Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

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Soviet said:
I'm really torn between these two options for using with my Braumeister

Plate Chiller - Pros: small/portable, cools super fast; Cons: Can't see when little bits are stuck in it, nightmare to take apart and wash and put back together.

Immersion Chiller: Pros: Good surface area with 50'-70' coil, cools relatively quick. One can just hose it down to keep it clean, it gets sanitized each time it's immersed in the boil. Cons: it's bulky, probably wastes more water.

Cost seems to be pretty close when comparing a 70' coil with fittings and say a 50 plate chiller.

What's your take on it, and what do you use personally?
Click to expand...

You might also consider a convoluted counterflow chiller. Mine chills almost as fast as a plate chiller. Given that it's a continuous pipe, there aren't many places where debris can become trapped.
 
Soviet said:
I'm really torn between these two options for using with my Braumeister

Plate Chiller - Pros: small/portable, cools super fast; Cons: Can't see when little bits are stuck in it, nightmare to take apart and wash and put back together.

Immersion Chiller: Pros: Good surface area with 50'-70' coil, cools relatively quick. One can just hose it down to keep it clean, it gets sanitized each time it's immersed in the boil. Cons: it's bulky, probably wastes more water.

Cost seems to be pretty close when comparing a 70' coil with fittings and say a 50 plate chiller.

What's your take on it, and what do you use personally?
Click to expand...

I've used both and settled with the 1/2" copper IC. All the Pro's you stated. Get a inexpensive pond pump and use that in an ice bath in a cooler and just recirculate the ice water thru the chiller and back to the cooler. Start with a little water and mostly ice and as the ice melts you will have more water.

If you plan ahead and freeze some 2 liter bottles filled with water. you water/ice waste is minimal and you can reuse them over and over.
 
Yambor44 said:
I've used both and settled with the 1/2" copper IC. All the Pro's you stated. Get a inexpensive pond pump and use that in an ice bath in a cooler and just recirculate the ice water thru the chiller and back to the cooler. Start with a little water and mostly ice and as the ice melts you will have more water.

If you plan ahead and freeze some 2 liter bottles filled with water. you water/ice waste is minimal and you can reuse them over and over.
Click to expand...

I already bought a morebeer march pump :). I was going to use that to whirlpool the wort back into the kettle—I want all that trub in a neat cone in the middle. Yambor, when you still had your 50L, did you whirlpool? Anyone else whirlpool with either the 20L or 50L?
 
Soviet said:
I already bought a morebeer march pump :). I was going to use that to whirlpool the wort back into the kettle—I want all that trub in a neat cone in the middle. Yambor, when you still had your 50L, did you whirlpool? Anyone else whirlpool with either the 20L or 50L?
Click to expand...

No need to whirlpool. Just run your pumps at "flameout". It doesn't hurt to stir the wort with a sanatized spoon or just grab the chiller and move it up and down to break stratification.

For me the reason to get the BM was to simplify and duplication. Don't try to over think it or create more work for yourself. It's all about ROI (Return On Investment). I found that sometimes I was trying to add this or that to my "brewery" to make "better beer" and/or simplify my day, and i was really adding another process and item to clean....YMMV.
 
Yambor44 said:
... Don't try to over think it or create more work for yourself. It's all about ROI (Return On Investment). I found that sometimes I was trying to add this or that to my "brewery" to make "better beer" and/or simplify my day, and i was really adding another process and item to clean...
Click to expand...

This.

/thread.
 
beradthefish said:
Who has a 20l and wants a 50l? I may be open to negotiating a trade. I have the short malt pipe, the jacket, and the copper lid. I will probably never use the full capacity, haven't so far. You can see my machine in previous posts.
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This offer still stands!
 
Those of you who have done the copper diptube mod—can this be done without soldering/welding pieces together? And another question—the manual says put the water in first, but is there any reason one couldn't put the grain into the malt tube first?
 
Soviet said:
Those of you who have done the copper diptube mod—can this be done without soldering/welding pieces together? And another question—the manual says put the water in first, but is there any reason one couldn't put the grain into the malt tube first?
Click to expand...

Well i don't see a reason why you couldn't do it that way the only thing it is that you'll have top heat up te water first in a different vessel
I don't think dough in at room temp it's a goog idea. Anyways be aire that it is filled with water before you turn on the device. A simple question why do you want top do it that way?
 
Obliviousbrew said:
Well i don't see a reason why you couldn't do it that way the only thing it is that you'll have top heat up te water first in a different vessel
I don't think dough in at room temp it's a goog idea. Anyways be aire that it is filled with water before you turn on the device. A simple question why do you want top do it that way?
Click to expand...

