Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

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i also add spray malt DME to the boil as necessary for bigger beers. i have considered adding it to the mash to give the amylases a crack at it, but the DME i get is consistent and gives good results so i have never done it. bear in mind i use it maybe up to 8% of the fermentables
 
Today the fan is located at the end of the pipe. The bend is of steel (not plastic like in the picture) and I don't have a plastic connection to the hood...

...yes, plastic melts.

No risk of DMS getting back in the boil with this system. The steam cools down at the bend and drips down the other end as water.

sorry to repeat but i think my reply above got lost. coldjazz at the low point of your pipe where the condensed water collects do you have a valve to run it off? i assume you mean that your fan goes at the far end of that pipe and you vent to outside?
 
sorry to repeat but i think my reply above got lost. coldjazz at the low point of your pipe where the condensed water collects do you have a valve to run it off? i assume you mean that your fan goes at the far end of that pipe and you vent to outside?

I don't think your response got lost - please check post #2400 :)

But the fan is, like you say, installed at the far end of the pipe. I tried to install it at the bend (i.e. at the beginning of the "run off pipe") – but the whole fan melted!
 
I don't think your response got lost - please check post #2400 :)

But the fan is, like you say, installed at the far end of the pipe. I tried to install it at the bend (i.e. at the beginning of the "run off pipe") – but the whole fan melted!

no indeed- we posted at the same time!
cheers for the info.
 
Hey everyone, I am new to the forum.

I just ordered a 20L Braumeister should be here Wednesday. I guess I have to modify the plug, I have tried to read every post here and there is a lot of discussion about this electrical plug.

From what I gather I can just modify the plug to fit a standard extension cord and then modify an extension cord to fit whatever 220 or higher outlet I have access to, right?

As long as the outlet measures at or over 220 Volts with a Voltmeter I should be able to use that outlet, right?

I have an A/C unit that plugs into an interesting outlet that measures at 240 volts and has a 30amp breaker that I am considering using.

Thanks for any help and this is a great thread and great forum.

Almost forgot, I am in the US.
 
Welcome to the Forum and the BM club!

The safest thing to do is get an electrician. That being said, the BM only has 3 wires going into it. In Germany, I believe it is a ground, a 220v, and a neutral. Our 220v lines actually use two 110v lines out of phase to get 220v. We also have a ground. I recommend checking with a multimeter, even if an electrician sets it up. Testing each upper hole on the BM cord against the lower (ground) should read 110v. Testing them against each other should read 220v. (You may get as high at 120 and 240 respectively.) There is a lot of info in the thread, but it is becoming quite the haystack to find your needles. Here is a new forum just for the BM:

https://forum.braumeisters.net

Some folks have gone ahead and had the European Shuko receptacle wired into the house, and then you can just use the BM cord that comes with it.


Disclaimer: I wired my own BM, but I am not an electrician. If you don't know what you are doing, it is worth getting an electrician to protect not just your $2000 investment, but moreso your life and property. This post is intended to be informative only, and not directional.
 
Just to chime in here.. I brew with a Speidel at least once a month. I also brew using a very manual process with no automation. This past Saturday, i combined old fashion mashing in a tun with the simplicity of a Braumeister for the wort boil to produce one of the highest gravity beers I have ever done. Now, I can't talk to the results quite yet, but, i'm thinking you really don't have to be an extremist one way or the other.

If I want to do a medium bodied sessionable beer, the Braumeister is a great way to go. Small 5 gallon batches are simple and remove a lot of the manual process. They are easy to clean and with the 20L model, I can get about 13 pounds of all grain.

I wouldn't entirely give up either just to make a point. I enjoy creating beers using old techniques as much as I do having friends over and letting the system work for me.

I have to admit, I am not as familiar with the Big Brutus System and I have seen some elaborate builds that I could probably never recreate. The main thing is to remember to enjoy the craft as much as the science..

:)

Mike
 
mike i totally agree with you. you bring up one thing that i hear a lot (from people who haven't used a BM) and which bugs me, so i'll engage in a little teambuilding rant, this idea that the BM an automatic beer generator and that you are cutting out the craft of brewing by using one. these people therefore must consider that recipe design, including selecting mash temp profile, ingredient selection, ingredient preparation, including storing and crushing grains, mashing and lautering, boiling and hop mastery, yeast selection and preparation, proper healthy fermentation, storage or aging, intelligent kegging or bottling, sanitation are not the 'craft' of brewing, and that the only 'craft' of brewing is how your temperature is changed during mashing, and in what direction your wort runs through the mash. because those are the only differences with the BM!
rant finished, mike can you detail your hybrid mash procedure?
 
mike can you detail your hybrid mash procedure?

It's really quite simple..
Using the Braumeister, I heat my mash water, 4.5 gallons, to the target temp. While that is heating I am going to crack the grains needed for the batch. I use a standard homemade rubbermaid 10 gallon cooler converted to mash tun. Standard hardware, no recirculating.

