Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

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This Saturday I will be brewing a DFH 90 minute IPA clone with a double mash as stated in an earlier post. I figure at the very least the cooling part will go very well as I know I have a bunch of cooling surface area.

would love to see the recipe and to learn how it goes for you!
 
just completed the brew on a split brew, 40 litres to a basic american golden ale style, put into 2 fermenters one with Cal V yeast, and a second with a Belgian Trappist. Dry hopped the Cal batch with nelson Sauvin, got about 78 brewhouse efficiency. the brau has just made my brewing such a delightful exercise! such a pleasure to kick back with a beer watching my brau steam away into the brisk night air, then yield up its rich golden brew.
anyone have a good porter recipe to share?
 
SFBrewer,

I have been delayed on brewing the DFH 90 Minute Clone.

Here is the link to the recipe.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com//f69/dogfish-head-90-minute-clone-260675/

After reading the full thread there have been some changes worth noting from the folks who have brewed this recipe.
Use English Maris Otter instead of American two row and ferment at 68 instead of 64.

I will post when I get'r done.
 
Still loving the Braumeiester and thought I'd check in with the group. I've changed my process a bit and seem to get the clearest wort and the least stray grains by doing the following.

Get a large paint strainer bag from Lowes - wash it thoroughly and cut a small hole in the bottom that will allow the center rod to slide through it. I put the malt pipe in, slide my bag down the rod, then put the bottom plate in the bag making sure it slides down. Pull the top of the paint strainer bag up around the lip of the malt pipe with its elastic holding it in place. Do not use the bottom screen. I then fill with grain by recipe, add 1/2 lb of rice hulls, poking in the mash to insure its good and mixed. Then put the top screen and to plate on - gently moving them in place to avoid snagging the bag.

This setup really catches the stray grains and also eliminated my early "fountain" problems. I usually net 77% efficiency +\- 1 or so which is perfectly acceptable, and most important for me, repeatable.
 
Thought I would take a picture of my paint strainer process that I'm using but it doesn't show up very well. Brewing a light saison in my air conditioned garage brewery. Gotta love brewing indoors when it's 100+ degrees outside!

image-1129595361.jpg


image-3251920313.jpg
 
How big of a paint strainer bag do you use? Seems like a great idea. I get way to much grain sneaking past my mesh screens. Thanks
 
bcryan said:
How big of a paint strainer bag do you use? Seems like a great idea. I get way to much grain sneaking past my mesh screens. Thanks

I use the 5 gallon version with the elastic at the top from Lowes. Make sure you cut your hole as small as possible as this last beer, where I had reused a bag for about 5 or 6 brews I got more grain in the kettle at sparge. Upon closing the brew day I found the hole had stretched this last session n when I lifted up the malt pipe I let some grains into the kettle. First time thats happpened in dozen beers or so. I'm still chewing on ways to include the bottom screen but those pointy edges snag the bag, and my fingers, way too easily.
 
What if you put bottom screen in first. Push it to the bottom. Then malt pipe. Then paint strainer bag. I'll have to take a look when I get home. Just a quick thought.
 
Hey all. I've got two little kids and I don't have time to babysit my rig for 5 hours. For the past year or so, I've only been able to do extract brewing, but I miss all grain, and the Braumeister looks like it might meet my needs so I can get back into it. I have two questions:

1) Reading through this enormous thread, it looks like a few people use voltage converters and plug into 110v outlets. I'd like to do this to have some versatility in where I brew. Has anyone experienced any problems doing this?

2) Because of the electronics in this thing, I'm a little worried that 5 years out, if the brain dies, I'm out a couple of grand. How is Speidel support? I see from a few posts that morebeer and Speidel have been good about replacing parts, but sending this thing to Germany to be fixed would be a huge pain.

Thanks!
 
crooow said:
Hey all. I've got two little kids and I don't have time to babysit my rig for 5 hours. For the past year or so, I've only been able to do extract brewing, but I miss all grain, and the Braumeister looks like it might meet my needs so I can get back into it. I have two questions:

1) Reading through this enormous thread, it looks like a few people use voltage converters and plug into 110v outlets. I'd like to do this to have some versatility in where I brew. Has anyone experienced any problems doing this?

