Blichmann BrewEasy

[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.

 

[Moose_MI]

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.

I'm not ready to do a commercial but I finally feel like im getting my process down. I love how compact this system is and yet I still have the capacity to do 20g batches. 68% eff is a reasonable expectation but be prepared for a learning curve.....at least that was my experience. I did my first batch in early Dec and have probably done 6 or 7 batches to get to this point...you're probably a lot smarter than me though.

Lots of good help on this thread......

 

[Gustatorian]

To me, running a recirculation system (Blichmann BrewEasy) makes figuring out the small details of efficiency a bit harder...especially with different strengths of beers brewed.

To complicate things, I switch between no-sparge and cold-sparge depending on BeerSmith's "total water needed" recommendation. If I have a sufficient amount of water added to cover the grains with a 1.25-1.5 qt/lb ratio and cover the electric coils in the BK, I'll remove some of the water to cold-sparge after I mash out and drain.

For now, I have my system's efficiency numbers geared into lower gravity beers. In my most recent batches, I've been hitting pre-boil gravity, pre-boil volume, post-boil volume and original gravity. These lower gravity beers use roughly 11-12 pounds of grain (pilsner malt) and give me a mash efficiency in the mid 70's. (74-75%).

Yesterday, I brewed with 16.5 pounds of grain (mostly Golden Promise) and saw a drop in Mash efficiency by 10 percentage points! I expected maybe a 2-3 point drop due to a decrease in efficiency while brewing stronger beers, but this is insane. This was a no-sparge, recirculation mash, but that is crazy low even for the Blichmann BrewEasy! Any idea what happened?

I've heard that GP and MO are smaller grains that need a finer crush, maybe that's what cause such a big efficiency gap?

Also, please don't point me to Danam's video, as I cover all those efficiency killers thoroughly.

Also, if anyone has any recs for how they set up their BeerSmith numbers for a variety of strengths of beers, I'm all ears!

TIA!

 

[Moose_MI]

I've only got about 8 brews on my system and am still dialing it in. I double crushed for the first time in 4 yrs of brewing when I did the batch before last. It had a lot of wheat and I noticed the grain did not appear to be as fine a crush as I was used to seeing so ran it through again. i still had 63% eff but at least I reached that after a standard 1hr mash where previously I was going as long as 100 min mash.
So if you're getting 75ish eff on low gravity beer with cold sparge then you should realize that you're pretty much a BE rock star. The fact you dropped 10% on higher gravity and no sparge just brings you back in line with what us mortals are getting

Given you had more grain I'm guessing your strike had to be higher which is something that I've started to pay attention to based on this theory....
."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 had positive results from this process change.....once. I'm going to do it again to see if I it was a fluke or perhaps has some merit

Cheers!

 

[Gustatorian]

I've only got about 8 brews on my system and am still dialing it in. I double crushed for the first time in 4 yrs of brewing when I did the batch before last. It had a lot of wheat and I noticed the grain did not appear to be as fine a crush as I was used to seeing so ran it through again. i still had 63% eff but at least I reached that after a standard 1hr mash where previously I was going as long as 100 min mash.
So if you're getting 75ish eff on low gravity beer with cold sparge then you should realize that you're pretty much a BE rock star. The fact you dropped 10% on higher gravity and no sparge just brings you back in line with what us mortals are getting

Given you had more grain I'm guessing your strike had to be higher which is something that I've started to pay attention to based on this theory....
."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 had positive results from this process change.....once. I'm going to do it again to see if I it was a fluke or perhaps has some merit

Cheers!

I didn't know how the grains would affect the strike temp, so I initially doughed-in when the water was at 152ºF. My target temp was 155-156ºF but I didn't want to overshoot that so I went conservative. I doughed-into an amount of water that created an approximate 1.5 qt/lb mash). This dough-in brought the temp down to 142ºF. I allowed to sit for 10 minutes (as to not pull down on the grains too hard to create a stuck mash), then I recirculated with the heat on to hit my target mash temp.

That's actually a really good suggestion! I too was worried about having a strike temp in the 160's, doughing into optimal mash temps, then recirculating. Not only would the recirculation initially denature the enzymes hitting mid 160's temps in the BK, but adding that hot water into the MLT would raise the mash temp to non-optimal temperatures. How did you add the 1 gallon of water into the BK? Seems like you would need some sort of twisted filter?

I'm so close to wrapping the sh•t out of my MLT with reflectix, mashing in at optimal saccharification temps, holding it for an hour, then pumping out the remaining water in my BK for a batch sparge. Feels like I could get better mash efficiencies with more predictable results...wonder if anyone out there has tried this...

