So I have a good foundation of knowledge in the process, lingo, etc. I've subscribed to BYO but have not received my first issue yet.

My 240 vac outlet is installed and waiting....

Hope to receive my 20L soon, but there seems to be some problem. I was given a FedEx tracking number week before last (Oct 26th), but the package has never shown up in FedEx's tracking system. Thorsten is trying to find out where it is. According to FedEx's tracking page a label was issued but the package was never passed off to them....

Well, that's enough for my first post.

Paul
 
Welcome psehorne, this things are back orderer to Germany most of times a three week period to recieve them is not unusual. Keep reading and doing you homework the way you are doing it... I went all grain frombatch #1 with the Braumeister and it´s an obsession, a healthy delicious obsession. Hope the your 20l unit arrives fast.
Cheers!
 
psehorne said:
Hope to receive my 20L soon, but there seems to be some problem. I was given a FedEx tracking number week before last (Oct 26th), but the package has never shown up in FedEx's tracking system.
Click to expand...

Thorsten and I were persistent. Finally got someone at the factory to look into the whereabouts of my 20L. It has never been passed off to FedEx.

Ralf Leukart (Sales Manager at Speidel) sent me an email apologizing for the delay and said that they would request that FedEx pick it up today. I will check FedEx's tracking page later today.
 
bcryan said:
what do you guys think about this for a bm table. sick of killing my back lifting the malt pipe out. have a look. cheers

http://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-hydraulic-lift-table-94822.html
Click to expand...

I'm also looking into options for lifting the malt pipe.

What is the length of the malt pipe for the 20L and how much below the top of the kettle does the malt pipe sit? Or worded another way what is the depth of the kettle from where the bottom of the malt pipe rest to the top of the kettle? The mechanism for pulling the malt pipe out of the kettle must have enough range to lift the bottom of the malt pipe at least a couple of inches above the top of the kettle.

The table in the link above has a range of 18 1/4 inches (46.355 cm). I think that is (barely) enough range to lift the malt pipe out of the 20L kettle (by lowering the table with the malt pipe secured from above). I'm assuming the 50L kettle is deeper and 18" might not be enough range.

It could still be used to make removing the malt pipe easier to lift out manually by lowering the table to a height that removes the need to be standing precariously on a step stool or chair.

Thoughts?

Paul
 
the 20L isn't that heavy. when it's packed to capacity with grain and totally saturated with wort it's pretty damn heavy, but if you lift it slowly, most of the wort drains down slowly as you lift, and then once it's fairly well drained (20 seconds or so) one good pull gets it up where you need it. no winch, ladder, hoist, chair, crane needed.
 
Redstag said:
DeGarre,
Good to know the top plate doen't need to move. Where can a "rubber edge seal" be found?
Click to expand...

I've seen a post saying that the bottom plate must be able to move up and down and another post saying it does not. The poster saying it does not need to move is speaking from first hand experience; so I have to believe he is right. What made someone think that it does need to move? Is there something here that I am missing?

Paul
 
I've seen several different acids (phosphoric, lactic, for example) mentioned for lowering pH. I have gallons of muriatic acid that I use for my swimming pool. Any reason not to use it?

I filled a corny keg with my high pH tap water and each 5ml of 30% muriatic acid lowered the pH by 1.1; 15 ml took it from 8.1 to 5.8.

As I recall a gallon of muriatic acid is about $10 vs about $15 for one ounce of 85% lactic acid (on Amazon).

I need to settle on this before my first batch. My 20L is supposed to ship tomorrow and I anticipate receiving it before the end of next week. So my first brew day could be as early as Saturday the 17th.

Paul
 
psehorne said:
What is the length of the malt pipe for the 20L and how much below the top of the kettle does the malt pipe sit? Or worded another way what is the depth of the kettle from where the bottom of the malt pipe rest to the top of the kettle? The mechanism for pulling the malt pipe out of the kettle must have enough range to lift the bottom of the malt pipe at least a couple of inches above the top of the kettle.
Click to expand...

I found this post:
dinnerstick said:
20L malt pipe height: 36 cm, ID: 27 cm
Click to expand...
That's height: 14.17 inches, ID: 10.6 inches.

Still need to know the distance from the top (or bottom) of the malt pipe to the top of the kettle.
 
