Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

[bronzdragon]

Since you've had yours for awhile DeGarre, what do you think of it's build quality? In other words, do you think that under general use, it will last you another 5 years?

~r~

 

[DeGarre]

Since you've had yours for awhile DeGarre, what do you think of it's build quality? In other words, do you think that under general use, it will last you another 5 years?

~r~

14 brews and it's like brand new. I clean it very well after each use, open the pump, dry it, clean the element (top tip:run the pump with some vinegar in the water, works for my kettle and works for BM too).

I can't see any reason why it wouldn't give me 4-5 years of service. If something breaks I'd guess it would be the pump or control box, but those could be replaced.

The build quality is very solid. Unfortunately the legs have a quite sharp metal edge which could be smoother for sure, I've cut myself couple of times lifting and turning it around.

 

[Getafix]

If something breaks I'd guess it would be the pump or control box, but those could be replaced.

The red rubber gasket for the maltpipe might wear but also looks easy to replace.

 

[Yambor44]

Question pointed at Yambor, did you ever get your 20L and if so, what are your feelings on downsizing from the 50L to the 20L?

My gut says to go with the 50L, even though I usually brew 5 gal. batches, because it gives me the availability of making high gravity beers, which I do quite often.

Am I looking at this wrong?

Russ

I have not purchased the 20L yet. Will probably do so once summer hits here as it is very hot running the burner. Brewing with the BM inside the garage during the summer months was a dream. No increase in ambient temps.

 

[bronzdragon]

I have not purchased the 20L yet. Will probably do so once summer hits here as it is very hot running the burner. Brewing with the BM inside the garage during the summer months was a dream. No increase in ambient temps.

Ok, thanks, I was just wondering if you sold your larger one and decided against buying another.


~r~

 

[brewbush]

So, I noticed in my new house the washer and dryer are plugged into a normal 3 prong plug and not the typical dryer plug.

I was thinking, it is possible or has anyone done this....used a european to US plug adapter and just plug it in to a regular outlet.

I am assuming since the drying is plugged into the socket it is a 220 volt outlet.

suggestions?

 

[rico567]

Hard to be sure what's going on here without pix. If someone's got 240VAC wired into a normal 120VAC outlet, that is a huge no-no, and I've never even heard of anyone doing such a thing. Any electric dryer I've ever seen has a standard 240VAC / 30A plug on it. Are you sure you don't have a gas dryer? A gas dryer has gas to do the heating and plugs int 120VAC for power to turn the drum.

 

[bullsneck]

I've been using cubes (NC) as a means to 'cool' wort from my BM previously. Now with an immersion chiller in my hot little hands I'm thinking about how this would go. I understand that moving wort will allow cooling to happen alot quicker than stagnant wort sitting around the copper coils. With this in mind, is there a foreseeable problem in running the pumps while cooling, say once the wort has reached 80c? Apart from the obvious mixed up trub, which could settle in time, do any seasoned BM owners who chill see a problem with this?


Essentially it will be a whirpool chiller, minus the whirlpool motion. It would be pumping wort, trub, break material and all. So my question is... Does that present a problem with the quality of the wort or am I being overly uptight about trub and break material?

 

[DeGarre]

G'day bullsneck - did you ask this recently at AHB? Answer to your question - don't have the foggiest....

 

[Yambor44]

I've been using cubes (NC) as a means to 'cool' wort from my BM previously. Now with an immersion chiller in my hot little hands I'm thinking about how this would go. I understand that moving wort will allow cooling to happen alot quicker than stagnant wort sitting around the copper coils. With this in mind, is there a foreseeable problem in running the pumps while cooling, say once the wort has reached 80c? Apart from the obvious mixed up trub, which could settle in time, do any seasoned BM owners who chill see a problem with this?

Essentially it will be a whirpool chiller, minus the whirlpool motion. It would be pumping wort, trub, break material and all. So my question is... Does that present a problem with the quality of the wort or am I being overly uptight about trub and break material?

