Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

[makomachine]

I paused my mash and took the top plate and screen off and it was pretty compacted across the top. I broke it up and stirred slightly and thus far I'm geyser free. I realized my grain bill has a 1/4 pound carawheat and that may be what caused my compacting issue. I have rice hulls but didn't think to add them and in hindsight believe that would have prevented it.

 

[bullsneck]

Evening all! (It's evening here in Australia anyway)

Bought a Braumeister a few weeks back and have brewed twice already with it. Still ironing out details, but learning each time. This thread has been amazing. Thanks to all those who have contributed.

I'm looking to do a Light Ale, looking at around 1.038 OG, provided by around 3.8kg of malt. There is a maximum amount of grain that the malt pipe can hold, is there a minimum? Will my 3.8kg of malt be okay?

Cheers?

bullsneck

ps - sorry about the metric

 

[Yambor44]

Welcome Bullsneck!

Which size did you get, 20 or 50?

 

[bullsneck]

Welcome Bullsneck!

Which size did you get, 20 or 50?

Whoops! I got the 20L.

This system has opened my eyes to step mashing, too. Still learning about them. Interesting.

 

[DeGarre]

...
I'm looking to do a Light Ale, looking at around 1.038 OG, provided by around 3.8kg of malt. There is a maximum amount of grain that the malt pipe can hold, is there a minimum? Will my 3.8kg of malt be okay?

...

Hi mate, g'day, some of us can do the metric - welcome to the BM party.

My 7th brew with 20 litre was a mild brown ale, I went for 1.035 and got 1.036, I had approx. 3.25kg grain bill (just check my posts from the last week or so). When you're pouring in the malt just make sure it is not lumpy, stirr it well, it will seeml there is awful lot of water and just too little of grain but it will work just fine.

So I reckon 3 kilos or so will be just fine. Below that, who cares...

 

[bullsneck]

Great! Thanks for the reply. I will post a report on how it goes. Cheers!!

 

[clasley]

Catching up on the thread today - we're closing in on 1,000 posts!

Yes, I'm still using the whirlpool mod - 7 batches with it and no problems so far. While it helps, the whirlpool isn't very strong so the cone isn't as concentrated as it would be using other methods. I've started pointing the output of the elbow towards the kettle valve so that it keeps hops and break material from collecting under the dip tub - seems to be working well.

I took a quick video today to show the boil with the kettle uncovered vs using the copper hood. I used antifoam drops to keep things from erupting out of the hood which is what happened the first/last time I used it. The video can be seen at the link below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lasley/6118058601/

-Chris

 

[Yambor44]

Wow Chris. That is a huge difference. So if you didn't use the drops, it would foam out the top of the hood?

 

[clasley]

Yes, it would foam out of the hood like a bad science experiment. I actually had to add more drops as I went along to keep things in check.

-Chris

 

[makomachine]

Yes, it would foam out of the hood like a bad science experiment. I actually had to add more drops as I went along to keep things in check.

-Chris

Chris - Did you try dialing back the temp a degree to see if it dropped intensity slightly? I've used my lid to slightly heighten the boil by covering 1/2 the kettle last time with good result. Was considering the hood but if you can't fine tune it, might not go that route.

 

[clasley]

Possibly. I had mine set to 101C for both shots in the video.

Another note - I drilled a small hole in the lid for the long stem thermometer I posted awhile back. I watched the temps while chilling on both thermometers. They started out in sync and quickly started drifting with the built-in thermometer ending up >13C off target. I can't help but think hops and break material are blanketing the built-in thermometer throwing off the readings.

-Chris

 

[makomachine]

Possibly. I had mine set to 101C for both shots in the video.

Another note - I drilled a small hole in the lid for the long stem thermometer I posted awhile back. I watched the temps while chilling on both thermometers. They started out in sync and quickly started drifting with the built-in thermometer ending up >13C off target. I can't help but think hops and break material are blanketing the built-in thermometer throwing off the readings.

-Chris

Was the built in thermometer higher than the other or lower? Were you running the pump when the differences showed up or was it with the pump off? Mine have been close when checked after transferring to carboy but never did a side by side comparison in real time.