Psehorne, I know you Texans think BIG and space is not a problem but just have patience and wait for the BM to arrive and you'll have a better idea what is needed to lift the 20L pipe - it's not that heavy.:mug:
 
DeGarre said:
Psehorne, I know you Texans think BIG and space is not a problem but just have patience and wait for the BM to arrive and you'll have a better idea what is needed to lift the 20L pipe - it's not that heavy.:mug:
Click to expand...

I'm just trying to get everything in place before the arrival of the BM. I will run a water test before my first brew. I don't want to find out that standing on a step stool with my arms extended trying to drain 10kg of grist and liquor is more than I can handle. (I've seen your videos).

I have made a checklist and am just trying to have everything ready when my machine gets here. I don't want add stress by having to run all over town at the last moment.
 
psehorne said:
I'm just trying to get everything in place before the arrival of the BM. I will run a water test before my first brew. I don't want to find out that standing on a step stool with my arms extended trying to drain 10kg of grist and liquor is more than I can handle. (I've seen your videos).

I have made a checklist and am just trying to have everything ready when my machine gets here. I don't want add stress by having to run all over town at the last moment.
Click to expand...

You are doing the opposite of what I did. I got my BM before any of the other stuff I needed arrived. Two days later after doing a water test I was impatient for my stuff to arrive so I ran to my LHBS on the way home and grabbed a 30L bucket, airlock, starsan and picked a recipe off a flyer they had and winged it default BM programming and all. The beer actually came out good too! :cross: So I can say with experience as long as your good about cleaning nothing needs to be perfect. Heck I didn't even chill the wart I threw it in the bucket and let it cool in the garage overnight and pitched the yeast the next morning. :rockin: That was my first bew EVER too! Just jump in.

psehorne said:
My 20L shipped today!!!:ban:
Click to expand...

Nice! Order you grain bill etc NOW! trust me you'll wish you had it once you BM arrives! :ban:
 
digitaldeluge said:
Nice! Order you grain bill etc NOW! trust me you'll wish you had it once you BM arrives! :ban:
Click to expand...

I've had the ingredients for a couple of weeks. I was given a tracking number on Friday October 26th; so my unit should have been here already. However it never got passed off to FedEx until today. I anticipate delivery around Wednesday of next week.
 
psehorne said:
I've had the ingredients for a couple of weeks. I was given a tracking number on Friday October 26th; so my unit should have been here already. However it never got passed off to FedEx until today. I anticipate delivery around Wednesday of next week.
Click to expand...

I have the ingredients on hand for my first two brews. First up is an American Blonde. Something simple to get me familiar with the system.

On deck an American Brown Ale.

Then I'm going to invite my Son-in-law to re-do his (LME) Northern England Brown Ale all-grain.

So I've got three beers lined up to begin my pipeline.
 
psehorne said:
I've seen several different acids (phosphoric, lactic, for example) mentioned for lowering pH. I have gallons of muriatic acid that I use for my swimming pool. Any reason not to use it?

I filled a corny keg with my high pH tap water and each 5ml of 30% muriatic acid lowered the pH by 1.1; 15 ml took it from 8.1 to 5.8.

As I recall a gallon of muriatic acid is about $10 vs about $15 for one ounce of 85% lactic acid (on Amazon).

I need to settle on this before my first batch. My 20L is supposed to ship tomorrow and I anticipate receiving it before the end of next week. So my first brew day could be as early as Saturday the 17th.

Paul
Click to expand...

Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide (first printing 1995) makes the following statement about acids (pages 52-53):
Remember how I described salt dissolving into water by breaking apart into its component ions -- the process of ionization. Salt ionizes just about totally in water. Strong acids act the same way. If you mix some sulfuric acid with water, it will instantly and almost completely break into hydrogen and and sulfate ions. However, many acids, especially organic ones (organic means that they contain carbon), do not ionize completely. Only a few percent of the molecules of tartaric acid or lactic acid will ionize in pure water. Most of the molecules remain intact.
This means that the acid content of a tartaric acid solution has a relatively little to do with pH.
Click to expand...

This implies that lactic acid that some are using is an inefficient and expensive way to lower pH.

I've found no reason not to use muriatic acid (less then $10/gallon).
 
You should post this question in the brew science forum. There is a lot of people there that will help you. Just to try leave things OT and you´ll get a better answer from them
 
(OF) Also: I wont use a strong acid like muriatic acid in brewing water. Why not to use sulfuric acid then? muriatic acid if I remember correctly itñs a "blend" of sulfuric acid and salt (H2SO4 + NaC). Toxicity? off flavor?. Really before you do anything check with the pros. It´s complicated for my to to translatemineral names from spanish to english so you´ll get better help from someone else.
 
