Braumeister - Tips & Tricks

[Blind Dog]

I think my worst one was when I tipped the grain in and then turned round to see the malt pipe sitting proudly on the kitchen bench.

I then compounded the error by lifting the BM by the handles to tip the liquor and grain into a Bunnings pale, only to find out there is a reason the manual warns you not to do it. Fortunately I mash in at 45C so I just ended up covered in about 10L of slightly sticky warm liquid and a floor to clean.

 

[Coalminer]

Make sure to acknowledge by pressing OK when asked to fill malt pipe
Its much easier and less messy if the pump is not running when adding grain

 

[Batz]

Make sure to acknowledge by pressing OK when asked to fill malt pipe
Its much easier and less messy if the pump is not running when adding grain

OK there's one I can admit too.

 

[MattSR]

Can someone tell me what the dreaded "DMS" actually is?

Cheers,
Matt

 

[brewchampion]

I've got a tip : if you loose a base plate and filter. Try looking in the trash with the waste malt
That will save you from looking all over the brewery and house.!

 

[Cervantes]

Can someone tell me what the dreaded "DMS" actually is?

Cheers,
Matt

Dimethylsulfide

Edit:

More reading here

 

[durgarth]

Has anyone done a sour mash with the Braumeister. I want to do a Berliner Weisse by mashing, reducing the temp to 40 degrees or so throwing in some unmashed grain and allowing the Lacto to do its thing for a couple of days (until sour enough), then boil and ferment.

Ideas gratefully received.

 

[WitWonder]

Make sure to acknowledge by pressing OK when asked to fill malt pipe
Its much easier and less messy if the pump is not running when adding grain

Did that at the end of the mash last time - forgot to acknowledge end of mash and started trying to remove the malt pipe full of grain. Wondering why it was so difficult to remove the butterfly nut and then staring in horror as the grain started rising above the top of the malt pipe...

 

[dicko]

OK so I must have too much time on my hands

but yesterday I decided to do a little modification that has been on my mind for a while.

I found that when I wanted to lift the top screen from the malt pipe to stir the mash I found that 9 times out of ten the wire screen would either get caught on the thread of the centre rod and drop back on top of the mash or, if using the rubber to secure it then it would dislodge the rubber and I would have to re configure the whole screen and rubber again. This usually involved having to clean all the grain from the screens for re assembly.

What I did was I went to the local marine chandlery shop and bought 4 x 5 mm stainless screws and washers and wing nuts to suit.

I measured the spacings equally around the solid plate and drilled out 4 holes to 5 mm (they are currently 3 mm).
I then got a tapered centre punch and pushed it through the light mesh screen in line with the holes that I had drilled and stopped pushing when the hole in the mesh was 5 mm.
I bolted the mesh to the solid screen and refitted my rubber seal and there you have it. A now secure screen that is relatively easy to dis assemble for cleaning but wont fall to pieces if it is lifted from the mash.

I could have bought 3 mm screws but I considered them too small to handle with my big fingers

Anyway a picture tells a thousand words.

 

[lukec]

Do you find stirring makes much difference?

OK so I must have too much time on my hands

but yesterday I decided to do a little modification that has been on my mind for a while.
I found that when I wanted to lift the top screen from the malt pipe to stir the mash I found that 9 times out of ten the wire screen would either get caught on the thread of the centre rod and drop back on top of the mash or, if using the rubber to secure it then it would dislodge the rubber and I would have to re configure the whole screen and rubber again. This usually involved having to clean all the grain from the screens for re assembly.
What I did was I went to the local marine chandlery shop and bought 4 x 5 mm stainless screws and washers and wing nuts to suit.
I measured the spacings equally around the solid plate and drilled out 4 holes to 5 mm (they are currently 3 mm).
I then got a tapered centre punch and pushed it through the light mesh screen in line with the holes that I had drilled and stopped pushing when the hole in the mesh was 5 mm.
I bolted the mesh to the solid screen and refitted my rubber seal and there you have it. A now secure screen that is relatively easy to dis assemble for cleaning but wont fall to pieces if it is lifted from the mash.
I could have bought 3 mm screws but I considered them too small to handle with my big fingers

Anyway a picture tells a thousand words.

IMG_0877.jpg

IMG_0878.jpg

 

[Dan2]

Perhaps a piece of stainless wire/strap between 2 of the screws (top side) to help with lifting the plate out.
I just took mine out to add a little roast and crystal during mash out and struggled to get a grip on it.
Wore a layer of skin off my fingers yesterday doing some net repairs so they're very sensitive to heat .... (pause to wait for sympathy ... :lol: )

 

[dicko]

I find that if I stir the grain on a large grain bill, up around 6 kg, then I get an extra point or two of OG.

With a grain bill around 5 kg it really doesn't seem to matter.
It is also handy if you want to add your roasted grains at the end of the mash.

Dan2 that is a good idea re the wire for a handle....I will have a think about that and see what I come up with.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I'm a little peeved at my BM and myself today.

Doing a double mash Barleywine with the small malt pipe. I tried this once before a couple years ago on a DIPA and didn't like the results, but I am giving it another go after advice from Grain and Grape to mash on the lower end of the malt pipe capacity. Today's batch is 2x5kg mashes which might still be a bit high...