Once the water has reached strike temp, I drain the BM into the tun and begin the mash process. This is no different than if you mashed without a BM.

Meanwhile, I heat 4 more gallons in the BM to fly sparge.

Once my mashing time is complete with a few manual recycles, I then use the BM and drain into my container for the fly sparge. Again, no different than heating with a pot.

After sparging into a container, I transfer the wort into the BM. From there, it is just like any boil. Adding hops etc..

Couple of notes.. I only do this if the all grain recipe is calling for more than 13 Lbs of grain. This is usually a high gravity beer that I want to brew. It is still only going to give me a 5 gallon batch. Just at a much higher OG. The last one I did followed a Hopslam clone recipe that I really wanted to try and ended up being about 19 Lbs of all grain plus 1.5 Lbs or honey.

After adding all the hops and at flameout. I ran the batch through a plate chiller and measured 1.096. :drunk:

The hardest part of this is transferring the Wort from the bucket back into the BM. I have no easy way of doing that. I just used a clear plastic pitcher for sparging, draining from the BM and flowed the Wort into a 30L pail to dump into the BM for the boil.

If I just want a reasonably mid level or lower ABV beer, I totally use the BM.

And just for the record, I still do extracts and kits. I don't feel any shame in doing that. I do not aspire to be the worlds greatest brewer or own my own brewery. I like beer.. And NO it is not cheaper. But it occupies the downtime.. :):)

Mike
 
Sounds quite complicated, actually...

If I brew high-gravity, that's what I usually do:

a.) Set the BM @ 66-67C (gotta give up the step mash) for two hours.

b.) Mash half the grains for an hour, pause the BM, lift up the malt pipe and sparge with ~5L

c.) Dump out the old grains, rinse the malt pipe, re-insert it into the BM and refill it with the other half of the grains.

d.) Unclick the pause button and then proceed as usual.

You would get the same result AND have fewer things to wash at the end of the brew day :mug:
 
b.) Mash half the grains for an hour, pause the BM, lift up the malt pipe and sparge with ~5L
c.) Dump out the old grains, rinse the malt pipe, re-insert it into the BM and refill it with the other half of the grains.

By doing this you could basically use any amount of grain weight :)
What I mean is that you, for example, could do 6kg malt for 60 minutes, then another 6 kg and finally 6 kg more (18 kg!). That would be a HUGE beer.

Only flaw is that it's making your brew day about 1 hour longer per 6 kg malt you add – even though I think you could do the mash for less than one hour (40 minutes maybe).


d.) Unclick the pause button and then proceed as usual.

Paus button?

Do you mean that you first press LNG and MANU at the same time for a second or two (so that the unit leaves automatic mode and enters "paus mode"). Then you can choose between Continue or Abort (I think these are the two choises?).
 
By doing this you could basically use any amount of grain weight :)

Exactly!! BM can brew the biggest meanest RIS that one can possibly imagine! :drunk:

Only flaw is that it's making your brew day about 1 hour longer per 6 kg malt you add – even though I think you could do the mash for less than one hour (40 minutes maybe).

Some of the best things in life are worth waiting for :mug: And don't forget that 2-3 month conditioning.

Paus button?

I certainly used that term loosely - as you correctly pointed out, I meant switching to manual mode.
 
Instead of pausing, have any of you just unplugged the unit?

I did it a couple of times (for cleaning purposes) and the BM came up wih a 'abort or continue' message. I'm thinking this would be an 'easy' way to stop and continue the brew? Any disadvantages people know of?
 
Instead of pausing, have any of you just unplugged the unit?

I have - unintentionally (power outage). The Continue function saved the day.

But personally I rather press two buttons instead of unplugging the unit.
 
Guys, I'd like to share a lifehack about the Heat Insulation Jacket for BMs:

One could save a fortune by getting the foil backed camping mat for $13
http://amzn.com/B00G238F74

And cut out the holes for handles/valve in 5 minutes instead of paying the $100+ for the original version.

The standard size mat available in Russia (for just $5 :) ) fits perfectly well for 50L BM

Thanks - got a photo by any chance?

I considered doing that, but I am afraid that the plastic part of the mat is not high-temp grade, thus it may start melting during the boil time.

Here's the photo. Plastic part holds well (as Braumeister is not getting any hotter than 100C anyway)

 
The other option is to use a piece of insulating foam with aluminium foil backing that is used on the inside of car engine bonnets (helps to be a car nut as well as a home brewer). This works well for me and was much cheaper. I just use occy straps to hold the foam in place. Not as an elegant looking solution as the camping mat.

The insulating jacket will reduce the temp difference between the temp sensor at the bottom of the BM (which is used to regulate the temperature by turning the heater on and off) and the temp of the wort at the top. I always use a mashin at around 35 C (I am an Australian user) and highly recommend this to ensure that the temperature is always gradually increased (a few degrees drop during mashin will not make any difference to the conversion). At conversion temps (62 to 72 C) with the insulating jacket I find the temp of the wort at the top is approx. 1 C higher than the set temperature, so I just set the temp 1 C lower.
 