I apologize for the spelling my phone it's in autocorrect and in spanish its a PITA
 
Obliviousbrew said:
Well i don't see a reason why you couldn't do it that way the only thing it is that you'll have top heat up te water first in a different vessel
I don't think dough in at room temp it's a goog idea. Anyways be aire that it is filled with water before you turn on the device. A simple question why do you want top do it that way?
Click to expand...

I was just curious... so does anyone know if a diptube can be made without welding/soldering?
 
you can't fill the malt tube first because of the way it gets assembled into the system... i would be concerned about alignment and the possibility of lifting up the bottom screen as you lower a tube full of grain into the equipment... the center pole would need to come through the hold in the bottom screen and up through the packed grain without problem to make this work...

you could probably make a dip tube without welding if you can find an elbow and a piece of tubing to attach the elbow to the drain tubing for a good friction fit.
 
i'm in the club!! enough with the pleasantries let's get to the questions, i am going to break in my 'wildly expensive beer robot' (swmbo) with a witbier. it has nearly 50% flaked wheat in the recipe but i couldn't find rice hulls anywhere, suggestions/comments? is it likely to channel/squirt? should i pause and mix during the mash? thanks

DSC_8668.jpg
 
Hi and congratulations! A great investment for a trouble free brewing future!

I haven't brewed with flaked wheat and don't know how it behaves compared to raw wheat grain. My only two really stuck sparges in the BM was two attempts at witbiers with 50/50% grists of Pils malt and raw wheat. I would NOT recommend that for any first user!
Why not brew a "normal", 100% malt beer to get to know the system?
 
diptubes...

On my last couple of batches I've been leaving the chilled wort in the kettle for an hour or more to let the hops and trub settle before transferring to the bucket. The trub settles nicely to about a cm below the hole for the tap. I just need to tilt the unit (20L)
a liitle bit to get the last bit of clear wort out. A dip tube would have transferred half of the trub, so I don't want one.
 
beefeater said:
diptubes...

On my last couple of batches I've been leaving the chilled wort in the kettle for an hour or more to let the hops and trub settle before transferring to the bucket. The trub settles nicely to about a cm below the hole for the tap. I just need to tilt the unit (20L)
a liitle bit to get the last bit of clear wort out. A dip tube would have transferred half of the trub, so I don't want one.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% +1 on that. No dip tube. Don´t want one. Tiltting the 50l unit it´s harder than the 20 but hey what´s that handle in the back of the kettle for anyways?
 
rawlus said:
you can't fill the malt tube first because of the way it gets assembled into the system... i would be concerned about alignment and the possibility of lifting up the bottom screen as you lower a tube full of grain into the equipment... the center pole would need to come through the hold in the bottom screen and up through the packed grain without problem to make this work...

you could probably make a dip tube without welding if you can find an elbow and a piece of tubing to attach the elbow to the drain tubing for a good friction fit.
Click to expand...

I disagree i think it can be done (no without a lot of trouble) the only reason not to do this it´s that I don´t see the point in doing such a thing.
 
rawlus said:
you can't fill the malt tube first because of the way it gets assembled into the system... i would be concerned about alignment and the possibility of lifting up the bottom screen as you lower a tube full of grain into the equipment... the center pole would need to come through the hold in the bottom screen and up through the packed grain without problem to make this work...

you could probably make a dip tube without welding if you can find an elbow and a piece of tubing to attach the elbow to the drain tubing for a good friction fit.
Click to expand...

I disagree i think it can be done (no without a lot of trouble) the only reason not to do this it´s that I don´t see the point in doing it.
 
Has anyone done any smaller scale batches in the 20L? I am thinking like 2.5-3 gallons. I love having variety in the fridge and am the only drinker in the house. Any reason why it wouldn't work?
 
snurrig said:
Has anyone done any smaller scale batches in the 20L? I am thinking like 2.5-3 gallons. I love having variety in the fridge and am the only drinker in the house. Any reason why it wouldn't work?
Click to expand...

The pump struggling to push small amount of wort up the malt pipe?
 
beefeater said:
Why not brew a "normal", 100% malt beer to get to know the system?
Click to expand...

it's a good question... i probably should. however with spring upon us i am stubbornly set on getting this witbier recipe into the fermenter, and the starter is ready today! i haven't decided what to do and haven't been able to find anyone who has used such a high % flaked wheat, unless there was in one of the previous 70000 posts which i read through and tried to commit to my porous memory
 
dinnerstick said:
it's a good question... i probably should. however with spring upon us i am stubbornly set on getting this witbier recipe into the fermenter, and the starter is ready today! i haven't decided what to do and haven't been able to find anyone who has used such a high % flaked wheat, unless there was in one of the previous 70000 posts which i read through and tried to commit to my porous memory
Click to expand...

