Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

[rlhvegas]

rlhvegas, you barely had time to fasten the wing nut before wort went over the edge?

It was a 1.059 OG recipe, 12.25 lbs of grain. I was pushing the limits of capacity, however I hit all my numbers and the system performed as advertised.

 

[makomachine]

It was a 1.059 OG recipe, 12.25 lbs of grain. I was pushing the limits of capacity, however I hit all my numbers and the system performed as advertised.

I had 12.25 lbs in mine this past weekend and it was a full pipe as well but went off without a hitch. I think 12.5 would be the absolute limit on the system, but might depend on the grains in the mash.

 

[clasley]

I knocked out a batch of my house IPA (1.067) this past weekend with 14.5 lbs of grain. As the grain bed settled in the pump labored a bit more than usual but it made it through. I think around 15 lbs would be closer to the upper limit.

-Chris

 

[makomachine]

I knocked out a batch of my house IPA (1.067) this past weekend with 14.5 lbs of grain. As the grain bed settled in the pump labored a bit more than usual but it made it through. I think around 15 lbs would be closer to the upper limit.

-Chris

Holy cow! I guess I need to just pack it in then! When I set the top plate on I didn't have much room. Did you set yours on and press it down and then refill? Just curious on your process as I obviously wasn't letting it settle enough.

 

[clasley]

I had a half inch or so before the top would have plate hit the hold-down bar. I didn't have to pack or otherwise compact the grain. I did keep a close eye on it during the mash and could tell the pump was working harder than normal through a good bit of the process.

This was my seventh batch with the SBM. I've been tweaking my process and have settled in on the following which seems to work well for me.

• Add filtered water to the top post marking (25.6L on my 20L SBM)
• Mash per recipe
• Lift malt pipe and pour in xL of 76C water (using a 1kg to 1L absorption rate - i.e. 6.5kg grain, add 6.5L water)
• Boil for 90 minutes adding hops per recipe

I use a diptube that leaves around 2.5L in the kettle and after cooling shrinkage I get right at 20L of wort in the fermenter.

-Chris

 

[Refly]

I'm really happy to see that some bigger beers can be brewed on the system. I'm going to try my first one this weekend - just an APA this time around.

Thanks for the info on your process. Not only is it my first BM beer, it's my first all grain batch. While I understand the theory, it's nice to get a sense of how the equipment actually performs.

 

[Yambor44]

I had a half inch or so before the top would have plate hit the hold-down bar. I didn't have to pack or otherwise compact the grain. I did keep a close eye on it during the mash and could tell the pump was working harder than normal through a good bit of the process.

This was my seventh batch with the SBM. I've been tweaking my process and have settled in on the following which seems to work well for me.

• Add filtered water to the top post marking (25.6L on my 20L SBM)
• Mash per recipe
• Lift malt pipe and pour in xL of 76C water (using a 1kg to 1L absorption rate - i.e. 6.5kg grain, add 6.5L water)
• Boil for 90 minutes adding hops per recipe

I use a diptube that leaves around 2.5L in the kettle and after cooling shrinkage I get right at 20L of wort in the fermenter.

-Chris

Chris,

Are you saying that you sparge with only the amount lost to absorption?

In other words, if you lost 1.8 gallons to grain absorption, you would add 1.8 gallons of sparge water?

 

[Yambor44]

Only suggestion I have is to bump up your boil temp to 102 as everyone has suggested. I couldn't get mine to ever hit it so the boil timer never started - but plan on leaving the lid on until I hit it next time as that should work I would think. (Obviously removing it as soon as it starts the cycle.). Don't have enough time with a working unit to offer anything else - so will live vicariously through you this week. I'll be brewing this weekend as well once receive my replacement from Thorsten - will let you know my thoughts after that.

