28 replies to this topic

[BlKtRe]

Had a great last few days brewing thought Id post a few pics. I brewed 15bll of my Altbier at one of our local pub's. The head brewmaster used my recipe and let me call how I wanted to handle the entire beer. I got some good hands on with the system and got to push a few buttons but I still didn't know how to run it. But by the end I had an idea how the plumbing worked. Great opportunity and cant wait to try it. 

 

Neat little video mashing in 

 

 

https://vid113.photo...zpsffvh7yqh.mp4

 

 

Look at that mash temp! Cant beat that for a Altbier!

 

 

 

 

A few days later it was barrel brew day. We decided to revisit an old friend and do 60g of  our Brett BGS. Hit all our numbers. Another great day!

 

 

 

Added all the extensions to make this 80g. Not a big fan of how tall this thing gets. But we got it stable. No temp control as we chilled mid 60's then we will capture the rate of rise with some heating pads if we need to. Used a fresh 2bll pitch of Breendonk from BSI. Great few days of brewing!!

 

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Nice! 

[Poptop]

Thanks for the show

[SchwanzBrewer]

Is that indicating a step mash on the controller?

[matt6150]

Sweet! I need friends like that around here.

[djinkc]

Pretty cool - wish I had been there.  I'd be tempted to add a chain to the ceiling/rafters with a tiny bit of slack.  It would probably only take me 30 minutes to knock it over.

[neddles]

I'd be tempted to add a chain to the ceiling/rafters with a tiny bit of slack.  It would probably only take me 30 minutes to knock it over.

This.

Sounds like a fun couple of days!

Edited by nettles, 24 November 2014 - 04:46 PM.

[chuck_d]

Looks like a ton of fun!  How does that brewpub where you made your altbier control the flow rate of the mash/kettle pumps?  Is it simply throttled by a valve on the outlet?  I didn't see a dial for a variable speed pump on the control panel...

[matt6150]

Looks like a ton of fun!  How does that brewpub where you made your altbier control the flow rate of the mash/kettle pumps?  Is it simply throttled by a valve on the outlet?  I didn't see a dial for a variable speed pump on the control panel...

It looks to me that the pumps have there own controllers mounted in the panel.

[BlKtRe]

Is that indicating a step mash on the controller?

 

We did a single infusion. Not sure what you are seeing?

 

 

Pretty cool - wish I had been there.  I'd be tempted to add a chain to the ceiling/rafters with a tiny bit of slack.  It would probably only take me 30 minutes to knock it over.

 

Its not going anywhere. We do have some straps but its pretty solid actually.

 

 

Looks like a ton of fun!  How does that brewpub where you made your altbier control the flow rate of the mash/kettle pumps?  Is it simply throttled by a valve on the outlet?  I didn't see a dial for a variable speed pump on the control panel...

 

Both pumps have a cool little rheostat knob on the panel. The numbers are in hertz I do believe. 

[SchwanzBrewer]

On the mash temp indicator it shows 146.6 in red and 151.1 in green. Thought maybe those were the set points for a step mash.

[BlKtRe]

On the mash temp indicator it shows 146.6 in red and 151.1 in green. Thought maybe those were the set points for a step mash.

 

I'm sure we were finishing up mashing and bringing it up the mash temp when that pic was taken.

[HVB]

I'm sure we were finishing up mashing and bringing it up the mash temp when that pic was taken.

If you do not mind me asking what was the mash temp?

 

ETA: 147?

Edited by drez77, 25 November 2014 - 12:10 PM.

[BlKtRe]

If you do not mind me asking what was the mash temp?

 

ETA: 147?

 

We were shooting between 146-148*. 

 

This beer hit 1.011 in 4.5 days at 60*. Its starting to be crashed in primary to 35* over the course of a few days, Then its going to be moved to a conditioning tank before heading over to a serving tank. 

[HVB]

We were shooting between 146-148*. 

 

This beer hit 1.011 in 4.5 days at 60*. Its starting to be crashed in primary to 35* over the course of a few days, Then its going to be moved to a conditioning tank before heading over to a serving tank. 

Thanks

[chuck_d]

It looks to me that the pumps have there own controllers mounted in the panel.

Both pumps have a cool little rheostat knob on the panel. The numbers are in hertz I do believe. 

 

Oh, I see it now... black on black in that photo and I just didn't see the knob there in the upper right corner of each box.

[BlKtRe]

Oh, I see it now... black on black in that photo and I just didn't see the knob there in the upper right corner of each box.

 

Yea, they are there. Pretty cool to hear the pumps at different flow rates. 

[chuck_d]

Yea, they are there. Pretty cool to hear the pumps at different flow rates. 

 

[font="georgia, serif;"]I like really quiet pumps, when they are just a soft tone that increases in pitch with speed.  A lot of monitoring a brewery is listening, so the quieter normal operation is the easier it becomes to hear an issue in some remote part of the plant.  When you have several pumps all running at once, automatic valves opening and closing, steam flowing into jackets, condensate check valves clicking, etc. it all adds up and gets pretty noisy.  I need to be able to hear if some sound changes unexpectedly in a far corner of the floor.  I hate pumps that are so loud that I need to put hearing protection on when they are running.  I do put in ear plugs because I don't want to damage my hearing.  Unfortunately that makes it harder to monitor everything that is happening at the brewery, like if one of those quieter pumps deadheads or runs dry.[/font]

[BlKtRe]

Yea, these pumps are quiet too. You can hear the change in the pumps low pitch humming. When the side steam jacket gets activated on the kettle you can definitely heat some clanging. 

[chuck_d]

Yea, these pumps are quiet too. You can hear the change in the pumps low pitch humming. When the side steam jacket gets activated on the kettle you can definitely heat some clanging. 

 

[font="georgia, serif;"]Do you mean the clicking of the check valves on the condensate return pipes, which should be after the condensate trap?  Or do you mean like a serious water hammer, banging?  Underneath the steam jackets there should be a dump valve to empty the water that has condensed overnight, or over a few hours since the jacket was last used.  Before you start using a vessel, you want to open up that dump valve and let all the water drain out.  Just remember to close it before you open the steam valve to heat the tank or you'll hear a wicked loud pssssh of the gas coming out, and could burn someone.  [/font]

 

[font="georgia, serif;"]Dumping that condensate is very important to extending the life of your steam pipes.  There have been a couple of times when I forgot to dump the condensate, but you immediately hear the hammer when the steam valve opens up.  Just quickly close the valve, and then do the dump.  But beware as there will be pressure built up now and instead of water just draining out it is going to blow out.  But the dump valves should be pointing directly onto the floor so it shouldn't be a problem to do it without injuring yourself.[/font]

 

[font="georgia, serif;"]Every jacket should have one of these valves.  So you might have one jacket on your lauter, two each on your kettle & mash tun, one on your HLT.  Obviously, that number is dependent upon the design of the vessels.  The clicking of the check valves is much quieter and normal, as they open to let condensate return to the boiler, and close when pressure from another vessel starts pushing condensate in the wrong direction towards a jacket/condensate trap.[/font]