Bulldog Master Brewer

[Andrew Taylor]

good luck, let us know how it goes. any questions, just ask.

for the boil, you will have to set a target temp of 102 or 103 deg C and then 'calibrate' the measured temp once the boil starts to trick it to thinking its reached 102 deg C to start the boil timer, and then quickly calibrate the temp back down to the real temp so that it is constantly trying to achieve 102 deg C (which it never will) and hence leaves the heaters on for the duration of the boil. otherwise as the temp hits 100 deg C it will keep kicking in and out and you will not achieve a good boil.

 

[ChrisD123]

cheers mate....only way to learn is to go for it

 

[ChrisD123]

Well I did my first brew today on the Bulldog....no problems with it and all went well, although the proof will be in the drinking. Had no issues calibrating for the boil and ended up with just under 19 litres in the fermentor.
As it was my first one and really just a trial to get my head around everything is started with

4.6kg Maris Otter
300g Carapils

Mashed at 67C

I think I may have overdone the hops (more research required I think) but will see

so I added 20 g Chinook and 20 g Amarillo on 60mins
Then 20g chinook on 30mins then 20 g Amarillo on 0 mins

OG came out at 1.054

Pitched yeast at 24 degrees - Safale US05

As I said just a trial so will see what happens..on concern is the hops....although I do like things hoppy

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Good stuff

 

[Hew's Brews]

good luck, let us know how it goes. any questions, just ask.

for the boil, you will have to set a target temp of 102 or 103 deg C and then 'calibrate' the measured temp once the boil starts to trick it to thinking its reached 102 deg C to start the boil timer, and then quickly calibrate the temp back down to the real temp so that it is constantly trying to achieve 102 deg C (which it never will) and hence leaves the heaters on for the duration of the boil. otherwise as the temp hits 100 deg C it will keep kicking in and out and you will not achieve a good boil.

This is certainly a quirk of the system. When it starts boiling you have to hold in the left and right buttons at the bottom of the controller for a couple of secs until the display flashes, then press + a couple of times and leave it. You don't have to press Start or anything. If you don't do that then the timer never starts counting down.

 

[ChrisD123]

I set target to 103 and once the boil started pressed + and - then + 3 times...timer started then pressed + and - again followed by - 3 times and bingo...pretty straight forward once you do it....other option would be to leave it and use a separate timer once boil starts but it kinda defeats the purpose....all turned out fine and bubbling nicely in the FV

 

[ChrisD123]

Bottled this and had a wee taster last night....tastes like grapefruit....really refreshing with a citrus bitter after taste...impressed with it.

 

[Andrew Taylor]

 

[Derek Smalls]

Hi Guys

I too have the Bulldog MB, and have done 8 brews with it since its arrival last October. I’ve got a couple a questions for you.

1) Do you use the bayonet filter? I used it for the first batch, but it clogged up badly during transfer to the FV. Then I watched a YouTube video in which the bloke was most disparaging about it, even throwing it disdainfully over his shoulder once he’d showed it to us! His “trick” was, after doughing in, to transfer about 4 litres from the tap and up into the top of the malt pipe. I’ve been doing this ever since, but I’m still faced with a lot of bits in the wort which block up the sparge plate slots during recirculating. So I now recirculate without the sparge plate in place.

2) Are your temperature readings reliable? During my last 3 wort chillings the temperature shown is about 20 degs higher than actual! I’ve got round that by taking manual temps, but it’s a pain. During the mashing and boiling it’s been okay, except last time when the thermostat cut out didn’t happen when it reached the target temp (67) for the mash. It started the clock when it got there, but then carried on heating up. It got to 73 degs before I switched it off to cool it down and re-program.

Yes. My sparge tube is a bit too short as well, although it just about stretches there.
I’ve gradually increased the wort volume at the start of the boil to 28.5 litres. The hot break eruption gets tamed with cold water spray. As long as I’m ready for it, I don’t get boil overs.

 

[Hew's Brews]

I too have the Bulldog MB, and have done 8 brews with it since its arrival last October.

I had shared ownership of one (bought it with a few mates) and did over 30 brews with it.

1) Do you use the bayonet filter? I used it for the first batch, but it clogged up badly during transfer to the FV.

I gave up with it after the first attempt.

His “trick” was, after doughing in, to transfer about 4 litres from the tap and up into the top of the malt pipe.

This is known as vorlaufing. You keep doing it until you don't have any bits in the wort, it may take three, four or more two litre containers worth poured back in to the top. If there were too many bits of grain I did it without the sparge plate also.

So I now recirculate without the sparge plate in place.

You will have to be careful you don't "drill" holes in the grain.

2) Are your temperature readings reliable? During my last 3 wort chillings the temperature shown is about 20 degs higher than actual!

To get more consistent readings keep recirculating while you are chilling, there are hot and cold patches in the wort. Recirculating evens them out.

I found the temperature reading was about 2C below what it was so for a 67C mash in I set it to 65C.

 

[Derek Smalls]

Many thanks, Mr. Brews. Some great tips & info there.

Yes, I've tried to keep shifting the re-circ around the grain bed to avoid "holes" too. Kind of like trying wet all the urinal while having a piss.

