Blatzhaus Electric Brauerei

Systems, Gear, & DIY
21

Very nice Paul.  Why aren’t there any AHA stickers on your freezers? :wink:

22

haha - actually the “on deck” chest freezer with the Old Rasputin sign on it does have the “I brew the beer I drink” on it - i’ll have to work on the other 2

23

Very nice.  Looks a little too warm there for my liking.  Hard to ice fish with all those palm trees around.

How long does it take to bring a pot to a boil with the electric elements?  I’m thinking of going electric and I’m debating putting in two elements in one pot for 15 gal batches (in a 100 qt pot).  Just wondering if that would help or be overkill. (thinking I’d stay with the turkey fryer for any batches under 10 gals).  I don’t think I’ll ever get to a HERMS system but you’ve got it very well set up. Nice and compact looking.

24

Outstanding setup!  So many people seem to be going the electric route now.

25

Nicely done.

26

gmac - not sure on the timing for out of the tap to boiling since I heat in steps - room temp to strike temp, then use the HERMS to get up to mashout temp, then from mashout temp to boiling.

I haven’t actually timed it (but I can this weekend if you’d like) but going from 75-160 with 20gal, it seems to take about 20 minutes give or take a few.

not sure why you’d need two elements though - one 45-5500W unit should be more than suffiicient for that volume.

27

I can try to take more pics next session.

28

Very nice work Paul! Looks like Walden likes to hang out for the brewday.

29

Thanks! Was this particular piece of equipment store-bought or made to spec?

30

It looks a lot like one of these: http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Hop-Strainer-with-SS-Mesh_p_123.html

31

[quote]I bought all the punches.
[/quote]

Well, if you would not mind parting with them for a while I could definately use them. They used to have a sharing program from the electric brewery website but some a-hole did not ship the the punches back and won’t reply anymore. Maybe we can work something out. I would gladly pay for shipping (and maybe put in a few homebrews when I ship them back).

If you are willing let me know.

Cheers!

32

Blatz,
Great looking home brewery! Let us know if you are interested in showcasing it on Pimp My System.

-The Intern
ahaintern@brewersassociation.org

33

Pix missing! Can you fix? Would love to see your rig!

34

Beautiful set up Paul - I’m racked with jealousy.

Looks like you found the perfect freezers for your 14.5G Blichmanns (I have the same).  Can you share the make and model and where you found them - I’d like to pick one up.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Mike

35

thanks!

sure no problem - its these:  http://www.lowes.com/pd_54036-2251-LFFU14F5HW_0__?productId=1187867&Ntt=frigidaire+upright+freezer&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dfrigidaire%2Bupright%2Bfreezer&facetInfo=

You have to remove all the racks (they snap out) and front piece of the shelves on the doors (also snap out) and then tilt the conical so that the front “blichmann” symbol faces about 4-5 o’clock, but you are otherwise good to go - very easy.  I attached mine to some plywood so I could also attach casters and make it easy to make sure the conicals fit in without fidgeting, but YMMV.  I don’t believe the conical will fit in the fridge with the casters sold by Blichmann, FYI

36

Guess I missed this when you first posted. Awesome set up!

37

He’s featured on the AHA front page, too.

38

Tx!

39

Thanks to Paul I’m eying a spot in my garage. There is a concern about the steam and where it goes in Blatzhaus Electric Brauerei!

40

generally, you would install a vent hood and exhaust fan - I had one installed in the house I was building where this system was originally intended to go, but given I am doing this in my garage, for now, I just open the big door and my back door and that seems to provide enough ventilation (i.e. no condensation buildup anywhere.

but one day I hope to insulate and AC my garage, in which case I will install a vent hood.