 

[Moose_MI]

. How did you add the 1 gallon of water into the BK? Seems like you would need some sort of twisted filter?

I'm so close to wrapping the sh•t out of my MLT with reflectix, mashing in at optimal saccharification temps, holding it for an hour, then pumping out the remaining water in my BK for a batch sparge. Feels like I could get better mash efficiencies with more predictable results...wonder if anyone out there has tried this...

I have the 20gal gas system so it was pretty easY to poor water into the BK through 1 of the holes in the adapter ring. I wrapped my MLT with reflectix but I've not tried a mash w/o recirc. To be honest I doubt I'd be happy with temps holding especially since I am usually only doing 10g batches in this 20g system.....lots of dead space in my MLT.
Personally. I will be very content if I can consistently get 70%....and if I could turn off that damn alarm when the pid fires the burner....that is so annoying

 

[Gustatorian]

I have the 20gal gas system so it was pretty easY to poor water into the BK through 1 of the holes in the adapter ring. I wrapped my MLT with reflectix but I've not tried a mash w/o recirc. To be honest I doubt I'd be happy with temps holding especially since I am usually only doing 10g batches in this 20g system.....lots of dead space in my MLT.
Personally. I will be very content if I can consistently get 70%....and if I could turn off that damn alarm when the pid fires the burner....that is so annoying

Mine is an electric 20 gallon, so luckily I don't have to worry about alarms with burners. Are you just pouring from a 1 Gallon jug? Seems like it would still make a mess.

 

[Moose_MI]

Mine is an electric 20 gallon, so luckily I don't have to worry about alarms with burners. Are you just pouring from a 1 Gallon jug? Seems like it would still make a mess.

Yep...I was able to poor almost the entire gallon..no problem at all. I didn't get overly scientific about it. I just wanted to take the edge off the 165ish water remaining in the BK. I was doing a 10g batch and I think I had about 8g in the MLT and about 6g in the BK. Adding a gallon of ambient temp water brought the BK down to 154f (if I recall correctly) which was a whole lot closer to the 151 I was trying to mash at. I'll bet it wasn't 2 min after starting recirc that the pid started heating to hold 151F. Previusly I'll bet it was 20 min before the burner got fired for the first time.....there's just no way that was a good thing.
Im trying not to get to excited about a real breakthrough until I can repeat this but my optimism is growing.

 

[Jim_B]

Yep...I was able to poor almost the entire gallon..no problem at all. I didn't get overly scientific about it. I just wanted to take the edge off the 165ish water remaining in the BK. I was doing a 10g batch and I think I had about 8g in the MLT and about 6g in the BK. Adding a gallon of ambient temp water brought the BK down to 154f (if I recall correctly) which was a whole lot closer to the 151 I was trying to mash at. I'll bet it wasn't 2 min after starting recirc that the pid started heating to hold 151F. Previusly I'll bet it was 20 min before the burner got fired for the first time.....there's just no way that was a good thing.
Im trying not to get to excited about a real breakthrough until I can repeat this but my optimism is growing.

Have you tried flushing the mash from the out valve a couple of minutes at the start of the mash cycle? I have done this my last two brew sessions and it seemed to help get a stable temperature faster.

I fill the MK with enough water to cover the grain at dough in. Let it sit for 10 mins or so to settle then drain into the BK. When BK is at my mash temp I hook my return hose from BK into the out spigot on the MK, working the hot water up through the bottom until it is at the proper level. Then close everything off, switch out the hoses to their correct configure and start the mash. The 2 times doing this I have had much better control over temps.

Have also been using a long stick thermometer so I can measure mash temp inside the grain. I don't like where the Blichmann temp probe is on the MK. Found myself chasing some wrong temps early on.

You are correct in that is all learning curve.

Jim

 

[Moose_MI]

Have you tried flushing the mash from the out valve a couple of minutes at the start of the mash cycle? I have done this my last two brew sessions and it seemed to help get a stable temperature faster.

I fill the MK with enough water to cover the grain at dough in. Let it sit for 10 mins or so to settle then drain into the BK. When BK is at my mash temp I hook my return hose from BK into the out spigot on the MK, working the hot water up through the bottom until it is at the proper level. Then close everything off, switch out the hoses to their correct configure and start the mash. The 2 times doing this I have had much better control over temps.

Have also been using a long stick thermometer so I can measure mash temp inside the grain. I don't like where the Blichmann temp probe is on the MK. Found myself chasing some wrong temps early on.

You are correct in that is all learning curve.

Jim

I've not tried that but sounds interesting. What size system/batches are you dong? Gas or electric?

I've not had a problem necessarily controlling temps but trying to reconcile the MK thermometer with the pid reading drove me nuts. I got much better results when I started ignoring the MK thermometer and just use the pid.

