How unattended is the Braumeister?

[f00b4r]

I am specifically interested in how comfortable people are in leaving it alone to do its thing, I love the idea of sometimes being able to brew through the day without having to dedicate a large chunk of continuous time to watch for boilovers, check temperature, timings, add hops etc. I trialled a grainfather and thought it was fantastic but it was more manual, with the BM and the Wi-Fi add-on I love the idea of being able to get on with other things and be alerted at the right times to add hops and pull the Malt pipe and be able to observe where it is I the process from the house on my phone or iPad (i brew in the garage or garden).

[Matt12398]

Last brew day I did with mine I left it alone for most of the day. It was only really when adding hops that I had to spend much time with it. It's also a good idea to be around during cooling in case a hose pops off or anything.

[woblylegs]

to be honest i dont leave my bm. i could but i brew out in my shed. with 3 women living at home i need my escape and a day in my shed with fire and radio on doing a brew is grand.

[Rhodesy]

It is something that you can leave unattended for long periods as you prolong mashes to do them all day or overnight if you wish. Overnight mashing is very handy if you are pushed for time on a given day as is doing a prolonged multi step or extended mash out as I can make it fit in with my work from home schedule.

The other day when brewing I added my FWH and 90 min additions and with no additions until flameout I put on the steel hood and let it do its thing for the 90 minute boil. As it was under a program for a 90 minute boil I also didn't have to be there the minute it stopped which is always an advantage.

With the hood I have never had a boil over either with my boil size approx 30L in a 20L BM.

[f00b4r]

I understand the getting away from it bit but sometimes I don't have the luxury of time
It does sound like you can set and forget in large parts then, although the possibility of boil overs at the beginning of the boil did worry me. Not sure if it is FWH that is avoiding the issue for you Rhodsey, anyone else like to chime in on that.Oh and has anyone shelled out on the wifi bit?

[Rhodesy]

I understand the getting away from it bit but sometimes I don't have the luxury of time
It does sound like you can set and forget in large parts then, although the possibility of boil overs at the beginning of the boil did worry me. Not sure if it is FWH that is avoiding the issue for you Rhodsey, anyone else like to chime in on that.Oh and has anyone shelled out on the wifi bit?

#

I dont always FWH and yet to have a boil over, the hood also allows a much more vigorous boil. The Wifi is on my to do list, maybe once they update it a bit more and allow recipe updates etc through it.

[Aleman]

No boil overs for me yet, using the domed hood . . .don't think I FWH any of the beers I've done so far just trying to get a handle on its characteristics.

It is pretty hands free, I'm happy to let it do It's mashing thing on its own, and same for the boil, although obviously I am getting up and down to add hops.

I'm waiting for the WiFi to be developed more as well. For the moment I have a Wireless IP Camera that I sit near it looking at the screen, so that I can monitor what stage of the brew it's at.

[f00b4r]

That is better than I thought with regard to being unattended if needed, although it does appear the wifi bit is fairly basic at the moment.
So a BM it is then I think.
I have seen Brew UK and other selling hop spiders but there seems to be differing opinions on what is effective for flowers and what is effective for pellets e.g the Brew UK is 300 micron and supposedly for both but I have seen others saying that 400 micron version is needed for flowers and 300 for pellets, any thoughts (having the capability of both gives much more choice of what and where I can buy)?

[Rhodesy]

That is better than I thought with regard to being unattended if needed, although it does appear the wifi bit is fairly basic at the moment.
So a BM it is then I think.
I have seen Brew UK and other selling hop spiders but there seems to be differing opinions on what is effective for flowers and what is effective for pellets e.g the Brew UK is 300 micron and supposedly for both but I have seen others saying that 400 micron version is needed for flowers and 300 for pellets, any thoughts (having the capability of both gives much more choice of what and where I can buy)?

