Braumeister - Tips & Tricks

[Malted]

Also guys, this is my first bigger batch on the BM - how much mash water would you recommend for 12.5KG of grains?

As a general rule I fill mash water to the top marking on the center rod (55L) or a bit more. You then adjust the amount of sparge water to suit your desired preboil volume to reach the desired output (batch volume). As discussed previously, if you want 50 L of finished beer, allow for losses and set your batch volume higher. If you are happy with a batch volume of 50L of wort, then you will lose some to the kettle trub and yeast trub in the fermenter/s, i.e. you won't get 50L of finished beer from a batch volume of 50L.

Your efficiency will affect how much grain you have to put in to reach your desired gravity at a particular volume. Lower efficiency means more grain to reach the desired gravity at a particular volume, Higher actual efficiency (above the predicted) is less grain - or a higher gravity for that volume. IMO some of the grain I have does not have the extract potential that BS thinks it has (consequently my gravity is different to the predicted). In particular I have some malted wheat that is a bit old and it does not yield the gravity that BS predicts, likewise for some older pilsner malt I have. Malts vary from batch to batch so if you wanted to be precise, you would need to find out these parameters for your grain and adjust the BS ingredient profile accordingly. It is all related but is perhaps too much information for now.

Dicko in this thread is spot on with his variables and though he uses a 20L jobby, he should be able to talk in some detail about predicted and actual parameters and Beersmith.

 

[RobW]

I've just joined the Teutonic side and now have a 20 litre Braumeister.
I want to put a pickup tube in it and was thinking about an elbow stepped down from the tap hole to a tee that joins both ends of the mesh from an EZ hooker.
The mesh would form a circle and lie on the base between the wall and the element.
The surface area should give good even flow and the mesh will act as a screen.
Any thoughts?

 

[Howlingdog]

This is the way I've gone for the time being until I replace with S/S. Leaves about 200ml in the bottom of 20L BM

HM

 

[RobW]

Thanks HD, good to know.
What type of S/S setup are you looking at?

 

[syl]

As a general rule I fill mash water to the top marking on the center rod (55L) or a bit more. You then adjust the amount of sparge water to suit your desired preboil volume to reach the desired output (batch volume). As discussed previously, if you want 50 L of finished beer, allow for losses and set your batch volume higher. If you are happy with a batch volume of 50L of wort, then you will lose some to the kettle trub and yeast trub in the fermenter/s, i.e. you won't get 50L of finished beer from a batch volume of 50L.

Your efficiency will affect how much grain you have to put in to reach your desired gravity at a particular volume. Lower efficiency means more grain to reach the desired gravity at a particular volume, Higher actual efficiency (above the predicted) is less grain - or a higher gravity for that volume. IMO some of the grain I have does not have the extract potential that BS thinks it has (consequently my gravity is different to the predicted). In particular I have some malted wheat that is a bit old and it does not yield the gravity that BS predicts, likewise for some older pilsner malt I have. Malts vary from batch to batch so if you wanted to be precise, you would need to find out these parameters for your grain and adjust the BS ingredient profile accordingly. It is all related but is perhaps too much information for now.

Dicko in this thread is spot on with his variables and though he uses a 20L jobby, he should be able to talk in some detail about predicted and actual parameters and Beersmith.

I always calc for 80%, will be interesting though.

I will just do the normal 55, going for a 65L batch.

How much waste Do you predict on a 50L with no pickup? I have 6L lost set in BS currently...

 

[Malted]

I always calc for 80%, will be interesting though.

I will just do the normal 55, going for a 65L batch.

How much waste Do you predict on a 50L with no pickup? I have 6L lost set in BS currently...

So you're aiming for 65L with a 55L batch? You could always go for a higher gravity and dilute it?
Beersmith tells me if you had 55L at 1.065 post boil, you could add 10L of water for a gravity of 1.055 at 65L.

Depends upon how much you tip the device over! If I run wheat, crushed twice, I will have more trub and corresponding higher losses. If I use 300g of flowers and 300g of pellets (as I did the other day) I will have a lot more loss to hops and trub -the level of hops remaining almost covered the elements when I drained the wort out. I have a pickup tube (from MHB) but rarely use it.

 

[syl]

So you're aiming for 65L with a 55L batch? You could always go for a higher gravity and dilute it?
Beersmith tells me if you had 55L at 1.065 post boil, you could add 10L of water for a gravity of 1.055 at 65L.

Depends upon how much you tip the device over! If I run wheat, crushed twice, I will have more trub and corresponding higher losses. If I use 300g of flowers and 300g of pellets (as I did the other day) I will have a lot more loss to hops and trub -the level of hops remaining almost covered the elements when I drained the wort out. I have a pickup tube (from MHB) but rarely use it.

Obviously. But a standard (this is DSGA). Tipping within reason. 5L?

