Braumeister - Tips & Tricks

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Brewmeister FAIL.

I keep hearing/seeing users posts about this "user friendly" machine and its inadequacies.

Why bother with a $2500 waste of money?

tnd
 
Brewmeister FAIL.

I keep hearing/seeing users posts about this "user friendly" machine and its inadequacies.

Why bother with a $2500 waste of money?

tnd

Hmm struggling to figure out what's *new*. Clearly not referring to "new & improved"

Yawn
 
Of course no one ever buys wider tyres for their car or adds a bit of personalisation.
Not so new Darren, if you havent brewed on a Braumeister you arent really in a position to comment, I have and do brew on one and find it serve my need admirably. Mine was one of the first imported into Australia and cost $5000, I dont regret a cent of that money.
Mark
 
Brewmeister FAIL.

I keep hearing/seeing users posts about this "user friendly" machine and its inadequacies.

Why bother with a $2500 waste of money?

tnd

Which system doesn't have inadequacies or a need for troubleshooting?

HERMS, RIMS, 3V gravity, 2V, 3 V with pumps, BIAB, Bucket in a bucket, etc, bag in an esky, esky mash tun with copper, esky with braid, keg mash tun, pot mash tun etc etc etc ad nauseaum.

Many systems make wort. Many systems have existed throughout history to do so.

And no I'm not having a go at you, nor defending the price tag - just suggesting that all systems have problems and solutions and some suit some people better than others.
 
Another nice post Manticle.
You managed to make only marginally more sense than the new darren.

It made perfect sense to me.
So he has essentially fed the troll but in doing so defended Braumeister's even though he doesn't have one (I think) and you as a BM user bag him for defending your brewing equipment?
:D
 
It made perfect sense to me.
So he has essentially fed the troll but in doing so defended Braumeister's even though he doesn't have one (I think) and you as a BM user bag him for defending your brewing equipment?
:D
Yes Malted you are correct, I mis read the post. I guess you dont hit >11,000 posts without "feeding the troll" a bit.
And I apologise to you too Manticle, my bad. Keep up the good work :)

Steve
 
feed_trolls.gif
 
Braumeister brewing tips, specifically for 'bigger' beers.

Using the 50L machine, you'll be able to end up with 40L at up to 1.077 using a 90 min boil, (or approx 36L at 1.085ish with a 120 min boil) using no sugars/extracts. Your mash temp/program will influence this, of course. Efficiency will be over 80%.


*Make sure the machine is 100% level. Builders wedges are only a few dollars & work perfectly for this

*Prime the pumps manually prior to starting brew program. Let the pumps run for a second or 2, then switch them off then back on again stright away. Repeat as necessary.

*Use 11.5kg of grain in the 50L machine. 12Kg is do-able too, but harder. You will still get over 80% efficiency if all these steps are followed.

*Mash in water volume should never be less than 50L. The malt pipe volume is fixed, obviously, so any reduction in mash-in water qty means less water outside the malt pipe to balance the volume in the malt pipe. Ie, a 45L mash-in compared to a 53L mash-in means the pumps are having to lift an extra 8kg of water BEFORE getting back to their intended flow rate. This is never going to happen.

*Mash-in at 38 degrees. No doughballs, good gelatinisation prior to the sacc rest. Pour of the grain in & stir it REALLY well, then the final , and stir really well again.

*Make any necessary water additions to get the mash PH & water minerals correct. Ezwater calculator works brilliantly.

*A 90 min mash is 100% necessary. With a large grain qty & reduced flow rate, 60 mins isn't adequate. Typically, the difference between a 60 min and a 90 min mash is at least 5 gravity points.

*You will need to stir the mash several times during the mash program. Personally, i've found 2 stirs during the temp ramp from 38-6? degrees, & 2 or 3 stirs during the mash (at 15, 30, 70 min, approx). If you're near the machine when it does it's pump interruption, just pause the program & stir then.

*Sparge. Just 4-5L or so, so it's nice & easy to do on your stove.

*After mashing out & the sparge water has slowed to a trickle, put the malt pipe on a bowl/plate/bucket & allow to drain for another hour or so. Add this toward the end of the boil.

