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Groen Steam Kettle

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  • Groen Steam Kettle

    I was wondering if anyone has experience using steam-jacketed food processing kettles in a brewing application. Could they be used for wort boiling, mashing (especially step mashing), or any other key processing steps?

    Thanks.

  • #2
    many uses

    Depending on the geometry they have many uses. Most of the ones I have have a round bottom with an inch and a half outlet tube that originally had one of many kinds of funky valves. I like to lop that off and weld on a tri-clamp ferrule. I usually get them because the steam system is no longer and I've mostly used them for fermenters because of the shape and the jacket is good for water or glycol (they ferment a barrel comfortably). I have welded on extensions to make them 2 bbl fermenters as well. I have made a false bottom for one and it works just o.k. as a mash tun for a 1 bbl system because of the rounded bottom. I scored one once that I've never seen before or since that has a more squareish bottom leading to a 3" outlet. That made a really nice decoction kettle when plumbed up to steam. I've used it as a brew kettle as well on parti-gyle mashes.
    Good Luck!

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    • #3
      Wow.. hadn't heard that question in years.. but yea... I've done it. When I worked at Kalamazoo Brewing Co./ Bell's Beer many moons ago ('89/'90) That was the brewhouse they had! Had three of the things. Mash Tun, Lauter Tun and Kettle. Only the kettle was piped in with gas. Worked great for brewing 1bbl at a time.

      Mash in, xfer by hand in a 1 gallon pitcher to lauter tun, sparge with food grade hose, xfer runoff to kettle.

      The lauter tun had a false bottom that was hand made for the purpose. The kettle had a small screen that fit over the outlet in the kettle bottom to strain hops out. You had to use whole hops or it would clog and you were pretty well screwed. There was the danger of an air bubble forming under the screen.. if it got disturbed during the boil it would fly up out of the kettle and spew wort. I got splattered bad across my stomach once from this... Mike Wachowski, the head brewer at the time, said he knew I was really hurt since I was screaming and not swearing... LOL

      For a 24bbl week, brewing 1bbl at a time our brew week went like this; Monday-brew starter for 1st batch
      Tuesday-6 back to back brews (aprox 12-13 hours)
      Wednesday-brew starter for 2nd batch and remaining 5bbls of 1st
      Thursday-6back to back for batch 2
      Friday-brew remaining 5 bbl for batch 2

      This was with 2 full time brewers, Mike would spend 1/2 day Friday doing maintenance around the place while I finished the brew day. VERY labor intensive... one brewer with a 10 or 15 bbl system could have handled that output with no problem.

      So... yes it works, it's easy and it's cheap to put together.. BUT it will cost you in labor in the long run.

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      • #4
        First brewery I ever worked at had a 20hL dish bottomed steam cooker ( i think it was originally used for batching canned food).

        It was tall and thin and open on top. Steam jacket on the bottom and another circumferential jacket at about 12 hL. It was about three feet in diameter and about 12 feet high. Small wort surface area but we still managed some decent evaporation rate.

        We made some great beer on that system.

        Pax.

        Liam
        Liam McKenna
        www.yellowbellybrewery.com

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