Blichmann BrewEasy

[Moose_MI]

1) I don't worry about hitting target temp. I dough in ~ 140F on all my batches and heat to temp. Then start my mash timer when I hit my mash temp. Then mashout at 170 for 10-15 minutes.

2) Have you calibrated your brewmometers (kettle and mash tun)? I have the 5 gallon system and usually set my PID to 2.1-2.2F higher than my desired mash temp. That yields a mashtun brewmometer reading right at my desired mash temp. With such a small volume I'd expect my temp delta between mash and PID to be much higher than your larger system given its much higher thermal mass. There is likely something else going on if you have a 10F temp delta.

What has been your most recent mash efficiency? Im usually in the low 70s on big batches and mid-high 70s on normal gravity batches (1.050 or thereabouts).

Jeremy

1). My OCD worries about what those beta amylose are doing until I reach my desired mash temp. I'm in therapy and taking meds

2) I have a 20g gas system but do 10g batches so my thermal mass is not what it would be if I were doing 20g batches. I have not calibrated my brewmometer but have compared them with pid reading as well as other pen thermometers and they match. I accept this is not definitive proof but at least I'm honest. . I agree somethIng is odd about 8F difference but I have not figured it out yet.

 

[R_Horn]

The temperature differential is normal loss in the hose between the Thermocouple/RTD. Flow rate will also factor in. Using the 20 gallon system with 30 gallons pots my differential is 7-8 degrees using the mini tower with the RTD down at the pump and less than 2 degrees with the tall tower with the RTD at the top of the tower. My typical flow rate is 1.5 to 2 GPH.

 

[Moose_MI]

The temperature differential is normal loss in the hose between the Thermocouple/RTD. Flow rate will also factor in. Using the 20 gallon system with 30 gallons pots my differential is 7-8 degrees using the mini tower with the RTD down at the pump and less than 2 degrees with the tall tower with the RTD at the top of the tower. My typical flow rate is 1.5 to 2 GPH.

Awesome....I think you're the first 20g owner I've come across. Do you do 10g batches with any frequency? 10g are all I do (for now). For last brew I had wrapped my MLT in reflectix and I really think it helped. I also bought pipe insulation for hoses but didn't get that put on for last brew.
I think I'm going back to the 1.5 orifice...I got stuck on my 2nd batch using it and have been a little gun shy but I think I'm getting the hang of this thing and using the largest orifice possible is a good thing for this system.

Baby steps......

 

[Jim_B]

Had my 3rd batch on my 10 gal system last week. Brewed up a batch of Kal's Electric Pale Ale. This brew day was the best yet. I hit of all of my numbers with my OK being slightly better than projected through BeerSmith. I think I have it dialed in now.

Dough In at 140, let it sit for 10 mins. Give it a stir then proceed to Mash Temp #1. I set my TOP for 20 degrees over the required temp until I see the Mash Tun get with 5 degrees of my target. When that happens I dial back the water temp to 5 degrees over target. With that approach I was able to keep a consistent temp for the mash. Used the 1.25 orifice with no problems.

Dropped the yeast cake today after 4 days in primary and started secondary with a dry hop add of Citra. The beer is looking really good and the sample I took for the gravity check tasted great.

 

[Massflyer]

Quick question... for those of us that have the linear flow valves, has anyone simply measured flow rate at various valve positions? Possibly index valve when fully closed with a sharpie or paint pen at 12 o'clock, and then open 1, 1.5, 2 rotations etc and time flow rate... Once flow rates are known and repeatable, you can discard the pesky orifices and change flow rates on the fly. I haven't done this myself, just putting it out there as a possible suggestion.

Thoughts?

 

[Jim_B]

Quick question... for those of us that have the linear flow valves, has anyone simply measured flow rate at various valve positions? Possibly index valve when fully closed with a sharpie or paint pen at 12 o'clock, and then open 1, 1.5, 2 rotations etc and time flow rate... Once flow rates are known and repeatable, you can discard the pesky orifices and change flow rates on the fly. I haven't done this myself, just putting it out there as a possible suggestion.

Thoughts?

Not a bad idea. I fine tune the flow with the valve using the orifice. I have mine set up in the garage after running some pwb through it. I can throw some water in and take some readings.

Jim

 

[jmitchell3]

Just pulled the trigger to upgrade from the 5 gal 240v breweasy to the 10 gal setup.

Anyone have profiles (volumes mostly) for 5 and 10 gallon batches on this system?

 

[jmitchell3]

If anyone has interest in my 5 gallon profiles, here they are!

5 gallon 60 min boil:

Preboil volume: 7.0 gal
Post boil volume: 6.0 gal
Transferred: 5.5 gal
Kegged: 5.0 gal

5 gal 90 min boil:

Preboil 7.5 gal
Postboil 6.0 gal
transferred: 5.5 gal
Kegged: 5 gal

Power on the 240v element set at 72-76 for the boil.

