Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

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First time poster, long time reader. My 50l Spiedel arrived this morning. Pristine condition with the exception of the lift bolts on the malt pipe rubbed off the polished outer finish inside the tank in several places. I called morebeer immediately after discovery and they were both understanding and apologetic. They gave me two options:
1) a 10% discount
2) they will send me a replacement tank

I'd like to hear any recommendations for which option I should take. My welding buddy says it will not rust since it's solid SS. My fear is it may affect flavor. I'm hoping at least one other person has experienced this before and willing to share their resolution. Thanks in advance. I should be brewing this weekend; maiden brew will be a Pete's Wicked clone.
 
what "tank" do you mean? the malt pipe?. If it is the malt pipe I will tell them: yeah send me a new one, and just drill a few holes in it like some user did a few pages back... most probable thing is that it´s ok. That 10% off sounds great too.
 
Obliviousbrew said:
what "tank" do you mean? the malt pipe?. If it is the malt pipe I will tell them: yeah send me a new one, and just drill a few holes in it like some user did a few pages back... most probable thing is that it´s ok. That 10% off sounds great too.
Click to expand...

Sorry, by tank, I'm referring to the kettle that the malt pipe and water sit in. Morebeer customer service referred to it as the tank but I the owner's manual calls it a kettle. It's really a shame that Speidel ships it in the configuration that they do (with the malt pipe unsecured inside the kettle). The damage to my kettle is easily preventable if they simply put something over the studs to prevent the metal on metal friction during shipping such as foam padding.
 
ptjusa2000 said:
Sorry, by tank, I'm referring to the kettle that the malt pipe and water sit in. Morebeer customer service referred to it as the tank but I the owner's manual calls it a kettle. It's really a shame that Speidel ships it in the configuration that they do (with the malt pipe unsecured inside the kettle). The damage to my kettle is easily preventable if they simply put something over the studs to prevent the metal on metal friction during shipping such as foam padding.
Click to expand...

I posted a few pages earlier....My 50L arrived severely dented and Speidel shipped a new tank. It is a bit of work to remove all the fittings and transfer. The threads are Locktite sealed and need heat (hairdryer) to remove. You need to re-seal threads when re-assembling. You also have to disassemble the electrical connections on the plugs going to the computer from the heater elements. Good couple hours work but with some technical/electrical knowledge not that difficult.
 
Hello Everyone!

New member here, read through all the threads (whew!) and have decided on getting a 50l Braumeister. Actually wanted to order it last year, but the central A/C crapped the bed and cost me 5k to replace! :(

Have saved up enough now to go ahead with the purchase. I do have a few questions, one aimed at Batfink, about the 50l malt tube mod he did. I want to do 5 gallon high gravity brews as well, and wondered how his mod has been working out. I also ran 10/2 wire and hooked up a 20 amp GFI breaker, could someone let me know to make sure that is adequate?

I want to thank all the contributors whose hard work has benefited those of us who are just now joining the fold, and I look forward to contributing what I learn as well!

Prost!! :mug:
 
tequilatom said:
I want to thank all the contributors whose hard work has benefited those of us who are just now joining the fold, and I look forward to contributing what I learn as well!
Click to expand...

it's quite amazing isn't it. welcome to the club!

here's a general question, has anyone used the BM as a fermenter? (other than me now) i got the idea from the person a few pages back who was using the BM to hold a souring mash at ~40 degrees for a berlinnerweiss.
my one temp controlled fermenter is busy with lagers, when suddenly i got short notice to brew 2 beers quickly to serve at an event. obviously i'll be making making ales, but with the cold weather and temp swings inside the house i won't risk ambient temp ferments. for the first brew i emptied my mini-fridge kegerator, split a 24L (1.072) brew from the BM 20L into a corny and a half-corny (stupid bucket doesn't fit in it), wired a heat belt into the thermal controller, set at 19. for the second my only option was the BM itself, so i brewed indoors (24L, 1.070), cooled, knocked out to a clean bucket, oxygenated the wort in the bucket, moved the empty BM to the unheated backstairs where ambient temp is ~12-13, brought the bucket and refilled the wort to the BM, pitched yeast. put it on manual mode, set to 19, turned the heat on. wrapped the lid with plastic wrap just to keep dust out of the two ventilation slits, covered with a blanket, went to bed.
 
