Braumeister - Tips & Tricks

[zoigl]

I reckon that you had better look at where your responses are coming from. In Australia we have 240 volts, I am not sure what you are getting in the US but my guess is around 110 volts.
I lived in Japan for a number of years and they have 100 AND 110 volts depending where you live. The difference when using a microwave oven is amazing.
Recently I purchased a coffee roaster and the label is quite definite, do not use an extension.
I manage a rolling boil but our climate could possibly be warmer here in South Australia. Also I use a camping mat cut to fit around the BM. A tip here is to make a heavy brown paper pattern, then it is easy to replace.
I use a 10 meter extension with my BM, the first one labelled as 15 amp burnt out over time, I purchased this at our local B*nning* hardware store, it lasted a couple of years so was hard to return. The new extension is marked also at 15 amps but the cable is far heavier.
I use a copper top as well, but a SS bowl with a hole cut into the bottom should work too.

 

[Batz]

Although the BM boil is a little less active than what I had with my old kettle I still found it adequate. All that said, I got caught up in the boil hype and bought a jacket and hood. You can make a jacket from a camping mat, a hood from a stainless bowl and your off and running. I did have a couple of good months of work so I bought the real thing, waste of money perhaps, but it does look sexy. The boil now needs to be turned down from the 102C, otherwise it will boil out the top.

Batz

 

[Black n Tan]

Although the BM boil is a little less active than what I had with my old kettle I still found it adequate. All that said, I got caught up in the boil hype and bought a jacket and hood. You can make a jacket from a camping mat, a hood from a stainless bowl and your off and running. I did have a couple of good months of work so I bought the real thing, waste of money perhaps, but it does look sexy. The boil now needs to be turned down from the 102C, otherwise it will boil out the top.

Batz

I have the same set-up although I have the much sexier copper hood. I not sure the more vigorous boil equals better beer, but it probably saves some energy (not enough to cover the cost of original BM add-ons I suspect). I like the ghetto option. Some early hops usually quells the boil-over so I often add some FWH. If there is no early hops I add a few drops of FermCapS (simethicone, the same ingredient in infacol).

 

[Batz]

Thanks B&T, I'll try some FWH, tomorrows brew day, where do you get FermCapS?

Batz

 

[Black n Tan]

I got it from Grain and Grape. It is kept in the fridge, but I am sure could be posted fine. The best thing about it is when making yeast starters. One drop is enough in a starter and the risk of boil over is almost eliminated. Once I reach a simmer I know I can walk away and come back in 15 minutes. Not one boil over since using it.

 

[Batz]

I got it from Grain and Grape. It is kept in the fridge, but I am sure could be posted fine. The best thing about it is when making yeast starters. One drop is enough in a starter and the risk of boil over is almost eliminated. Once I reach a simmer I know I can walk away and come back in 15 minutes. Not one boil over since using it.

Cheers, I wonder what's in it? I'm a bit suss about adding stuff to my beer. I can't see it on their website.

Batz

 

[Murdoch]

I have the 50L Brau & the boil is much less than I would like
So I supplement it with an immersion heater & it now has a vigorous boil
Completely separate from hop utilization there is a big difference in break formation !

 

[alcoadam]

I leave the lid 3/4 on and have never had any issues, boil/beer is fine. Just keep an eye on things before the boil starts....can get messy <_<

 

[Brew Matt]

Does anyone have a good Pale Ale recipe for the BM50 that they are willing to share or point me towards.

 

[Black n Tan]

Cheers, I wonder what's in it? I'm a bit suss about adding stuff to my beer. I can't see it on their website.

Batz

The active ingredient is simethicone which is a surfactant. They claim it not only doesn't harm head retention, but in fact can aid it by retaining head forming proteins. it is the same stuff used in things like Infacol used to treat colic (gas) in babies. If your a purist it may not be for you, but it is pretty harmless and extremely low levels. Check it out on the morebeer site.