For IPA or beers with a lot of hops:

Preboil 7.5
Postboil 6.5
Transferred 5.75
Kegged 5.0

This usually allows enough extra wort to account for both kettle trub loss and additional loss in the fermenter to hop material.

 

[Rmccall95]

Any plans for your 5 Gallon setup? I'm definitely interesting in purchasing it!

 

[jmitchell3]

Any plans for your 5 Gallon setup? I'm definitely interesting in purchasing it!

Pm'd.

 

[aamcle]

Hi all.

I'm building something similar to a BE but using a GF constant head system rather than the AutoSparge but I'll still have to control the drain rate through the grain bed.

I'm afraid a normal valve will just clog up so please can you post the diameter of the holes in to flow control orifices so I'll make something similar?

ATB aamcle

 

[aamcle]

Ok I found an online calculator.

aamcle

 

[oylerck]

If anyone has interest in my 5 gallon profiles, here they are!

5 gallon 60 min boil:

Preboil volume: 7.0 gal
Post boil volume: 6.0 gal
Transferred: 5.5 gal
Kegged: 5.0 gal

5 gal 90 min boil:

Preboil 7.5 gal
Postboil 6.0 gal
transferred: 5.5 gal
Kegged: 5 gal

Power on the 240v element set at 72-76 for the boil.

For IPA or beers with a lot of hops:

Preboil 7.5
Postboil 6.5
Transferred 5.75
Kegged 5.0

This usually allows enough extra wort to account for both kettle trub loss and additional loss in the fermenter to hop material.

I built my own, but what was the max amount of grain you found you could use. I've gotten to 16lbs for 5 gallons but if I want a 1.10 beer without adjuncts could I do it?

 

[Moose_MI]

Ok....another BE brew day . 10g batch on my 20g system. Recipe calculated for 65% eff. It's a Belgian wheat IPA over 40% wheat. Added some rice hulls and used 1.5g orifice....no problem at all. I think I'm going to bump up to 1.75 next brew day...maybe even the 2g.

I mashed in at 170f strike trying to hit 149f....I landed around 144f according to MLT brewmometer. I just don't get this. Mash calculator says I should have struck around 162...I over shot by 8 degrees and still came in 5f low. This has consistently been my experience but can't figure out why.

I settled in for 1hr with pid at 152f and MLT brewmometer reading 145f. PH was 5.45 at 30min in so that was good. At 1hr my pre boil gravity was 10 points low .... started ramping pid up to 162 bring brewmometer up to 152f. At 1hr45min of mash I was 6 points low of the 65% eff . Sort of bummed

 

[oylerck]

Ok....another BE brew day . 10g batch on my 20g system. Recipe calculated for 65% eff. It's a Belgian wheat IPA over 40% wheat. Added some rice hulls and used 1.5g orifice....no problem at all. I think I'm going to bump up to 1.75 next brew day...maybe even the 2g.

I mashed in at 170f strike trying to hit 149f....I landed around 144f according to MLT brewmometer. I just don't get this. Mash calculator says I should have struck around 162...I over shot by 8 degrees and still came in 5f low. This has consistently been my experience but can't figure out why.

I settled in for 1hr with pid at 152f and MLT brewmometer reading 145f. PH was 5.45 at 30min in so that was good. At 1hr my pre boil gravity was 10 points low .... started ramping pid up to 162 bring brewmometer up to 152f. At 1hr45min of mash I was 6 points low of the 65% eff . Sort of bummed

Had this same problem yesterday on my diy breweasy. However I have added a sparge vessel for the efficiency problems. I already had the 5 gallon cooler so problem.

Are you brewing inside? I brew outside with propane and it was colder so I'm wondering if that's my problem. I don't know if you can insulate it but it's worth a shot. I think I'm going back to my mash tun cooler for this and keeping the same rims system. We will see. Temp control has been a pita.

 

[Moose_MI]

Had this same problem yesterday on my diy breweasy. However I have added a sparge vessel for the efficiency problems. I already had the 5 gallon cooler so problem.

Are you brewing inside? I brew outside with propane and it was colder so I'm wondering if that's my problem. I don't know if you can insulate it but it's worth a shot. I think I'm going back to my mash tun cooler for this and keeping the same rims system. We will see. Temp control has been a pita.

I brew in my garage. It was about 55-60f today. This was my 2nd brew since insulating my MLT. Insulating helped and I would recommend it but it's not the silver bullet. My pre-boil was about 1g more than it should have been so in the end I'll bet I was pretty close to pre boil gravity. I let it boil off a while before adding hops and starting the timer. This is 2nd time I've had this happen so I'm going to adjust my profile in Brewers friend to avoid the extra gallon next time.

