German Brewing

OK, that's clear. Only one thing: "Fill water over the mash pipe." Do you first boil all the water in the BM, then remove some, then mash in and then re-add the water, so that the water level is higher than the mash pipe?

Oh, and any ideas on a mash cap?

Hmm, I use the pump to chill otherwise it takes forever. It doesn't splash any but maybe that rolling turbility can suck in some O2? I don't have a meter so not sure.

A mash cap is a tough one for the BM, my glass lid from Lodge seems to work well and let's me see what's going on. The original lid has the vents and a loose fit so it's probably not ideal.

My feeling is the 100mg/l dose of smb gives my system adaquet protection and maybe a little insurance for a not so tight system. I started out with 75mg/l and the "IT" factor was there but seemed to fade after a week or so. My last 8 batches or so have all been great to the last drop.

Yes I mash in with 55l and then add about 5-7l to cover the maltpipe. With 5l the temperature rise will do the final covering since volume is dependant on temperature. Just like this photo from my blog:

I have the dome which is very tight fit with the rubber seal and with my cap on top it can sometimes get almost vaccume in there but a floating mash cap would be nice. Maybe styrofoam with plastic around it. I have to think a bit more about different options.

Lindh,
How long does it take you to chill down to lager pitching temps without using the pump or stirring? I may try this next time, usually takes me 15-20 min with my cold well water and pump but then I usually let it sit for another 30 min to settle before transferring to primary. Now I'm wondering if it would come down on its own without the pump in the same overall timeframe and maybe get a more compact trub in the bottom of my kettle. Nice blog by the way, I've been skimming through it today.

With pumps and chilling in autumn, winter or spring I can tonit in 15 min to 20c but to lager temp takes a fair bit longer. Lately I've been doing 20-9c in the fridge but that's not very "lodo-esk". How to chill quickly to lager temp, I don't know yet. Flad you lile the blog!

Any other Braumeister owners here who would be willing to share their lodo tweaks and tricks? The good Dr Jacoby just posted this, and I'm going to order one myself: viewtopic.php?f=15&p=8275#p8275

Has anyone measured dissolved oxygen in the Braumeister?

I have the Milwaukee mw600 and doing tests. Not reached any final conclusions yet but the Braumeister is definatly able to brew lodo.

One trick is to do a no sparge, then drain into a separate boil kettle. Avoids the dripping while lifting the malt pipe.