 

[Andrew Taylor]

I agree with the above points too.

1 - i used to use the filter but had problems with it clogging so i don't bother now. i also followed the tip from the video you mention after doughing in, first time i had no issue with the sparge plate clogging, but the next time i did, maybe i didn't draw enough through to start with and just got lucky the first time. the sparge plate helps to disperse the recirculated wort, do you re-fit it for the sparging stage? As Hew's Brews says, you could get holes through the grain which defeats the object.

2 - temps seem about ok, i agree, maybe 1-2 deg out but i have 2 other separate digital thermometers to cross check, the temp probe is on the baseplate of the brewer near the heater element which is concealed in the base so there will be differing temps through the water/wort.

 

[Derek Smalls]

Hi Andrew

1. I brewed up a new batch yesterday. I didn’t do the Vorlaufing, as I concluded that recirculation basically does the same job. I started the recirc as soon as I’d finished doughing in but, to distribute the wort more evenly, I used an improvised homemade sparge plate - a kitchen colander balanced on the malt pipe’s overflow pipe (with the plug in), secured to the brewer’s exterior handles by a couple of bits of garden twine! It worked OK, very little “drilling” into the grain bed and the wort ran clear long before the mash had finished. I will probably try to fashion something slightly less Heath Robinson for the next time, or maybe get a second sparge plate and enlarge the slots on it using a screwdriver or something.
Yes, I fit the actual sparge plate in for the actual sparging.

2. The Hew’s Brews patented system of recirculating during chilling worked pretty well too, but I still kept on checking manually just to be sure! I also stopped it about 10 minutes from the end to allow the wort’s gunk to settle down at the bottom of the brewer.

The batch (22 litres of Mosaic/Citra Pale) looks promising. Smells good, and is bubbling away nicely in the FV. OG was 1.052, so it seems the mashing went well.

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Hi Andrew

1. I brewed up a new batch yesterday. I didn’t do the Vorlaufing, as I concluded that recirculation basically does the same job. I started the recirc as soon as I’d finished doughing in but, to distribute the wort more evenly, I used an improvised homemade sparge plate - a kitchen colander balanced on the malt pipe’s overflow pipe (with the plug in), secured to the brewer’s exterior handles by a couple of bits of garden twine! It worked OK, very little “drilling” into the grain bed and the wort ran clear long before the mash had finished. I will probably try to fashion something slightly less Heath Robinson for the next time, or maybe get a second sparge plate and enlarge the slots on it using a screwdriver or something.
Yes, I fit the actual sparge plate in for the actual sparging.

2. The Hew’s Brews patented system of recirculating during chilling worked pretty well too, but I still kept on checking manually just to be sure! I also stopped it about 10 minutes from the end to allow the wort’s gunk to settle down at the bottom of the brewer.

The batch (22 litres of Mosaic/Citra Pale) looks promising. Smells good, and is bubbling away nicely in the FV. OG was 1.052, so it seems the mashing went well.

Hi, do you have any pictures you could post. Enlarging the slots, or some of them might be the way to go, I'll look in to that idea

 

[Derek Smalls]

Here’s the colander sparge (reconstructed). Definitely not ideal, but at least I didn’t have to stand there waggling the tube around!

 

[Andrew Taylor]

I was thinking about one of those fine mesh splatter guards you can get for frying pans, place is over the sparge plate as a kind of filter that could easily be removed and cleaned if it gets clogged but with without having to unclog the sparge plate itself

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Bottled this and had a wee taster last night....tastes like grapefruit....really refreshing with a citrus bitter after taste...impressed with it.

I guess it must be ready now, how is it?

 

[MagnusTS]

Mine doesn't have a ss tube...just a hole hence why assumed that it just sat on the disc with around a couple of cms tube protruding. So i think the plate sits on the disc then the tube (top pic) and plate slides up and down the fixed tube. If inserted the other way I cant adjust the tube at all as it just slides down to the length of the fixed tube.

Yes, you are right. I have just got the HopfenGott 15L which is pretty much the same as the Bulldog systems, and I have exactly the same overflow tube with the circular disk on the top part. Definitely fit it with the circular disk at the top, and the sparge plate sits on it. Then you can adjust the height of the sparge plate by pushing down and the top tube slides down the fixed bottom tube.

I did my 1st brew with a water:grain ratio of 2.5 (+dead space), and the mash was a bit thick. I got a stuck mash, and the mash volume was too low for the sparge plate to sit on top of the grain bed. It wouldn't go down far enough. I read that you should use a ratio of 3-4L water/Kg grain for these systems, so next brew I am going to try a ratio of 3.5:1. And I am going to check my minimum mash volume, which will be the lowest level I can push the sparge plate down to.

 

[MagnusTS]

Sorry, I know you will have worked this out weeks ago, but where is a pic from the HopfenGott manual on sparge plate assembly:

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Sorry, I know you will have worked this out weeks ago, but where is a pic from the HopfenGott manual on sparge plate assembly:

View attachment 27681

Yes, that seems to be a modification that they have made, mine is a different arrangement to that and an earlier model