EDIT: G&G certainly sell it, they get it from Morebeer in the US.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Does anyone with a 50L BM have trouble keeping a roiling (or is it rolling :blink boil without the lid being at least part way on? My preference is to keep it off to reduce DMS but I have not been able to do so. I set the temp to 102C but it typically hovers in the 99-100C range and this does not get me the vigorous boil needed. Needless to say this is requiring me to stay by the BM to pop the lid off consistently to drain off the condensate. My one thought is that I am using a 10ft extension cord to get the BM out of the garage. Does anyone else use an extension cord?

thanks, Chris

I am pretty sure that in this thread, certainly on this forum, I posted about an exchange with Ralf from Spiedel about my boil concerns, and concerns about uneven element firing. In the end I bought their arguments around altitudes and the sufficiency of the boil. I agree it looks lame, but I've never had a lick of DMS in my BM beers. I have the jacket, but that's more around getting to hear more quickly than about a bigger boil.

 

[Blind Dog]

I am pretty sure that in this thread, certainly on this forum, I posted about an exchange with Ralf from Spiedel about my boil concerns, and concerns about uneven element firing. In the end I bought their arguments around altitudes and the sufficiency of the boil. I agree it looks lame, but I've never had a lick of DMS in my BM beers. I have the jacket, but that's more around getting to hear more quickly than about a bigger boil.

Hear more quickly? That's a damn neat invention

 

[Wolfman]

I have just joined the club. Picked up a second hand 50L jobbie with a short malt pipe from a member on here.

Looks like I've got 38 odd pages to read on tips and tricks!

 

[crhall41]

I leave the lid 3/4 on and have never had any issues, boil/beer is fine. Just keep an eye on things before the boil starts....can get messy <_<

I do have the insulated jacket and copper lid but I am worried that the condensate (with all its evil DMS) collects on the lid and just drips back down into the wort. I certainly get good rolling boils with the copper lid but I have been getting some vegetative off flavors with it which I am thinking is coming from the condensate. I suppose it could be something else (like poor sanitation) but this seems to be the more likely cause. I may try to devise some way to slightly lift the lid off the top of the BM such that the condensate drips to the outside rather than inside.

thanks for all the replies and insights....Chris

 

[tiprya]

How long are you boiling for, and have you actually confirmed (with an experienced taster) that it is DMS you are getting?

I'd get it checked before bothering trying to DIY something.

 

[Black n Tan]

I do have the insulated jacket and copper lid but I am worried that the condensate (with all its evil DMS) collects on the lid and just drips back down into the wort. I certainly get good rolling boils with the copper lid but I have been getting some vegetative off flavors with it which I am thinking is coming from the condensate. I suppose it could be something else (like poor sanitation) but this seems to be the more likely cause. I may try to devise some way to slightly lift the lid off the top of the BM such that the condensate drips to the outside rather than inside.

thanks for all the replies and insights....Chris

Although you may get some condensation dripping back, most makes it way out as will be evidenced by your boil off rate. If I remember correctly my boil off volume with the copper dome is a little more than without, so I would think you could argue DMS reduction may be better with the dome.

 

[alcoadam]

I do have the insulated jacket and copper lid but I am worried that the condensate (with all its evil DMS) collects on the lid and just drips back down into the wort. I certainly get good rolling boils with the copper lid but I have been getting some vegetative off flavors with it which I am thinking is coming from the condensate. I suppose it could be something else (like poor sanitation) but this seems to be the more likely cause. I may try to devise some way to slightly lift the lid off the top of the BM such that the condensate drips to the outside rather than inside.

thanks for all the replies and insights....Chris

With my lid being 3/4 on, nothing is dripping outside of the unit....it'd just be messy.

I was down in Melbourne a little while ago and noticed a small craft brewery that also leaves a lid 3/4 over the pot. I said to the brewer "ever had any trouble?" He grinned and said nope....

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I was down in Melbourne a little while ago and noticed a small craft brewery that also leaves a lid 3/4 over the pot. I said to the brewer "ever had any trouble?" He grinned and said nope....

"Pro brewer" doesn't always mean "know brewer" I've had the brewer of a small craft brewery tell me his Steam Beer was supposed to be moderately infected because "that's what happens when you ferment a lager yeast at ale temperatures".

There's a lot of things to learn from some/many/most pro Brewers, but bad habits aren't among them.

