Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

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I've used the hood on my 50L for every brew to date and have only had the threat of boil over problems with higher gravity recipes using the full capacity of the BM. Pretty satisfied with how it works out. I followed the lead of others here on the forums and use a high draw duct fan and a length of foil/wire ducting from the hood to vent the excess steam and heat out of my brewcave. If I don't it starts to rain from condensation about 40 minutes into the boil! :) I do believe my evap rate is higher as a result.
 
I'v now brewed 6 batches with my 50l BM using the 20l malt pipe, and the only thing that's been giving me some headache, except for my great beers, is how to brew higher gravity beers. Managed to get up to 1.082 on an Imperial Stout by stuffing the malt pipe with 6.3kg of grain and a two hour boil, but still wasn't satisfied, because obviously with that amount of grain the efficency suffers. Since I probably won't be doing any 50l batches anyway, I now been juggling with the idea of having the 50l malt pipe cut down so it would fit about 10kg of grain. My only worry is if there is going to be enough water to rinse through the malt bed if I, lets say made a 20 litre batch with 9kg malt using ruffly 32 litres of brewing water?
 
Batfink,

Why don't you consider a double mash? That's what I'll do when I want a high gravity beer using a single sacch' Rest.

The only problem I can see is if you need a multi-step mash schedule. The starting temp of the second mash would be too high.

I'm wondering whether that could be solved by lowering the initial mash water volume, reducing the first mash sparge/rinse water, and topping up with ice cubes/water to get down to the lowest rest temperature required for the start of the second mash.

"pH5.2 Stabilizer" would maintain the pH if that's bothering you - maybe added at the start of each mash?
 
I can't add to the info on the high grav side of things, but i have brewed a 32/33 litre batch in the 50l, with 8.2kg of grain and it is sufficient water to rinse the bed. i did a 75 min boil and it wound out to about 28l
 
I always thought that after I put my top plate on and screwed it down with the wing nut that I should tighten as little as possible so the grain wouldnt be compacted and would help with circulation. Wrong. Tightening it as much as possible improves the flow over the malt pipe big time. I'm sure it will improve my efficiency.
 
image-334425722.jpg

First time ever seeing the bottom rods when recirculating.
 
Managed to get up to 1.082 on an Imperial Stout by stuffing the malt pipe with 6.3kg of grain and a two hour boil, but still wasn't satisfied, because obviously with that amount of grain the efficency suffers.

If you got 1.082 out of 6.3kg (13.86lbs) with a 20L (5.3g) batch size; you had ~ 86% brew house efficiency. I wouldn't quite say your efficiency is "suffering" lol.
 
If you got 1.082 out of 6.3kg (13.86lbs) with a 20L (5.3g) batch size; you had ~ 86% brew house efficiency. I wouldn't quite say your efficiency is "suffering" lol.

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

Seems lika as soon as you go over 5kg (11lbs) grain in a recipe, your effiency starts dropping down to the lower 70s.

I think I just might go for it and fill the 50l maltpipe with 10kg (22lbs) of grain to make a mark on where to cut it, and then go wild with the grinder. Don't think the lap at the top of the pipe is that necessary? Just have to make new lifting bolts by drilling holes and using threaded rod and nuts to create new ones. And of course a longer distance sleeve is needed.
 
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.
 
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
 
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!
 
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.
 
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
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
irish91001 said:
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?
 
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!
 
Appreciate all the feedback. I did a lot fo research...after running across the SB it made complete sense to me (versus a 3 barrel system with propane). I have a habit of easing into a hobby....so I end up upgrading equipment 3 times in the first 6 months and ultimately wasting money that way.

Dinnerstick - I should have noted that I plan to sparge with 8L.

To everyone on this board I do want to say thanks. As a long time reader....I have been able to get invaluable tips.
 
mattdru, only thing caught my beady eyes were do you have enough minutes in the mash schedule to convert?
 
Yambor44 said:
What was your set temp at on e control panel?

