Braumeister 50L

[sambow]

Hi everyone,
I have just joined the forum so I want to start by saying hello to everyone. I have never brewed before but I have been thinking about it for ages and the time has come to take the plunge and make the purchase. What I am thinking is that I'd like to get a Braumeister 50L along with all of the bits and pieces that I need to get started. I've read that these are the easiest to use, make great beer and are very easy to clean which sounds good to me

I live on Sydney's Northern Beaches and I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for where I would be best to get everything from. I have searched the net but I can't seem to find anyone locally that sells them. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[dicko]

Hi sambow, welcome to the forum.

I am not aware of anyone in Sydney that sells them but you can get a BM from at least 2 of our site sponsors, Craftbrewer in Brisbane and Grain and Grape in Melbourne.
I live in Port Lincoln and I got mine from Craftbrewer as at the time the owner of that business had my unit shipped direct to me from Germany and therefor I paid no freight for the delivery.
I was very happy with the service from this company.

Good luck and happy BM brewing.

 

[Cocko]

Hey Sambow, welcome aboard.

If you can jump straight into a brewmeister, why wouldn't you!!. If I can suggest brewing a few beers prior, just to get your head around the other processes involved, as in fermentation, bottling or kegging, flavours, yeast behaviour etc... Not saying it cant be read but experience is key, in most cases.

By no means am I saying start with kits and bottling, ****, one of my best friends, jumped straight in to BIAB and kegging but with brewers around him and places like AHB, he is one of the best brewers I know. Maybe an URN and a bag, make a couple of batches and find your feet - then BOOM - you have a HLT for sparging your BM.

Just my thoughts mate, best of luck with it - it is a slippery slide but sounds like you will be making good beers soon!

Cheers

 

[Adr_0]

Nice, sounds good. I believe you need a 15A circuit in your house to power it?

 

[lickapop]

My first beer I ever made was on a 3v I built. I have since made beer every possible way since and the Bm is the best.

If you can, imo don't waste your money tinkering building systems or even buying simple biab equipment Go straight to Ag in a Bm. You will learn all you need to know about how the brewing process works in the shortest and cheapest way possible if you do eventually buy a BM.

I pissed some money up the wall on gear over the years. 50l Bm is all you need.

 

[sambow]

Thanks everyone. I've contacted both Craftbrewer and Grain and Grape to see if they are currently available and if they can deliver to Sydney. I don't have a 15amp power point at the moment however I think that they are reasonably cheap to install. My brother is actually coming around today and he has a Brewsmith kit which he doesn't use so whilst I am waiting for my Braumeister to arrive I will see how I go with his kit.

Can anyone recommend what else I should purchase along with the Braumeister 50L? Things like a chiller, copper lid, thermo sleeve etc. I'm keen to get everything that I need to start brewing with this purchase so That I can save on shipping costs ordering bits and pieces here and there.

Cheers.

 

[Blind Dog]

Get the quotes for the 15amp circuit before you order the BM; I was quoted silly money so went with the 20L. Marks Homebrew in Newcastle stocks the BM and all the bits and is only 1 1/2 hours up the freeway. Good bloke too. As far as I know it's the only place in NSW that stocks it

 

[sambow]

I'll get a couple of quotes to have the 15amp installed. If it does come in at too much I will probably end up going for the 20L like you did. I was just a bit worried that I might kick myself down the track for not having gone with the 50L.
Cheers

 

[Pirate323i]

A friend of mine just bought the 20L BM from grape and grain, arrived last week. I can't wait to see it in the flesh!
Don't forget you will also need a fermenter, bottles and capper... Or a keg system!

 

[sambow]

OK, so I'll probably end up going with the 20L as getting the 15amp installed is going to be more expensive than I thought. Yep, I am also going to purchase a fermenter and I'm looking into options for a keg system.
Thanks

 

[Crusty]

OK, so I'll probably end up going with the 20L as getting the 15amp installed is going to be more expensive than I thought. Yep, I am also going to purchase a fermenter and I'm looking into options for a keg system.
Thanks

It's entirely up to you which way you go but if you are going to fork out the coin on the 50lt & possibly the hood as well, the cost of the 15A circuit would be pretty trivial wouldn't it? I got a 15A installed at my place & it cost $150.00 + $25.00 for the powerpoint. Pretty reasonable really. The location of your powerpoint will be a cost factor you need to look at. The further from the meter box the more it will cost you. I got mine installed pretty much directly behind my meter box & just run a 15A extension lead to the BM. Go the 50lt & you'll be ready for any future upgrade. Double batching is pretty handy if your time poor like me & you'll have that covered. I'd look at some type of pulley system for removing the malt pipe, it's a mission lifting it out by hand unless you're built like a brick shithouse.
I'd like the lid as well just for that more vigorous boil. They're an awesome bit of kit & you'll be more than happy with it.
Good luck.

