Blichmann BrewEasy

[SwitchbladeSquirrel]

I think one of the best aspects of the breweasy is access to the mash for gravity testing. I can easily take a reading at 45 minutes or 60 minutes to see if I've reached the gravity I'm shooting for, and either move to the next step early or mash longer if I need to. Cant do that easily with a cooler without mucking up the temps.

 

[DurtyChemist]

I think one of the best aspects of the breweasy is access to the mash for gravity testing. I can easily take a reading at 45 minutes or 60 minutes to see if I've reached the gravity I'm shooting for, and either move to the next step early or mash longer if I need to. Cant do that easily with a cooler without mucking up the temps.

Pull a sample from the outlet of the cooler. No temperature mucking up required.

 

[roncruiser]

I know it's pushing it, but can the 7.5 gallon mashtun hold 20 pounds of grain?

1.25 qt/lb of grain equates to 7.85 gallons of space for 20 pounds of grain. So, that's out of the question.

1 qt/lb of grain equates to 6.6 gallons of space for 20 pounds of grain. This may work.

Anyone with experience with the 7.5 gallon BrewEasy mash tun, please chime in. Am I missing something here? Other than going to a larger alternate mashtun, any tricks or tips to get this to work with the 7.5 gallon?

Thanks!

 

[Hex23]

One thing you may be missing is something I mentioned a few posts ago. With a larger grain bill, you'll need to have more wort in the MT, resulting in less in the BK. If it's too little, it may not cover the coils (assuming you're electric and not gas)

Edit: I guess a similar problem might exist for gas. If there is too little wort in the BK, it might increase the chances of scorching. I'd also guess that it might change the dynamics of the control system (assuming a ToP) enough to make temp control more difficult?

 

[roncruiser]

One thing you may be missing is something I mentioned a few posts ago. With a larger grain bill, you'll need to have more wort in the MT, resulting in less in the BK. If it's too little, it may not cover the coils (assuming you're electric and not gas)

Edit: I guess a similar problem might exist for gas. If there is too little wort in the BK, it might increase the chances of scorching. I'd also guess that it might change the dynamics of the control system (assuming a ToP) enough to make temp control more difficult?

I have the propane model and no Tower of Power

Assuming I use 1 quart/pound of grain. Before re-circulation, I will start off with 5 gallons in the MT by itself. Approximately 3 gallons will be absorbed by the grains leaving 2 gallons of unabsorbed liquid in the MT. The difference of 4.5 gallons will be in the BK heating up and getting pumped back up to the MT when re-circulation starts. Even starting with 2.5 gallons in the MT should still allow enough wort in the brew kettle.

I might be missing something still. Let me know if I am.

This is all assuming about a 6.5 gallon pre-boil volume.

 

[roncruiser]

...or simplify it and do two mashes of 10 pounds each. Then recombine at the end. I lose time, but believe this will be better for conversion and efficiency.

 

[Hex23]

Those numbers seem reasonable to me. So 4.5 gallons in the BK should be plenty.

Just a couple other things you may want to consider:

1) Is your AS in a location that it can handle that much grain. Consider grain interfering with the hinge. Will the led still fit?

2) with a lower water to grist ratio the efficiency might take a hit (but you could compensate with time).

 

[roncruiser]

Those numbers seem reasonable to me. So 4.5 gallons in the BK should be plenty.

Just a couple other things you may want to consider:

1) Is your AS in a location that it can handle that much grain. Consider grain interfering with the hinge. Will the led still fit?

*The autosparge is mounted as high on the MT as possible. I've not used this much grain before so I am unsure if grains will interfere or the lid will still fit.

2) with a lower water to grist ratio the efficiency might take a hit (but you could compensate with time).

*Agreed! I'll likely go with two separate mashes. I've not combined mashes before. Will the wort from the first mash be okay sitting around waiting for the 2nd mash to finish? Should I stick it in the fridge during the 2nd mash?

Thanks for the replies... it really helps.

 

[Hex23]

Closest experience I can share is that I let some spent mash sit for 4 hours and it went sour in that time. Since you're probably talking just a couple hours and the wort is fairly acidic, I doubt you'd have any problems. Probably would want to keep a lid on it though.

 

[Danam404]

Danam404,

Where'd you snatch the sweet Heat resistant gloves you use on the vid?? Link me up to Amazon!!

Thanx!