Something I'd be concerned about industrial/household grade chemicals are potential impurities from the entire production chain...metals, toxins, volatiles and so forth related to the equipment the acid is produced with, the quality of the dilution substrate, and the various containers it is housed in before it gets sold to you. If it's not intended for consumption I'd hazard there aren't a lot of strict controls in place on any of that.
 
DeGarre said:
Please remember to take lots of photos on your first brew day.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes.... thanks for reminding me.

I am sitting here now creating a to-do list (in BeerSmith 'notes') for brew day, so that I don't forget any important steps -- like remembering to add the Gypsum, adjust mash pH, etc.

I'll add 'Take pics' to my reminders.
 
psehorne said:
Ah, yes.... thanks for reminding me.

I am sitting here now creating a to-do list (in BeerSmith 'notes') for brew day, so that I don't forget any important steps -- like remembering to add the Gypsum, adjust mash pH, etc.

I'll add 'Take pics' to my reminders.
Click to expand...


Here is my list so far. Items with an asterisk are items that must not be forgotten during the heat of the battle (hopefully a stress-free brew day)

--Advance Prep
Adjust water to ~50ppm hardness with Gypsum (calcium carbonate)
Adjust water pH to 5.8 with acid
Adjust water to < 50ppm alkalinity (optional)
Prepare starter
Take pics throughout the day

-- Before starting
Record ambient temperature
Record barometric pressure (adjust boil temperature, if necessary)
Record water starting temperature

--During Mash
*Adjust mash pH
Record time to increment water temperature between each step
Iodine test for starch
Record pre-boil hardness, alkalinity, specific gravity, and pH

- During Boil
*Add Gypsum to the boil to bring hardness up to 100ppm
*Add Irish Moss at wort boil 5 minute point

-- Post Boil
*Record the post-boil specific gravity (hydrometer and refractometer) before pitching yeast
 
Wow. I guess those have to be custom made cause I can´t see it in speidel website. Anyway I´ve seen the 200l work and it´s fine. I don´t know about anything about the 500l, search trough this thread there was a couple of post from a guy with a micro that own the 200l, PM him, don´t know if his active but it worth a try.
 
I am going to do a bourbon imperial porter and was trying to tweak the ingredients to fit a grain bill in the unit. I do not want to do any double mash, just substitute DME for 2 row. How does this look? This is based off of Denny Conn's recipe.

5lbs pale malt
3lbs DME
2.5lbs munich
1.5 lbs brown
1lb 120L crystal
0.5lb 40L crystal
0.5lbs chocolate.

Total grain weight is 11lbs

I was planning on adding DME with 20-30 min left in the boil.

Should I stick with this or go a bit lower lbs with the 2 row and increase the DME addition?

Thanks
 
You can actually fit more malt in there I don´t know about the 20l unit but with the 50l ans short malt pipe I´ve used alomost 7 kilos of malt. What is you desire OG?
 
Maybe some other 20l user can chip in but I´ve done 1.076 brew with no added DME or double mash and a boil time of 90 minutes.
 
i agree, from my experience you can get 7kg in the 20L and get into the 1.070's pretty easily, even with a 60 minute boil, if you are a bit careful with the mash. that said, i am not at all against using a bit of DME to boost gravity a bit or fine tune a batch, it's a useful tool in the toolbox, i get upset when people berate its use! but i wouldn't be afraid to go higher on the base malt and cut down the dme if i were you; 6kg is easy to mash (your 11 lbs grain bill = 5 kg). i have had a couple batches with >7kg grain bills get a bit stuck so i am a little cautious now when i load it up, but i have been having great results lately, with efficiency around 73-75%. i now always open the machine and stir the mash a few times at pump breaks, and sometimes can see that it's getting a bit glumpy or starting to channel, especially when i use a lot of wheat or oats. don't be afraid of a longer mash, i sometimes do a 90 minute rest at sacc temp, and i generally don't add specialty grains until the end of the mash (15-20 minutes left at sacc temp), save the space at the beginning for stuff that needs to be mashed. check the temp at the top of the malt tube often, especially just after temp changes, to make sure there is good flow through the grain; if the wort isn't circulating well you will have warmer wort outside the tube and cooler wort inside, of course a few degrees difference is expected, but if this happens it's time to give it a good stir.
 

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