 

[Mogamble]

Can anyone recommend what else I should purchase along with the Braumeister 50L? Things like a chiller, copper lid, thermo sleeve etc. I'm keen to get everything that I need to start brewing with this purchase so That I can save on shipping costs ordering bits and pieces here and there.
Cheers.

Hi Sambow, like you I jumped straight into all grain brewing by buying a 20L Braumeister. I had only previously brewed 5 extract brews. I used it for the first time on Friday and loved it. There are some great threads on this forum and also the Braumeister forum, that are well worth a read.

I'd recommend upgrading the tap, I replaced it straight away. Dicko has posted some photos of how he upgraded his tap and I copied him. All parts can be bought from Craftbrewer (reducer, ball valve, nipple and barb)

Good luck

 

[sambow]

Thanks for the comments and advice everyone. This is a great forum!!! I have read heaps of old threads today and there is so much information on here which makes everything a lot easier.

I am going to have to go for the 20L as my meter box is a very long way from where my Braumeister is going to be so it will end up costing a fair bit more than I originally planed for to get the 15A circuit. It's good to here that other people have gone straight into grain brewing on a Braumeister without much experience as I was a little concerned about this as I have next to none I actually did my first brew today using a BrewSmith Kit which was very basic but I was happy to have done it. Hopefully it tastes alright too as I followed the step by step instructions and as they said on the instructions it was easier than baking a cake.

I'll definitely upgrade the tap as I have also read that this should be done as the one that is supplied is rather average. I'd love to hear what thoughts people have on kegging vs bottling beer. At the moment I am really undecided which way I would be best to go.
Cheers

 

[Moad]

If you can, go the 50L. I went the 20L and am finding now I am brewing more and more to supply a few mates as well as looking to do some big beers. A 50L would have made life easier.

You could grab a smaller urn and do BIAB for a couple of brews then reuse that urn for heating sparge water.

I went from one kit, to around 15 BIAB brews to a BM. 20 brews in on the BM and I couldn't be happier so if you can afford it just get the BM!

If you have some cash to burn find an old fridge, get an STC and setup your fermentation chamber while waiting for your BM.

If you have even more cash to burn get a kegging setup ASAP, don't bother with bottles.

 

[GalBrew]

You will regret the reduced capacity eventually. My 3v brewery is 70L/50L/70L. Seemed fine at the time of purchase, should have gotten all 100L vessels. I personally wouldn't bother with a 20L BM, go 50L.

 

[sambow]

G'day all, I've sent a couple of emails to Chris from grain and grape today and I've currently got my order to whats below:

1. 20 litre Braumeister
2. Upgraded tap on the Braumeister
3. Copper immersion chiller
4. Malt mill
5. 2 x 30L fermenting vessels with outlet taps, locks and bungs
6. Thermo jacket
7. Kegerator Including Dual Font Tower with connections to click hoses onto post mix kegs
8. 4 x 20L post mix kegs including hoses and fittings
9. Gas bottle/regulator including hoses and fittings
10. Ingredients to do at least the first few brews
11. Cleaning kit and sanitiser
12. A hydrometer and a test jar

As I mentioned, I am starting from scratch so I need to get pretty much everything. Does this list look ok? or would others do things differently or add other items? I'm sure that I've missed a couple of things.

It is going to be a pretty big investment up front however it's a hobby that I plan on continuing for years to come so I want to do it properly plus the way that I look at it with the amount of beer that we go through the set up will pay for its self in no time.

I may regret it down the track but I am going with the 20L Braumeister. My metre box is just too far away from where I want the Braumeister to go so it will cost a small fortune to get the 15A circuit installed.

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers

 

[jonnir]

What was your quote for the 15A circuit?

 

[MastersBrewery]

13. Thermo Pen
14. Mash Paddle
15. Pump spray bottles x2 (mister type bottles 1 for sanitiser, 1 for soapy water to leak check gas/kegs)
16. silicone hose
17. Pint/Middy Glasses

 

[Black n Tan]

Take this from someone who first bought a 20L BM then had to upgrade to a 50L BM, get the 50L upfront and save yourself some bucks from having to upgrade at a later date. I started making 20L batches then started doing double mashes on the 20L but it just got too much. I now have the 50L BM including thermojacket and mega-expensive copper dome. I also bought the smaller malt pipe so I can do experimental 20L batches. The thermo-jaclet and dome make for a more vigorous boil, which can sometimes be lacking on a BM. These items certainly aren't mandatory and you can create your own ghetto jacket and dome, and achieve similar results. My 15A point was a long way from the fuse box so cost several hundred, but I love my set-up and just wish I had of bought the 50L upfront. Regardless good luck, you will love it!

 

[sambow]

It would be well over $1,000 for the 15A circuit to be installed which is way more than I thought it would be. I just didn't take the distance from the metre box to the location of the Braumeister into consideration.

Thanks for the extra things to add to my list. I had overlooked everything that you added except the glasses.

Cheers