The Ideal Brewing Urn...

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SergeMarx

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I'm looking at following in the foot-steps of those heady biab pioneers who one day looked upon the hot water urn serving them up a hot coffee and thought... beer.

Having read through most of the forum threads on the topic I've become aware that although the usual Crown or Birko work fine, many adjustments and tweaking is done along the way to get optimum performance. Of course, that's much of the fun for many of us, myself included, but it got me wondering what an urn designed specifically for the task might look like.

For a start, a higher capacity - say 50L, to allow bigger beers

How about double walled with a high quality insulation packed in there. Or triple walled, with an inbuilt copper wort cooling tube on the inside cavity.

Of course, standard fitted with a ball valve tap.

High power exposed element for quick boil and a very fine mesh insert basket with legs to keep it off the element for holding the grains. A smaller dedicated fine mesh hop basket which locks in place somewhere during the boil.

In the main basket, a built in mash paddle which is cranked from above, through the (insulated of course) lid

Large and accurate temperature gauge. Programmable mash scheduling via bluetooth link to my smartphone (hooray!)

<$400 price tag ;)

What else should it have?
 
I'm looking at following in the foot-steps of those heady biab pioneers who one day looked upon the hot water urn serving them up a hot coffee and thought... beer.

Having read through most of the forum threads on the topic I've become aware that although the usual Crown or Birko work fine, many adjustments and tweaking is done along the way to get optimum performance. Of course, that's much of the fun for many of us, myself included, but it got me wondering what an urn designed specifically for the task might look like.

For a start, a higher capacity - say 50L, to allow bigger beers

How about double walled with a high quality insulation packed in there. Or triple walled, with an inbuilt copper wort cooling tube on the inside cavity.

Of course, standard fitted with a ball valve tap.

High power exposed element for quick boil and a very fine mesh insert basket with legs to keep it off the element for holding the grains. A smaller dedicated fine mesh hop basket which locks in place somewhere during the boil.

In the main basket, a built in mash paddle which is cranked from above, through the (insulated of course) lid

Large and accurate temperature gauge. Programmable mash scheduling via bluetooth link to my smartphone (hooray!)

<$400 price tag ;)

What else should it have?

Something like that would probably retail for around $5000.00.
$3500.00 for a 50lt Braumeister will get you pretty close.
 
How about in the cavity underneath where the wiring is have a small brown pump fitted with inlet/outlet coming out the side to connect hoses up for re-circulation.

And a neat stand with electric winch fitted over head to hoist the basket at mash out.
 
Why is there no PRC made Braumeister?

I reckon the Chinese could have one that somes in at 20% of ze German one retails.

And it'll break on the 13th month of ownership, but we'd still buy it.
 
Why is there no PRC made Braumeister?

I reckon the Chinese could have one that somes in at 20% of ze German one retails.

And it'll break on the 13th month of ownership, but we'd still buy it.

The trick there is to design it locally then head across to China and have it made up there. Having said that getting a quality product does mean having someone living there looking over the shoulder of the factory to make sure they haven't swapped out the stainless steel for aluminium foil....

Market's too small to make it viable I guess...
 
The trick there is to design it locally then head across to China and have it made up there. Having said that getting a quality product does mean having someone living there looking over the shoulder of the factory to make sure they haven't swapped out the stainless steel for aluminium foil....

Market's too small to make it viable I guess...


i don't know - If Braumeister can sustain a business with their product, something cheaper with a few extra features would do well would be my guess. Maybe.
 
i don't know - If Braumeister can sustain a business with their product, something cheaper with a few extra features would do well would be my guess. Maybe.

Key design features are patented. If anyone wanted to do a Brauclone at any sortof scale in a western country Spiedel would most likely sue them.
 
zarniwoop said:
The trick there is to design it locally then head across to China and have it made up there. Having said that getting a quality product does mean having someone living there looking over the shoulder of the factory to make sure they haven't swapped out the stainless steel for aluminium foil....
I've been importing stuff from China for my dayjob for 15 years+. This is so true. Have to keep on the factory's back all the time or somewhere along the line they will start making shortcuts. That said, general quality out of China has improved a hell of a lot in the last decade.

I wanna see thermopots available in Aus. With a little bit of DIY these would make awesome biab urns or base for braumeister clones.
 
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