amendment to the above post, even in the cool ambient temp the yeast cranked up its own heat, and it has gone way too hot! unjacketed, metal against cool air, temp isn't coming down. oh well, chalk this up to learning, this is going to be a crazy beer.
in principle this technique almost works but not quite.
 
update on the speidel fermenter: if i could have overcome the initial high temp, this would have gone really well. overnight after pitching a huge amount of wyeast 1968 (i always pitch big with this yeast) it got up to 25 when i wanted it at 19, but it cooled down by the afternoon. i just kegged it, it tastes ok, i'll have to wait and see if it's really estery/headachey. cleanup was only marginally more time consuming than after a normal brewday, the capacity is much larger than my normal fermenter, so dry hopping was a breeze. if i can be sure i can keep it chilly over the first day i'll do it again
 
I am about to jump in the kettle with you guys but might need a little push. I would like to here from some of you about the typical brew day. My main concern is the overall length of day. I read 1 post that claimed 10 hrs. That seems way high to someone who BIABs's with single infusion and no-chill, in about 4 1/2 hrs. I expect I will continue with no-chill(cause I like it) so probably your times to:
1-Ramp to mash
2-ramp to Mashout lets say 78C
3- ramp to boil
These numbers would be great for me. I am halfway through my second reading of all posts and haven't been able to find any threads on this topic. I can hardly wait for morebeer to get these back in stock.I check their site daily even though they promise to e-mail me when they are in.
Morebeer!!Cmon already before,SWMBO figures out what I'm doing!!
 
depends of course on your starting / tap water temp. in the winter mine is single digits, let's say 7. i usually dough in around 50-54C. 23 liters takes ~30-40 minutes to get to strike temp. the ramp from there to sacc. rest temps of 65-68, assuming good circulation through the grain bed, takes maybe 10-15 minutes, and ramp to mash out maybe 10 minutes. there is probably a lot more variation among BM users in lautering time; this will of course depend on how well your grain bed flows, whether you sparge, where you sparge (into a separate vessel while already heating your first runnings) etc

assuming i have milled my grains in advance it typically takes me:
set-up 10 minutes, heat strike water 40 min, dough in 5 min, protein rest 15 min, ramp to sacc 10 min, sacc rest 60 min, ramp to mashout 10 min, mashout 10 min, lift pipe and start lautering 5 min, sparge (pre-heated on stovetop) 15 min, remove malt tube and continue lautering somewhere else, bring to boil 20 min, boil 60 min, cool wort and knock out (variable, depends on how much other stuff i'm doing) 45 min, oxygen + yeast + setting up temp control 15 min, cleanup 60 min.
something like 6-7 hours for me
 
lylo said:
I am about to jump in the kettle with you guys but might need a little push. I would like to here from some of you about the typical brew day. My main concern is the overall length of day. I read 1 post that claimed 10 hrs. That seems way high to someone who BIABs's with single infusion and no-chill, in about 4 1/2 hrs. I expect I will continue with no-chill(cause I like it) so probably your times to:
1-Ramp to mash
2-ramp to Mashout lets say 78C
3- ramp to boil
These numbers would be great for me. I am halfway through my second reading of all posts and haven't been able to find any threads on this topic. I can hardly wait for morebeer to get these back in stock.I check their site daily even though they promise to e-mail me when they are in.
Morebeer!!Cmon already before,SWMBO figures out what I'm doing!!
Click to expand...

For me, I absolutely love my 20L. I brew in my basement, and can not be any easier.

1. to get to mash in temp it takes about 30-45 minutes iirc
2. to get to mashout is another 1-2 hrs depending on your cycle that you program.
3. I get up to boiling in another 30 or so minutes...it is already at mashout temps, so it does not take long.

For me my day is much, much shorter then when I was a propane person.

You also have to remember, even if the temperature ramps are too long for you....you can go do something else while the machine does the work. You just have to make sure to check for stuck pump and may have to stir, but other then that you have MORE free time.
 
