Some more questions for BM owners

[Skittlebrau]

Sorry if this would've been better in the other thread.

I have a workmate who is very interested in getting into brewing but a bit put off by all the techy stuff. I think one of these might be within his budget (if he wanted it enough) and might convince him to take the plunge. Also, I'm interested from my own point of view.

So anyway, my questions for starters...

Can you use hop pellets with it? Will the available hop filter deal adequately with these?

Do you still need to use kettle finings?

Does the immersion chiller work well? I use an IC at the moment and have to move it up and down loads to get it to chill in a reasonable time. Will this thing circulate the wort as it chills? That would do the same job (and do it much better, I imagine).

[barneey]

Firstly I have only brewed on my BM for 3 brews since ownership, before that I was using the breadmaker I made.

I bought the 20 litre BM without any additions, if you believe the literature (you can dl a copy for their website) you don't need anything else.

IMHO the hop filter / a homemade hop filter is a must, for the past 3 brews I have held a piece of temporary mesh over the outlet hole BUT have now invested in an original one. I fully expect to use the new filter with an addition hop mesh bag as the holes are rather large on the standard shop bought item. (EDIT I use whole hops)

I`ve never tried chilling with the recirc pump working although would imagine if the hops werent contained in a bag of some sort a blockage would occur.

Kettle finings = YES.

There are many more experienced BM members on JBK which are far more knowledgeable about BM usage than me, so please correct / comment on any of my findings so far please.

ITs nice to see Jim has opened a dedicated forum for BM users - BMs in my opinion are the way forward.......

[Skittlebrau]

Thanks barneey. How long does it take you to chill without recirculating? Can the IC be moved around or is it fixed in place?

[barneey]

Any form of IC can be moved around / up and down.

The one that BM actually make, is no different to any other IC unit, just be careful not to bash the circular element around..

I use a fancy CFC (counter flow chiller) with my BM so cant comment on the length of time needed with an IC unit.

My CFC will chill as quickly as it takes to pump (solar pump) the wort out. Normally approx. 5 to 10 mins 100c to 25c, I then use my maxi controlled ferment bucket to get to a pitching temp. (please bear in mind I have my big 3V system so have a few fancy bits to use with the BM)

But a standard BM, filter & IC unit + ferment bucket is more than enough equipment. (assuming the basic things like a hydrometer, thermometer etc. have already been purchased). You could always use the non chill cube method of course.

Cheers

[Skittlebrau]

The bit about damage was what I was getting at. Cheers. Did you build your CFC or buy it?

[barneey]

My CFC is based upon the Straight version that Fil & Cooky built previously, from memory it cost £70 to £90 to make.

If you look at my BM brewday post pictures your see a large lump of cooper sitting near the sink.....

[DeGarre]

One quite easy solution to get things running is a hop spider (with 3 legs one being longer than others because of the centre rod). Even easier is a hop bag which I used for quite a few brews (but got tired of fishing it out).

[barneey]

One quite easy solution to get things running is a hop spider (with 3 legs one being longer than others because of the centre rod). Even easier is a hop bag which I used for quite a few brews (but got tired of fishing it out).

Do you use a IC to cool your wort? if so with the hop spider, I assume its a taken that the pump can then be "on" thus adding to the cooling of an IC unit.

Cheers

[DeGarre]

I cool the wort with IC after I've taken off the spider. When the boil is finished or sometimes when the 30 minute hop stand is finished I take off the spider and put the IC in. I don't run a pump as I want things to start settling down on the bottom, besides I find 15-20 minutes it takes to cool down to 21°c is sufficient.

[Skittlebrau]

Hi all

Just resurrecting my old thread as I realise my sticking points are still pretty much the same. However, the home brewing community has clearly accumulated more collective knowledge in another year and a half of BM use, plus modifications have been tried etc.

It *seems* like:

If you use pellets and a BAC Brewing spring filter you can run your recirc pump while immersion chilling and

Not get a blockage, as long as you clean the pump afterwards

Not get a blockage during runoff.

Am I right? Even if I'm doing a brew with a lot of hops?

[Rhodesy]

This worked for me fine on the last brew I done on Sunday. I added 100g of late addition pellets at 15 & 5 min (I had not 60 min etc). I quickly cooled to 75c at flameout and had the pump on as soon as it hit 78c. I then had a further steeping addition of 75g and left the pump on for 30mins whilst this recirculated. I then cooled to 20c with the pump still running with no issues.

I done a big whirlpool and left it to settle out for an hour or so. I then drained it and got 22L in the FV within 10 mins or thereabouts. Forgot to add, I am using the spring filter.

[McMullan]

Speidel’s hop filter works well on the 20L model if using hop cones and the filter is placed at the end of the boil, IME. I suspect it’s not as good for the 50L model due to a possible design hiccup. It’s a one size fits both. On the 50L, it looks as though the small exposed opening at the top of the filter is submerged when the filter is placed? The IC chiller I got with mine works fine, especially when the tap water is cold. Also, whirlpooling is a PITA. I’d just let things settle for a couple of hours.

[Skittlebrau]

It sounds like pellets are the way in the BM as they won't f*** up the pump. Being able to pump any brew while chilling is a big deal for me. It's something I can't do at the moment and would be a majorly attractive point in terms of persuading me to move to a BM...

[Rhodesy]

I prefer pellets these days as it means I can use them in the BM and also to dry hop as I prefer them for this process. I actually bought the Speidel hop filter but of course this suitable for leaf only which I found off putting so I sold it after 2 uses and bought the BAC Spring Filter which I love.