It may have been you who commented on the video, but theres a link in the comment section now

 

[BierHausPR]

Yep! Thanks for the link!!

 

[BierHausPR]

*Agreed! I'll likely go with two separate mashes. I've not combined mashes before. Will the wort from the first mash be okay sitting around waiting for the 2nd mash to finish? Should I stick it in the fridge during the 2nd mash?

Thanks for the replies... it really helps.

As long as you're sanitary, and keep it well covered, your wort-in-waiting will be OK. Lots of brewers pitch yeast hours later, while they wait for the right temperature. I've pitched 12-14 hours later with no ill effects.

Who says you can't mash some more wort in the meanwhile?

 

[roncruiser]

As long as you're sanitary, and keep it well covered, your wort-in-waiting will be OK. Lots of brewers pitch yeast hours later, while they wait for the right temperature. I've pitched 12-14 hours later with no ill effects.

Who says you can't mash some more wort in the meanwhile?

Two separate mashes may not work.

The volumes won't work out for each separate mash for a 7 gallon pre-boil volume when combined at the end.

Using a much more efficient 1.5 quarts/lb of grain, for 10 pounds of grain, I calculated 4.55 gallons of the MT volume being used up. Of that, about 1.5 gallons will be soaked up by the grain. Leaving 3.05 gallons in the MT. That leaves .45 gallons to be used in the BK for heating before getting pumped back up into the MT. Not good enough.

There won't be enough water in the BK for heating. In other words not enough margin for error. I only need 3.5 gallons of wort from each 10 pound mash. When combined at the end will give me a 7 gallon preboil volume at the proper starting gravity.

I could be wrong, but I'll have to re-think this one. I may have to use my 10 gallon MT cooler in place of the 7.5 gallon Blichman MT for this one and do all 20lbs at once.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[jackers252]

Well I knocked out two brews this weekend on my new Breweasy and I just love it. Thanks to the hints and tips in this thread and the helpful video, I hit my numbers just fine.

It's so much nicer brewing in the basement. Heck, I brewed a batch today in my pajamas. I did a 90 minute mash and 90 minute boil and my brew day, including cleanup, was still quicker than with my old setup doing 60/60 minutes.

 

[30Bones]

Well I knocked out two brews this weekend on my new Breweasy and I just love it. Thanks to the hints and tips in this thread and the helpful video, I hit my numbers just fine.

It's so much nicer brewing in the basement. Heck, I brewed a batch today in my pajamas. I did a 90 minute mash and 90 minute boil and my brew day, including cleanup, was still quicker than with my old setup doing 60/60 minutes.

What are you using for ventilation? That is likely my biggest issue in my basement. Maybe someday

 

[hmattar]

I`m still dialing the ammount of water I need to use in the 10 gallon breweasy.
I`m hitting 70% efficiency, but using the ammount of water Beersmith tells me to, i`m allways ending with more beer and lower gravity.
My last brew beersmith told me to use a total of 17.5 gallons of water (I wanted to finish with 11.5 gallons of beer) but I ended up with 13,8 gallons losing 5 points in gravity.
I will cut the water in 15% of what beersmith tells me to use, but I would love to just fix Beersmith.
What mash profiles are you guys using?

 

[the_mc]

I`m still dialing the ammount of water I need to use in the 10 gallon breweasy.
I`m hitting 70% efficiency, but using the ammount of water Beersmith tells me to, i`m allways ending with more beer and lower gravity.
My last brew beersmith told me to use a total of 17.5 gallons of water (I wanted to finish with 11.5 gallons of beer) but I ended up with 13,8 gallons losing 5 points in gravity.
I will cut the water in 15% of what beersmith tells me to use, but I would love to just fix Beersmith.
What mash profiles are you guys using?

I too tend to have extra wort...my total water volume is around 16.8 Gallons but I do hit my numbers right on target. I use the Single Infusion Mash profiles and this hardware profile:

 

[BierHausPR]

I too tend to have extra wort...my total water volume is around 16.8 Gallons but I do hit my numbers right on target. I use the Single Infusion Mash profiles and this hardware profile:

Same here. Adjust your lauter tun deadspace, your loss to trub and your boiloff rates by doing a "wet run" with only water, and then measuring the true values for each. I'm still tweaking mine.

Remember, heavy hop profiles increase trub loss.

 

[Danam404]

Hi guys, great fermentations just posted the text write-up companion to my video on the BrewEasy. Hope this helps someone!

