Dedicated Braumeister Guide, Problems & Solution Thread

[burrac15]

Hi,

If you had the choice between a bm50 @ $4k all up ish and $600 to finish a 3v 50l what direction would you go? I'm fairly time poor at the moment but money isn't really an issue. Buy the bm and finish the 3v for high gravity?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[razz]

Buy the BM and finish the 3V

 

[Batz]

I really don't get this BM high gravity beer thing. What sort of high gravity can you not brew on a BM?

Oh..buy a BM.

 

[razz]

Anyone trying the beta version of the Spiedel app? The Mrs has got me a wifi unit for Xmas.

 

[f00b4r]

Anyone trying the beta version of the Spiedel app? The Mrs has got me a wifi unit for Xmas.

App or webpage?

 

[razz]

Web page.

 

[alfadog]

Is there a replacement control module available? I have an older BM... circa 2012ish, and would love to upgrade.

 

[Bridges]

Yep but I'd find it hard to justify the price. The wort isn't going to be any better.

 

[Osangar]

I am not really qualified to comment on the GF as I only own a BM, but I will anyway. As I see it the major advantage is the controller on the BM which is pretty much set and forget after dough in to the point of removing the malt pipe prior to the boil, while with the GF you need to manually enter each step after the completion of the last.

One thing I prefer on the GF though, is the top down flow of wort through the grain bed. This has the advantage filtering the fine particles effectively which stay at the top of the grain bed when the malt pipe is removed. On the BM, the fines are trapped at the bottom of the malt pipe and alot seems to fall back into the wort as soon as the malt pipe is removed. The result is you end up boiling cloudy wort.

Flamesuit on because I know that what is important is the clarity of the wort to the fermenter, not so much the boiler, but I'd still rather be boiling clarified wort which to me is part of what a RIMS system should achieve.

question for the members, on this point from Goose - my reading on the subject has many indicating beer clarity is improved with the BM flow direction. I am in the process of deciding on buying either the GF or BM, and i am leaning towards BM due to perceived quality. but has anyone had issues with beer clarity ?

 

[Midnight Brew]

I went from BIAB to a BM and it was the two opposing ends of the spectrum. I had cloudy AF wort from biab, which caused clarity issues. The BM wort out of the each batch has been consistently clear and anything remaining sinks to the bottom of the brau when I add whirlflock and do a whirlpool for 10-15 minutes.

I have never brewed on a GF before but as stated, a little less automated but significantly cheaper. If price isn't an issue I'd say go for it. Interestingly enough, there's a 3x videos on YouTube by (I forget his name) who sadly passed away, where his results were clearer wort from the GF.

Put the feelers out and try and do a brew day on each system with brewers out your way. I'm sure there'd be a few willing to catch up for a beer and go through each system with you.

 

[hezzer]

Hi Osangar
I was in the same position and have gone for a 20L BM. I decided that the perceived quality overcame the post mash clarity plus grain and grape were offering 10% 0ff BMs. Might be wrong but I'll let you know how it goes. To me at the end of the day, if Robobrew, GF and BM were all the same price, which would I choose? Having done that, can I afford to spend $2500 and how important is the quality issue? We are all in different situations but for me that was the end of the story.

 

[Osangar]

thanks, Midnight Brew, and Hezza; I have been out of brewing for a while - shifting to Singapore, i was unable to bring along my brew setup. the guy who owns the brew shop here has been using a BM for a long time and reports no issue with faults or beer quality. so i think i will be going in this BM direction. ill post some pics and results when i start back on the brewing path.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Not only a pick up tube but a springer filter too.Time to get rid of the old hop sock.

 

[Howlingdog]

Not only a pick up tube but a springer filter too.Time to get rid of the old hop sock.

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Tell me more please.
1. where
2. cost
Brass pieces I have.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I got a few made up, that was a sample, will keep you posted.

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Not only a pick up tube but a springer filter too.Time to get rid of the old hop sock.

004.JPG

Hell yes! Im so keen to get rid of my hop sock. I just look a all those hop oils going to waste when its so fat with hops and the centre of the sock isnt even touching the wort.

 

[#20]

Hi guys,

I consider buying the Grainfather. As far as I understand, the wort chiller is supposed to be sterilized by connecting it and letting wort run through it for about 5 minutes. Won't this procedure affect the hop utilisation and calculations?

Consider if the recipe has a 10 minute hop addition. You toss in the hops, then after them being boiled for 5 minutes, and there is 5 minutes left, you connect your chiller. I can see from videos that the temp then will drop some degrees. How do you think regarding this?

Do you:
1.) Pause the timer. Bring it up to a boil again, and boil for another 5 minutes? You then will have 10 minutes of real boiling of that hop, BUT you will also have some minutes of steeping at 97-98 degrees in between there,

2.) Or do you consider the slightly less temperature when the chiller is connected as a part of the 10 minute boil? So that after 5 minutes of hot wort flowing through, then you consider it as a 10 minute boil in total. Even if it hasn't really boiled for 10 minutes.

Really curious about this...

 

[peteru]

You don't run cold water through the chiller during this stage, just recirculate hot wort. It has close to zero effect on your boil. It certainly won't drop from boil to 97C.

 

[#20]

Thanks. Yes, I know that you run hot wort through it by circulating the boiling wort. I am pretty sure I saw in some video that connecting and starting to run the chiller while boiling, actually dropped the temp 2-3 degress. But I am not sure where, and I might have been dreaming

 

[wide eyed and legless]

OK so today I tried out the spring filter in the BM, after reading what Matt Mill had said about them (only good for filtering grain) slightly despondent but was pretty sure it would work with the pellets with a good whirlpooling and leaving until the temp got down to 80 degrees C.
Coiled and ready for action!

105 gram of pellets went into the boil without safety net.

Boil complete and proof will be in the pudding.

Hop sock hardly caught anything going into Jerry can.

Getting to the end.

The final drop straight into the glass, no hop sock and 2 litres of trub left in the BM with no tilting.