Examples-
Belgian Dark strong
11.78kg grain, Mash schedule 10 min/38, 30 min/62, 60 min/68, 10 min/75.
50L mash in, 5L sparge.
90 min mash, 90 min boil.
OG 1.077, 40L final volume, 36.1L into fermentor after trub loss.

Maibock
12.09kg grain, Mash schedule 10min/38, 90 min/69. Note the high mash temp. This will lower the maximun OG.
50L mash in, 4L sparge
90 min mash, 90 min boil.
OG 1.073, 38L final volume, water added at end of boil to get 40L at 1.071.


The above method may well be improved upon, but i've found it to work very well for me. Beers above 1.070 easily & reliably, regardless of mash schedule, & over 1.085 with a suitable mash schedule & 120 min boil. Efficiency always at least 80%.

For beers bigger than this, just add malt extract to the boil as required, this will also enable you to have a shorter boil time again.

If anyone has some other tips they've found to work well for brewing big beers, please let me know!

Mikk.

Mikk, excelent post

Could you provide more recipes?

Regards,

Caio
 
Caio, since that last post of mine i don't have a much more to add!

If you're just starting out in using the BM, as from your other post you are, rather than follow my instructions to get the absolute most from each brew with the aim of making 'big' beers, you should just try following the manufacturers instructions to the letter, & not use more than about 10kg of grain. Once you get the hang of this, only then should you start varying from your known procedure to make the styles of beer you really want to specialise in.


With regards to my previous post, I'm now convinced that it's the first few stirs and a 90 min mash that really make the biggest difference when using a large quantity (11-12.5kg) of grain in the BM. After mashing in at 38C, i'll usually give it a stir as the temp ramps up to 65/66. Prior to the first stir, the grain is pretty much a solid block of starchy grainy goodness, & quite hard to move around. The flow of wort over the top of the malt pipe increases markedly after each stir, & then slows down gradually as the grain compacts again. The pump interruptions effectively do nothing with this much grain in the malt pipe, hence the need to stir. After the 3rd stir, which is usually about 15 min into the mash, the grain stays loose & fluffy & wort flow stays at maximum after this. A fourth & final stir about 45 min into the mash is just for 'insurance', so to speak!

Since then I've made an IPA & Mild ale

American IPA
11.55kg grain, mash schedule 38/10 min, 65/90 min, 76/10 min
50L mash in, 7L sparge
90 min mash, 90 min boil
OG 1.067, 43L final volume. I was aiming for 43L of 1.065, so added 1.5L water at the end of boil to get 44.5L @1.065. So, approx 85% efficiency.

Mild Ale
8.14kg grain, mash schedule 38/0 min, 68/60 min
55L mash in, 9L sparge
60 min mash, 90 min boil
OG 1.044, 53L final volume. I was actually aiming for 1.038, but left the wort at 1.044. Lucky i did, as the gravity wouldn't go below 1.018 after fermentation. Worked out well at 3.5%, & is one of the nicest beers i've made.

Mikk.
 
Caio, since that last post of mine i don't have a much more to add!

If you're just starting out in using the BM, as from your other post you are, rather than follow my instructions to get the absolute most from each brew with the aim of making 'big' beers, you should just try following the manufacturers instructions to the letter, & not use more than about 10kg of grain. Once you get the hang of this, only then should you start varying from your known procedure to make the styles of beer you really want to specialise in.


With regards to my previous post, I'm now convinced that it's the first few stirs and a 90 min mash that really make the biggest difference when using a large quantity (11-12.5kg) of grain in the BM. After mashing in at 38C, i'll usually give it a stir as the temp ramps up to 65/66. Prior to the first stir, the grain is pretty much a solid block of starchy grainy goodness, & quite hard to move around. The flow of wort over the top of the malt pipe increases markedly after each stir, & then slows down gradually as the grain compacts again. The pump interruptions effectively do nothing with this much grain in the malt pipe, hence the need to stir. After the 3rd stir, which is usually about 15 min into the mash, the grain stays loose & fluffy & wort flow stays at maximum after this. A fourth & final stir about 45 min into the mash is just for 'insurance', so to speak!

