Recipe control - Grain Bill

[jipjanneke]

It has been suggested to me that a 'smart' (and non-back-breaking) way of getting the grain mix together prior to milling (or, indeed, do grain types require separate milling because of their size differences?) is to have several high mounted grain silos, each containing a different grain type, and controlling their grain outflows one by one by a smart controller linked to a load-cell mounted hopper. The controller knows from the recipe and batch size entered how much of each type of grain is required, and makes up the total bill one at a time. The silos can be big enough to dump 500kg or 1000 kg bulka-bags of grain into each one using a forklift. The grain will remain out of reach of vermin, and will negate the need to handle multiple 25kg bags of grain (the next smallest size available under 500kg). Thay told me the weighing system could be supplied for about $US2200 plus the cost of the silos.

Or do you all just muck in and shovel!

The advice originally stemmed from a question I had to them about weighing and handling of the grain bill prior to milling.

You comments or thoughts, please?

[tarmadilo]

There is no such thing as "out of reach of vermin"!!!!

I like labor-saving almost as much as I like cheap. If you're building a big brewery (50 bbl brewlength or bigger), that approach might make some sense, but I doubt if I would do it if the place is any smaller. Scales and buckets are cheap! I am definitely a fan of augers and fork lifts, though, and the higher up you can get the grain without having to hump the bags up yourself, the better (I spent almost three years at a brewery that required carrying all the grain up a steep flight of stairs to the mill, by hand. Ouch!).

Cheers, Tim