 

[alcoadam]

"Pro brewer" doesn't always mean "know brewer" I've had the brewer of a small craft brewery tell me his Steam Beer was supposed to be moderately infected because "that's what happens when you ferment a lager yeast at ale temperatures".

There's a lot of things to learn from some/many/most pro Brewers, but bad habits aren't among them.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Siborg]

Here's a tip: don't mash in to your BM without adding the screen filters....

 

[Wolfman]

Here's a tip: don't mash in to your BM without adding the screen filters....

Great tip!

 

[Siborg]

Great tip!

I ended up removing the entire mash with a 500mL pyrex jug, into a stainless ice tub, rinsed the f**k out of the BM and, then (carefully) pouring it back in with the filters in. Subtracted 10-15 minutes for lost time to the mash step, and only lost a couple of degrees surprisingly. Turned out a pretty decent batch, but not something I'd recommend.

 

[Black n Tan]

I ended up removing the entire mash with a 500mL pyrex jug, into a stainless ice tub, rinsed the f**k out of the BM and, then (carefully) pouring it back in with the filters in. Subtracted 10-15 minutes for lost time to the mash step, and only lost a couple of degrees surprisingly. Turned out a pretty decent batch, but not something I'd recommend.

I did this once also. Thought it look different when I was adding the grain and then the penny dropped. Never again I hope.

 

[Siborg]

I did this once also. Thought it look different when I was adding the grain and then the penny dropped. Never again I hope.

Yeah. This is the kind of mistake you only make once

 

[Blind Dog]

Yeah. This is the kind of mistake you only make once in a while

FIFY

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Has anyone touched the back of their control unit just after boil? Just now I'd somehow gotten my cable running through a stepladder and had to unplug and resit once the boil had finished. The power cable was very hot and the heatsink on the unit was untouchable. I don't think I've ever been back there till about 20 minutes after boil before, so not sure if this is normal or not?

 

[Crusty]

Yeah. This is the kind of mistake you only make once

I have to admit, I did it today.
I added the malt pipe, bottom screens then the grain. I added the top fine screen & then the phone rang. Spoke briefly to the missus who was at work & put on the cross bar at the top, done it up tight & hit go. Just as the malt pipe was overflowing, I noticed that I forgot the top stainless solid screen, ****! I hit abort & due to me seeing it so quickly, I had no issues with grain in the wort. It's easy to do & I guarantee I won't do it again. Ended up being a great brewday, just a simple Cream Ale. 50lt into the fermenter @1.051. Much better than my predicted 75% so I'll make a couple of changes next time.

 

[Cervantes]

I have to admit, I did it today.
I added the malt pipe, bottom screens then the grain. I added the top fine screen & then the phone rang. Spoke briefly to the missus who was at work & put on the cross bar at the top, done it up tight & hit go. Just as the malt pipe was overflowing, I noticed that I forgot the top stainless solid screen, ****! I hit abort & due to me seeing it so quickly, I had no issues with grain in the wort. It's easy to do & I guarantee I won't do it again. Ended up being a great brewday, just a simple Cream Ale. 50lt into the fermenter @1.051. Much better than my predicted 75% so I'll make a couple of changes next time.

My top fine mesh screen is clipped to my heavy stainless screen. I did this so that it's easy to install and remove if I want to stir the mash, but also means that you can't install one without the the other............

And so that I don't seem like a smart arse I have forgotten to install both bottom filter plates in the past....................

 

[Siborg]

My top fine mesh screen is clipped to my heavy stainless screen. I did this so that it's easy to install and remove if I want to stir the mash, but also means that you can't install one without the the other............

And so that I don't seem like a smart arse I have forgotten to install both bottom filter plates in the past....................

Yeah, I completely forgot about the bottom screens, then when I went to put the top ones on noticed I had an extra screen set.

 

[RobW]

Yeah, I completely forgot about the bottom screens, then when I went to put the top ones on noticed I had an extra screen set.

I did the opposite - couldn't find the top screen and then discovered 2 in the bottom.
Fortunately I could lift the whole lot out, empty the wet grain into a bucket, wash the pipe and screen and start again with minimal inconvenience.