First use of Braumeister - AG #6 Eldridge Pope Royal Oak

[caerleon]

Well much to my annoyance getting the unit and stuff together for my first brew on this machine the supplier sent me a kilo of the wrong grain!

So i had to work something out on my Beersmith to come up with an alternative plan due to having no other grains or to waste the brew water i made the night before. So a slightly modified recipe which i will call "Dorset thru and thru" in honor of my birthplace.

Water (25ltrs)

16g Gypsom
13g Epsom Salts

Grain
1 kg Crystal 120
4 kg Maris Otter
500g Brown Suger

Hops
60g Fuggles 90 mins
30g EKG 90 mins
15g EKG 10 mins
10g Dry

The Braumeister is really good - i followed all the advice i found of the internet and it is working really well, despite the high price of the unit, i think it is worth it in the long run with the control and efficienceis that can be obtained. The wort is on the boil and im sat here with no beer! :shock: so there was nothing else for it! I had to hit the Glenmorangie Malt Whiskey

The only issue i found with the braumeister is that the lid is pointless, its dripping water over the sides and the 'breather' slots are pointing towards the handle! Not a very bright idea directing scalding steam at the damn handle you lift it off with!!!

I also have a new Brew companion - our new Cat 'Beau' we took him off a couple who couldn't take him anymore, he's slightly psycho so i have had to watch him like a hawk in the kitchen, i guess he finds this all very interesting, i will see if he drinks it like my old Cat did - did anyone else know that Hops are poisonous to Cats???

(Original Recipe for EP Royal Oak);-

25Ltrs
500g Dark Brown Suger
250g Crystal 120
450g Flaked Barley
3.5kg Maris Otter

90mins
60g Fuggles
30g EK Goldings
0mins
15g EK Goldings
Dry
10g EK Goldings

 

[Good Ed]

pics please :whistle:

 

[pittsy]

just watched video of braumeister , looks great ,easy and convenient but how much did you pay :shock:

 

[EskiBrew]

Looking forward to some pics to see this in action :thumb:

 

[Svarrogh]

16g Gypsom
13g Epsom Salts

Are you serious??

 

[PD]

he wants to write his name with water ? .... chalky

 

[caerleon]

Re the water - I was following the computations that Beersmith gives for correcting the water type from 25Ltrs of Hard London (Thames Water) to a Burton Midlands one...i guess you all think this is wrong I will have to go back and check on it when i get home.

I did take some pics and will add them later when i can get the photos off the SWMBO's camera.

I only had the lid and an impeller issue which Spiedal are looking into, some of the paint/plastic has come off the impeller when it was delivered. Its not a show stopper, but i paid alot of money for a first class product. The unit is easy to use and i like the programming modes/control it offers you. I also looked at what the temp feedback was during cooldown so i could get a good reading without the pump, it does go below 25 Deg/C.

All i managed to get was 17 Ltrs of wort despite top-ups, i will have to look more into why later and measure the gravity as i didnt finish last night until 3am. To be honest i dont think you can go by instructions alone on this one.

 

[Kev888]

Glad to hear its got off to a fair start, thanks for posting!

Cheers
kev

 

[50quidsoundboy]

also interested in the water treatment - i'm brewing in north london as well and i've been unscientifically dumping a teaspoon of gypsum into my mash, but that's it.

 

[caerleon]

Too drunk to remember how to put photos into this thing obviously :

My new shiney!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33273852@N04/8027670594
Close up of the flow thru the grain tube
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33273852@N04/8027668416
This unit is fantastic!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33273852@N04/8027669538

I have tried some of the first brew of this unit and it is certainly going down well even thou it still needs more time to mature. Fantastic unit!

 

[Kev888]

Looking all very smart and shiny :-)

Here are the pic links inserted. To get them, click the 'share' button (on the flickr page), choose grab HTML/BBCode and click the BBcode radio button then copy and paste into the forum thread. By default you get links and names too, but here I deleted everything but the images:

Cheers
Kev

 

[caerleon]

Thanks Kev - afraid i was rather plastered the night i attempted it

I have sampled the brew, it is proberly the best AG brew i have made so far its incredible! Very hoppy, strong, nice head on it SWAMBO even keeps wanting to drink it! I going to make another brew soon, so as i cross over to Corny kegs.

 

[dennisking]

Impressive equipment there Simon.

 

[EskiBrew]

Very nice :thumb:

 

[Wendy1971]

nice and shiney