Since then I've made an IPA & Mild ale

American IPA
11.55kg grain, mash schedule 38/10 min, 65/90 min, 76/10 min
50L mash in, 7L sparge
90 min mash, 90 min boil
OG 1.067, 43L final volume. I was aiming for 43L of 1.065, so added 1.5L water at the end of boil to get 44.5L @1.065. So, approx 85% efficiency.

Mild Ale
8.14kg grain, mash schedule 38/0 min, 68/60 min
55L mash in, 9L sparge
60 min mash, 90 min boil
OG 1.044, 53L final volume. I was actually aiming for 1.038, but left the wort at 1.044. Lucky i did, as the gravity wouldn't go below 1.018 after fermentation. Worked out well at 3.5%, & is one of the nicest beers i've made.

Mikk.

Thank you very much Mikk.

I also have the 25L malt pipe for Braumeister 50L. I'm planning to brew the recipe first in this pipe then try to use the 50L pipe. Do you have recipes for 25L?

To transform a 50L recipe to a 25L recipe and use the small malt pipe is just divide the water and grain by 2 and mantain the phases and temperatures?

Regards,

Caio
 
To transform a 50L recipe to a 25L recipe and use the small malt pipe is just divide the water and grain by 2 and mantain the phases and temperatures?

I'd suggest you invest in some brewing software, such as www.promash.com or www.beersmith.com
I myself prefer beermith but plenty of others prefer promash. These programs retail for around $25-30 USD. I think it is a god investment in planning your brewing. I think you can download a trial version of each to see which you like.

There are also some free brewing programs such as BeerToolsPro (www.beertools.com), BrewMate (www.brewmate.net)
or others such as those listed on this page (http://beertobrew.com/Beer_brewing_software.aspx).

Generally these free programs are light versions, in that you can't calculate as much on them as a bought program. Some folks use them exclusively though.
 
There are also some free brewing programs such as BeerToolsPro (www.beertools.com), BrewMate (www.brewmate.net)
or others such as those listed on this page (http://beertobrew.com/Beer_brewing_software.aspx).

Generally these free programs are light versions, in that you can't calculate as much on them as a bought program. Some folks use them exclusively though.

Not quite true malted.

Beertools pro isnt freeware, and is highly advanced and able to calculate complex processes like beersmith and promash can.

Its an excellent piece of software.
 
Not quite true malted.
Beertools pro isnt freeware, and is highly advanced and able to calculate complex processes like beersmith and promash can.

Apparently not true at all in relation to BeerTools.
I guess that is why it is not free! My bad. :D
Seems to be 'around' the same price as the others.
 
Caio, since that last post of mine i don't have a much more to add!

If you're just starting out in using the BM, as from your other post you are, rather than follow my instructions to get the absolute most from each brew with the aim of making 'big' beers, you should just try following the manufacturers instructions to the letter, & not use more than about 10kg of grain. Once you get the hang of this, only then should you start varying from your known procedure to make the styles of beer you really want to specialise in.


With regards to my previous post, I'm now convinced that it's the first few stirs and a 90 min mash that really make the biggest difference when using a large quantity (11-12.5kg) of grain in the BM. After mashing in at 38C, i'll usually give it a stir as the temp ramps up to 65/66. Prior to the first stir, the grain is pretty much a solid block of starchy grainy goodness, & quite hard to move around. The flow of wort over the top of the malt pipe increases markedly after each stir, & then slows down gradually as the grain compacts again. The pump interruptions effectively do nothing with this much grain in the malt pipe, hence the need to stir. After the 3rd stir, which is usually about 15 min into the mash, the grain stays loose & fluffy & wort flow stays at maximum after this. A fourth & final stir about 45 min into the mash is just for 'insurance', so to speak!

Since then I've made an IPA & Mild ale

American IPA
11.55kg grain, mash schedule 38/10 min, 65/90 min, 76/10 min
50L mash in, 7L sparge
90 min mash, 90 min boil
OG 1.067, 43L final volume. I was aiming for 43L of 1.065, so added 1.5L water at the end of boil to get 44.5L @1.065. So, approx 85% efficiency.