I ran mine when cooling. Another option is to grab the chiller and move it around or up and down slightly to break stratification (stagnation). It doesn't take much and it will cool the wort much faster. I always have a towel laying over mine so I'm protected from the hot side outlet of the chiller, you should do the same or wear gloves as you can get burned when chilling first begins.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Is your dryer a gas dryer? If so it will only plug into a standard 120v 3-prong line. I am assuming this is your situation, as electric dryers do not come with that type of plug. My $0.02

So, I noticed in my new house the washer and dryer are plugged into a normal 3 prong plug and not the typical dryer plug.

I was thinking, it is possible or has anyone done this....used a european to US plug adapter and just plug it in to a regular outlet.

I am assuming since the drying is plugged into the socket it is a 220 volt outlet.

suggestions?

 

[SFBrewer]

Braumeister Experience so far...

I posted a while back asking for the "best" source of the braumeister in the US. Given the number of positive forum posts I read in this thread (and the lack of any direct response ) I went with a 50L from Thorsten at MoreBeer4U due to the slightly lower price and to avoid the large (9+%) tax hit of living in the same state as MoreBeer! (confusing naming between the two) and the fact that there was a shipping special running. Ended up saving a couple hundred bucks total.

For those wondering about delivery lead times, the bulk of the time was spent waiting for the unit to ship, however once it left Germany it took only 4 days to arrive in SF, CA! Thought for sure it was gonna take much longer! This may not have been a good thing. The box the unit came in took a serious beating on the way here. I unpacked the unit in front of the FedEx driver and noted the unit itself had what appeared to be some cosmetic damage to one of the legs. Slight deformation along the plane of the leg and a bit of an impact dent on the "foot edge." No big deal, or so I thought. The box the accessories I ordered came in was pretty much what you would expect.

Once I got it into the house I built a new power cable. I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN. I am however comfortable working with common household wiring/current. For those of you interested the 50L Braumeister unit (and maybe the 20L model, someone will need to confirm) has a male (inlet) IEC 60320 C19/20 type coupler.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60320#C19.2FC20_coupler

I used a Tripp Lite 6 foot 12awg server power cord (this is probably overkill gauge in this case considering the thin cord included with the unit) rated 250v/20a that had the female (no prongs) c19/20 coupler on one end. I cut the other end (a heavy duty twist lock 3 blade) off, stripped the outer insulation down and wired the 3 connections within to a Leviton screw-it-together-yourself NEMA 10-50P type 3 blade range plug to match the electrical in my brewcave. It was a no brainer and the whole thing cost less than 40 bucks and 15 minutes. I chose these primarily due to the amazon super saver shipping (free) option in combination and no sales tax. You could probably hit Home Depot or Lowes or wherever and get similar stuff locally.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KG3WKY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P9S9I6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Of course, if you're not sure what your electrical situation is at your home/brew spot and/or not comfortable with wiring and such definitely get an electrician out to at least survey what you have and give you some options. Knowing the type of connector for the BM might help some of you get yourself situated electrically in advance of delivery, or can tell your electrician what he has to work with on the BM side of the wiring equation. I'll post pics of the build when I can find my cable to get the pics off the camera.

After finishing that up I immediately ran a "dry" (no malt) test run in my kitchen (the GF was ECSTATIC about this) with the 50, filling it up with cold tap water and running through basic the program (also testing the load with a clamp amp meter). Ran like a dream, hitting the 38C mash in temp in about 8 minutes! My kitchen was around 65F at the time, not sure what the ambient water temp is, but it's at least 10 degrees lower than that.. I had the insulating jacket and lid on. That was crazy fast I said to myself, and checked with a thermometer. It was dead on at 38C according to my digital probe, so I hit the button to continue with the mashing schedule and watched the malt pipe water level rise...and then stop rising about 2 inches from the top of the pipe. I then noticed a lot of water turbulence outside of the pipe...right over the damaged leg. Water was jetting out the side of the pipe where it met the bottom of the pot. I messed around for a while, trying to center the pipe, pulling it out and re-seating the rubber gasket, then the pipe itself back inside...no dice. It was at that point I stuck my hand down there (with the unit plugged in like a dumba$$) and noticed that the damaged leg "wing supports" had punched into the metal bottom of the pot to make two deep dents under the outer heating element (one almost touches the element) and the resulting slopes interfere exactly along the curve where the malt pipe needs to rest. It must have taken a serious blow right under the leg to make it produce that much denting.