Dana

http://www.greatfermentations.com/brew-day-tips-blichmann-breweasy/

 

[roncruiser]

Are you guys factoring in grain absorption? You have too right? Is it considered part of lauter tun loss?

 

[BierHausPR]

Are you guys factoring in grain absorption? You have too right? Is it considered part of lauter tun loss?

Yep. Beersmith>Preferences>Advanced Options. Mine is set at 0.96 fl.oz. / oz of grain.

 

[Danam404]

Hi guys!

Thank you again for the overwhelming response on my video, I receive emails and PMs daily with feedback and questions concerning my process. I still have a few to answer, and I will get back to you in a day or two!

The reason I have not been active in answering questions on the thread and elsewhere is this...

Just purchased my first home and have been able to set myself up a proper brewery. The house came with washer/dryer hookups in the garage, which is not conducive to my purposes... So... New hookups were installed in the house and whaddya know, a washer/dryer area makes for an excellent brew space. The 220v electric was converted to a breweasy L6-30 plug, the normal 120v electric is perfect for the pump, a fridge, an air conditioner, and aerator. The washer drain is the best part, the outlet from the plate chiller goes straight down the drain instead of down the driveway.

Have hot and cold water hookups right there is also beautiful. My water comes out of the hot side at 140 degrees thru the mounted filter, so it's only a quick ramp to strike temp, and the cold side works great for other general tasks and chilling.

Gave her a test run today... What a great setup. Cleanup to tear down in 4.5 hours, and 72% efficiency on a nice little batch of amber (15 gallons).

Our housewarming party cleaned me out of all 35 gallons I had on hand, so the restocking process begins!

Check out the pics attached.

Cheers!

Dana

 

[dooman333]

Looks great danam i have a space with similar hook ups. Cant wait to get started!

 

[strangr419]

Out of curiosity for those of you who have the therminator/plate chiller and march pump set up, how often are you taking the pump apart and cleaning it. I've recently lost a couple batches to wild yeast infection in secondary (primary came out looking and smelling great) but was musing today about whether it's time for me to clean out the pump.
Also, what is your protocol for the chiller, do you bake it to sanitize it ever? Every brewday before I get started I run hot PBW through everything, then water, then star san...then I begin to brew. What do you all do?
I'm tossing all my racking equipment and two plastic big mouth bubblers in hopes that this will avoid future lost batches. Brewing this weekend so I'm hoping it all goes well, if I lose another batch I'm going to lost my S!@#t.

Danam, set up looks killer!

 

[richl025]

Not to try & stir up anything.... but have you thought about omitting the secondary? I'm still a newbie really, but Ive noticed no difference to skipping it, and many people much more experienced than I am have commented that it is only another chance for oxidation and infection....

 

[Danam404]

Out of curiosity for those of you who have the therminator/plate chiller and march pump set up, how often are you taking the pump apart and cleaning it. I've recently lost a couple batches to wild yeast infection in secondary (primary came out looking and smelling great) but was musing today about whether it's time for me to clean out the pump.
Also, what is your protocol for the chiller, do you bake it to sanitize it ever? Every brewday before I get started I run hot PBW through everything, then water, then star san...then I begin to brew. What do you all do?
I'm tossing all my racking equipment and two plastic big mouth bubblers in hopes that this will avoid future lost batches. Brewing this weekend so I'm hoping it all goes well, if I lose another batch I'm going to lost my S!@#t.

Danam, set up looks killer!

Thanks man!

The way I see it, the pump is always on the hot side, so there shouldn't be any sanitation concerns.

I give the whole system a few cycles of hot pbw after a brew, then an overnight soak, with the therminator backflushing, and that seems to work pretty well for me.

I also tried doing some recirculating thru the plate chiller and back into the kettle using unchilled ground water thru the therminator, and was able to chill the wort down to below 90 degrees with that method... Worked pretty good!

 

[Freddyj123]

Hi guys!

Thank you again for the overwhelming response on my video, I receive emails and PMs daily with feedback and questions concerning my process. I still have a few to answer, and I will get back to you in a day or two!

The reason I have not been active in answering questions on the thread and elsewhere is this...

Just purchased my first home and have been able to set myself up a proper brewery. The house came with washer/dryer hookups in the garage, which is not conducive to my purposes... So... New hookups were installed in the house and whaddya know, a washer/dryer area makes for an excellent brew space. The 220v electric was converted to a breweasy L6-30 plug, the normal 120v electric is perfect for the pump, a fridge, an air conditioner, and aerator. The washer drain is the best part, the outlet from the plate chiller goes straight down the drain instead of down the driveway.

