Building a brewery...

[AlanManley]

Right so I have had the ok from SWMBO to be able to build a nice shiny brewery in the garage once it's cleared (aiming for end of summer) so have started looking at pots etc.

Firstly do others feel it necessary for a 3 pot system? I saw recently the pilot kit at Siren Craft and am basing my build on this)

This is my current set up.

I obviously use the boiler for heating mash water, heating sparge water and the actual boil. I then use a fermenting bucket on the floor and gravity to resparge from the MT then put the boiler in its place to empty the MT into it and then lift it back up onto the side.

I'm thinking on the new system to be similar and have 1 pot as a boiler and one as a mash tun however instead of using a fermenter and gravity I'll use a pump to resparge to save having to move anything and I can then have the pots side by side.

If I did this would two pots then be enough or should I really look at a 3 pot system and have HLT, MT, Boiler? Its a difference of about £150.00 (ish) and wondering if itll be worth it.

I'm looking at these pots:

Lastly I am thinking of getting two of these as fermenters to be fully SS.

Anyone had any experience with them?

That would then just mean I need to convince her to let me by a cornie set up!! (I'm already halfway there, maybe Xmas. [emoji16][emoji319][emoji320]).

 

[Dads_Ale]

Hi Alan

Reckon this will be a good talking point at WBHBC next Saturday.

Looking forward to helping out :)

 

[AlanManley]

Hi Alan

Reckon this will be a good talking point at WBHBC next Saturday.

Looking forward to helping out :)

Good call! Also looking forward to it. Going to bring down a few beers too.
You family coming down? Una and Grace may stop by around lunchtime (ish) until we head off.

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[Brewdoug]

How generous is SWMBO feeling?
Take a look at the SS Brewtech complete 5 gal system at Brew UK.
I was drooling over the 10 gal system earlier on the SS Brewtech website, some serious brew **** on there, but I don't think you could get that one in UK, oh and it was 3000 dollars. :whistle: Not too bad though for what you get.

 

[gedburg101]

I'm doing the exact same thing and I'm picking up a 3 vessel 200l system from Bridgewater on 12th August.

The support I've had from Ivor (the guy who runs Bridgewater) has been great. I'd recommend dropping him a message or calling him.

 

[AlanManley]

How generous is SWMBO feeling?
Take a look at the SS Brewtech complete 5 gal system at Brew UK.
I was drooling over the 10 gal system earlier on the SS Brewtech website, some serious brew **** on there, but I don't think you could get that one in UK, oh and it was 3000 dollars. :whistle: Not too bad though for what you get.

Certainly not that generous! 🤣

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[AlanManley]

I'm doing the exact same thing and I'm picking up a 3 vessel 200l system from Bridgewater on 12th August.

The support I've had from Ivor (the guy who runs Bridgewater) has been great. I'd recommend dropping him a message or calling him.

Which way did You go on fermenter? At this stage I'm not thinking of going commercial but just having some decent kit. Maybe 50l, at a push (it's only £30 a pot more) 100l.

Do you think 3 vessels are necessary? That's my biggest hang up currently.

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[Dutto]

Good luck with the build. May I suggest that before you start doing or buying anything draw everything out, check availability of utilities and drains, make sure that everything fits and decide on a maximum budget.

I based my own build on that exact same photograph ... :thumb:

... but it still came out looking like this! :lol: :lol: :lol:

PS

I too have to work around a washing machine and a dryer; and I can't ever remember giving permission to put either of them in my brewing space!

 

[gedburg101]

Which way did You go on fermenter? At this stage I'm not thinking of going commercial but just having some decent kit. Maybe 50l, at a push (it's only £30 a pot more) 100l.

Do you think 3 vessels are necessary? That's my biggest hang up currently.

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I'm going to ferment in food grade plastic barrels. Not ideal, but a few small local breweries do it with no problem.

I'm a big fan of three vessel. Allows things to move better. I'd be tempted to get a big cooler mash tun though. Not as pretty but it might assist keeping temp. At 50l I think it might be tricky keeping temp just using a big pot.

 

[Hoddy]

Me..... personally...... I would go for braumeister.

If you've only got a garage then the "all in one systems" can take up loads of space.

And I would hazard a guess once you got all the bits built it, bought more because you didn't realise you needed more. You would have spent enough to buy a shiney new BM.

Just my view. But if you got the cash and not masses of space. You really cannot go wrong.


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[MyQul]

Me..... personally...... I would go for braumeister.

If you've only got a garage then the "all in one systems" can take up loads of space.

And I would hazard a guess once you got all the bits built it, bought more because you didn't realise you needed more. You would have spent enough to buy a shiney new BM.

Just my view. But if you got the cash and not masses of space. You really cannot go wrong.


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London brew lab did/do their home brew classes using BM's. They had about 3 last time I was their. Really good for a small amount of space and cranking out loads of beer.

I've seen small micro breweries (nano breweries) on you tube that use BM's as their system

 

[mgkpancake]

Right so I have had the ok from SWMBO to be able to build a nice shiny brewery in the garage once it's cleared (aiming for end of summer) so have started looking at pots etc.

Firstly do others feel it necessary for a 3 pot system? I saw recently the pilot kit at Siren Craft and am basing my build on this)

I obviously use the boiler for heating mash water, heating sparge water and the actual boil. I then use a fermenting bucket on the floor and gravity to resparge from the MT then put the boiler in its place to empty the MT into it and then lift it back up onto the side.