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, just been busy. Anyways, I brewed an imperial ipa this weekend and thought I'd post some pics of my setup, might give some food for thought. Brew day went ok, although the hops clogged up the works a little ( there was a pound of hops for a 6 gallon batch in this recipe!)

First my motorized MM3 mill:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392047400.141779.jpg

The BM50 and exhaust fan (I brew in my basement in the winter):
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392047463.252202.jpg

I use an electric hoist to lift the malt tube:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392047507.301916.jpg

The wort (nice & clear!):
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392047557.343768.jpg

My transfer & cooling setup (march pump, hop rocket, & plate chiller w/oxygenator):
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392047627.746921.jpg

And finally my 7 gallon fermenter in the fridge w/temp controller):
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392047723.241778.jpg

Imperial IPA should be ready end of March, will post how it came out, can't wait!!



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tequilatom - excellent set up indeed!

Just curious - what is that little white box with a hose plugged into it that's sitting on top of the BM ?
 
At conversion temps (62 to 72 C) with the insulating jacket I find the temp of the wort at the top is approx. 1 C higher than the set temperature, so I just set the temp 1 C lower.

Interesting. I find the temperature to be 1 degree lower than the set temperature at the top.

When did you get your BM? (thinking that it might be a newer version than the one I have).

Do you have the 20L or the 50L version?
 
tequilatom - excellent set up indeed!

Just curious - what is that little white box with a hose plugged into it that's sitting on top of the BM ?

It is a canister style water filter using a carbon cartridge (to remove chlorine etc from tap water) Just can't see the rest of it in the photo because it sits inside on the edge.
 
Thanks for the photos. It looks like a nice set up. Could you post more concerning connections to BM and explanation of how you run your pump? Thanks
 
Thanks for the photos. It looks like a nice set up. Could you post more concerning connections to BM and explanation of how you run your pump? Thanks
 
Jette,

Here are some closer pics of the connections. Most are 1/2" stainless quick disconnects.

This one is of the BM50. I removed the original valve, and got an adapter on Amazon (specifically a Merit Brass Stainless Hex Bushing 3/4" NPT male x 1/2" NPT female)
There is a post somewhere in this thread about this, you need to use a bit of teflon tape, and I also added 2 Amico 23mm x 30mm x 3.5mm silicone washers. This allows you to attach 1/2" NPT female quick disconnect:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392176041.794701.jpg
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392176645.273530.jpg


It then goes through a hose with quick disconnects to the march pump:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392176668.391903.jpg


The march pump connects to the hop rocket with yet another quick disconnect, and it connects to the plate chiller with the same:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392176689.421599.jpg
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392176717.594529.jpg



The brass disconnects on the plate chiller are for the water hookup

Then a hose hooks up to the plate chiller and ends up delivering the wort to the fermenter.

I built the wood stand so everything lines up and is supported when connected.

I use a foot pedal on/off switch to turn the pump on or off as needed.

Hope that answers your questions. If not, let me know and I'll reply as soon as I can.


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I had to share a photo from today's brew day showing one of the rarely talked about benefits of the Braumeister. That's an entire brew day's worth of stuff (minus the Braumeister itself) in the dishwasher. Throw in a little PBW and done. Only one kettle to wash, just like the extract days :cool:

Robert

IMG_20140215_153630310.jpg
 
I had to share a photo from today's brew day showing one of the rarely talked about benefits of the Braumeister. That's an entire brew day's worth of stuff (minus the Braumeister itself) in the dishwasher. Throw in a little PBW and done. Only one kettle to wash, just like the extract days :cool:

Robert


What I do is when the brew day is over I take a shower and take all the stuff except the BM itself with me into the wet room and start rinsing and scrubbing.:ban:

Two birds with one stone...
 
Looked through the thread and didn't see any references to the question I have about the Braumeister... Is the pump plastic? Stainless? Just curious about the construction as I've gone to great lengths to go all stainless in my current brewery.
 
Looked through the thread and didn't see any references to the question I have about the Braumeister... Is the pump plastic? Stainless? Just curious about the construction as I've gone to great lengths to go all stainless in my current brewery.


Here is a pic of my pumps on the BM50. The impeller body looks to be brass, the connections are stainless
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392849198.737047.jpg


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
Interesting - my pump is of a different brand.

Wonder if Speidel uses different pumps for 20L vs 50L models.

Pump side view.jpg
 
if i remember from somewhere (lost in the middle) in the thread years ago, they changed the pump model at some point. no idea if the 20 and 50s use / used the same pump though...
 
Thanks for the photos and information, that is very helpful. Interesting that the pumps are different! Does the impeller appear to be plastic? Polysulphone?

Which one of yours is newer?
 
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