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Hello;
I brew on a 20 bbl system. We have (3) 40 bbl FVs and (1) 40 bbl BT. Currently we have space on our concrete slab and glycol system to plug in (2) more tanks. We have space in our building for a total of 24 tanks, but will have to pour more concrete slabs to support the weight. My gut feeling is that when it comes time to plug in two more tanks that it would make the most sense to purchase (1) BT and (1) FV as out current BT tends to be the bottle neck for production. Our cycle is this: We take 2 days of brewing to fill an FV. After fermenting and a VDK rest we crash to 30F. after 3 or 4 days at 30F I harvest yeast and fine with AB Vickers Cryofine. After 2-3 days in the FV with the finnings we transfer to the BT. We dose with gelatin during the transfer to the BT. We find clarification to be acceptable on day 4 in the BT and that is when we rack to kegs, clean the tank and transfer the next brew. We ferment with Wyeast 1028. I use 21 days as my standard total tank time. On some beers like our ESB I can get away with a day or 2 less. We are looking to maximize the capacity of our brewery. It has been suggested that we fill our empty spot with (2) FVs and use one of them as a BT when needed to maximize flexibility. I have a buddy who has used an FV as a BT in his brewery and decided that did not work as well. Is there a typical ratio of FVs to BTs that most folks use?
Does anyone have some thoughts or experience to lend?
I brew on a 20 bbl system. We have (3) 40 bbl FVs and (1) 40 bbl BT. Currently we have space on our concrete slab and glycol system to plug in (2) more tanks. We have space in our building for a total of 24 tanks, but will have to pour more concrete slabs to support the weight. My gut feeling is that when it comes time to plug in two more tanks that it would make the most sense to purchase (1) BT and (1) FV as out current BT tends to be the bottle neck for production. Our cycle is this: We take 2 days of brewing to fill an FV. After fermenting and a VDK rest we crash to 30F. after 3 or 4 days at 30F I harvest yeast and fine with AB Vickers Cryofine. After 2-3 days in the FV with the finnings we transfer to the BT. We dose with gelatin during the transfer to the BT. We find clarification to be acceptable on day 4 in the BT and that is when we rack to kegs, clean the tank and transfer the next brew. We ferment with Wyeast 1028. I use 21 days as my standard total tank time. On some beers like our ESB I can get away with a day or 2 less. We are looking to maximize the capacity of our brewery. It has been suggested that we fill our empty spot with (2) FVs and use one of them as a BT when needed to maximize flexibility. I have a buddy who has used an FV as a BT in his brewery and decided that did not work as well. Is there a typical ratio of FVs to BTs that most folks use?
Does anyone have some thoughts or experience to lend?