2) Because of the electronics in this thing, I'm a little worried that 5 years out, if the brain dies, I'm out a couple of grand. How is Speidel support? I see from a few posts that morebeer and Speidel have been good about replacing parts, but sending this thing to Germany to be fixed would be a huge pain.

Thanks!

Can't answer the first one as I didn't go that route. I can say Speidel stands behind the product. You are likely never to have to send a completed unit back - pumps, electronics and elements are all user replaceable as needed. I've had pump and impeller replaced with Speidel sending them directly to me. Very satisfied with their post sale support.
 
Hey all. I've got two little kids and I don't have time to babysit my rig for 5 hours. For the past year or so, I've only been able to do extract brewing, but I miss all grain, and the Braumeister looks like it might meet my needs so I can get back into it. I have two questions:

1) Reading through this enormous thread, it looks like a few people use voltage converters and plug into 110v outlets. I'd like to do this to have some versatility in where I brew. Has anyone experienced any problems doing this?

2) Because of the electronics in this thing, I'm a little worried that 5 years out, if the brain dies, I'm out a couple of grand. How is Speidel support? I see from a few posts that morebeer and Speidel have been good about replacing parts, but sending this thing to Germany to be fixed would be a huge pain.

Thanks!

I have read a few posts about people using 110VAC converters on the Speidel. Personally, I would never do this, unless I was in a rental and basically knew I'd be moving fairly soon. If your living situation looks to be stable for 4-5 years, I'd just bite the bullet and wire the 240VAC outlet.
 
I have read these posts and i want to make sure that there is no misunderstanding about the Braumeister Units.
All Electronics are made for the US Market and have no issue running on 60Hz. All what is needed is a 240 Volt outlet which most of us have in the house.
Either from the Hot Water Heater or Dryer Outlet. All what has to be done is to cut off the old German plug and get a US 240Volt plug you need and wire it...plug it in and brew.
NO NEED TO GET A TRANSFORMER!
Speidel made some electronic changes to the brain, pumps etc. to make sure that there is no lack of performance or issues with the US electricity.
I am Speidel's direct Representative and Distributor and try to help with issues in any way i can even the unit was bought from the other Distributor in California.
Customer Service is a very important part of mine and the Speidel Company and very proud of the Braumeister and the acceptance here in the US.
I want to assure that there is no problem with any of the Braumeister Units and are very reliable brew systems.

Thanks!
 
I finally found the time to brew the DFH 90 minute IPA clone. I learned a bunch and will be brewing it again but with some changes.

1. The grain bill for an 11 gallon batch is a monster, 34.5lbs in total. As mentioned in an earlier post I split the mash using both 5 and 10 gallon malt pipes. Not a good idea. Each pipe ended up with a large amount of grain, 11.25 lbs in the 5 gallon mp and 23.25lbs in the 10 gallon mp. I had to stop the process several times removing the top screen and stirring the grist so the pumps could circulate the wort. The wort never cleared.

2. I have been trying to incorporate many of ideas discussed in this thread. To that end, I made an attempt at conditioning the grain before grinding. Not having done this before I think it will take a bit of practice to get this technique to work properly.

3.I had the gap in my crusher set to .042 I believe this was another contributing factor of the wort never clearing. The husks looked to be mostly in tack but I guess with the amount of grain being used as well as the crush not being correct the results were not good.

4. Hops, I should have used a hop gag. The amount of trub was incredible. I only collected 6 of the 11gallons I was expecting.

5. I let the whole mash sit overnight as suggested in an earlier post. Also not a good idea if you want to keep the temperature steady. The temperature was 5 degrees warmer the next morning. I had turned off the pump so as not to have it running all night.

6. My before boil gravity was 1.074. Knowing I wanted to finish with an OG of 1.085
I added some Light DME and sparged. 30 min into boil gravity was 1.078, 1 hour into boil the gravity was 1.081, and finished with 1.091, no need for the DME

7. The cooling process went well I just needed more ice. In 10 min I had the temp down to 42C, 15 min down to 33C, 20 min to 30C and 30 min to 28C.

So next time….
1. I will split the grain bill in half and mash twice using the 10g mp.