I just did a hefeweizen, 50% wheat malt and 50% pale ale, no problems. No wort shooting out, no channeling. But when you mash in, spend 10-15 minutes to mix it all in nice and smooth. so the grain is thoroughly wet without any dry dough lumps.
 
i wonder if flaked and malted wheat behave similarly in such high percentages. what sort of mash schedule did you do? beta glucan rest? thanks
 
dinnerstick said:
wouldn't the pipe fill up and the pump run dry?
Click to expand...

Mate, you're going mile a minute, slow down and first make sure you understand how the mashing as regards to the pump works ie how the wort/water moves: sucking in from outside the pipe, pushing it inside and up the pipe, over the edge, in circulation. If the pump can't push up, pump piping would stay flooded right?

It is a simple process and you're trying to make it complicated, unnecessarily.;)
 
i understand the process fine (although admittedly not yet from firsthand experience), that previous post was just in reply to someone who wanted to fill the machine halfway and try to run a smaller mash, in which case i asked, if all the wort ends up in the pipe but unable to reach the top due to small volume, there is nothing left outside the pipe for the pump to suck... ok, labored point, too much pumping and sucking!
 
dinnerstick said:
I am stubbornly set on getting this witbier recipe into the fermenter, and the starter is ready today! i haven't decided what to do and haven't been able to find anyone who has used such a high % flaked wheat
Click to expand...

i wonder if flaked and malted wheat behave similarly in such high percentages.
Click to expand...

While I prefer to use raw wheat for the recipes that need it, I do use torrified and flaked wheat occasionally when the flavor impact will be minimal. My Wit beers always use raw wheat, while my Saisons or my darker maltier beers may use torrified or flaked.

All the Wheats can be mashed at typical mash temps (149-154*F).
Malted, Torrified and Flaked are more processed and do not require a beta glucan rest to avoid a stuck mash. Raw wheat should have a beta glucan rest.

The biggest difference IMO between the different wheat malts is the flavor.
 
just cooling after my first brew day, it went like a dream. very pleased!!! ~50% flaked wheat was no problem at all, thanks to above posters for advice. i am much poorer monetarily but much richer in spirit than a few short days ago
 
speidel inc should really provide a handsome kickback to those of you who pimped, tested, and trialed their machine here on hbt, that's the only reason i was comfortable plunking down so much coin
 
dinnerstick said:
speidel inc should really provide a handsome kickback to those of you who pimped, tested, and trialed their machine here on hbt, that's the only reason i was comfortable plunking down so much coin
Click to expand...

I agree this thread its been great help. In my case it has been crucial to decide to get this set up (spending a lot of €)
 
Just pulled a taste out of my first brew on the braumeister, a sam adams alpine spring clone i call "pedal time" (i bike a lot), day 11 (secondary for 4 days.

This is the best beer i have made yet by far! sooooo much better than the extract and partial mashes i made before, and it hasnt even been aged/chilled/carbed yet!

Once i hit 14 days i am going to keg it, should i leave it in the keg at around 65 to 70 for a week before chilling and carbing or should i just pop it in the fridge and put co2 on it for a week or two?

I cant get over how good this tastes and how easy this machine was to use
 
Alchemy said:
Just pulled a taste out of my first brew on the braumeister, a sam adams alpine spring clone i call "pedal time" (i bike a lot), day 11 (secondary for 4 days.

This is the best beer i have made yet by far! sooooo much better than the extract and partial mashes i made before, and it hasnt even been aged/chilled/carbed yet!

Once i hit 14 days i am going to keg it, should i leave it in the keg at around 65 to 70 for a week before chilling and carbing or should i just pop it in the fridge and put co2 on it for a week or two?

I cant get over how good this tastes and how easy this machine was to use
Click to expand...


If you are not leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks then I would suggest a week in the keg for an extra week of conditioning.
 
Yambor44 said:
If you are not leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks then I would suggest a week in the keg for an extra week of conditioning.
Click to expand...

I can do either or, it is in "secondary" right now as I have a conical and I dropped the trub a few times when I hit the final gravity and it had stopped. My question is , when I keg it in 3 days do I condition for a week at room temp or cold?
 
Alchemy said:
I can do either or, it is in "secondary" right now as I have a conical and I dropped the trub a few times when I hit the final gravity and it had stopped. My question is , when I keg it in 3 days do I condition for a week at room temp or cold?
Click to expand...

Whichever you have room for. I usually run a pipeline. Starts out at 30 psi for 5-7 days at room temp 75-78. Then into a temp control freezer at 35 degrees and no gas attached, just whats left in there. Then onto the kegerator to serve.
 
Yambor44 said:
Whichever you have room for. I usually run a pipeline. Starts out at 30 psi for 5-7 days at room temp 75-78. Then into a temp control freezer at 35 degrees and no gas attached, just whats left in there. Then onto the kegerator to serve.
Click to expand...

K, think I will go to keg room temp no co2 for a week so I can free up the conical and then keg at 12psi at 38 for a week :)

I have other stuff to drink while I wait
 

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