Thats the kind of info I'm looking for.I feel like somekind of jock getting phsyched up for a big game. I am stoked and ready for morebeer to get stock!!!
 
lylo said:
I am about to jump in the kettle with you guys but might need a little push. I would like to here from some of you about the typical brew day. My main concern is the overall length of day. I read 1 post that claimed 10 hrs. That seems way high to someone who BIABs's with single infusion and no-chill, in about 4 1/2 hrs. I expect I will continue with no-chill(cause I like it) so probably your times to:
1-Ramp to mash
2-ramp to Mashout lets say 78C
3- ramp to boil
These numbers would be great for me. I am halfway through my second reading of all posts and haven't been able to find any threads on this topic. I can hardly wait for morebeer to get these back in stock.I check their site daily even though they promise to e-mail me when they are in.
Morebeer!!Cmon already before,SWMBO figures out what I'm doing!!
Click to expand...

My brew day normally takes around 5 hours with the 20L BM including cleaning up.
 
lylo said:
I am about to jump in the kettle with you guys but might need a little push. I would like to here from some of you about the typical brew day.
Click to expand...

My 20L has been pretty consistent in 10 brews from October til now in ramping the temp at 1C/min. (For example to go from mashout of 76C to boil at 100C takes 24 minutes). I'm in North Texas and usually brew on days when the temp are around 50F in the morning with a high in the mid 60s in the afternoon this time of year. A typical day starts at 9AM and by 3PM I have finished including cleanup - 6hrs.
 
I just received my Braumeister 20L today. One of the latest to come out of Germany as I was told by Morebeer.com they had just unloaded the container. Anyway, I've heard many on here complain about the legs cutting them when they handle them. I don't know if this is new or I'm late to the party, but the bottom of each of the legs now have some kind of edging that will prevent scuffing and the sharp edge. I'll show you pics below.

It will be a couple weeks before it's maiden voyage, but I'm really looking forward to brewing on this machine. I'm also happy to say mine arrived without a scratch or dent. I believe they've worked on their packaging as well as everything was packed very snug and tied down.

Anyway, I look forward to participating in this thread and sharing my journey on the Braumeister 20L.

Jim

DSCF0123.jpg


DSCF0124.jpg


DSCF0121.jpg
 
Ragtop232 said:
I just received my Braumeister 20L today. One of the latest to come out of Germany as I was told by Morebeer.com they had just unloaded the container. Anyway, I've heard many on here complain about the legs cutting them when they handle them. I don't know if this is new or I'm late to the party, but the bottom of each of the legs now have some kind of edging that will prevent scuffing and the sharp edge. I'll show you pics below.

It will be a couple weeks before it's maiden voyage, but I'm really looking forward to brewing on this machine. I'm also happy to say mine arrived without a scratch or dent. I believe they've worked on their packaging as well as everything was packed very snug and tied down.

Anyway, I look forward to participating in this thread and sharing my journey on the Braumeister 20L.

Jim
Click to expand...

welcome to the speidel support group!
the cute little shoes is a good start, but still watch out for the sides of the legs as well, those can be a bit dangerous on mine when you grab them with a wet hand. speidel should think about rounding off the edge or something. are they using a different pump now too? anyways happy brewing!
 
I seem to have a problem with over attenuation on many of my brews. The temperature readings on the BM computer match my thermometer so I'm guessing the temps are correct. Since I do a protein rest I figure that the ramp up time to 68* must also be acting as a Beta rest. Does anyone compensate for this or experience far more attenuation than expected? I just did an APA with an OG of 1.061 and an FG of 1.008. I used:

50* for 20 Minutes
68* for 90 Minutes
77* for 10 Minutes
10 lbs Pale Two Row US
1 lb Victory
.75 lb Munich
2 Packs US-05 and
O2 through an inline sintering stone.

Any thoughts?
 
I will skip the protein rest at 50 C, if you still want to do a protein rest, do it between 52C and 55C and if using well modified malts it can be shorter 20 minutes it´s a little excesive. A little overpitched too, that maybe have something to do with it.
For APAs i usually mash in at 52C get 55C hold there for 5-10 minutes and then single infusion for 60 minutes at 66-68, mash out at 78C for 15 minutes.
 