I set it to 102C. I even tried it in manual when I was cleaning the BM. It did achieve a mild boil, so the water temp is ok, it's just that the readout on the control panel stays at 95C
 
I set it to 102C. I even tried it in manual when I was cleaning the BM. It did achieve a mild boil, so the water temp is ok, it's just that the readout on the control panel stays at 95C

You mentioned that you were at 4,000ft. If you use a boiling point calculator like:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/boilingpoint.html

You'll find that your calculated boiling point is right around 95C. Your profile says you're in Ogden, UT so I used a barometric pressure of 30 and an elevation of 4334ft.

Robert
 
flemming said:
You mentioned that you were at 4,000ft. If you use a boiling point calculator like:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/boilingpoint.html

You'll find that your calculated boiling point is right around 95C. Your profile says you're in Ogden, UT so I used a barometric pressure of 30 and an elevation of 4334ft.

Robert

Yep I used that exact calculation s few days ago and came up with the same answer. It's not a big concern because I do achieve a boil. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue. The main pitfall is that the boil timer doesn't activate since 100C is never reached. But I can just set it to 95 and overcome that issue.
 
mattdru, only thing caught my beady eyes were do you have enough minutes in the mash schedule to convert?

If you have any specific suggestions let me know. I got the mash schedule from a couple of clone recipes and a book called "Brewing With Wheat". In the book the brewmaster at Boulevard provided that data....so I assumed should work here as well. Hopefully.
 
Yep I used that exact calculation s few days ago and came up with the same answer. It's not a big concern because I do achieve a boil. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue. The main pitfall is that the boil timer doesn't activate since 100C is never reached. But I can just set it to 95 and overcome that issue.

Since your boiling point is ~95*C, try setting it at 97*C.

I'm at 200ft and I set mine to 102*C. The timer works perfectly even though the "boil" reads 99 or 100*C.

A gentle long boil is preferred for many European beers, especially lagers. Despite being a less violent boil than I have used in the past, it does work well for the non-lager beers I also brew.

The BM is a very nice unit, I'm delighted with mine - welcome to the club. :ban:
 
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

mattdru, I recommend you include about 1/2 pound of rice hulls in your grain bill to compensate for the wheat and wheat malt you're using.
 
I now been juggling with the idea of having the 50l malt pipe cut down so it would fit about 10kg of grain. My only worry is if there is going to be enough water to rinse through the malt bed if I, lets say made a 20 litre batch with 9kg malt using ruffly 32 litres of brewing water?


A change in plans. Got this idea from a fellow member on a finnish homebrew forum, that instead of cutting the malt pipe, i'm just gonna drill about ten half inch holes in the side of the pipe. That way I don't have to make new lifting bolts, and if I sometime in the future want to make a 50 l batch, I can just plug the holes with bolts and nuts.

Calculated that 9kg of malt for a 20l batch would make about a 9.8 ABV wort at 70% effiency. So I just filled the 50l malt pipe with 10kg (22lbs) of malt, put in the upper plate and measured at what height to drill the holes (5 inches from the top that is). The only thing that still worries me is if I'm going to have enough brewing water with such small batch size and large grain bill, so that the heating coils won't be partially running dry. That's why I'm gonna do a "no sparge" for my first attempt, just in case.

I'll report back with some pictures on how the brew went. It should either be a success or a total f*#c up. :D


And NO, I don't wanna do double mashes. Just want to get a high gravity wort (1.100) with a 60 min single infusion mash. Is that really too much to ask for? :)
 
A change in plans. Got this idea from a fellow member on a finnish homebrew forum, that instead of cutting the malt pipe, i'm just gonna drill about ten half inch holes in the side of the pipe. That way I don't have to make new lifting bolts, and if I sometime in the future want to make a 50 l batch, I can just plug the holes with bolts and nuts.

a couple of thoughts...

I wonder if you might need to cut a custom length pipe/spacer to keep the top mash screen/sieve below the level of the holes to keep the grain escaping when the pressure inevitably pushes the mash up, thereby raising the screens as well.

I also wonder if slits cut into the sides might make more sense. Maybe use a cut off tool or angle grinder to make them every 1/2" or so, maybe at 45 degrees to the X axis of the pipe, spiral like, if you catch my geometry. You could use something like a Silpat (the big commercial baker kind) wrapped around the interior to keep the seal intact when doing 50l batches. Just wrap in and fill the pipe to keep it in place...less troublesome than bolts and whatnot.

or maybe I'm off base with the concept? :confused:


@Yambor: yeah! looking forward to your triumphant return and accompanying videos!

