Blichmann BrewEasy

[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.

 

[SpeedYellow]

...

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

Well just be aware that the mash pH is actually higher at mash temps, by 0.2 - 0.35. Nobody seems sure of the exact number because pH at mash temps is irrelevant -- quoted target ranges like 5.4-5.6 are always at room temp by convention. So if you measure at mash temps, you need to subtract some amount, but nobody seems sure exactly how much since that's not how it's done.

Apparently I need to work on my delivery because I was really trying to help.

 

[strangr419]

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

NICE! Yeah a ton of their fermenters are on back order. I was contemplating buying a second fermenter last week and saw their stuff isn't shipping until this week, due to back log. Thank you Danam404 for flying in more SS Brewtech gear for us stateside. :rockin:
Got myself a SS Brewtech 14 gallon Chronical and filled it with a pale ale brewed this weekend. Loving it so far. I added the FTSS cooling system and it is SICK! So happy with this purchase and would HIGHLY recommend to folks in warm climate for temp controlled fermentation.

 

[SwitchbladeSquirrel]

Tone aside, I think SpeedYellow may have a point. I too have been following the advise from Blichmann to make sure that at least 100 ppm of calcium is added to the brew water to overcome the otherwise higher buffering power of the larger volume of mash water. Doing so, however, has put the water mineral profiles out of the typical range for what I've been trying to brew, pale ales and pale IPAs. Not only the calcium levels are out of range, but also the sulfates and chlorides, because you cant add one without adding the others.

Is it gospel to ensure 100 ppm of calcium in the Breweasy system? Shouldn't I be able to achieve the same effect with lactic and phosphoric acids without sacrificing the mineral profile?

(I've been trying to answer these questions myself, but have had a hell of a time without a proper pH meter. Just bought one though because i'm sick of failed batches. I WILL GET THIS RIGHT!)

 

[gotbags-10]

I'm curious about this as well SwitchBlade. I'm wondering if the BIAB guys could help out as there mashing with the total water volume as well.

 

[SpeedYellow]

...

Is it gospel to ensure 100 ppm of calcium in the Breweasy system? Shouldn't I be able to achieve the same effect with lactic and phosphoric acids without sacrificing the mineral profile? ...

Switchblade - you should post the question to the Brew Science forum. If the 100 ppm Ca is for mash pH purposes, then your idea sounds solid that acid malt/lactic/phosphoric acid would be a better solution. Otherwise neither the Breweasy nor BIAB could ever get a good lager water profile.

 

[richl025]

Is anyone using their 10 gall Breweasy for 5 gallon batches? I read what Blichmann's FAQ says about that, I was jus curious is there was any real-world experience out there...

 

[nooloo]

Is anyone using their 10 gall Breweasy for 5 gallon batches? I read what Blichmann's FAQ says about that, I was jus curious is there was any real-world experience out there...

Are you curious about the gas or electric version? I have experience doing 5 gal batches in the 10 gal gas version.

 

[Danam404]

Is anyone using their 10 gall Breweasy for 5 gallon batches? I read what Blichmann's FAQ says about that, I was jus curious is there was any real-world experience out there...

It's very possible, I've done it a few times, just be mindful that you need at least 5-6 gallons in the brew kettle to keep the electric heating element covered... So sometimes you'll need a thinner mash than usual and then boil the excess off after the mash. Not ideal, but it works.

 

[richl025]

It's very possible, I've done it a few times, just be mindful that you need at least 5-6 gallons in the brew kettle to keep the electric heating element covered... So sometimes you'll need a thinner mash than usual and then boil the excess off after the mash. Not ideal, but it works.

Hmphh. Thanks Danam - keeping the heating element covered with the electric version is what I was concerned about....

 

[Cfordou]

I got a 10 gallon electric and it keeps kicking the 220v GFI. It works fine when the tower of power is plugged in by itself(220v), but when you plug in the pump (110v) it kicks the 220v GFI. The pump works fine by itself, but if you plug it in, it kicks the 220. They are independent systems, so I can't figure out why. Thoughts?