 

[Jim_B]

I've not tried that but sounds interesting. What size system/batches are you dong? Gas or electric?

I've not had a problem necessarily controlling temps but trying to reconcile the MK thermometer with the pid reading drove me nuts. I got much better results when I started ignoring the MK thermometer and just use the pid.

I have a 10 gallon / 240v system.

 

[Moose_MI]

70% efficiency yesterday! 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

Did this again this weekend and got 65% eff which is tolerable. It was 90% Pilsner malt from a small malt house here in Michigan. I've read some folks don't get as good as conversion with Pilsner malts so it's possible that may have been a factor.

I plan to make this part of my process from now on. It's a very simple step and calms my OCD.

 

[Jim_B]

Sorry about those numbers there Moose. I'm slowly getting comfortable with this unit. Did a Dunkelweiz brew on Friday last week and actually hit 71% on my efficiency. All my numbers came in and so far the beer is doing well. It blew through primary in 3 days going from 1.052 to 1.014 using WLP300.

I used my process again of filling the mash tun from the bottom up with water at the dough in temp and letting it sit for 10 mins or so. After that, I ramped up the controller to my desired range +5 degrees to account for heat transfer. Seems to work. Another thing I did was place a commercial grade stick thermometer through the mash and left it there. I used this to measure mash temp. The Brewmometers on the kettles are useless for this in my opinion.

I'm still looking at buying a SS Brewtech Insulated Mash Tun and modifying it to use on my BrewEasy instead of the Boilermaker Kettle.

Jim

 

[Rmccall95]

I'd be interested to know how you're planning to adapt the SS Brewtech product for the BrewEasy product. I own a 10g SSBT Mash tun, and would be interested in how to make this work.

 

[Moose_MI]

Sorry about those numbers there Moose. I'm slowly getting comfortable with this unit. Did a Dunkelweiz brew on Friday last week and actually hit 71% on my efficiency. All my numbers came in and so far the beer is doing well. It blew through primary in 3 days going from 1.052 to 1.014 using WLP300.

I used my process again of filling the mash tun from the bottom up with water at the dough in temp and letting it sit for 10 mins or so. After that, I ramped up the controller to my desired range +5 degrees to account for heat transfer. Seems to work. Another thing I did was place a commercial grade stick thermometer through the mash and left it there. I used this to measure mash temp. The Brewmometers on the kettles are useless for this in my opinion.

I'm still looking at buying a SS Brewtech Insulated Mash Tun and modifying it to use on my BrewEasy instead of the Boilermaker Kettle.

Jim

Thanks but I'm not upset with 65%. It costs me about $3 in grain for a 10 gal batch vs what I would use if I were getting 80%...meh. The day I start worrying about $3 in this hobby will be the day I quit :fro:
I am also curious for the next batch with regular briess 2 row to see if I don't get back to 70% which is what I got 2 brews ago...I'm still a little suspicious of the Pilsner malt I used this past weekend.
I agree about the brewmometer....especially the one in MLT....useless especially for me doing 10g batches in 20g system. How much difference do you get between the pid temp and your stick thermometer?

 

[Jim_B]

Thanks but I'm not upset with 65%. It costs me about $3 in grain for a 10 gal batch vs what I would use if I were getting 80%...meh. The day I start worrying about $3 in this hobby will be the day I quit :fro:
I am also curious for the next batch with regular briess 2 row to see if I don't get back to 70% which is what I got 2 brews ago...I'm still a little suspicious of the Pilsner malt I used this past weekend.
I agree about the brewmometer....especially the one in MLT....useless especially for me doing 10g batches in 20g system. How much difference do you get between the pid temp and your stick thermometer?

Very true, at this level percentage points are pennies on the dollar. My biggest thing I'm looking for is a consistent outcome.

The stick thermometer I use is a long, about 14", commercial grade unit. I stabilize in the mash with a square piece of PE that I configure from another project. This way it stands straight up and down in the Mash. Once the entire mash bed came up to temperature i was able to stay within a degree or two of the PID. Mind you the sensor the on the stick is in the bottom inch so there was a little cooling loss as the wort traveled through the grain bed.

This where I think an insulated mash tun would be able to compensate for that loss. Another biggie is keeping the lid on the MT at all times. I noticed a big difference with and without it on.

The whole time, the Brewmometer was off by 12-15 degrees.

Jim

 

[Jim_B]

I'd be interested to know how you're planning to adapt the SS Brewtech product for the BrewEasy product. I own a 10g SSBT Mash tun, and would be interested in how to make this work.