I bought the Speidel filter which is for flowers only, used it for 2 brews and then sold it on. I bought the Italian http://www.bacbrewing.com/Joint-Springe ... ister-BM20 which can be used for both pellets or flowers. I solely use pellets now and with a good whirlpool it drains perfectly in 5 minutes or so with lovely clear wort and all trub left behind. I then keep some of the water I used to cool via an immersion chiller for cleaning out which is a doddle. I also bought the custom filter plates from here as the BM ones fray quite easily. Works a treat. You can also have the pump on when colling the wort which speeds things up when using pellets with no clogging.

[Aleman]

Does that BAC filter drain that quickly with pellets in at 20L BM? I thought it wasn't suitable for pellets, causing very slow run off. A 50L is easier as the whirlpool is more effective.

[Rhodesy]

Does that BAC filter drain that quickly with pellets in at 20L BM? I thought it wasn't suitable for pellets, causing very slow run off. A 50L is easier as the whirlpool is more effective.

I had issues on my first attempt as the BM was not at centre of gravity on my work bench and slightly leaning more towards the control panel, the whirlpool was not so good so after 5L it was a trickle as the hops totally clogged the front and most of the coil. I have done 7 brews since with the most recent hoppy one having 220g of pellets in there by the end. I done a vigorous whirlpool and made sure as with the others since the 1st brew that it was sitting straight. I had it drained within 10 minutes, probably just after 5 with only trub left behind. This was done with gravity and once flowing I did not stop or adjust the flow, the height from the BM to the FV (I collect in one with graduated markings to record volume and aerate before moving to my conical) is about 4ft. The filter itself fits very snug under the heating element, not blocking the pump or anything. As long as you whirlpool effectively and leave it 45 mins at least to settle I have had no issues. The centre rod does make the whirlpool a bit more challenging but not impossible or anything.

Got a couple of lagers planned next so not very hop centric but will try to remember to take pictures and also next hop monster to make I'll take more detailed notes and pictures.

[f00b4r]

That's really interesting info, I wonder if this had been the problem that some others have faced with similar ones, e.g. there is a thread on the one that Rob sells.

[Rhodesy]

That's really interesting info, I wonder if this had been the problem that some others have faced with similar ones, e.g. there is a thread on the one that Rob sells.

It could be, One of the examples I noticed it on the coil was in the centre of the pot as it was quite a large set up, mines fits snugly round the inner rim as it is custom made for the BM20 meaning if you whirlpool effectively you should have little gunk covering the actual coil. As I said, I use gravity and not sure if using a pump if the suction could mix things up too

[IPA]

The longest time you can leave a BM unattended is the time you set for the mash usually around 90 minutes plus the heating time between steps. That gives a total of about 105 minutes. For the boil phase if you sparge at 76 degrees it takes about 20 minutes to reach boiling. Depending on hop additions you can be absent for the time in between and during cooling you can leave it to itself for the time it takes which depends on your chiller and ambient air temperature.

[Rhodesy]

The longest time you can leave a BM unattended is the time you set for the mash usually around 90 minutes plus the heating time between steps. That gives a total of about 105 minutes. For the boil phase if you sparge at 76 degrees it takes about 20 minutes to reach boiling. Depending on hop additions you can be absent for the time in between and during cooling you can leave it to itself for the time it takes which depends on your chiller and ambient air temperature.

You can leave it longer if you wish, there is a huge thread on the BM forum. You can set, if you wish each mash step to 180 minutes. If overnight mashing I dough in at around 38c, I may then do a protein rest for up to 20 mins at say 56c then move onto the next rest. You could also, if you want mash in at say 66c etc and leave that for 180 minutes. You can then move up to mash out temps around 76-78c and do 4 x 180 minute steps. Once these complete it will just beep to remove the malt pipe but keep the temperature at mash out temps. Doing this will lead to extra evaporation so you need to ensure you have the lid on and also enough liqour but providing you dont leave it too long its not an issue and you can also liqour back. It will not start boiling until you confirm the malt pipe has been removed and to start the boil.

I also use the thermocollar which helps with helps with heating times and heat retention meaning the element is not always on as it can maintain the temp quite well.