200g hop pellets

 

[DeGarre]

Could someone who consistently gets 80% mash efficiency or more please post one of your recipes? Specifically, what is the grain bill (grains and quantities), what is the actual pre-boil gravity and volume, and what is the efficiency calculated to be. I am curious as to whether my software (Beer Alchemy) is calculating mash efficiency in the same way.

I got 89% on this one, recipe and ingredients here:
http://tavastlandbrewing.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/brew-51-kiwi-golden-ale/

Before the boil started I had 30 litres wort at OG 1040, degrees per Litre for the grain bill were 307.2 and kilos 4.41 of grain in total
(40 x 30)/(307.2 x 4.41) = 89%

 

[stakka82]

Reasonable tipping will leave 2-3l in 50l bm with average trub volume.

 

[tallie]

I got 89% on this one, recipe and ingredients here:
http://tavastlandbrewing.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/brew-51-kiwi-golden-ale/

Before the boil started I had 30 litres wort at OG 1040, degrees per Litre for the grain bill were 307.2 and kilos 4.41 of grain in total
(40 x 30)/(307.2 x 4.41) = 89%

Thanks DeGarre, especially for the calculation. That comes with 1% of what BeerAlchemy gives me.

 

[Batz]

I brew a little differently on my 50lt BM, I set beersmith for my finished volume which will be 55lt (or at least I use the 55lt BM measure groove). I then brew and sparge as usual, then after boil I top up from an urn to the 55lt groove. I rarely miss my expected OG by more than a point or two. Here I whirlpool and chill or no-chill as normal.

After the trub left in the BM (not much I have a pick up tube), and trub left in two fermenters, I keg two 19lt kegs and one 9lt party keg.

It's the way I have brewed with my BM since I have owned it, and that's a couple of years now.

Batz

 

[dicko]

I am probably a bit of a fanatic when it comes to Beersmith calcs.

I calculate the EXACT amount of water needed and that is all I use.

I mash with 25 litres and I sparge the rest through the grain after the mash.

I have my grain absorption and boil off figures set exactly for my grain crush and my BM...do not go on the default figure for grain absorption in Beersmith unless you have measured it and found it to be correct for your crush of your mill.

I only work on "mash" efficiency as "brewhouse" efficiency can and will vary from brew to brew depending on your losses in the kettle and the fermenter.

I have a 20 litre BM and I don't use a pick up tube but I have my Beersmith set to achieve a Batch volume of 25 litres.

I chill with an immersion chiller and then remove the chiller and whirlpool and allow the wort to settle for ONE HOUR in the kettle with the lid on before running it into the fermenter.

I tilt the BM to get 20 litres into the fermenter or if no trub is coming out I continue to drain on an angle until the first lot of trub starts to reach the tap outlet.. when this happens I stop draining. I am usually left with approx 4 litres in the kettle which is break material and hop trub.

I always get between 20 and 21 litres into the fermenter which will give me 19 litres into the keg. The wort is crystal clear.

Here is my equipment profile for a 90 min boil



Here is a dipstick I made to achieve the exact volume of water required as per Beersmith calculations



Here is my grain absorption settings in "Advanced Options" in Beersmith



My figure for grain absorption will differ from others...This figure however, needs to be accurate if you are to achieve repeatability.
I feel that the reason some claim that the BM loses efficiency as the beers get "bigger" is because the grain absorption figure is not correct and this results in a wort that is more diluted than it should be as the volume of grain increases.. This of course is if the absorption figure in Beersmith is higher than what it actually is in real life.
A good starting point in Beersmith for a BM is if you select the BIAB in the mash profile and work on that absorption figure which is lower than the other default.

For some time I had no other BM users to compare notes with and I couldn't seem to get any reliable figures from people that I had asked so I just relied on my own personal observations.
There is now a couple more BM owners in my area and we have come to realise that these figures vary particularly with grain crush.
I have a 3 roller Crankenstein and have it set to 1.4mm and get an efficiency of 77%. The other guys have two roller mills set to 1.2 and are getting up around 85% so I will be experimenting with my mill over the next few brews..not that I am all that worried about a few point of efficiency.

BTW the other guys "grain absorption" figures are higher than mine.
We all have 20 litre BM's and the boil off figures are very close from our recent results.

All the above are based on my observations and thoughts and is by no means "gospel" on BM brewing as each brewers situations are different.

I hope this PP type post may help some newbs with the BM :lol:

Cheers

Edted; Immersion chiller not CFWC

 

[djar007]

That over the side measuring idea is great Dicko. Consider it stolen. I have been trying to work out a good way to measure two different volumes. The one with the malt pipe in and the one with it out. Your idea is neat and perfect for me. Mind if I steal that one before you patent it?

 

[danestead]

What he said!

I am probably a bit of a fanatic when it comes to Beersmith calcs.

I calculate the EXACT amount of water needed and that is all I use.

I mash with 25 litres and I sparge the rest through the grain after the mash.