I was down at my local HBS the other day and they had a 10 gallon unit in there. Its build quality is impressive. Before I bought the BrewEasy I had some back and forth discussion with SS Brewtech on their plans to enter this space. At the time, they said they were going to focus on the 1BBL segment although they did imply they something of a GrainFather killer in the works.

Anyway, the modification looks to be routine. All that really needs to be done is to create a hole in the SS Brewtech for the return line and auto-sparge mount. Have to be careful with a compression fixture because the the product is two layers of SS with insulation between and will crush under pressure from a screw down. But, it's high enough where it really doesn't have to be perfectly water tight anyway since I doubt I'll ever have a Mash that big to be up near the top.

The return spigot is already built in and the flow can be controlled via a ball valve instead of the rubber flow control insert. Would have to modify the return line but that can be done with a tube bender and a 90 degree elbow.

Jim

 

[Moose_MI]

The whole time, the Brewmometer was off by 12-15 degrees.

That is very good to know....and very similar to what I have experienced. I need to think of something useful to do with the MLT brewmometer....like hang my jock strap from it.

 

[MrEggSandwich]

Why am I getting such ****ty efficiency? I brewed the recipe today, and my OG is 1.062...53% Brewhouse Efficiency!!!!! What's going on here?

I initially had a pre-boil volume of 12.5 gallons (1.040) so I boiled off 1.5 gallons (1 hour), then began with 10.5 gallons of 1.048.

Can you help me at least narrow it down? Is this a conversion issue? Am i leaving too much sugar in the kettle? Water issue? Using well water with ph of 7.7, I add salts to get it to around 5.6ish.


Today's #s:

Conversion: 74.1%
Pre-Boil: 68% 25.2 ppg
Ending Kettle: 69% 26.6 ppg
Brew House: 53% 20.7 ppg


HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Football Kickoff IPA
Author: kr

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Double IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 7 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 10 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.053
Efficiency: 65% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.075
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 8.25%
IBU (tinseth): 99.22
SRM (morey): 7.57

FERMENTABLES:
19 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (90.5%)
1 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 40L (4.8%)
1 lb - Corn Sugar - Dextrose (4.8%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Apollo, Type: Pellet, AA: 18.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 49.11
2 oz - Apollo, Type: Pellet, AA: 18.5, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 35.61
1 oz - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.6, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 7.2
1 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.8, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 7.3
1 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.8, Use: Aroma for 0 min
1 oz - Apollo, Type: Pellet, AA: 18.5, Use: Aroma for 0 min
1 oz - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.6, Use: Aroma for 0 min
2 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.8, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.6, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 16 gal
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 each - Whirlfloc, Time: 10 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Omega Yeast Labs - West Coast Ale I
Starter: Yes
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (custom): 80%
Flocculation: Medium-low
Optimum Temp: 60 - 73 F
Fermentation Temp: 66 F
Pitch Rate: 1.0 (M cells / ml / deg P)

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Light colored and hoppy
Ca2: 100
Mg2: 5
Na: 10
Cl: 50
SO4: 150
HCO3: 0
Water Notes:


Generated by Brewer's Friend - https://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2017-08-20 19:50 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2017-08-20 13:06 UTC

 

[Moose_MI]

Why am I getting such ****ty efficiency? I brewed the recipe today, and my OG is 1.062...53% Brewhouse Efficiency!!!!! What's going on here?

I initially had a pre-boil volume of 12.5 gallons (1.040) so I boiled off 1.5 gallons (1 hour), then began with 10.5 gallons of 1.048.

Can you help me at least narrow it down? Is this a conversion issue? Am i leaving too much sugar in the kettle? Water issue? Using well water with ph of 7.7, I add salts to get it to around 5.6ish.


Today's #s:

Conversion: 74.1%
Pre-Boil: 68% 25.2 ppg
Ending Kettle: 69% 26.6 ppg
Brew House: 53% 20.7 ppg

Nice lookin recipe...love the hops!

I assume you are using a BE? Right? Which one? How many times have you used it? Is this different than previous brews?

You're not the first to hit 53% eff with a BE so take a deep breath.

The BE kettle rims/ no sparge system is never gong to have great efficiency but you can certainly do better than 53%. Lots of folks in this thread can offer suggestions once we know more about your situation

 

[MrEggSandwich]

Thanks! Yes, beer should come out very nice, excited about it.

Yes, I have the BE (10 gallon 240v), I've done 9 batches and I've hit mid 60s a couple of times, but today was a head scratcher. My process is solid, paying attention to volumes, etc...

I thought I'd would have hit around 1.070

I've seen danmans video, I didn't do a mash out today, not sure how much difference that would have made.

I'm making great beer, but I need be more consistently, I'd be fine with 65% if I was getting consistent results.