2. Condition the grain correctly.

3. Use a wider gap for the crush.

4. Use a hop bag.

5. Brew in one day not two.

6. Have more faith in getting closer to the OG ….no DME

7. Have more ice on hand for the cooling process.

As it sits now I have 6 gallons of very cloudy, wort bubbling away in primary with a healthy dose of WLP 007. Soon it will be time to transfer to secondary, dry hop and filter before kegging.

Or serve the it in German style clay mugs….Live and learn

Note to self...don't over think the damn thing, simplify and just brew.
 
thanks for sharing the experience Redstag!
I may try this myself soon and will report the results here.

regarding hops and trub in the BM, I've been considering experimenting with a hop rocket/randallizer to continuously pump wort thru hops and back into the BM during the boil, pausing to add hops as needed.

Probably won't work for large quantities of hops of course, but may reduce the amount of trub at the end of the process. Provide some filtering along the way as well.

hot side aeration could play in here, but using gravity flow to fill the rocket and reducing the flow on the pump may make that negligible.
 
Speaking of screens, when I unpacked the Braumeister, and noticed that the factory had replaced the fabric screens with Stainless steel I was pleased. Then I looked at the edges. Knowing how screens tend to come apart, I thought it would not be good to have a stray piece end up in someone’s glass. I know the factory put a lot of thought into their design. But I figured I would have to modify them in some way.
The small weave around the center hole didn’t concern me as much as the outer edge. The first option I thought of was to not use them, and replace them with a frying pan screen. It didn’t take too long to can that idea. Finding one to fit, cut the handle off, nope bad idea.
Then I thought why not fold the edges over to eliminate the chance of them coming apart. It would make a smooth edge making them easier to clean, handle etc. I then looked for an object that would make it easy to fold the edge up and then over. I used a flat piece of metal about 1/8 inch thick, that had a rounded end. I wanted to make sure I didn’t fold over so much of the screen that it would block the holes at the edge of the plate. I gently folded the edge of the screen up all the way around. Then I pushed the edge over. The screen looked great, but what if ….If I fold it over again, the edges will be trapped and should never come apart making the screen even more durable. So I repeated the process again. Now I have a thick edge with different thicknesses of screen (a bit wonky as the British would say). I had just poured myself my last bottle of Stone’s Arrogant Bastard Ale (can’t get it hear in Oklahoma) and thought why not roll the bottle over the edge like a rolling pin. It worked like a charm making the edge flat and smooth. However, when I placed the screen on the malt plate it didn’t lay flat. I really wanted to make the plate/screen setup quick and easy and more importantly not have to worry about stray grains. So I used Stainless steel safety wire and tied the screen down to the plate in a few places. I am a car nut and just happened to have some around. Stainless steel guitar string I am sure could be used as well.

CIMG4815.jpg


CIMG4816.jpg


CIMG4817.jpg


CIMG4818.jpg
 
Redstag said:
Speaking of screens, when I unpacked the Braumeister, and noticed that the factory had replaced the fabric screens with Stainless steel I was pleased. Then I looked at the edges. Knowing how screens tend to come apart, I thought it would not be good to have a stray piece end up in someone’s glass. I know the factory put a lot of thought into their design. But I figured I would have to modify them in some way.
The small weave around the center hole didn’t concern me as much as the outer edge. The first option I thought of was to not use them, and replace them with a frying pan screen. It didn’t take too long to can that idea. Finding one to fit, cut the handle off, nope bad idea.
Then I thought why not fold the edges over to eliminate the chance of them coming apart. It would make a smooth edge making them easier to clean, handle etc. I then looked for an object that would make it easy to fold the edge up and then over. I used a flat piece of metal about 1/8 inch thick, that had a rounded end. I wanted to make sure I didn’t fold over so much of the screen that it would block the holes at the edge of the plate. I gently folded the edge of the screen up all the way around. Then I pushed the edge over. The screen looked great, but what if ….If I fold it over again, the edges will be trapped and should never come apart making the screen even more durable. So I repeated the process again. Now I have a thick edge with different thicknesses of screen (a bit wonky as the British would say). I had just poured myself my last bottle of Stone’s Arrogant Bastard Ale (can’t get it hear in Oklahoma) and thought why not roll the bottle over the edge like a rolling pin. It worked like a charm making the edge flat and smooth. However, when I placed the screen on the malt plate it didn’t lay flat. I really wanted to make the plate/screen setup quick and easy and more importantly not have to worry about stray grains. So I used Stainless steel safety wire and tied the screen down to the plate in a few places. I am a car nut and just happened to have some around. Stainless steel guitar string I am sure could be used as well.