I was just going over the manual (trying to find what volumes my marks on my tie rod are) and ran across this statement. Check out section 11.6 (page 14) titled Hop Boiling. It says that by default the timer should start once the unit has achieved 95C for 3 minutes regardless of whether or not it hits or stays at 100c.

http://www.speidels-braumeister.de/...g_Braumeister_20l-50l_Maerz_2011_englisch.pdf

 

[makomachine]

I was just going over the manual (trying to find what volumes my marks on my tie rod are) and ran across this statement. Check out section 11.6 (page 14) titled Hop Boiling. It says that by default the timer should start once the unit has achieved 95C for 3 minutes regardless of whether or not it hits or stays at 100c.

http://www.speidels-braumeister.de/...g_Braumeister_20l-50l_Maerz_2011_englisch.pdf

Thanks Rob. I actually had it work this past weekend at 99F peak so think I wasn't being patient enough last time. I know it sure seemed longer than 3 minutes before I gave up and went manual - but given the situation that day I'm guessing I gave up too soon.

 

[Yambor44]

Thanks Rob. I actually had it work this past weekend at 99F peak so think I wasn't being patient enough last time. I know it sure seemed longer than 3 minutes before I gave up and went manual - but given the situation that day I'm guessing I gave up too soon.

Yeah, it also says you can raise the temp to 102c for a more continuous boil (as we all do) but it doesn't say that takes it out of auto mode. I know I just press start and mine is already at 102c at it goes from there. But I don't see the timer run for the boil. I need to pay closer attention next time.

 

[DeGarre]

I am boiling at 102c and it stays at the auto mode the whole time: minutes are running down and in the end it says boil is finished, cheers, or summin' cheesy like that.

 

[clasley]

Yambor - yes, I'm simply replacing what I loose to grain absorption. I've embraced metric since I got the SBM. It hurts a little at first but you get over it. ;~)

-Chris

 

[Sudz]

Hi guys...

I've been reading this thread for days with great interest. I have been in the process of building a very similar system without ever having heard of BM. It's been good to hear about the various issues you've encountered and I'm anxious to see how my device compares....when finished. It's the same basic flow and strategy for brewing (BIAB - brew in a bucket) however it uses gas and the controller is a multi-step model from Omega which obviously requires greater human direction.

I did read that someone may have started a separate thread related to the BM technology for those of us who get off on building a better mousetrap. I enjoy the tinkering around almost as much as brewing.

Anyway, any idea if this thread ever developed or how to find it maybe?

 

[rlhvegas]

I had the same issue with the boil in auto mode, not starting the timer because temp was not reached. I had to manually time it. My issue is that even with the thermal jacket and ambient Las Vegas temps being 90-100 degrees F, I can't get the boil more then 97C! Anyone have this same issue?

 

[makomachine]

I had the same issue with the boil in auto mode, not starting the timer because temp was not reached. I had to manually time it. My issue is that even with the thermal jacket and ambient Las Vegas temps being 90-100 degrees F, I can't get the boil more then 97C! Anyone have this same issue?

My timer started this past weekend in auto mode - did you give it the full 3 minutes? In OK I'm getting 99 and holding, but never hits 100. Boil is strong though so not worried about efficiency of the unit with the jacket. Were you getting a good boil at 97?

 

[rnarzisi]

Air pressure affects the boiling point. Water doesn't always boil at 212 degrees F. It only boils at 212 at sea level with pressure at around 14 psi. As you increase altitude, this pressure drops, thus, water will boil at a lower temperature. Roughly, the temperature at which water will boil drops just under 1 degree per 550 ft. Las Vegas, which is at 2174 above sea level (at least the airport is) would have a boiling point of roughly 208F or 97.7C.

 

[rlhvegas]

I was getting a decent boil at 97F, but the issue was the timer, if it fell to 96F-95F the timer would stop counting down, I had to manually time my boil using my watch. Thank you for the altitude explanation, makes me feel better, I thought there was something possibly wrong with my system.

 

[Kimosabe]

I had a half inch or so before the top would have plate hit the hold-down bar. I didn't have to pack or otherwise compact the grain. I did keep a close eye on it during the mash and could tell the pump was working harder than normal through a good bit of the process.

This was my seventh batch with the SBM. I've been tweaking my process and have settled in on the following which seems to work well for me.