I think my first mistake was doing a normal mash program with a view to interrupt it at mash-out rather than just going all out manual. I was out of the house when the mash finished and got home about 10-15 mins later with the wort pumping through and the unit beeping.

I sparged 8l (should have done 5-6 I think) with 66 degree water (mash matched) to avoid denaturing the enzymes. Doughed in the second batch, and then went to kick off the manual mash at 67...the BM unit reads 76 degrees.

ARGH WTF?!

I pulled the mash out and let the unit cool down, dropping it back in at 68, and aiming to maintain at 67. The second mash was in the mid 70s wort for about 5 minutes I think. I will know in about an hour if I get anything out of the second lot of grain!

I am at a loss to explain how this has happened. I looked back at the program:

Mash in - 38
0 min - 52
0 min - 52
90 min - 66
0 min - 68
0 min - 76
90 min - boil 101

As I didn't look at the controller temp until I doughed in the second batch, I am not sure when it climbed to 76. I only pressed the 'quit mash' not 'start boiling' as I was sparging, so I think it climbed to 76 in the ten or so minutes after the mash program finished before I came home. Anyone seen behaviour like this before?




Update: An hour into the second mash and things are going OK. Almost at my target pre-boil gravity...still interested to see what happened though!

 

[brewchampion]

I'm a little peeved at my BM and myself today.

Doing a double mash Barleywine with the small malt pipe. I tried this once before a couple years ago on a DIPA and didn't like the results, but I am giving it another go after advice from Grain and Grape to mash on the lower end of the malt pipe capacity. Today's batch is 2x5kg mashes which might still be a bit high...

I think my first mistake was doing a normal mash program with a view to interrupt it at mash-out rather than just going all out manual. I was out of the house when the mash finished and got home about 10-15 mins later with the wort pumping through and the unit beeping.

I sparged 8l (should have done 5-6 I think) with 66 degree water (mash matched) to avoid denaturing the enzymes. Doughed in the second batch, and then went to kick off the manual mash at 67...the BM unit reads 76 degrees.

ARGH WTF?!

I pulled the mash out and let the unit cool down, dropping it back in at 68, and aiming to maintain at 67. The second mash was in the mid 70s wort for about 5 minutes I think. I will know in about an hour if I get anything out of the second lot of grain!

I am at a loss to explain how this has happened. I looked back at the program:

Mash in - 38
0 min - 52
0 min - 52
90 min - 66
0 min - 68
0 min - 76
90 min - boil 101

As I didn't look at the controller temp until I doughed in the second batch, I am not sure when it climbed to 76. I only pressed the 'quit mash' not 'start boiling' as I was sparging, so I think it climbed to 76 in the ten or so minutes after the mash program finished before I came home. Anyone seen behaviour like this before?




Update: An hour into the second mash and things are going OK. Almost at my target pre-boil gravity...still interested to see what happened though!

Your sparge water thermometer is broke?

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Your sparge water thermometer is broke?

Nah, the reading was on the BM itself. Even if I poured 76l water during the sparge (I didn't) it wouldnt have raised the mass to that temp.

 

[Blind Dog]

Your mash schedule has a 0 minute rest at 76C, so the BM will still ramp the temps up to 76C (at least mind always does). For a double mash you either need to be there to interrupt the relevant mash step or program one mash schedule to end at the main sac rest, then reprogram a second mash schedule starting at that temp to mashout

 

[doon]

Yeah you have 0 mins at a higher temp so it will go up to that.

The instructions for double mash on grain and grape facebook say first mash leave at main sacc temp second mash do a mashout

 

[Dan Pratt]

mashed in last night and the wort seemed to take ages to come up through the malt pipe.....hmmmm..... then the water on teh outside of the malt pipe was starting to become cloudy......hmmm "what is going on?"

Forgot to put the orange seal on the base of the malt pipe..... :huh:

Stopped pump, lifted malt pipe, removed the malt pipe after draining the malt pipe and rested the MP on a bucket and had to proceed to add the seal, replaced the MP to the cloudy water, transferred 2 litres via to the top of the pipe, reset filter and starter her up....PHEW!!

 

[Blind Dog]

Haven't done that one...yet!

Hopefully it's all good now?

 

[Dan Pratt]

Haven't done that one...yet!

Hopefully it's all good now?

Brew went great. Done my 2nd overnight mash with stellar results, my brew house Eff has increased 10%. I was running at low 60% for a grist of 5.6kg and now can hit 70%+ using the overnight mash profile.

mash in at 25c ( tap water temp )
180m @ 25c
180m @ 25c
20m @ 63c
30m @ 73c
90m @ 78c

Start at 9pm and all mashed in by 930. Wake up at 630, get up at 645 and beep beep mash is just finishing. If I could set it for longer than 180m per phase it would be mashed in earlier than 930. This makes my brew day including cleanup less than 4hrs and my efficiency has gone up

I have to admit the mill I'm getting grain through ( 3roller from KK set at 0.6mm - apparently 3 rollers only have 2 settings 0.3 and 0.6 as the 2 top rollers stay constant) has changed aswell so I cant give all the increase the Overnight Mash, I think that the 2 combined have seen improvements, but mainly the mash.