:mug:


edit: on second thought, maybe every inch or so is better, don't want to compromise the integrity of the pipe itself...
 
a couple of thoughts...

I wonder if you might need to cut a custom length pipe/spacer to keep the top mash screen/sieve below the level of the holes to keep the grain escaping when the pressure inevitably pushes the mash up, thereby raising the screens as well.

Yes it's exactly what I'm going to do. Tought I'd cut a new distance sleeve - or whatever it's called - from a stainless steel pipe to a lenght so that the upper plate stays about half an inch below the holes. Used 10kg of malt for measuring so that there still will be some room left for the upper plate to move with a 8-9 kg grain bill. When mashing over 6kg with the smaller malt pipe, you have to use some force to get the wing nut screwed on, and the mash becomes really tight, which probably decreases efficiency.


I also wonder if slits cut into the sides might make more sense. Maybe use a cut off tool or angle grinder to make them every 1/2" or so, maybe at 45 degrees to the X axis of the pipe, spiral like, if you catch my geometry. You could use something like a Silpat (the big commercial baker kind) wrapped around the interior to keep the seal intact when doing 50l batches. Just wrap in and fill the pipe to keep it in place...less troublesome than bolts and whatnot.

With the tools I got, I think I'm gonna stick with the holes, but I can see your vision.

Does anyone by the way have an estimate of the flow rate for the 50l BM? Just wondering if 10 half inch holes will be enough to create a good flow.
 
Wait so you're going to cut the 50L pipe so you can brew high gravity 5G batches? (tried to read back a few pages but missed the purpose of slicing up the malt pipe)
 
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.

95.7 for 4000 feet is spot on.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/boiling-points-water-altitude-d_1344.html
 
Wait so you're going to cut the 50L pipe so you can brew high gravity 5G batches? (tried to read back a few pages but missed the purpose of slicing up the malt pipe)

Yes, because the 20l malt pipe won't fit enough grain, and the large pipe is to high to get proper circulation with the amount of water needed for a high gravity 5 G batch. That's why I'm gonna drill holes 5 inches from the top of the malt pipe. That way I can fit around 8-9kg of malt and the wort will be running out through the holes.
 
Couldn't you just add less water and use the 50L malt pipe as-is for 5G end batch? Guessing you would have extended boil since need min amount to not run pumps dry. Have you checked?
 
First Brew-

Overall went very well. I had planned on 5 or 6 hours...ended up taking around 10. First problem was when I was cleaning the SB for the brew I realized it didn't have the nozzle/sprout...so ran to Home Depot and made one.

Also create an immersion chiller with ice slush solution that worked great (used a pond pump).

I was expecting my effeciency would be around 1.045-1.050 (came in around 1.038). I think this was due to my grain crush being a little large.

Machine worked perfectly the entire time...had a really nice boil.

Had a great time doing it can't wait for next run at this. Biggest problem was I started drinking beer about 4 hours into brew thinking I should be done in a few hours....so by the time I got to the 10th hour I was rather intoxicated.
 
Hi all!

After reading over this thread for the last couple days, I have to say I am really jonesing for one of these systems. Unfortunately, I have to pay for a wedding before I can even consider buying it, but one day ... one day...

In the mean time, I have two questions:
1. It seems that a fair number of you sparge your malt tube. It is often mentioned that you "need another burner" to achieve this. Is there some reason you can't heat the water up in the Braumeister using manual mode, drain it into an insulated cooler, and hold onto it until sparge time? This would be easier in my mind and not require a second heat source. I haven't seen any mention of anyone doing this.

2. There's a lot of talk of not being able to do big beers on this system, especially on the 20L model. While I understand this isn't an acceptable option for some, is there any reason you can't do an extra long boil to concentrate your wort? Doing some quick math, it would seem that you could load the unit up with about 13 lbs of grain and boil down to about 3 gals and have a 1.110 wort. Would boiling for that long hurt the unit or beer somehow that I'm not aware of?
 
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