 

[clasley]

The built-in was reading higher/warmer. The pump was running the entire time. I watched temps during the mash as well. They only started to drift out of sync in the last part of chilling. Otherwise they were +/-0.5 degrees of each other.

-Chris

 

[beefeater]

Wow, this tread is looong now!
And lots of new Speidles, that's great!

Havent been brewing much lately, the arctic summer is too short to not spend it outside and consuming old beer. Getting low, good thing fall is here with some nasty weather weekends perfect for brewing!

Anyways, on 20ish batches on my BM, I've had channelling/fountaining issues on two. Those were two consecutive batches of witbier using 50% raw wheat. Lots of wheat cauces channelling and fountains I concluded and have been reluctant trying it again. Maybe rice hulls would solve the problem?

 

[Yambor44]

Beef, with 50% wheat I would definitely use some rice hulls. I'm thinking of using them just as cheap insurance.

 

[DeGarre]

On Sunday I went for a slightly higher gravity brew than usual. For Beersmith 1064 estimate I actually hit 1062 by using 6kg (= 13lb 4oz grain bill) when I usually have 5kg ie 11lb grain bill. So 1 kilo = 2lb 3oz difference.

The pump sounded ok, did not seem to be working any harder than usual, only difference I noticed was that usually when the pump is on the wort happily falls over the edge of the malt pipe, like a waterfall, and makes a dripping sound. This time there was no sound because the wort was just gently getting over the edge. A few times I had to check that the wort was actually circulating because I wasn't sure, it was that slow.

So I was quite happy that I didn't go over 6 kilos, but I need to check this thread how others have pushed the system.

EDIT. I see Chris brewed with 6.5kg and thinks 6.8kg would be the absolute max.

 

[Yambor44]

On Sunday I went for a slightly higher gravity brew than usual. For Beersmith 1064 estimate I actually hit 1062 by using 6kg (= 13lb 4oz grain bill) when I usually have 5kg ie 11lb grain bill. So 1 kilo = 2lb 3oz difference.

The pump sounded ok, did not seem to be working any harder than usual, only difference I noticed was that usually when the pump is on the wort happily falls over the edge of the malt pipe, like a waterfall, and makes a dripping sound. This time there was no sound because the wort was just gently getting over the edge. A few times I had to check that the wort was actually circulating because I wasn't sure, it was that slow.

So I was quite happy that I didn't go over 6 kilos, but I need to check this thread how others have pushed the system.

EDIT. I see Chris brewed with 6.5kg and thinks 6.8kg would be the absolute max.

I brewed recently with 13 pounds in my 50L with my 20L malt pipe and it was THICK! Made it all the way thru but I cannot see going more....

 

[londonvictoria]

A quick question for you knowledgeable Braumeiter afficionados...

Do any of you know any breweries/pubs/individuals who are running a business using the 200L?

Thanks!

Victoria
(BM20L new owner)

 

[Sudz]

A quick question for you knowledgeable Braumeiter afficionados...

Do any of you know any breweries/pubs/individuals who are running a business using the 200L?

Thanks!

Victoria
(BM20L new owner)

I saw a post by someone in Australia who was running their business with one of these. I think it was in this post somewhere but I'm not certain.

 

[davewaldo]

There is someone on the Aussie Home brewer site running a nanobrewery with a 50L

 

[stevedasleeve]

I brewed recently with 13 pounds in my 50L with my 20L malt pipe and it was THICK! Made it all the way thru but I cannot see going more....

Is there a problem doing 20 liters in the 50 litre that requires a smaller malt pipe? What about for high gravity beers?

 

[FiveKaiBrewing]

ive been able to do high grain bill by mashing, removing grain then adding the remaining grain that was left over and did not fit in the first mash and just runing the wort through that new grain in a sense mashing twice. worked for me ph was good and i hit my numbers on the dot.

 

[londonvictoria]

That's interesting. What australian forum is that, please?

