Dani’s favourite
brewing style
www.danisbrewtower.com
Dani, 7.8.2019
What is written here is based on
the personal experience of Dani.
What is relevant? What is not?
Which factors influence the beer the most?
What is relevant? What is not?
Which factors do not really influence the beer in a relevant way?
According to my experience all the results of the performed tests in
are absolutely correct and represent the reality. Books or so called experts can say what they want. What matters is the statistically proven reality we live in.
What is relevant? What is not?
If you live in continental Europe you might find this surprising but in the USA the great majority of breweries brew an one step mash. What we call lauter tun is called a mash tun there (no heating). They simply mix water around 72 °C with the malts whereas the mix will be around 68 °C. The temperature will then slowly go down a bit. In the temperature range of roughly 60 - 70 °C alpha and beta amylase are working together. The performed tests (see link) have shown several times beers can not be distinguished from each other when different temperature steps are followed. With the available malts we have nowadays it’s simply a myth.
Facts: Beers in the USA taste great. And no, the Americans are not stupid, they sent people to the moon, remember?
Dani likes simple things.
Let me explain the easiest and most straight forward brewing process with the BT.
The goal: Brew a lot of excellent beer as quick
and simple as possible.
The goal here is a double batch brew day. It all starts with a HWT at 72 °C. You must circulate the water in the HWT bottom up to ensure you have a homogeneous temperature distribution in the HWT. All the mash and the lauter (sparge) water is stored in the HWT.
You use this water for mashing and lautering (sparging). The amount of water in the HWT should approx. be 2 x desired amount of wort + 2 x amount of malt in kg [l]. Example: You have a BT1000 and you use 0.25 kg malt per liter you need 2 x 1000 l + 2 x 0.25 x 1000 l = 2500 l of water at 72 °C to get 2000 l of wort in the end. If your HWT is too small you can heat up the mash water of the 1st batch in the upper vessel. If your HWT is even smaller you can also heat up the sparging water of the 1st batch in the lower vessel and store it in the fermenter before lautering starts.
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
72 °C
Upper vessel
Lower vessel
It starts. You mash in the 1st batch. The heaters of the upper vessel are OFF the whole time. The stirrer is OFF after mashing in.
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
72 °C
Malts
1st batch mashing
After 30-45 min. you run the wort clear and start lautering. You pump water (sparge water) from the HWT on the grain bed.
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
72 °C
1st batch lautering
Lautering of the 1st batch is finished. You take out the spent grain. The wort in the lower vessel is heated up to boiling temperature.
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
72 °C
Spent grain
1st batch boiling
Mash in the 2nd batch into the upper vessel. Meanwhile in the lower vessel the 1st batch is boiling.
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
72 °C
Malts
1st batch boiling
2nd batch mashing
After boiling and whirlpool the 1st batch was pumped to the fermenter. Lautering of the 2nd batch starts.
Hint: When you transfer the hot wort to the fermenter and chill it with a plate heat exchanger there you can gain time.
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
72 °C
2nd batch lautering
Lautering of the 2nd batch is finished. You take out the spent grain of the 2nd batch and clean the upper vessel.
Meanwhile the 2nd batch is boiling in the lower vessel.
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
2nd batch boiling
When chilling down the 2nd batch transfer the warm water from the plate heat exchanger to the HWT and use it for cleaning and brewing the next time.
Hint: You can again gain time by transferring the hot wort to the fermenter whereas it is mixed with the colder wort from the 1st batch. You then keep on chilling the mixed worts in the fermenter with a PHE. You pump the wort out of the fermenter into the PHE and back into the fermenter via the CIP (spray ball)/hop port for example.You can also gain time by quick mashing (max. 1 h) and quick boiling (max. 1 h).
BREWTOWER
(BT)
HOT WATER TANK (HWT)
Examples
End