Small batches - Steam Jacketed BH

[rbeaird87]

Hey, so I have a brewery in planning and would like a little help deciding on what equipment to buy. I want to buy a 10 BBL system, but initial sales forecasts really don't justify brewing batches that large. We are budgeting for a steam brewhouse, so my question is - can I brew smaller batches in a larger kettle/MLT without worrying about damaging the equipment? Most likely, what I would want is a 4 vessel system which will basically be a pair of 5BBLs. So would brewing 2-3 BBLs in that be okay? Thanks!

[BroadWay411]

The short answer is yes, you should be able to do it. However, since we know nothing of your system I can't say with 100% certainty. Contact your manufacturer for the system you plan to go with, their whole life is knowing their equipment, they can give you a solid answer.

[dick murton]

In my book, the best answer would be to have two heating jackets, the lower one being completely covered by the small brew (at end of boil) and the upper one being covered by the full brew (at end of boil). Use the lower one only for small brews, and both for larger brews. Same principal would apply if using electrical heating elements

[rbeaird87]

To clear this question, we need to know if the lauter will be affected with small batch size brew (means thinner grain bed).
The grain bed can not be too thin (or too thick), a ideal scale is 30-40cm. And in the practical operaiton, it can also be 25cm -45cm.
If you brew 2-3bbl in 10 bbl brewhouse, it looks the grain bed is very thin, which will affect the lautering.
In this case, the brewmaster will circulate the lautering for many times in order to get good lautering wort.

Yeah, that concern was pretty up front for me. I certainly would not be doing 2-3 BBLs is a 10 BBL vessel. In a 5 BBL vessel instead.