Have hot and cold water hookups right there is also beautiful. My water comes out of the hot side at 140 degrees thru the mounted filter, so it's only a quick ramp to strike temp, and the cold side works great for other general tasks and chilling.

Gave her a test run today... What a great setup. Cleanup to tear down in 4.5 hours, and 72% efficiency on a nice little batch of amber (15 gallons).

Our housewarming party cleaned me out of all 35 gallons I had on hand, so the restocking process begins!

Check out the pics attached.

Cheers!

Dana

Dang, what an efficient (and attractive) brew space.....very clean look and bomb equipment choices.

 

[Danam404]

Posted this on the general forum but I mostly only visit this thread, so figured I'd pop it up here:

Got a chance to do something cool today. Brought in over 100 tons of DHL Asia Freight into Cincinnati, nonstop on this Boeing 747-8. The featured cargo was some stainless steel toys for all the girls and boys from our friends at Ss Brew Tech. Cheers from Hong Kong!View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433530314.294782.jpg

 

[roncruiser]

Posted this on the general forum but I mostly only visit this thread, so figured I'd pop it up here:

Got a chance to do something cool today. Brought in over 100 tons of DHL Asia Freight into Cincinnati, nonstop on this Boeing 747-8. The featured cargo was some stainless steel toys for all the girls and boys from our friends at Ss Brew Tech. Cheers from Hong Kong!View attachment 282783

Wrong thread. This is a Blichmann Breweasy thread.

 

[Danam404]

Wrong thread. This is a Blichmann Breweasy thread.

Wrong language, this was a post in clearly written English. Thanks though.

 

[roncruiser]

Clearly written, but incorrect thread. The discussion is clearly about Blichman Breweasy's. But Ss does offer cool product.

 

[gotbags-10]

As far as I'm concerned this is Danam's thread so he can post whatever he likes

 

[roncruiser]

Sorry. You make a valid point. BUT, I see this thread as more a community thread than one persons thread. It's more of an interactive tool than anything else. I don't remember who posts what most of the time. It's obvious I didn't know who started the thread, and likely the unseen majority doesn't care either. Didn't mean to offend you.

 

[Danam404]

Sorry. You make a valid point. BUT, I see this thread as more a community thread than one persons thread. It's more of an interactive tool than anything else. I don't remember who posts what most of the time. It's obvious I didn't know who started the thread, and likely the unseen majority doesn't care either. Didn't mean to offend you.

these type of folks remind me of volunteer sheriff's deputies. the forum will survive without your policing, rest easy and move on.

 

[roncruiser]

these type of folks remind me of volunteer sheriff's deputies. the forum will survive without your policing, rest easy and move on.

No policing intended. Rested and easy. Like I said, didnt mean to offend the OP. Misunderstanding and bad timing. Moving on.

 

[dooman333]

Dude flew a 747 full off stainless brew porn. All threads apply. Might even be boneyard worthy.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Hi guys, great fermentations just posted the text write-up companion to my video on the BrewEasy. Hope this helps someone!

Dana

http://www.greatfermentations.com/brew-day-tips-blichmann-breweasy/

Thanks for the video, but your advice on water chemistry was very very questionable at best. Some highlights: adding a big handful of minerals at dough-in largely consisting of baking soda and chalk, checking pH at mash temps, seeing no alarm bells at a pH of 6.2, and adding lactic acid to bring it down. Virtually every aspect of that is highly problematic. I suspect the root of the problem is trying to use minerals to achieve your pH target, a strategy long ago pushed by John Palmer that is a spectacularly failure.

Sorry to sound so critical, but there was just really really bad advice there.

First, when using the spreadsheets, use acids to control pH. Minerals are for taste. NEVER include baking soda or chalk in your plan. Chalk is useless, and baking soda should only be used if you measure a too-low pH, and even then it's questionable. A big handful of any minerals is a major red flag. Measure pH at ROOM temp. A pH of 6.2 means you did something very very very wrong. Adding lactic that late is not at all ideal, as most conversion happens in the first 15-20 mins. One more nit: quoting authority that 100 ppm Ca is desirable. Truth is that many beers (like lagers) are great at Ca of 20-30.

I hope this helps. Don't worry, we're all still learning.

