Dedicated Braumeister Guide, Problems & Solution Thread

[Black n Tan]

I read it as his boss gave him the 50L Brau. Even more awesome.

 

[Crusty]

I read it as his boss gave him the 50L Brau. Even more awesome.

You gotta be kiddin me....

 

[wide eyed and legless]

(NT Thunder quote.)Only thing I'd like to know is what peoples preference is for sanitising, currently using Proxitane which smells a bit potent. Might look for some StarSan. Also, what do people use to clean their BM. I gave it a good rinse and then ran some pink TSP through it, just a slight dose and then gave it a good rinse and flush through the Pp.(end quote)
Nothing wrong with proxitane as long as it is kept in the fridge and when mixed use within the hour. Oh and don't have a piss if you notice a white film on your fingers after using it, you will end up with a very raw dick.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

There's a big to and fro about cleanining a couple pages up.

 

[NT.Thunder]

(NT Thunder quote.)Only thing I'd like to know is what peoples preference is for sanitising, currently using Proxitane which smells a bit potent. Might look for some StarSan. Also, what do people use to clean their BM. I gave it a good rinse and then ran some pink TSP through it, just a slight dose and then gave it a good rinse and flush through the Pp.(end quote)
Nothing wrong with proxitane as long as it is kept in the fridge and when mixed use within the hour. Oh and don't have a piss if you notice a white film on your fingers after using it, you will end up with a very raw dick.

interesting and thanks for that. I've got it stored in the cupboard and the bottle does have a breather in it. I also mixed a litre spray bottle which is also stored in the cupboard and I use it as a no rinse spray, is this no good?

I did buy some StarSan to use but I was going to use up all the Proxitane first.

Good tip also for looking after the ol fella. I have previously learnt the hard way (no pun intended) with some pretty nasty chillis

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Yes it is good as a no rinse, but do not spray, if you are cleaning bottles rinse one bottle and pour it into the next and so on.

 

[Sean_72]

Third brew with the BM, got to the boil stage and timer seemed to go a little early, my first hop addition was scheduled at 10 minutes, when the alarm went to add the first addition the BM was still only at 94.5, hot break had barely formed. Aborted and went manual, tad annoying, anyone else had this problem, didn't happen on my first two brews and the temp was set for 102.

 

[Sean_72]

Brew number four with the BM, feel a little silly but discovered the new BM temp controller goes up to 103, after reading all the previous posts and everyone saying make sure it is set to 102 I didn't bother going any further :unsure: .

Didn't have the issue with the timer going early, actually sat at 99.5 for a bit before starting, even flashed up to 100 a couple times and I didn't see it drop below 99.5, happy days.

 

[zoigl]

Have you got a camp mattress insulation jacket?

 

[Sean_72]

Yes, I have the insulation jacket, wasn't an overly cold day (from memory) when the timer went early.

Was thinking about getting the hood but will see how she goes on a really cold day, I am in Canberra so plenty of those coming up.

 

[Goose]

Happened to be in Portland Oregon last week where they held the annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC). Came across this...



Yours for a mere circa 23,000 Eu ex Germany...

In case you were wondering the bloke of the left is mr Stefan Speidel. I wonder if any connection ... B)

 

[NT.Thunder]

First off let me say I'm an idiot. Have been planning my second brew on the 20l Braumeister, a Little Creatures IPA clone which I was really excited about, but not so much now. I worked it all out on BeerSmith and as I'm so new to this BM it didn't even occur to me until I received the grainbill that I'm going to have issues stuffing it all down the malt pipe.

So grain billis 6.3kg for a 20l batch. I've used a recipe found on here and scaled it down so the Est OG, IBU, Color and ABV (6.8%) match; however I've got myself into a bit of a pickle.

Whats the most grain anyone has been able to use 5.5 Kg maybe? As the grain has already been mixed (5kg Pale Ale | 1kg Munich Dark | .3 Cararye) as I purchased it online, I guess it's going to be a little of a surprise surprise batch.

Any thoughts on what I can do or should do apart from pay more attention when putting recipes together. Maybe mash in 2 parts?

 

[doon]

Ive mashed in with over 6 before. Efficiency will drop somewhat

 

[Frag_Dog]

Ive mashed in with over 6 before. Efficiency will drop somewhat

I've done over 6 as well in my 20L. I added the grain at room temp and stirred it in before starting the pump. Extend the mash out and you hopefully won't get too much of a drop in efficiency. I also used some DME to bump up my OG to ensure I was at my target.