Can anyone tell me the diameter of the center threaded post on the 50L? I want to alter the malt pipe like Batfink did, and need to get a longer distance sleeve (out of stainless tubing). I found some tubing on Amazon, but need to know what inner diameter to get. I am getting everything I need ready before ordering mine early next month.
Thanks!
 
tequilatom said:
Can anyone tell me the diameter of the center threaded post on the 50L? I want to alter the malt pipe like Batfink did, and need to get a longer distance sleeve (out of stainless tubing). I found some tubing on Amazon, but need to know what inner diameter to get. I am getting everything I need ready before ordering mine early next month.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

The spacer tube that comes with the short malt pipe has an I.D. of 13mm and an O.D. of 16mm.

Robert
 
Getting psyched up now! I really need to know what to expect for a boil off rate. I tried doing a search of the forum but returned waaay to many results/non results. I don't have my 220 wiring done yet to give the 20L a test run but would like to start planning the brewday.
Thanks
 
Lylo, I haven't tried mine yet, but I'm planning on about 1 gal boil off / hr. This might be slightly high depending on how rapid the boil is.

I'll report back after I try mine. As far as the cord, I have a 4 prong dryer receptacle that i'm going to use. I found a heavy duty computer/server power cord, c13 with 14 awg wire. I also purchased a 12 awg extension cord, c13 as well, and cut the male plug end off and purchased a 4 prong dryer plug and made my cord. I've tried it out and tested the voltage and it works like a charm.

Jim
 
lylo said:
Getting psyched up now! I really need to know what to expect for a boil off rate. I tried doing a search of the forum but returned waaay to many results/non results. I don't have my 220 wiring done yet to give the 20L a test run but would like to start planning the brewday.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Boil-off varies somewhat with the barometric pressure and your ground elevation, since with low pressure and high altitude aggressive boil can easily be obtained, but with high pressure and low altitude an aggressive boil requires more than 100C.

For me 3.6L / hour with the lid off works pretty good. My ground elevation is 640ft. When the barometric pressure is 30 or below I get an aggressive boil at 100C, but when pressure is higher it takes 101C to get an aggressive boil with the lid off.

With the lid on much of the steam condenses on the lid and drips back into the kettle, so boil-off is less. Of course, an aggressive boil is easier to obtain.

You will need to make a best guess, keep accurate records, and fine tune your equipment profile.
 
lylo said:
I don't have my 220 wiring done yet to give the 20L a test run but would like to start planning the brewday.
Thanks
Click to expand...

This power cord available on Amazon will plug directly into the Braumeister 20L. Use a matching L6-20R (also available from local hardware stores) and no cutting of cables is required.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I boil for an hour, lid is half on, sometimes off during, not the most aggressive boil and I lose about 3 litres.

Mash with 26, rinse with 6, start of boil I have 26+, end of boil 23, hops soak a bit too.
 
Trial run with water i got 3.4 liters/hr. my boil temp in here in Alberta at 850meters was 97 degrees.Should I be boiling my hops longer?
 
do you mean because of lower alpha acid isomerization at lower temp? i doubt your utilization is going to be hugely different between 97 and 100, or between 100 and whatever ghastly temperature water boils at down here below sea level, but if you are consistent with your brewing then it doesn't matter, figure out what tastes right for you and adjust bittering charges in your recipes across the board by a small % if necessary
 
Does anyone take volume measurements?? Where do you take them from?
The 25L marks seems to be accurate when taken from the top of the flat ledge at the bottom of the post. Does this account for the volume displaced by the element and post?
 
I know this is a really old post, but at an RV store you cant get an extension cord for 220V. You can get very long ones if you want.
 
lylo said:
Does anyone take volume measurements?? Where do you take them from?
The 25L marks seems to be accurate when taken from the top of the flat ledge at the bottom of the post. Does this account for the volume displaced by the element and post?
Click to expand...

(hey we're in a new forum now!)
i measured the actual volume at the 15, 20, 25L markings in my machine and they are pretty accurate. so yes, they take into account the element, post, pump volume, etc. i generally estimate from them, which of course is not super accurate when you're boiling a frothy hoppy brew and trying to estimate 22 liters or whatever. i also made a steel dip stick (out of a kebab skewer, scratched in markings with an awl- it's pretty lame) with 1 liter increments, which is better but not perfect, still hard to read during the boil, and i measured the displacement of my wort chiller (exactly 1 liter, conveniently). i will at some point make a real dip tube that is possible to read without burning my hand and eyeball! i think that's the only way to get a good volume reading
 

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