Beginner Questions - Braumeister and cooling

[confusedxx]

Hello Everyone

I am new to the hobby and have been reading all I can. I will seek to take a course during November or December to delve deeper into the topic and hopefully in December start to brew my own beer.

I am considering buying the Braumeister machine
http://www.speidels-braumeister.de/shop_content.php/coID/21/content/The-Braumeister

This machine supposedly makes the process easier of making a beer from the raw ingredients (so I do not need a malt extract). Does anyone have experience with this machine or can you recommend another that does the same?

My second question is about storage of the brew while fermenting. I understand that the brew must be kept cool (about 60 degrees) during fermentation and then once bottled it should also be kept cool - but that is not as important as during the fermentation process for the first 7 days. How do you guys control the fermentation temperature? I can certainly put the carboy in the cellar, but I cannot control the temp to keep it exactly at 60. I guess in winter it will be cooler and in summer warmer.

 

[leondz]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I've no idea about the braumeister, it certainly looks like a serious bit of kit though. From the pictures I've seen here most brewers on the forum have either scrimped scrumped and saved to put together a Heath Robinson apparatus that is capable of treating their beer with the respect that it demands, or gone the whole hog, started a war with their wives and built a monstrous chrome beast of an automatic system! You would likely save a bit of time and hassle if you bought one, of course not all of us would like to save that time and enjoy tinkering

As for the temperatures, I've found a daily variance of about 8 degrees C around here and it hasn't caused any problems yet. The natural temperatures from seasonal changes do lead to people brewing different styles of beer throughout the year, as it always was before central heating. Lagers are different in that they prefer to site at a cooler temperature - and have a yeast that can tolerate cool temperatures without getting too stressed - I think that's what you're referring to. They are a bit more complex than other beers, though. As for the temperature tolerances of different yeasts for other styles of beer, I've no idea, especially in fahrenheit, but I bet someone else could help you out!

 

[commsbiff]

:shock: not cheap!!

For temp controlling I would suggest making a fermenting cupboard (in your cellar?). You could do this cheaply from scratch with wood and insulation or by adapting a fridge or freezer - this has the added benefit of being able to cool if required. Either way you need a temp controller like this, and a heat source eg. a light bulb.

Other possibilities:
Aquarium heater - Thermostatically controlled and hung in your wort/beer (potentially risking infection?)
Brew Belt or tray - Niether are thermostatically controlled, so more difficult to get exact temperature (if you want exact)
Thermostatic heater to maintain your cellar/room temp.

 

[corby_brewer]

HOW MUCH :shock:

The Mrs would kill me if i even suggested having one of those.

 

[confusedxx]

:shock: not cheap!!

For temp controlling I would suggest making a fermenting cupboard (in your cellar?). You could do this cheaply from scratch with wood and insulation or by adapting a fridge or freezer - this has the added benefit of being able to cool if required. Either way you need a temp controller like this, and a heat source eg. a light bulb.

Other possibilities:
Aquarium heater - Thermostatically controlled and hung in your wort/beer (potentially risking infection?)
Brew Belt or tray - Niether are thermostatically controlled, so more difficult to get exact temperature (if you want exact)
Thermostatic heater to maintain your cellar/room temp.

Oh wow this sounds like a bigger project. i have a small freezer that could be used, but it is a freezer and would be too cold I suspect. I guess I will start with easier brews and see how they do in the cellar and then figure if I need to begin a DIY project to convert a freezer into a barrel cooler.

I also probably need to buy a wine cooler or fridge for the bottles. I figure I will do 20l (40 bottles of beer) with each batch. So to keep the bottles cool, I probably will need an extra fridge. naturally the wife will protest :nono:

 

[jamesb]

Aquarium heater - Thermostatically controlled and hung in your wort/beer (potentially risking infection?)

Scaremonger!

I've never had a problem, although I make sure it's sanitised as well as I possibly can.

 

[commsbiff]

Aquarium heater - Thermostatically controlled and hung in your wort/beer (potentially risking infection?)

Scaremonger!

Not at all - that's why I included the words potentially and risking and added a question mark. It's only the impression I have been left with after reading other peeps comments on the forum.

I've never had a problem, although I make sure it's sanitised as well as I possibly can.

I believe other peeps have used them without any problems too :thumb: I have actually just bought this aquarium heater for £7 on fleabay, though after reading other's comments I may use it to heat a water bath for my fv to sit in.

 

[confusedxx]

Aquarium heater - Thermostatically controlled and hung in your wort/beer (potentially risking infection?)

Scaremonger!

Not at all - that's why I included the words potentially and risking and added a question mark. It's only the impression I have been left with after reading other peeps comments on the forum.
[quote="jamesb]I've never had a problem, although I make sure it's sanitised as well as I possibly can.

I believe other peeps have used them without any problems too :thumb: I have actually just bought this aquarium heater for £7 on fleabay, though after reading other's comments I may use it to heat a water bath for my fv to sit in.[/quote]

Acquarium heater could work fine for heating the brew during fermentation. I kinda though the problem would be keeping it cool enough during fermentation (15 degrees or cooler as I understood). Maybe I should check out the cellar and see what the temp is there

 

[commsbiff]

Acquarium heater could work fine for heating the brew during fermentation. I kinda though the problem would be keeping it cool enough during fermentation (15 degrees or cooler as I understood). Maybe I should check out the cellar and see what the temp is there

Aah yes, I think I misread your original post. I assume that you're talking about making lagers, and keeping them cool during the fermentation. If so, the I think a fridge or freezer (try freecycle and ebay for free/cheap second hand ones) as described above would be your best bet. The temp controller would only let it refridgerate if the temp rose above the setting that you had chosen, it would then cut the power supply when it reached the lower temp setting you had chosen. It's really not a big project.

 

[Vossy1]

i have a small freezer that could be used, but it is a freezer and would be too cold I suspect

You could replace the thermostsat in the freezer.
Another alternative is to use a ATC 800+ to control the freezer :thumb:

 

[jonewer]

:shock: not cheap!!

Hells Bells! And I thought I was extravagant getting an H&G brewery off the shelf!

How much beer would you have to brew before you break even with supermarket prices? Thousand pints at least.

 

[ano]

I can't buy my beer in the supermarket so my brewery's priceless.