So how does it work? My concern would be the edges as at least in my case, my plate doesn't sit exactly flush to the bottom. I'd be worried that the narrower screen would let some grain by - especially when removing the malt pipe and sparging.
 
Macomachine,
So far I am happy with the results. I think having the SS screen pined to the plate helps. I believe the culprit is the fitment between the plate and the malt pipe. As you know the plates must be able to slide up and down easily in the malt pipe, without hanging up, or scratching the sides. Another reason I modified the SS screens. I Really like your idea of using the paint straining bag. I believe the bag is filling in the space between the malt plat and the pipe thus catching the strays. My question to you is, do you think your bag system would work if you removed the SS screams all together? I believe I read that you brewed your last batch without the top SS screen. That is what got me to thinking about removing both SS screens. I like the idea of the wart being able to flow easily through the plate, putting less strain on the pumps. I know Speidel has picked the pumps that are strong enough for the job. I gave them a good test last week. A pump failier would have been a disaster to say the least. I must say I love this machine, the process, and discussing it with like minded people. It's therapeutic and cheaper than a shrink. Not than I need one...I figure I won't need a shrink if I keep brewing. RRRR
 
Redstag said:
Macomachine,
So far I am happy with the results. I think having the SS screen pined to the plate helps. I believe the culprit is the fitment between the plate and the malt pipe. As you know the plates must be able to slide up and down easily in the malt pipe, without hanging up, or scratching the sides. Another reason I modified the SS screens. I Really like your idea of using the paint straining bag. I believe the bag is filling in the space between the malt plat and the pipe thus catching the strays. My question to you is, do you think your bag system would work if you removed the SS screams all together? I believe I read that you brewed your last batch without the top SS screen. That is what got me to thinking about removing both SS screens. I like the idea of the wart being able to flow easily through the plate, putting less strain on the pumps. I know Speidel has picked the pumps that are strong enough for the job. I gave them a good test last week. A pump failier would have been a disaster to say the least. I must say I love this machine, the process, and discussing it with like minded people. It's therapeutic and cheaper than a shrink. Not than I need one...I figure I won't need a shrink if I keep brewing. RRRR

Don't think you can get away without the top screen as I had a lot more "floaters" the one time I tried it - even tried closing of the top with the bag but just didn't work well with the paint strainer bag anyway. I'm going to give your method a try - if anything, it keeps the fingers from getting stabbed with the edges of that horrid screen. Speidel needs to "edge" their screens with a metal loop and this would all be a moot point!
 
Malomachin said "Speidel needs to "edge" their screens with a metal loop and this would all be a moot point!"

I agree, just like a fry pan splatter screen, only fabricated much better, you know... the German way.

Thumbs up on your shamless plug by the way, nice setup, with nine taps I think you should change your name to Brew Monster.

"Party on Garth"
 
Redstag said:
Malomachin said "Speidel needs to "edge" their screens with a metal loop and this would all be a moot point!"

I agree, just like a fry pan splatter screen, only fabricated much better, you know... the German way.

Thumbs up on your shamless plug by the way, nice setup, with nine taps I think you should change your name to Brew Monster.

"Party on Garth"

Thanks! 9 taps sounds like a lot, but it's really not when you like to brew more than you can drink!

I'm ordering some 10.5 inch steamer racks to see if I can't modify your design a bit. Will post pics when done in a few days. Have a simcoe/Amarillo pale ale to brew and will get some pics and commentary when done.

Prost!
 
... the plates must be able to slide up and down easily in the malt pipe, without hanging up, or scratching the sides....

I have a rubber edge seal for the top mesh and plate which goes around the plate and ties them together. This is a very tight fit and it is not able to move at all, I just push it down the pipe down enough so the sidebar just barely touches it. Two brews with this and no problems, the top plate does not need to move up or down. Not a single grain coming through the seal.

Australians use this a lot, one trimmed the seal thinner so the plate could move, but there seems to be no need for it to move.
 

Thanks DeGarre! Now off to try and find it. Amazon came up blank in generic queries so going to look locally. Is it just a strip that you cut to length?
 
