Fermenters, Brite Tank & Serving Tanks

[Seracer]

Hello everyone, first time poster here. Have been looking through the posts for info on procedures regarding fermenters, brite tanks and serving tanks. I am a home brewer who has taken over the brewing in a 7bbl brewpub. The equipment has been sitting for 2 years with nothing happening on the brewing side, just serving guest beers and food. No one at the brewpub knows anything about the equipment or brewing. So I am learning as I go. It's been a challenge and a blast so far. I have been doing a lot of cleaning and learning, and this last weekend did my first brew session and have a batch in the fermenter chugging away. Hit all my numbers and the beer looks great so far. My question is regarding what procedure would work best with the equipment I have. Here is what I have:

3 jacketed 7bbl fermenters
1 jacketed 7bbl brite tank
7 single wall 7bbl serving tanks in a cold room

There is no kegging happening right now, so I am wondering if I can just go right from the fermenter into the serving tank. Something like once primary is done, dry hop secondary in the same fermenter, cold crash in the same fermenter, then draw off the trub and yeast and push over to the serving tank where it will be carbed and served. No brite tank involved.

Am I going to mess up the beer without using the brite tank? Until kegging happens here, would the brite tank be viable as a fourth fermenter perhaps?

Thanks for any input!

Bruce Dawson
Columbia Valley Brewing
Wenatchee, WA

[brewmaster 2011]

There is no kegging happening right now, so I am wondering if I can just go right from the fermenter into the serving tank. Something like once primary is done, dry hop secondary in the same fermenter, cold crash in the same fermenter, then draw off the trub and yeast and push over to the serving tank where it will be carbed and served. No brite tank involved.

Am I going to mess up the beer without using the brite tank? Until kegging happens here, would the brite tank be viable as a fourth fermenter perhaps?

Thanks for any input!

Bruce Dawson
Columbia Valley Brewing
Wenatchee, WA

I use my fermenters for primary and secondary for my ales. I dry hop when it get 1* plato above terminal crop off what ever yeast has fallen out. I would use you 7 bbl brite tank to lager and lager beers before going to the serving tanks.

[beerdweeb]

Right track

Sounds like you're on the right track. Your equipment set up is very common in brewpub environments. Your serving tanks are your bright tanks, and will function as such.

I would definitely recommend looking into kegging though. Common brewpub practice is to serve from your serving tanks until you're down to just bbl or two, then rack to kegs. Serving beer from nearly empty serving tanks can be a bit wonky sometimes (foaming, pulling other junk through, etc). This will also let you have more beers on draft / tanks.

Also, there's no "secondary" in pro brewing

[Seracer]

Thanks for the feedback! So, no secondary? Just throw the hops in when I'm close to final SG? Guess that makes sense since it all happens in one FV.

[soia1138]

Your brite tank will be a good place to lager if you do those as others have said. Other than that its a good tank to have handy if you have no where to put a beer that is finished and would otherwise go to keg or serving tank, then your fermentor is at least freed up to get another batch going in the meantime. The real purpose of the brite is a vessel to receive filtered beer.If I'm dry hopping I usually wait until I hit terminal gravity, cap the tank and let a little pressure build, cool to to about 65F, harvest some yeast for another batch, then dry hop. Everyone has their own process but it sounds like you have the basic idea, now you can find what works best for you and your situation.

[beerdweeb]

Thanks for the feedback! So, no secondary? Just throw the hops in when I'm close to final SG? Guess that makes sense since it all happens in one FV.

I was kinda just poking fun at the word "secondary" since is a homebrew term. For some reason my wink smiley didn't go through.

[Seracer]

Okay, sounds like this will work. After the SG gets to where I want it and hops have sat for a week, I will just crash the beer in the FV for a day or so, then push it over to the serving tank. Carb it there.

The BBT may just be my fourth fermenter for now until the owner decides to start kegging again. Sounds like we could actually keg from the serving tanks also.

Very cool, and thanks everyone for the help!

[beermkr]

Also, there's no "secondary" in pro brewing

Just replaced with another word. Conditioning tank. Same thing in practice.