• Add filtered water to the top post marking (25.6L on my 20L SBM)
• Mash per recipe
• Lift malt pipe and pour in xL of 76C water (using a 1kg to 1L absorption rate - i.e. 6.5kg grain, add 6.5L water)
• Boil for 90 minutes adding hops per recipe

I use a diptube that leaves around 2.5L in the kettle and after cooling shrinkage I get right at 20L of wort in the fermenter.

-Chris

I have a SBM 20. For me the sweet spot seems to be at 6kg of grain. To maximize my efficiency I do the following:

- I ad one ore two litres of water extra on top off the the 23 litres mentioned in the manual. In my experience this reduces the strain on the pump, and the wort will circulate more easily.

- I stir the the grain in the malt pipe two or three times during the mashing. To do this I briefly interupt the program.

- I also use the 1:1 relation between the amount of sparge water in litres and grain in kilograms.

With my most recent batches I have reached efficiencies of 90%.

Thijs

 

[Yambor44]

I have a SBM 20. For me the sweet spot seems to be at 6kg of grain. To maximize my efficiency I do the following:

- I ad one ore two litres of water extra on top off the the 23 litres mentioned in the manual. In my experience this reduces the strain on the pump, and the wort will circulate more easily.

- I stir the the grain in the malt pipe two or three times during the mashing. To do this I briefly interupt the program.

- I also use the 1:1 relation between the amount of sparge water in litres and grain in kilograms.

With my most recent batches I have reached efficiencies of 90%.

Thijs

Welcome aboard!! Glad to have your input.

 

[DeGarre]

Just finished the brew day, brewed a porter with 5.5kg grain bill.

Beersmith said gravity of 1.061, my main settings are boil volume 24L, batch size 20L, brewhouse efficiency 75%.

Started mashing with 24L, sparged with 4L, ended up with the same 24L. End of boil just above 20L or below 21L, 20L into the FV.

Gravity was 1.060 ie slightly short.

 

[Yambor44]

Brewing Yoopers DFH 60 minute IPA Clone right now.

Saw Tom Roeder drinking one of Jakecpunut's IPA's on YouTube during his yeast experiment video and figured I'd ask Jake for the recipe. Turns out it was Yoops recipe.



Anyway I was able to get 27 pounds of grain in my 50L unit with 55L of water (top ring on the center post iffin thats 55 liters). At 75% efficiency that should be a 1.070 starting gravity, 7% ABV. Mashing right now.

 

[makomachine]

Let us know how it goes Rob! Like me some DFH and would like to see how it turns out as it's on the many list of brews to take a crack at.

The Citra Pale Ale testing out at 1.013 this morning after 7 days at 66-67F. Took it out to room temp on the counter I use to rack to kegs given I'm at terminal gravity to help the yeast do any cleanup required (72 to 73) - and let it settle so it will be clear to keg in a couple of days where I'll dry hop and carb at the same time. It was clear and the sample has that nice tropical Citra hop flavor. Lots of promise for this one. Pics of the brew and first tasting in a week or so. So far, the BM inaugural brew has some extreme promise!

 

[DeGarre]

Anyone else take some wort into the freezer and use that for bottling/kegging---as described in the BM manual? I prolly get a bit lower than usual carbonation using this method but I have always liked cask beer.

Using BM seems to be a fast track to brewing, soon I will be able to concentrate more on bottling, fermentation, carbonation, etc.

4 hours into the FV and my 1.060 porter with Safale S-04 was already being quite aggressive...

 

[makomachine]

Anyone else take some wort into the freezer and use that for bottling/kegging---as described in the BM manual? I prolly get a bit lower than usual carbonation using this method but I have always liked cask beer.

Using BM seems to be a fast track to brewing, soon I will be able to concentrate more on bottling, fermentation, carbonation, etc.

4 hours into the FV and my 1.060 porter with Safale S-04 was already being quite aggressive...

Never done that and like to have more control of my carbonation. (One of the benefits of kegging that i like) Corn sugar after a full ferment can be added more precisely I would think.

 

[davewaldo]

Hi Guys,

I've been working on this ever since I got my BM, and I must say I'm quite proud of it. The two things I noticed during my first few brews using the BM were that it requires a very level working surface, and lifting the Maltpipe on the 50L is a bitch (for skinny me anyways). So I've designed this stand with adjustable levelling feet and an overhead crane / winch.

