Equipment Manufacturers

[Badger]

Putting together the finishing touches on a 7 or 10 BBL brewpub and have received brewery equipment quotes (new equipment) from several manufactures. Based on these I have wittled it down to 2 companies and their quotes vary significantly. Any experience with either of these two could help me decide - they are Pacific Brewery Systems Technology and Premier Stainless Systems.

Thanks

[sbradt]

premier

I don't have any experience with Pacific Brewing Systems but I have always found Rob at Premier to to great to work with and quite reasonable. We've purchased a propagation tank, to 35 Bbl Unitanks and a 35 Bbl bright from him.

[jbebe]

premier would be my choice

as i have stated before on a few post. the equipment rob provided for the breweries i worked at was easy to use, very brewer friendly, very efficient, and well made. and most of all the time he took with me was above and beyond the call of duty considering i came in after a brewer had left and i was fairly new to brewpub side of things. and i am sure i had some stupid questions but he took time to help me.

[kaiabrew]

Equipment

Rob at Premier is great!

He follows through and is committed to fulfilling his end of the bargain. If you are unsure of the company. I would suggest what I and others have said about him. Straight up guy, equipment and integrity.

[Coast]

Were the tanks you all have purchased from Premier manufactured in China? I was wondering of they have been doing that for a while or if was a relatively new thing. We are in the market for new tanks and I am having a hard time accepting chinese tank- even from such a reputable company as Premiere. I'd prefer American made. Is that even possible anymore?

[kaiabrew]

Premier

You'll have to discuss it with Rob. I know he did some work with Stromberg and wasn't pleased. I hear you about the overseas tanks. The steel is sub par. Even DME is having things built in China. Maybe you could contact David Yarrington at Smuttynose. He has some Brights from Premier. We have used Premier for 6 BBL Brights. They work well and fit through a standard doorway.

[brewbonghm]

I have seen the tanks from China, for cold side I would assume they are great, as they appear to have an interior finish that looks almost pharmaceutical grade.
I might be concerned about sub-par steel on a steam side application, as I have seen American sub-par steel fail even under light usage conditions. Either way if you are purchasing a rig you should be able to get a report on the composition of the steel, if you trust the manufacturer.

[jbebe]

answer to your china question

all the brewhouse's and tanks i worked on were made in europe. but from all my communication with rob i am sure he is on top of the quality issue as he is the one that has to answer questions and deal with any issues. he new the systems i worked better than the guy that trained me on the system, and i asked a million questions. i to wish i could buy more american made products not just brewery equipment. but we are all looking for the best bang for our buck whether it is tv's, cars, or brewing equipment. good luck in your quest.

[Larry Horwitz]

any reason you aren't considering used equipment?

[Badger]

Used Equipment

I would love to use used equipment but for now to prepare our proforma for the bank loan I have to assume new equipment and can hopefully recoup some operating funds if used can be located and purchased at a time which supports our opening date. It seems to me there is a lot of timining involved in finding and securing used equipment versus being able to order new equipment with a secured delivery date.

Once we get closer to finalizing our plans and going for our loan I will look into the used equipment availability and, if nothing is available, I will have to go with new since our lease payments will start and I better be open and serving ales!!!

thanks for all the responses everyone.

[kaiabrew]

Loc

Any way you can open a Line of Credit. You will need money down fast for used equipment. Typically 10/80/10. The man with the cash wins.

I have found 3 breweries used on this site in the past 10 years. It seems like there isn't much out there right now.

[jbrew55]

Premier

I agree with everyone about Rob at Premier stainless..stand up guy and runs his business in a fair way. I have a 7bbl system with stacked servers and have had them for about 7 months now and have absolutely no issue with any of the tanks received from Premier....Thanks Rob!

https://www.brewersbrewing.com

Josh Brewer

[nohandslance]

Excellent Customer Service

We purchased our 10 Ton Glycol Condensing Unit (Manurope/Danfoss) from Frank Ma @ Pacific Brewing Systems Tech (PBST). The unit malfunctioned 10 days after commissioning, He overnighted a new unit at his cost, and we were back in operation in less than 24 hours, with a new unit. And on a weekend. I hope this is what can be expected with holding tanks and hot-side equipment.
Thank you PBST.