I finally found the time to brew the DFH 90 minute IPA clone. I learned a bunch and will be brewing it again but with some changes.

1. The grain bill for an 11 gallon batch is a monster, 34.5lbs in total. As mentioned in an earlier post I split the mash using both 5 and 10 gallon malt pipes. Not a good idea. Each pipe ended up with a large amount of grain, 11.25 lbs in the 5 gallon mp and 23.25lbs in the 10 gallon mp. I had to stop the process several times removing the top screen and stirring the grist so the pumps could circulate the wort. The wort never cleared.

2. I have been trying to incorporate many of ideas discussed in this thread. To that end, I made an attempt at conditioning the grain before grinding. Not having done this before I think it will take a bit of practice to get this technique to work properly.

3.I had the gap in my crusher set to .042 I believe this was another contributing factor of the wort never clearing. The husks looked to be mostly in tack but I guess with the amount of grain being used as well as the crush not being correct the results were not good.

4. Hops, I should have used a hop gag. The amount of trub was incredible. I only collected 6 of the 11gallons I was expecting.

5. I let the whole mash sit overnight as suggested in an earlier post. Also not a good idea if you want to keep the temperature steady. The temperature was 5 degrees warmer the next morning. I had turned off the pump so as not to have it running all night.

6. My before boil gravity was 1.074. Knowing I wanted to finish with an OG of 1.085
I added some Light DME and sparged. 30 min into boil gravity was 1.078, 1 hour into boil the gravity was 1.081, and finished with 1.091, no need for the DME

7. The cooling process went well I just needed more ice. In 10 min I had the temp down to 42C, 15 min down to 33C, 20 min to 30C and 30 min to 28C.

So next time….
1. I will split the grain bill in half and mash twice using the 10g mp.

2. Condition the grain correctly.

3. Use a wider gap for the crush.

4. Use a hop bag.

5. Brew in one day not two.

6. Have more faith in getting closer to the OG ….no DME

7. Have more ice on hand for the cooling process.

As it sits now I have 6 gallons of very cloudy, wort bubbling away in primary with a healthy dose of WLP 007. Soon it will be time to transfer to secondary, dry hop and filter before kegging.

Or serve the it in German style clay mugs….Live and learn

Note to self...don't over think the damn thing, simplify and just brew.

i made a big hop bag that i put loops on so it hangs from the bar you use to rest the malt pipe on, just floats freely about and cut right down on any hop particulants in the wort, works a treat. easy to add hops and plenty of space to move about freely, and it all comes out neat as you like when you finish the boil.
get a plate chiller dude, changed my life! no more sitting about trying to bring down the temp, straight from boiling to 24 deg C in one run, pitching 10 minutes after the end of the boil.
i reckon a handful of rice hulls is a must for a clear brew and even flow.
 
mandrakemuffly,
Which brand of plate chiller do you have? I bought one and it doesn't work anywhere as well as you describe. Your drop in temperature is impressive.
Are you reticulating ice water through it or is that just using tap water?
Tap water temps are warm here in Oklahoma especially in the summer when outside temps are well over a 100F/38C day after day. Thanks a bunch I appreciate the ideas and feedback.
 
i am from australia but bought a 30 plate chiller from Morebeer in the states, not sure of the model to be honest, i can post it when i get home. i have a garden hose which i coil through an old esky (beer cooler thing) in which i make a salt water ice slurry, that drammatically improved things. that said i get a run to about 34/5 deg just using straight tap water, but keep in mind it's winter out here so my tap water is about 7-10 deg. (All celcius)
has made my brew day a dream, that and my beautiful Brau of course!
 
I actually ordered it from Australia (I am lazy):

http://www.ubrew.com.au/web/index.asp

The seal is similar to the red rubber one that goes under the malt pipe.

I used 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD poly as used in Watts RO systems and slit it along the inside edge of the memorized coil shape.

Worked PERFECTLY for containing the grain.

BUT the mesh screen edges are not going to survive many removals and refits for cleaning.

I sure would like to get the type you have DeGarre - before the mesh gets too damaged. :eek:
 
Worked for me DeGarre.

I registered at the site and sent a request for info about the rubber edge seal a few hours ago.

Thanks.:)
 
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