I continue to be absolutely dumbfounded by the delta between MLT brewmometer and pid.

HOW DO YOU CONTROL MASH PROFILE IN A SYSTEM THAT HAS 10f TEMPERATURE SWINGS AS THE WORT CIRCULATES THROUGH THE SYSTEM?

My beers have been finishing 5-7 points high of desired FG. I believe this is because I have to keep the pid at 155 to keep the MLT at 145f. Mashing in at 170f probably isn't helping but that's what I need to do to hit 145f to start.

Beers have been ok so I guess it could be worse....maybe this system is therapeutic for my OCD

Next I will use the 2g orifice and insulate my hoses....

 

[oylerck]

I brew in my garage. It was about 55-60f today. This was my 2nd brew since insulating my MLT. Insulating helped and I would recommend it but it's not the silver bullet. My pre-boil was about 1g more than it should have been so in the end I'll bet I was pretty close to pre boil gravity. I let it boil off a while before adding hops and starting the timer. This is 2nd time I've had this happen so I'm going to adjust my profile in Brewers friend to avoid the extra gallon next time.



I continue to be absolutely dumbfounded by the delta between MLT brewmometer and pid.



HOW DO YOU CONTROL MASH PROFILE IN A SYSTEM THAT HAS 10f TEMPERATURE SWINGS AS THE WORT CIRCULATES THROUGH THE SYSTEM?



My beers have been finishing 5-7 points high of desired FG. I believe this is because I have to keep the pid at 155 to keep the MLT at 145f. Mashing in at 170f probably isn't helping but that's what I need to do to hit 145f to start.



Beers have been ok so I guess it could be worse....maybe this system is therapeutic for my OCD



Next I will use the 2g orifice and insulate my hoses....

Have you tried step mashing with this system? Might help your over shoot and issue with fermentability.

 

[Moose_MI]

Have you tried step mashing with this system? Might help your over shoot and issue with fermentability.

I appreciate the suggestion but I'm not sure how it would help. I sort of did this yesterday. Raising the MLT from 144f to 152f by raising the pid from 152f to 162f. This doesn't really help though. I'm still moving the worth through 10degres of stratification in this system.

Btw..my beer is bubbling away nicely this morning

 

[aamcle]

Temp swings.

Did you tune the PID for the system as your going to use it, that is with the orifice you intend to use?

You could try this:-

Decide how much water your going to use in the mash tun when you mash in, note this is less than the total volume.
Determine the strike temperature for that volume, set up and recirculate at that temperature until the equipment is heated through.
Mash in, if you have calculated it correctly the mash temperature will be correct, add a little cool water to the kettle to bring the water down to mash temp and there you are more or less isothermal.


If that doesn't hold down your temp swings either your controller or the probe is messed up. Try auto tune on the PID and or replace the probe.

Good Luck. aamcle

 

[jmitchell3]

I brew in my garage. It was about 55-60f today. This was my 2nd brew since insulating my MLT. Insulating helped and I would recommend it but it's not the silver bullet. My pre-boil was about 1g more than it should have been so in the end I'll bet I was pretty close to pre boil gravity. I let it boil off a while before adding hops and starting the timer. This is 2nd time I've had this happen so I'm going to adjust my profile in Brewers friend to avoid the extra gallon next time.

I continue to be absolutely dumbfounded by the delta between MLT brewmometer and pid.

HOW DO YOU CONTROL MASH PROFILE IN A SYSTEM THAT HAS 10f TEMPERATURE SWINGS AS THE WORT CIRCULATES THROUGH THE SYSTEM?

My beers have been finishing 5-7 points high of desired FG. I believe this is because I have to keep the pid at 155 to keep the MLT at 145f. Mashing in at 170f probably isn't helping but that's what I need to do to hit 145f to start.

Beers have been ok so I guess it could be worse....maybe this system is therapeutic for my OCD

Next I will use the 2g orifice and insulate my hoses....

Have you verified the temp of wort coming into the mash tun via the autosparge? If you have a good thermometer that you trust, the outflow from the autosparge should be within 1*F of the temp reading on the TOP unit.

Also remember that multiple temp readings from different spots in the mash should be taken. The blichmann brewmometer probe is very short and only represents a single spot in the mash. I measure with a thermapen up to 4" deep in the mash at different spots and temps vary by 3*F or more regularly. Have you calibrated the tun brewmometer? I find that average temps in the mash tun vary by at between 1-3*F from the reading on the TOP and the temp of the wort exiting the autosparge. Also it can take A LONG TIME for average temps on the tun to heat up to the desired range (on average). Danam404 mentions this issue in his tips for the BE video from Great Fermentations website.

