ALVAmeister

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Cqout

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Sep 27, 2013
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I have finally had time to make and test my ALVAmeister

It is a braumeister clone using an ALVA controller

It is built using a 50l bergland pot
3kw bendable element
20l genuine malt pipe, filters, and center rod
Chugger pump
Stand made using unistrut

Initial testing went very well and is perfect
It took about 50 minutes to heat the water to mash temp which is good considering it is freezing today :-)
I cant wait to do a brew when I have a day off


MY ALVAmeister RIG







SHE HAS A COAT TO KEEP HER WARM :-)

 
That looks lovely! Very tempted to have a go at something like this at some point. Look forward to reading some brewdays done using this, get brewing:)
 
I agree - a build thread would be brilliant, and any details on costs (SWMBO won't let me stretch to a full Braumeister/ Grainfather purchase) :thumb:
 
To be honest i did not take that many photos but when I get 10 minutes I will do parts list and some better pictures.

It has cost me in the region of £700 to build - including a stainless hop spider from mr lard.

I bought the bits over time so the financial hit was not to bad

I am so pleased with the result
 
Nice job Cq :thumb:

Now I feel the force getting strong in me I'll probably end up bodging my own version from scrap in my usual scrounger/recycler fabrication stylee.
 
I have finally had a chance to brew on my ALVAmesiter today and these are my findings

My plate chiller got blocked even though it has 2 fine mesh filters and I put my hops in a spider :-( so I need to find a way to filter before it or change to a different chiller
ANY SUGGESTIONS :-)

It was a dream to use and an even better dream to clean :-)

I was done in about 6 hours (that 2 hours less than my brutus set up)

The 3 Kw element is more than man enough to brew with and kept a boil even though it was freezing outside today

I love the ALVA controller although I need to spend some time learning how to use it fully

I need to work on my starting amount because I only ended up with 15l in the fermenter which was about 10l short of what I wanted
I started with 28l and so have lost 13l in total

All in all a good day with some minor things to sort out

I am well chuffed with it and cant wait to brew again - just have to wait for this one to ferment lol

Here are some pictures

Heating the water



Mashing



Nice clear wort



Good boil

 
I take it that you circulate the wort through the chiller and back to the boiler so if it is the chiller (rather than the pump or the filter) that is the problem then a simple cooler like this one should do very well.

It's a bit heavy on water usage (luckily I'm not on a meter any longer!:thumb:) but it should be perfect in a circulatory system and doesn't have to be so long. (In fact, the inner tube doesn't even need to be "crimped" as you won't be trying to cool the wort in a single pass like myself.)

IMG_1323 (1).jpg
 
I boiled for 90 minutes - in think my mistake was not calculating losses in the chiller and hoses and also although i have a bottom drain i probably left a couple of liters in there aswell - it all adds up
 
I have finally had a chance to brew on my ALVAmesiter today and these are my findings

<snip>
I was done in about 6 hours (that 2 hours less than my brutus set up)


I love the ALVA controller although I need to spend some time learning how to use it fully

<snip>

I need to work on my starting amount because I only ended up with 15l in the fermenter which was about 10l short of what I wanted
I started with 28l and so have lost 13l in total

You made a very nice setup indeed, my compliments!

A Brutus setup?? Was that on gas? Similar size?

As the maker of the Alva I should be careful to advertise here, but if you have any questions or comments about its use, I'm all ears....

I use a setup with a bag and do mostly (almost) full volume brews. In general I mash in with about 25 to 30% more water than I plan to make beer. So, for example, for 20ltr beer I would mash in with 25ltr water.
I don't loose much in my equipment, that helps as well of course, and I squeeze the bag as good as I can.

I sparge with 1 or 2 litres max. and get very good efficiencies (>80%)

If you severely end with a too small amount, you can always add water in the fermenter, or enjoy a heavy beer :wink:
 
Hello

It was electric brutus built on the 2.0 2 vessel and I made it all electric - i wanted something easier to use and then saw your alva controller and decided on a braumeister clone. I hope you dont mind me calling it the alvameister?

Anyway as you are not allowed to advertise it does not stop me telling people how happy I am with the alva controller. It really is a nice bit of kit :-)
 
Hello

It was electric brutus built on the 2.0 2 vessel and I made it all electric - i wanted something easier to use and then saw your alva controller and decided on a braumeister clone. I hope you dont mind me calling it the alvameister?

Anyway as you are not allowed to advertise it does not stop me telling people how happy I am with the alva controller. It really is a nice bit of kit :-)

Well the Braumeister is usually seen as a high quality piece of equipment, so I don't mind the name of the Alva connected with that :-)
 
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