I'm thinking on the new system to be similar and have 1 pot as a boiler and one as a mash tun however instead of using a fermenter and gravity I'll use a pump to resparge to save having to move anything and I can then have the pots side by side.

If I did this would two pots then be enough or should I really look at a 3 pot system and have HLT, MT, Boiler? Its a difference of about �£150.00 (ish) and wondering if itll be worth it.


Lastly I am thinking of getting two of these as fermenters to be fully SS.

Anyone had any experience with them?

That would then just mean I need to convince her to let me by a cornie set up!! (I'm already halfway there, maybe Xmas. [emoji16][emoji319][emoji320]).

Have you considered a 30L or 40L brew in a basket type system like grainfather or ace microbrewery/klarstein/robobrew? Only two vessels, one for sparge and the main unit acts as mash and kettle. I get around 75% efficiency or more. For sparge, I don't have a dedicated pot, just boil up 16L worth of sparge water usually in the kettle for the 26L batchs I do. Comes with temperature control and built in pump for either £600 or £350 respectively plus all the other bits and fermenter with temp control, you'll be at pro level quality control.

Lets say you plan on doing the two pot setup, a quality magnetic pump like a chugger or march pump will set you back £150-£200 or if you want to settle for a solar pump- lets say £50-100. Then factor the fittings, hose, temp control.. the partial investment becomes a sort of bigger one then it grows from there, cause you're hooked!

If you plan on going larger than 50L I might recommend something like a 3 pot HERMS type system (like in my signature) but it boils down ultimately to how much money you want to spend and how much work you want to do on brew day.

I found the larger I went the more I had to spend on other things for example a plate chiller was needed because there is no way you're going to sit around waiting for an immersion chiller to cool 50L of wort. Or a tip dump for the mash tun because it was so heavy it wrecked your back every brew day. THen all the extra time taking apart every friggin' fitting for a deep clean every 3-4 brews sucks the time out of you

PET plastic is surprisingly resilient alternative to quadruple priced ss fermenters. Don't get me wrong, I had a 27 gallon blichmann one- loved it. But I should have gotten the one with Tri-clamps- for you guessed it, more money :grin:

Apologies for the long post. THe simple question is, how many liters to do you plan on brewing?

 

[james1988]

Morning,

I think mgkpancake hit the nail on the head. I spent weeks researching pots, elements etc for a full stainless brewer both for a smaller set up to produce five gallons and also a twenty gallon set up in order to go professional. For the five gallon setup, having looked into the cost, space requirements, costing of the kit, the buggering about and fetling when it inevitably goes wrong I decided to go with a Grainfather and I have to say I find it a joy to brew with. I started on a three vessel system that I built myself out of fermenting vessels, kettle elements and a cool box that worked absolutely fine until I started wanting more control.

Out of the box brewing from the Grainfather is easy, they provide you with the calculations (I've set up Beersmith to match these) and so simply add your grain, water and hops. The GF takes up very little space which is another reason why I wanted to move away from my current set up and it's very easy to clean down when you're finished.

Finally, another thing to consider is that with the GF you have some form of warranty whereas with kit you're going to build yourself, you'll have no warranty should it go wrong.

James

 

[donnyos]

Morning,

I think mgkpancake hit the nail on the head. I spent weeks researching pots, elements etc for a full stainless brewer both for a smaller set up to produce five gallons and also a twenty gallon set up in order to go professional. For the five gallon setup, having looked into the cost, space requirements, costing of the kit, the buggering about and fetling when it inevitably goes wrong I decided to go with a Grainfather and I have to say I find it a joy to brew with. I started on a three vessel system that I built myself out of fermenting vessels, kettle elements and a cool box that worked absolutely fine until I started wanting more control.

Out of the box brewing from the Grainfather is easy, they provide you with the calculations (I've set up Beersmith to match these) and so simply add your grain, water and hops. The GF takes up very little space which is another reason why I wanted to move away from my current set up and it's very easy to clean down when you're finished.

Finally, another thing to consider is that with the GF you have some form of warranty whereas with kit you're going to build yourself, you'll have no warranty should it go wrong.

James

Your proposed fermentation vessels look a lot like my Sansone 50l ones. Excellent FVs if you make sure to drill a hole in top with a grommet to take a length of silicone tube leading down into a cup of Sanitiser to act as a blowoff if the yeast gets frisky. I especially like the small tap which is very useful in taking off just enough to fill a hydrometer specimen jar to check if it's done... no need to even take the lid off keeps it safe from beasties. Stainless is easy to keep clean if you clean it thoroughly as soon as you empty the FV.


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[AlanManley]

Cheers. That's sound advice!

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[AlanManley]

So the brewery got delayed as we're buying a house!

It's still the one we currently live in though so space is the same. Just had to hold fire on the spending until it all goes through (hopefully in a week or two).

With this in mind I've not put much thought into the brewery build however I was shown one of these recently and it brought me back to the 3 vessel vs all in one debate in my head...

https://www.hopcat.eu/product-page/hopcat-50l-brewing-system

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[Steved53]

Just a comment on those olive oil containers as fermenters. I have looked at those, as they look like an interesting alternative to the plastic Speidel vessels that I use.

However, there are two main grades of vessel - one type that have folded seams (that you showed), and one type that are welded. The welded variety are (inevitably) more expensive, but I believe a lot more suitable for the use envisaged. Sansone produce both types, (the Europa model being welded), whilst some other companies only produce the folded seam versions.