 

[MtnSoul]

I suspect the root of the problem is trying to use minerals to achieve your pH target, a strategy long ago pushed by John Palmer that is a spectacularly failure.

Sorry to sound so critical, but there was just really really bad advice there.

First, when using the spreadsheets, use acids to control pH. Minerals are for taste. NEVER include baking soda or chalk in your plan. Chalk is useless...

1. Where and when was this documented as a failure?
2. Chalk is useless? Please cite your source.

FWIW: Danam's video has extremely helped my BrewEasy operation and efficiency. With a 10 g G1 Gas setup, I now regularly achieve 75-80% efficiency by utilizing Palmer's Spreadsheet; after testing my water with a LaMotte Brewlab to adjust for Residual Alkalinity for a given beer style relative to my native water profile.

Palmer's spreadsheet has made my brewing more predictable with regards to pH for a given beer style, and nearly perfected my mineral AND acid additions.



#brewstrong

 

[SpeedYellow]

1. Where and when was this documented as a failure?

2. Chalk is useless? Please cite your source.



FWIW: Danam's video has extremely helped my BrewEasy operation and efficiency. With a 10 g G1 Gas setup, I now regularly achieve 75-80% efficiency by utilizing Palmer's Spreadsheet; after testing my water with a LaMotte Brewlab to adjust for Residual Alkalinity for a given beer style relative to my native water profile.



Palmer's spreadsheet has made my brewing more predictable with regards to pH for a given beer style, and nearly perfected my mineral AND acid additions.







#brewstrong

Both Palmer's idea of chasing pH with minerals and his nomographs were discredited years ago. Heck, even Palmer abandoned them! Chalk does not readily dissolve in water, so it does little for your mash (may even cause problems during fermentation).

On both of these issues, please check out the Brew Science forum. You won't find a single soul preaching Palmer's old method or tossing chalk into your mash.

 

[Danam404]

Thanks for the video, but your advice on water chemistry was very very questionable at best. Some highlights: adding a big handful of minerals at dough-in largely consisting of baking soda and chalk, checking pH at mash temps, seeing no alarm bells at a pH of 6.2, and adding lactic acid to bring it down. Virtually every aspect of that is highly problematic. I suspect the root of the problem is trying to use minerals to achieve your pH target, a strategy long ago pushed by John Palmer that is a spectacularly failure.

Sorry to sound so critical, but there was just really really bad advice there.

First, when using the spreadsheets, use acids to control pH. Minerals are for taste. NEVER include baking soda or chalk in your plan. Chalk is useless, and baking soda should only be used if you measure a too-low pH, and even then it's questionable. A big handful of any minerals is a major red flag. Measure pH at ROOM temp. A pH of 6.2 means you did something very very very wrong. Adding lactic that late is not at all ideal, as most conversion happens in the first 15-20 mins. One more nit: quoting authority that 100 ppm Ca is desirable. Truth is that many beers (like lagers) are great at Ca of 20-30.

I hope this helps. Don't worry, we're all still learning.

I appreciate your condescending constructive criticism.

A few points:

-The pH meter I use has auto-temp correction. So I'll go ahead and measure at the temperature of my pleasing.

-Yes, you are correct. I did something VERY wrong. In fact, I might have even heard the "alarm bells"! I forgot to erase the values in my spreadsheet from my previous brew, and it caused a pretty big error in my calculations. Now, I could've fixed it, and omitted it from my video pretending I was infallible and it never happened, but I left my mistake in there to highlight the importance of buying a pH meter and actually using it. If you'd listened instead of jumping right on here to criticize, you'd have known that.

-I don't think at any point I advocated adding "handfuls" of minerals at dough-in. Any water modifying I do is before dough in, save for maybe a few small tweaks with acids shortly after dough in.

-You can call my methods an epic failure, problematic, or whatever other snarky adjective you'd like to put on it, but I made it very clear that this is just my way of doing things, it is not gospel, nor do I claim to be some type of water chemistry authority. I was asked to make the video because I've had some pretty decent success with this system, I'm not out there pushing my water chemistry knowledge on people, it's just how I do it. In fact I only have a very basic understanding of the science behind all of it... But with my process, I'm able to push out some pretty tastey beers and hit efficiency numbers that I'm very satisfied with... If you've got a better way of doing it, im happy for you.

I'm glad the video was helpful for some folks, and if you disagree or dislike what you saw, my apologies... I'm still learning.