In short, there was no way to make it work as it was. The malt pipe simply will not form a seal with the pot.

I contacted Thorsten and he got in touch with Speidel immediately, as it stands now I'm awaiting a new 50L to be shipped out to me. :-(

Don't let that deter you though, Thorsten has been great to work with and I'm convinced the BM is a great product. Now if we can only get Speidel to ship them in crates!

Seriously, I suspect the boxing is fine for the most part, judging by the box something unusual happened to it on the way here.

Anyway, cheers and happy brewing!

 

[bach]

Just an update on the spigot replacement.
I used this piece. It was pricy but connects right into 1/2NPT Ball valve.

http://www.adaptall.com/products/brass/8007.html

I got the stainless steel.

 

[wreals]

Just an update on the spigot replacement.
I used this piece. It was pricy but connects right into 1/2NPT Ball valve.

http://www.adaptall.com/products/brass/8007.html

I got the stainless steel.

Which part number did you buy?

 

[Munch671]

Getting close to the amount I need to order one of these, only thing I am not sure about is how much the shipping is. Can a few of you shed some light on how much the shipping charge is on these bad boys? (20L)

-Jay

 

[Alchemy]

Getting close to the amount I need to order one of these, only thing I am not sure about is how much the shipping is. Can a few of you shed some light on how much the shipping charge is on these bad boys? (20L)

-Jay

Free shipping from morebeer.com

 

[SFBrewer]

Which part number did you buy?

I'm interested in this as well.


I found this link which appears to detail the sizes available in the various stainless part numbers, the second two must indicate the sizes

http://www.adaptall.com/products/stainless/ss9007.html

 

[bach]

Yes it is SS9007 12-8

The BM side of the nipple is the 3/4" BSPP/ISO (british standard pipe parallel) and the ball valve side is the 1/2" NPT

My reason was to eliminate any parts, which would be restricting the
flow, since I recirculate and whirlpool.
It works great.

It is pricey - I paid $65 at local distributor

 

[Yambor44]

Let's see some pics!

 

[Alchemy]

So now that my 20l will be here soon I am pondering the logistics of brewing in my apartment. I will need to vent the steam somehow from the boil off. I have a dryer vent that goes through the wall about 15 feet to the outside from the brew room and I also have a small basement slider window on the other side of the room away from the 220 line.

My questions are

A. If I vent through the dryer vent will the condensation build up into some sort of sticky mess inside of it.
B. if i am going to vent to the other window I will need an extension cord to make it over there. What should I use to extend the reach of the current electric cord? A welding cord? If I had a Lon enough cord I could potentially brew outside on really nice days.

 

[bach]

I am attaching the pictures of the connector I used:

 

[Yambor44]

Awesome! Thanks Bach. You know how us guys are, visual.

 

[FiveKaiBrewing]

What up buddy i started this thread a while ago so i guess i was one of the first guys with this machine. just buy a voltage converter man. so easy and you can brew anywhere you want.

as far as the condensation question i dont think it will be a sticky mess since when you boil you are loosing water while all sugars and stuff just stay in the wort. it should just be steam sugar wont evaporate.

good luck on your brewing this machine is really great.

So now that my 20l will be here soon I am pondering the logistics of brewing in my apartment. I will need to vent the steam somehow from the boil off. I have a dryer vent that goes through the wall about 15 feet to the outside from the brew room and I also have a small basement slider window on the other side of the room away from the 220 line.