Mild Ale
8.14kg grain, mash schedule 38/0 min, 68/60 min
55L mash in, 9L sparge
60 min mash, 90 min boil
OG 1.044, 53L final volume. I was actually aiming for 1.038, but left the wort at 1.044. Lucky i did, as the gravity wouldn't go below 1.018 after fermentation. Worked out well at 3.5%, & is one of the nicest beers i've made.

Mikk.

Mikk,

Following your experience and recommendations, what do you think about this procedure:

For 50L malt pipe:

American IPA
- 11.55kg grain, mash schedule 38/10 min, 65/90 min, 76/10 min
- 50L mash in, 7L sparge
- 90 min mash, 90 min boil
- OG 1.067, 43L final volume.
Procedure:
- Mash-in at 38 degrees. Pour of the grain in & stir it REALLY well, then the final , and stir really well again.
- 2 stirs during the temp ramp from 38-65 degrees (at 45 and 55 degrees)
- 3 stirs during the mash (at 15, 45 and 70 min)
- Mash-out
- Sparge with 7L
- After mashing out & the sparge water put the malt pipe on a bowl/plate/bucket & allow to drain for another hour or so. Add this toward the end of the boil.
- Boil 90min
- Cool
- Ferment

For 25L malt pipe:

American IPA
- 5.75kg grain, mash schedule 38/10 min, 65/90 min, 76/10 min
- 25L mash in, 3.5L sparge
- 90 min mash, 90 min boil
- OG 1.067, 20L final volume.
Procedure:
- Mash-in at 38 degrees. Pour of the grain in & stir it REALLY well, then the final , and stir really well again.
- 2 stirs during the temp ramp from 38-65 degrees (at 45 and 55 degrees)
- 3 stirs during the mash (at 15, 45 and 70 min)
- Mash-out
- Sparge with 3.5L
- After mashing out & the sparge water put the malt pipe on a bowl/plate/bucket & allow to drain for another hour or so. Add this toward the end of the boil.
- Boil 90min
- Cool
- Ferment

About hops quantity and type, what do you recommend?

Regards,

Caio
 
Mate, you don't need to do half those things you've listed. My post refers to specifically trying to get the strongest beers i can on the BM. As you're unfamiliar with basic BM usage, follow the basic instructions and refer to the other posts where people have tried to give you useful information. DON'T use more than 10kg grain. DON'T stir the grain. USE brewing software to help with recipe formulation. Keep your recipes SIMPLE whilst getting the hang of things. DON'T worry about doing step mashes- a simple single temp infusion will be fine. A 60/60 mash/boil will be fine. Again, read and follow the basic instructions. The Germans know what they're doing!
 
I will just add my 2c worth. There is no need to stop the BM and stir the mash, this kind of defeats the purpose of the unit IMO.
Another this I did with my last brew was add the pipe and grain as soon as the water goes in. As the water heats up plenty fast it does a couple of things. 1st, it give the grain time to swell and fully absorb the water prior to doing its thing, and 2nd while being heated from tap temp to your first step temp would be activating other enzymes for a short time, that (IMO) do not have a detrimantal effect on the overall beer. Either way the BM heats up fast enough that the mash really does not have time at any one temp along the way to change the profile greatly but it does appear to grab a couple of extra points.
Also, I agree 100% with what mikk said. But I love being able to do multi step Lagers nows as I never had the mash volume to do it with the 3v system. But yes, Ales, a single step is fine, I just make it 75mins at least at 67 deg C.
Steve
 
Does anyone have the 50L BM thermojacket? I just want to know how fast the temp raises with one on? I timed my 50L without one and I got from 53deg to 63deg in about 12 minutes.

cheers

Gav
 
Does anyone have the 50L BM thermojacket? I just want to know how fast the temp raises with one on? I timed my 50L without one and I got from 53deg to 63deg in about 12 minutes.

cheers

Gav


No but I'm going to make one out of camping mattress's
 
Yeah I think stopping and stirring mash actually caused my issues with pump not getting going again. I brewed yesterday 90 min mash 90 min boil and got around 85% with no stirring except for dough in

I have thermal jacket for 20l but haven't done a test to see what difference it makes on temp raises
 

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