I have my grain absorption and boil off figures set exactly for my grain crush and my BM...do not go on the default figure for grain absorption in Beersmith unless you have measured it and found it to be correct for your crush of your mill.

I only work on "mash" efficiency as "brewhouse" efficiency can and will vary from brew to brew depending on your losses in the kettle and the fermenter.

I have a 20 litre BM and I don't use a pick up tube but I have my Beersmith set to achieve a Batch volume of 25 litres.

I chill with an immersion chiller and then remove the chiller and whirlpool and allow the wort to settle for ONE HOUR in the kettle with the lid on before running it into the fermenter.

I tilt the BM to get 20 litres into the fermenter or if no trub is coming out I continue to drain on an angle until the first lot of trub starts to reach the tap outlet.. when this happens I stop draining. I am usually left with approx 4 litres in the kettle which is break material and hop trub.

I always get between 20 and 21 litres into the fermenter which will give me 19 litres into the keg. The wort is crystal clear.

Here is my equipment profile for a 90 min boil

Equipment Profile 20 L BM 90 min boil.jpg

Here is a dipstick I made to achieve the exact volume of water required as per Beersmith calculations

BM Dip Stick.jpg

IMG_0569.jpg

Here is my grain absorption settings in "Advanced Options" in Beersmith

Beersmith Advanced Options Dicko's BM.JPG

My figure for grain absorption will differ from others...This figure however, needs to be accurate if you are to achieve repeatability.
I feel that the reason some claim that the BM loses efficiency as the beers get "bigger" is because the grain absorption figure is not correct and this results in a wort that is more diluted than it should be as the volume of grain increases.. This of course is if the absorption figure in Beersmith is higher than what it actually is in real life.
A good starting point in Beersmith for a BM is if you select the BIAB in the mash profile and work on that absorption figure which is lower than the other default.

For some time I had no other BM users to compare notes with and I couldn't seem to get any reliable figures from people that I had asked so I just relied on my own personal observations.
There is now a couple more BM owners in my area and we have come to realise that these figures vary particularly with grain crush.
I have a 3 roller Crankenstein and have it set to 1.4mm and get an efficiency of 77%. The other guys have two roller mills set to 1.2 and are getting up around 85% so I will be experimenting with my mill over the next few brews..not that I am all that worried about a few point of efficiency.

BTW the other guys "grain absorption" figures are higher than mine.
We all have 20 litre BM's and the boil off figures are very close from our recent results.

All the above are based on my observations and thoughts and is by no means "gospel" on BM brewing as each brewers situations are different.

I hope this PP type post may help some newbs with the BM :lol:

Cheers

Edted; Immersion chiller not CFWC

 

[dicko]

You go for it djar007,

It is a pain to have the only measure that comes with the BM on the centre post which restricts a lot of measuring, particularly when you are setting it up.

If I was a bit younger I would build a factory and go into manufacturing them :lol:

 

[syl]

Here's one for all you Braumeister's out there:

What utilisation % do you calculate for whirlpool hopping/hop-standing? The general consensus between brewers varies from 10-20% which is obviously a massive difference with high alpha hops!

Doing a whirlpool hop only brew this weekend, so it's going to make a big difference.

Cheers

 

[stakka82]

Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing Company says, "The fact that there is some isomerization (about 15% in whirlpool versus 35% in the kettle) of alpha acid means that not only hop aroma and hop flavor can be achieved, but also some bittering."

http://byo.com/component/k2/item/2808-hop-stands

Exact figure will vary depending on thermal mass of kettle and at which temp you add your whirlpool hops and for how long.

Basically how long is a piece of string.... personally whirlpool at about 95 degrees for about 20 mins (50l), consider it a 10 min addition software wise and this seems right from experimenting over 10 or so brews.

 

[syl]

Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing Company says, "The fact that there is some isomerization (about 15% in whirlpool versus 35% in the kettle) of alpha acid means that not only hop aroma and hop flavor can be achieved, but also some bittering."

http://byo.com/component/k2/item/2808-hop-stands

Exact figure will vary depending on thermal mass of kettle and at which temp you add your whirlpool hops and for how long.

Basically how long is a piece of string.... personally whirlpool at about 95 degrees for about 20 mins (50l), consider it a 10 min addition software wise and this seems right from experimenting over 10 or so brews.

Yeah. I know it was always going to be different, hence I wanted to get some feedback for our kit!

So a 10min addition would be about 10% utilisation as a guesstimate (at 1050). I am going to plan for 12% utilization to be safe as this is a low IBU beer (MG Steam Ale) and then dry hop the feck out of it!

 

[Malted]

Here is a dipstick I made to achieve the exact volume of water required as per Beersmith calculations

Excellent Stuff!

 

[DeGarre]

Where and how is this attached?

http://speidels-braumeister.de/shop/de/Zubehoer/Brauprozess/Hopfensieb

With this could I ditch the hop bag/spider and let the hops run free in the boil/kettle?