My questions are

A. If I vent through the dryer vent will the condensation build up into some sort of sticky mess inside of it.
B. if i am going to vent to the other window I will need an extension cord to make it over there. What should I use to extend the reach of the current electric cord? A welding cord? If I had a Lon enough cord I could potentially brew outside on really nice days.

 

[FiveKaiBrewing]

whats up guys i started this thread a long time ago and i cant belirve the ammount of replies crazy.

Can anyone put together a list of mods you have done to the braumeister? i saw the replacement valve and its a great idea since flow through the original one is slow.

or maybe start a new thread with mods you have done to the braumeister. i can imagine theres that many as this thing has been working great for me as is with the addition of a voltage converter.

thanks

 

[FiveKaiBrewing]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/speidel-braumeister-modifications-307497/#post3825570

 

[FiveKaiBrewing]

instead of a barley crusher i would go with the new rebel brewing mill looks awsome with a hopper and everything for i think its 175.00. i have a crankanstein 3D stainless and it works well but for the money go wit hthe rebel its cheaper and everyone seems to like it. its a 2 roller by the way.

The last 2 beers I made with the Braumeister were an Old Bavarian Weissbier and another version of a Kelheim Weissbier. Both beers have been in the bottle for over a month. I use Speise collected post chilling to carbonate most of the beers I make or a Speise/Sugar combo for non-German style beers.

Currently I am less concerned with beer color and haze, and am happy to be making high quality, delicious beer. The OBW really suprised me, initially it was a bit more malty than I like, but has balanced out nicely. The Kelheim is almost my ideal Hefe, it has a good balance between clove, banana, light malt and is highly carbonated. Both still need some tweaking though.

I am still using my Victoria (Corona) mill but am looking to get a Barley Crusher soon. The Victoria was good enough for my batch sparging days, where a fine crush with quite a bit of flour worked. I have to double or triple crush with it if I want it coarse, and the Braumeister works best with a coarse crush.

I noticed a bit of channeling on my last Kelheim Weissbier brew near the end of conversion, so paused the program and stirred the mash. I usually use rice hulls (didn't this time) but would prefer not to unless really necessary.

With simpler mash schedules and minimal data logging my brewdays are down to 6 hours, but the weather here in Toronto has been so nice I haven't been able to brew as much as I like. I am selfishly hoping for a couple of nasty snowfalls so that I can replenish the pipeline.

 

[rlhvegas]

instead of a barley crusher i would go with the new rebel brewing mill looks awsome with a hopper and everything for i think its 175.00. i have a crankanstein 3D stainless and it works well but for the money go wit hthe rebel its cheaper and everyone seems to like it. its a 2 roller by the way.

+1 for Monster Mill. Great product. I have the 2 roller.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

Hi! New to the forum and new to brewing too. First of all I want to introduce myself and apologize for my english. I´ve been checking this threat during the last few months and it made me decide to get the braumeister. After 4 weeks of waiting my 50BM arrive today, so, I´m a happy man! I´m looking forward to share experiences about this amazing equipment. I just downloaded BeerSmith trial it looks amazing but I have problems with the configuration of my equipment: if there is another braumeister/beersmith user out there that can help me out with this it will be much appreciated. I own the 50l setup and Í also got the short malt pipe. Thank you very much in advance!

 

[beefeater]

...Edit ... sorry ... posted the wrong link. Looking for the right one ...

 

[BierFest]

if there is another braumeister/beersmith user out there that can help me out with this it will be much appreciated. I own the 50l setup and Í also got the short malt pipe. Thank you very much in advance!

I too have the 50l unit with the shortened malt pipe. I use beersmith and am also trying to nail down the parameters. As I've only done 3 brews to date on it I'm still figuring it out. I haven't quite figured out stuff such as boil off rate etc. I have created 2 profiles:
- 50l brew
- 20l brew

To date i have only made 20l batches. I have used the parameters supplied by other users for the 20l model in my 20l profile. The only thing i changed was the 'Mash Tun Weight' which I set to 22kg. I will have to figure it out more from that.

Anybody else figured out beersmith parameters for the shortened malt pipe in the 50l model?