7kg Challenge - 20lt Braumeister

[Dan Pratt]

Hi,

After about 6 months now of brewing on my 20lt BM and been trying to get 20 litres of 1060+ with 5kg of malt only from a mash and 90 min boil i have found that the rig has its limitations........or does it. Yes piling in the malt will reduce efficiency and i will likley have to stir it a few times and have a much longer sparge, im ok with all those things.

Looking for some input from those that have pushed the limit on there 20lt BM and possibly share your experiences? Starting volume is a question/concern.

Planned Brew is a Golden IPA

OG - 1075
ABV - 7.2%
IBU - 75
EBC - 6


PIlsner 7kg
Galaxy Hops - 75 IBU

Not sure if i should have a few other malts for the bill and weather to just do a 10min Hop addition or run with my usual 60,15, Steeping of the Hops h34r:

 

[Florian]

I've done 7kg with 25L no problems.

can't give you numbers on efficiency right now but could probably dig them out later.

JUst don't crush too fine and you should be alright.

 

[Dan Pratt]

My LHBS uses the 50lt and crush's the malt at 1.4mm on an industrial mill.

If you can find the data florian that would be great.

Did you stir much? Step mash? Id imaging the malt pipe is chockablock at 7kg?

Edit - Step Mash? ofcourse you did......its a f&*kn BM.

 

[tiprya]

I've done 6.2kg. Your efficiency goes to shit, you might as well put less grain in and get the same extract.

I got 74% instead of my usual 86% with 5.5kg

Go with some malt extract, or if you want a bigger beer, double mash - that has given me practically the same efficiency for both mashes and a big OG

 

[Black n Tan]

I have used a little over 6 kg without issue. I suspect your efficiency will drop off a bit at 7kg at you may not hit your target.

Another option is to perform a double mash i.e. mash half the grain, then remove the spent grain, top up with water to 23L and mash the second half. Longer day but at least you can be assured of getting your 1070. You may lose more to trub so may be up your grain to 7.5kg if you go that way. I used to perform double mashes all the time in my 20L Braumeister, but have since upgraded to the 50L.

 

[Dan Pratt]

I used to perform double mashes all the time in my 20L Braumeister, but have since upgraded to the 50L.

Can you tell me how you done that?

Im thinking to just run 3.5kg for at 50c, 68c, 72c, remove malt, reset system, then pop the immersion chiller in and cool to 50c and mash again the other 3.5kg of malt?

 

[stakka82]

You would also want to do a mashout on that first batch to stop further conversion before starting the second mash.

 

[tiprya]

I disagree. Mashout isn't necessary.

I mashed as normal for the first batch (55 degrees) but didn't mash out (66 sacc rest), then sparged enough to get the volume back to the starting mash volume (roughly 0.9L/kg).

The temp after this was still roughly 66 (i sparged at a slightly lower temperature). Second mash then straight away at the 66 degree sacc rest then mashout and sparged as normal to get to begginning of boil.

10kg grain, got 1.103 OG. I would expect you would get even better efficiency doing smaller amounts of grain such as 3.5kg.

 

[Dan Pratt]

10kg grain, got 1.103 OG. I would expect you would get even better efficiency doing smaller amounts of grain such as 3.5kg.

wow Tiprya! Was that 20 litres at 1.103?

Few questions for you...lol

How long did you rest for at 66C? did you go 2 lots of 5kg? when you sparged was it full volume batch sparge to get to boil volume or 2 litres partial sparge's at a time after the second mash?

 

[tiprya]

Lucky I keep good records

Both mashes 5kg (equal amounts of spec grains in each). First mash 66(60 mins) - second 66(60)/72(10)/78(10)

First sparge 4L, second sparge 7L

2 hour boil - I think I got 18L into the fermenter.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Thats impressive. Im stoked to hear about another brewers Big Beer on the 20lt BM, great stuff.

At 1.103 what was the beer you made?

 

[tiprya]

I made an American Barley Wine, ended up 11.4%. Been in the bottle for about a month now, will think about trying one soon.

mikk has some more information on double mashing in a braumeister in this post:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/57118-braumeister-tips-tricks/?p=1005207

 

[tiprya]

Further to an earlier point, I mill my gain a 1.1mm which I find gives me very good efficiency. If yours is milled more coursely, it's possible you won't lose as much efficiency when you scale up your grain bills.

Might be worth a try to see how it goes? I'm pretty sure 7kg will fit in the malt pipe, 6.2kg when I did it wasn't maxing it out.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Thanks for the replies. :beerbang:

 

[tiprya]

No worries mate, be sure to let us know how you go. Always good to get some other experiences when you're pushing the boundaries.

 

[Black n Tan]

Mash out is unnecessary because you wont stop further conversion during the second mash. To tell you the truth I never chilled between mashes and just kept things simple. I had excellent results and know that G&G also perform double mashes for their fresh wort kits.

So based on your proposed mash schedule I would

Mash 1 50c, 68c, 72c, remove spend grist
top up to 23 L with cold water which will bring it back below 68c, cancel mash and restart, add fresh grain: the first rest will now be at whatever temp the liquor is at (somewhere is 60s) 68c, 72c, boil etc.
Missing the protein rest is unlikely to impact I would have thought, unless you are using less modified grains.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Will do, I try to remember Threads I have started and make follow ups. I read the big beers that bloke done with the 50lt model and he had some better gains from a longer second mash. Looks like when doing the second mash the sacc rest should be for about 90 mins v's the first mash sacc rest around 60min. makes for a longer brew day, but when your chasing higher SG, ABV/IBU balances then its worth while. B)

 

[Black n Tan]

I like tiprya process, even simpler