Sorry if I've asked these questions before but I don't recall off the bat!

 

[Moose_MI]

Have you verified the temp of wort coming into the mash tun via the autosparge? If you have a good thermometer that you trust, the outflow from the autosparge should be within 1*F of the temp reading on the TOP unit.

Also remember that multiple temp readings from different spots in the mash should be taken. The blichmann brewmometer probe is very short and only represents a single spot in the mash. I measure with a thermapen up to 4" deep in the mash at different spots and temps vary by 3*F or more regularly. Have you calibrated the tun brewmometer? I find that average temps in the mash tun vary by at between 1-3*F from the reading on the TOP and the temp of the wort exiting the autosparge. Also it can take A LONG TIME for average temps on the tun to heat up to the desired range (on average). Danam404 mentions this issue in his tips for the BE video from Great Fermentations website.

Sorry if I've asked these questions before but I don't recall off the bat!

Something's has to be screwy with the reading I'm getting from my MLT brewmometer. I wonder if I can remove it without having to replace that gasket...hmmm. I'm going to see about checking it against a couple others that I have. I also just moved my in-line thermometer off my plate chiller and put it on the auto sparge.

 

[Gustatorian]

False bottom is getting rather grimy and difficult to scrub. Any suggestions on how to get off this seemingly permanent gunk?

 

[Dcpcooks]

Soak it overnight in the kettle with hot PBW. It'll be shiny in the morning

 

[Gustatorian]

A few questions regarding volume/rates – trying to hone in my beersmith numbers.

Anybody actually attempt to measure the dead space below the false bottom in the 15G boilermaker used for a mashtun? Beersmith registers it as .12 gallons, but I'm not entirely sure that's correct...

What about boil coil volume? Anyone know the amount of volume the boil coil takes up in a 20G boilermaker?

Would this system have any effect on grain absorption rate or would that vary based on other variables?

Also, I assume there is massive fluctuation in responses, but the boil-off rate for the boilcoil would vary depending on multiple factors, correct?

 

[Gustatorian]

Bump for my questions above.

Also, has anyone figured the iso-alpha utilization for the breweasy? I know they'll tend to fluctuate based on how vigorous the boil is/how fast you cool the wort, but I'd figured I'd ask.

 

[Moose_MI]

Another BE brew day on my 30gal system. It was a 10gal batch of the bee cave Kolsch. 22lbs of grain. 63% brewhouse after a standard 60min mash....PROGRESS!!! I ran the grain through my mill twice for the first time in 3.5 years of brewing. I also ignored the MLT thermometer and just used the pid set to 151F. Lastly, I adjusted my system profile in Brewers friend to eliminate some extra water.

It was a good brew day!

 

[Moose_MI]

70% efficiency yesterday! I only milled once which is my typical process. I reserved 1gal of water and addd it to BK *AFTER* I mashed in. This brought the temp of water in BK down to my mash temp in a similar way adding the grain to my MLT lowers the MLT from strike to mash temp. My theory was that I was denaturing enzymes at the beginnng of my recirc when the MLT liquor was failing into BK water that was still at strike temp...165ish.
I'd say for now my theory is still a theory but I will deffinetly be repeating this process to see if I get consistent results

 

[popquizkid]

70% efficiency yesterday! I only milled once which is my typical process. I reserved 1gal of water and addd it to BK *AFTER* I mashed in. This brought the temp of water in BK down to my mash temp in a similar way adding the grain to my MLT lowers the MLT from strike to mash temp. My theory was that I was denaturing enzymes at the beginnng of my recirc when the MLT liquor was failing into BK water that was still at strike temp...165ish.
I'd say for now my theory is still a theory but I will deffinetly be repeating this process to see if I get consistent results

Interesting - I don't currently have a BrewEasy but will probably buy it this year. The varied reports on temp control and variable efficiency had me a little concerned, but I am okay tinkering around to get the system working the way I want it.

If I can get the equivalent or better of what I get in my cheap mash cooler (68 %) that would be fine by me.

 

[tjosborne]

70% efficiency yesterday! I only milled once which is my typical process. I reserved 1gal of water and addd it to BK *AFTER* I mashed in. This brought the temp of water in BK down to my mash temp in a similar way adding the grain to my MLT lowers the MLT from strike to mash temp. My theory was that I was denaturing enzymes at the beginnng of my recirc when the MLT liquor was failing into BK water that was still at strike temp...165ish.
I'd say for now my theory is still a theory but I will deffinetly be repeating this process to see if I get consistent results

Have you done a 15g brew yet?

 

[Moose_MI]

Have you done a 15g brew yet?

No...I almost did this weekend....I was trying to be brave and chickened out at the last minute. I sort of wish I had went for it now.