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Does a Silo make sense for a 10bbl system?

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  • Does a Silo make sense for a 10bbl system?

    We are in start-up phase of a brewpub. Will be total sq ft of 6,000 with a 10 bbl system planning on brewing 1000-1500 bbl per year. Everything produced will be sold in the taproom is the plan.

    The space for brewery ops is around 1600, with 500 sq ft for a pizza kitchen, and remainder for bar and taproom seating.

    I am trying to get my mind around the economics of getting a grain silo.

    Does it make sense for a system this size? The silo with a grain contract costs $25K paid over 6 quarter installments.

    Would you get a silo or pass with this projected volume? We want an efficient, not back breaking, brewing process.

    Thanks
    Last edited by littlemiamibrew; 07-06-2016, 12:24 PM.
    Dan Lynch, Co-Founder
    Little Miami Brewing Company
    Old Milford, Ohio

  • #2
    Silo seems like overkill for that. Ive heard most people say 5k bbl/yr tends to be the sweet spot for thinking about a silo for your base malt.

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    • #3
      How much of your base will you use per month based on your business plan? At 1000-1500bbl/year, I would think that you couldn't go through a silo fast enough, if in a dry climate, I have heard of places going as long as 4 months, but if its wet, I have heard recommendations to keep it under 2 months to maintain quality.

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      • #4
        Usually the point where a silo makes sense is sort of 3-4k bbls. BUT there are extenuating circumstances. First and foremost: how hard is it to get a pallet of grain into your space. If you're on the third floor of a crazy weird old building with no parking in a busy downtown area and so on, it might make more sense.
        Russell Everett
        Co-Founder / Head Brewer
        Bainbridge Island Brewing
        Bainbridge Island, WA

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        • #5
          Originally posted by littlemiamibrew View Post
          We are in start-up phase of a brewpub. Will be total sq ft of 6,000 with a 10 bbl system planning on brewing 1000-1500 bbl per year. Everything produced will be sold in the taproom is the plan.

          The space for brewery ops is around 1600, with 500 sq ft for a pizza kitchen, and remainder for bar and taproom seating.

          I am trying to get my mind around the economics of getting a grain silo.

          Does it make sense for a system this size? The silo with a grain contract costs $25K paid over 6 quarter installments.

          Would you get a silo or pass with this projected volume? We want an efficient, not back breaking, brewing process.

          Thanks
          Definitely not even a consideration at 1.5k barrels a year. You could consider buying base malt in super sacks if you want to cut down on the number of bags you handle. A super sack is 2,000lbs so you could probably empty one of those every week to two weeks depending on malt bills. With a silo you would have to sit on the grain for such a long time even if the numbers made sense the freshness of grain outweighs it exponentially.

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          • #6
            ......my two cents....
            I have a ten bbl brewhouse, production brewery. I installed a used silo two years ago. My grain costs were sliced almost in half!
            Prior to the silo, I was getting two pallets of bagged grain every week or so, along with the shipping costs. Now, I refill the silo once every ten-twelve months. Of course, this is contingent on how close you are to a malt house.
            But, if you can find a silo for a good price, FREAKIN' JUMP ON IT! Play the long game.

            Again, just my two cents.

            Prost!
            Dave
            Glacier Brewing Company
            406-883-2595
            info@glacierbrewing.com

            "who said what now?"

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            • #7
              My company offers dry grain and spent grain silos and I bet we can get way below that 25k mark......Give me a Call or shoot me an email and I will get you a price comparison. Waylon McKinney with Heavybilt Mfg. (we sponsor the spent grain topic). 800-807-0012 We have bins all over the Tampa area.

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