 

[Blind Dog]

6.3kg will fit. I've done more (but not by much) but found a big reduction in efficiency if I don't adjust my mash schedule. So to compensate I've found that

1. mashing in warm (40C) for a while helps. I set this as my mash in temp and then let it sit there for 15 min or so after adding the crushed grain, stirring a few times as the BM tells me to fill the malt pipe, then setting it off and running for my chosen mash schedule

2. extended mash out (for big grain bills I mashout at 78C overnight) really helps. I set the mashout at 78 for 20 min, press the button once to stop the beeping, but leave the malt pipe in there with the lid on. The BM maintains the temp until I lift the malt pipe the following morning and commence the boil.

For much more grain than 6kg, I use a reiterated mash, but that's getting off topic.

If you're worried about space, you can flip the top plate upside down, add a nut or washers (12mm thread) so there's still a space between the plate and the bar that holds the malt pipe in place, and clamp down as usual

(Idea 2 and flipping the top plate are shamelessly stolen from Dicko)

 

[NT.Thunder]

Wow, that's great news. I was expecting a drop in efficiency with higher grain bills but wasn't expecting to pack 6.3kgs in. Might look at the overnight mashout, maybe start Saturday night and finish Sunday as planned.

Thanks for the tips

 

[NT.Thunder]

6.3kg will fit. I've done more (but not by much) but found a big reduction in efficiency if I don't adjust my mash schedule. So to compensate I've found that

1. mashing in warm (40C) for a while helps. I set this as my mash in temp and then let it sit there for 15 min or so after adding the crushed grain, stirring a few times as the BM tells me to fill the malt pipe, then setting it off and running for my chosen mash schedule

2. extended mash out (for big grain bills I mashout at 78C overnight) really helps. I set the mashout at 78 for 20 min, press the button once to stop the beeping, but leave the malt pipe in there with the lid on. The BM maintains the temp until I lift the malt pipe the following morning and commence the boil.

For much more grain than 6kg, I use a reiterated mash, but that's getting off topic.

If you're worried about space, you can flip the top plate upside down, add a nut or washers (12mm thread) so there's still a space between the plate and the bar that holds the malt pipe in place, and clamp down as usual

(Idea 2 and flipping the top plate are shamelessly stolen from Dicko)

Blind Dog - If I mash out at step 2 overnight like suggested, hit the button to stop beeping and leave the lid on. Does the recirc Pp and heaters run all night to maintain 78

 

[NT.Thunder]

Another question I have regarding the BM is racking to fermentor and avoiding all the trub.

My first beer ended up with a lot of trub and crap after the boil from the hop additions and as I wasn't to careful when racking it from the tap to fermentor alot of this ended up in it. I tried to whirlpool but not sure if I was doing it right or it was just not effective in the BM, do people usually whirlpool with success?

Do people just throw the hop pellets in or use a hop bag? I used a hop bag for dry hopping but not during the boil.

After fermentation the beer was very clear; however had a bitterness which wasn't overpowering but didn't seem right. I'll admit that I don't like oerly bitter beers that much so without a benchmark I couldn't compare it too anything. I dont know if it was astringency as even though it has a bitter taste, it's still drinkable but certainly not a session beer. The fermentation period seemed pretty quick, maybe 2 days before the activity in the airlock stopped.

The beer was a SMaSH IPA 49IBU - 55gm Cascade at 60 - 28gm Cascade 15 - 28gm Cascade 0 with dry hop Cascade 7 days.

Does anyone autosiphon from the top into their fermentor? Do people use filters?

 

[Blind Dog]

Blind Dog - If I mash out at step 2 overnight like suggested, hit the button to stop beeping and leave the lid on. Does the recirc Pp and heaters run all night to maintain 78

Yes. I leave a towel wrapped around the base as well as the lid drips a bit

 

[dicko]

First off let me say I'm an idiot. Have been planning my second brew on the 20l Braumeister, a Little Creatures IPA clone which I was really excited about, but not so much now. I worked it all out on BeerSmith and as I'm so new to this BM it didn't even occur to me until I received the grainbill that I'm going to have issues stuffing it all down the malt pipe.

So grain billis 6.3kg for a 20l batch. I've used a recipe found on here and scaled it down so the Est OG, IBU, Color and ABV (6.8%) match; however I've got myself into a bit of a pickle.

Whats the most grain anyone has been able to use 5.5 Kg maybe? As the grain has already been mixed (5kg Pale Ale | 1kg Munich Dark | .3 Cararye) as I purchased it online, I guess it's going to be a little of a surprise surprise batch.

Any thoughts on what I can do or should do apart from pay more attention when putting recipes together. Maybe mash in 2 parts?

Have a read of this post http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/57118-braumeister-tips-tricks/page-42#entry1265496
Post number 836.

I made a Doppelbock on my 20 l BM with 7 kilos of grain.

A little bit more work but it can be done.