The table is made from radiata pine stained and finished in satin poly. The bench top is 18mm ply with a 600 x 550mm porcelain floor tile (black marble look) stuck down on top. This provides a hard wearing and nice looking surface. The table contains a drawer to hold common tools and goodies needed on brew day. I constructed the table using joints and hidden fasteners so no nails,bolts or screws are visible.

The crane / winch frame is 65x65x2.5 galv and is TOTAL overkill for lifting 50kgs max. But I found the steel cheap so went with it, but 50x50 would be plenty. My welding was shocking as you can see in the pics, but easily strong enough for this purpose. I sourced rope pulleys on ebay for inside the top section and a cheap hand winch from boating store. It attaches to the table via fence hinges, these easily handle the weight and allow the crane to swing over or away from the table. The hinges also allow the crane to be lifted off the table to transport / store separately. The crane allows the maltpipe to be raised, held above the unit to drain, then swung away and lowered to the side. The levelling feet work great on uneven surfaces and make levelling a dream. If the runoff during mashing is uneven a simple tweak of the feet levels things off quickly.

I'm really happy with the way it all turned out. I think it looks and feels like a lovely piece of furniture that matches the quality of the Braumeister. Its also compact at only 650x600mm footprint.

I have plans to add a water filter underneath and also a place to hold the plate chiller, but these will have to wait. I will also have a stainless ring welded on the lift bar so the rope stays central.

I hope you guys like it, if you want to see more pics go to my Aussie Site thread.

Dave.

 

[DeGarre]

Very classy.

 

[Yambor44]

Dave,

That is absolutely one of the top 5 DIY's I have ever seen! I was just going over this type of setup with a friend of mine. Your pictures will help me build mine. Thank you!

Another great feature is that it allows you to get your malt pipe higher out of the kettle when sparging. I run into a problem when adding sparge water and sometimes even when just draining after lifting. That is that the wort level rises until it hits the bottom of the malt pipe again and creates another suction which doesn't allow any more drainage from the malt pipe.

I'm heading over to check it out on the AHB.

Thanks again. You did an amazing job with that. How much to build and ship an exact replica to the states???

 

[makomachine]

Wow- very nice work! I can't weld to save my life but your picture has me wanting to try again! Furniture quality and something that does the BM justice.

 

[Redstag]

Great job, I have been working on a similar idea for the same reasons. But mine is nowhere as cool looking, constructed or finished. I want to be able to break it down for storage. When I am satisfied with what I have I will post pics.

Mumbling to myself....."Rats this thing looks like junk I need to start all over..GRRR"
there is always someone that is faster stronger better looking and now I have to add..
and can weld.

Once again Congrats on a job well done.....Happy Brewing

 

[davewaldo]

Thank you everyone for the kind words

Yambor - I'm glad my pics can help, hopefully you can think of some improvements for your stand and make it better than mine! The maltpipe height issue was also a key design goal for this stand. Not only does it raise the pipe well above the wort level, it also allows me to see inside the kettle to the measuring marks so I can sparge to a certain volume. I can also leave the maltpipe suspended above the kettle while the boil begins to drain all the good wort for the first 20mins or so of the boil. Would love to build a few of these for fellow BM users, however this one took me weeks of work. I would have to charge more than the BM! lol! But material costs added up to about $300-$400 (this includes $50 worth of stain and poly enough for several more jobs). I'm sure it could be done cheaper in the US (materials and hardware seem MUCH cheaper over there for you guys!).

Makomachine - Yep, I'm a bit of a dud welder too, these welds looked like a row of popcorn before I hit them with the grinder! Practice makes perfect however, and I was beginning to get lovely neat welds just as I finished this project.

Redstag - To be honest I don't think it matters too much what it looks like. Its the functionality of this stand that makes me so happy with it. Any stand that is easily levelled and has a winch would be AWESOME, regardless of how it looks as it makes an already easy to use brew machine even easier!

Thanks again everyone for looking

Cheers,