 

[Yambor44]

Is there a problem doing 20 liters in the 50 litre that requires a smaller malt pipe? What about for high gravity beers?

I guess not. See fivekai's response below.

ive been able to do high grain bill by mashing, removing grain then adding the remaining grain that was left over and did not fit in the first mash and just runing the wort through that new grain in a sense mashing twice. worked for me ph was good and i hit my numbers on the dot.

 

[stevedasleeve]

To be more specific: Do you *really* need to buy an additional 20L mash pipe to use in your 50L Braumeister for smaller batches or can you simply use the existing 50L mash pipe and not fill it up?

 

[Yambor44]

To be more specific: Do you *really* need to buy an additional 20L mash pipe to use in your 50L Braumeister for smaller batches or can you simply use the existing 50L mash pipe and not fill it up?

Good point. If you only put enough water/grain in the 50L malt pipe to do a 20L batch the pumps will run dry before it circulates to the top of the pipe and spills back over. So I would say no.

However, what would be the outcome to use enough water so that wouldn't happen, with only enough grain for a 20L batch? A very thin mash, but would it work without affecting the quality of the mash/final product? So basically water for somewhere between 20 and 50 liters but making a 20 L batch.

Anyone?

 

[Yambor44]

Well I'm about 20 minutes into my boil on Yoops Centennial/Cascade IPA.

My grain mill is on the fritz again.

I've had it apart, cleaned it, readjusted it to 1.0MM and have had a friend do the same. It worked fine for one 5 gallon batch and now it's worse than ever. I had to dump the grains, spin the rollers, start it with zero grain in it and then add a little at a time to finish the grind this morning. The roller the drill is hooked to free spins and the other doesn't move. when I check it each time it moves freely with my hand.

Any idea's?

Also, I took a small video of all the grain that reached the boil portion. It was quite a bit.I didn't do anything differently. Used 2 gallons of sparge water after raising the malt pipe. I'll post it later if you can see it in the vid after I upload it.

 

[Munch671]

I'm curious to see if anyone has run one of these long enough to do a comparison on power consumption VS propane. Most electric conversions for brewing are just the heating element from a water heater where as this has the heating element, the pump, and the electronics (would think the electronics is minimal).
Has anyone run any tests or checked to see how this compares to brewing a batch with Propane?
For instance, is the price to propane similar or is running this thing like turning on a window air conditioner full blast during the month of June and your electric bill jumps up 100 bucks.

{EDIT}
One more question. from the pics in the first few pages, it looks like the 20l grain tube has some wiggle room around it. Does anyone know if the 50l grain tube would work with the 20l to allow for more grain, thus higher gravity beers with a little modification? I read all 90 some pages but don't remember seeing anything.

Thanks!

 

[wyzazz]

Pump draw is minimal on my LG pump (less than 3A) so I'd imagine that these draw even less, and depending on the wattage of the heating element (I run a 5500W element) your draw can vary. Now let's say I ran my system full out for 3 hours, pump and element on full blast.

That would be 5860W total for 180mins, that makes 17.58KWH. Multiply this by your cost/KWH, let's just say it's pretty high at $.06 and you get $1.05. Keep in mind I've slightly overestimated things here to keep it simple, in all likleyhood you won't be running 5860W for 3 hours so your cost per brew (for fuel) is under a dollar.

Cheers!

 

[Yambor44]

Pump draw is minimal on my LG pump (less than 3A) so I'd imagine that these draw even less, and depending on the wattage of the heating element (I run a 5500W element) your draw can vary. Now let's say I ran my system full out for 3 hours, pump and element on full blast.

That would be 5860W total for 180mins, that makes 17.58KWH. Multiply this by your cost/KWH, let's just say it's pretty high at $.06 and you get $1.05. Keep in mind I've slightly overestimated things here to keep it simple, in all likleyhood you won't be running 5860W for 3 hours so your cost per brew (for fuel) is under a dollar.

Cheers!

Also, keep in mind Munch671 that gas burners are not as efficient as electric in our case. The flame has to heat the pot which in turn heats the water. Plus you lose a lot of energy up and around the outside of the pot.