Moving brewery to new location on a well

[wlw33]

Good afternoon everyone,
We have been an operational nano brewery for about 6 years. We recently purchased a building that is much larger. While the building has city sewer access it is on a well. We have been assured from the company that dug and installed the well that it is adequate in size to support a brewery. I am working with a couple other local rural breweries to plan for mandatory testing, but I'm curious if a CLT would be advantageous? Specifically for cooling wort and to reduce the strain on the well on brew days.
Thank you!

[idylldon]

"Assured from the company that dug and installed the well" should include GPM flow of said well and also a draw down test. We have a well that produces over 35 GPM and it supplies our entire restaurant and the brewery. It NEVER runs out of water. If you feel as though your well won't keep up with demand, then, yes, you'll need some sort of buffer tank to ensure you will always have an adequate water supply.

Cheers,
--
Don

[SpecialKaye]

We've got a 7bbl on a well and I don't use a CLT. When it comes to our HTx, it's really just a garden hose sized water supply. Any well should be able to handle that, and more. Especially for a commercial building. I'd be more worried about crappy well water than the flow rate at this point. You need good water, plain and simple, and you could always slow your knockout - up to a point. Some well water has too much calcium, or sulphur, etc. One thing to think about is that you're not paying for water but you will pay for sewage. They'll probably put a meter on your well supply to figure your sewage usage, a percentage of your water usage. That's how our billing works anyway. But, they will not figure any discounts for the "water" that walks out of your brewery or is removed in spent grain, etc. Also, as the owners, you'll have to pay for the electricity to run that pump. While it'll probably not be all that bad, relatively speaking, it is something to be aware of. I have two small well pumps at my hop farm and can certainly tell which months out of the year we water.

[wlw33]

"Assured from the company that dug and installed the well" should include GPM flow of said well and also a draw down test. We have a well that produces over 35 GPM and it supplies our entire restaurant and the brewery. It NEVER runs out of water. If you feel as though your well won't keep up with demand, then, yes, you'll need some sort of buffer tank to ensure you will always have an adequate water supply.

Cheers,
--
Don

Thanks for your response. Our well was rated at 25 GPM but we will have to do another test before opening to ensure this value still stands. I am leaning towards a CLT because I have one available to me for cheap so it couldn't hurt to have it and I have the space for it.

[wlw33]

We've got a 7bbl on a well and I don't use a CLT. When it comes to our HTx, it's really just a garden hose sized water supply. Any well should be able to handle that, and more. Especially for a commercial building. I'd be more worried about crappy well water than the flow rate at this point. You need good water, plain and simple, and you could always slow your knockout - up to a point. Some well water has too much calcium, or sulphur, etc. One thing to think about is that you're not paying for water but you will pay for sewage. They'll probably put a meter on your well supply to figure your sewage usage, a percentage of your water usage. That's how our billing works anyway. But, they will not figure any discounts for the "water" that walks out of your brewery or is removed in spent grain, etc. Also, as the owners, you'll have to pay for the electricity to run that pump. While it'll probably not be all that bad, relatively speaking, it is something to be aware of. I have two small well pumps at my hop farm and can certainly tell which months out of the year we water.

Thanks for your response. We are going to be running tests on the water quality shortly. I ran a quick "at-home" test for mineral content and it was workable for brewing. Do you have any suggestions regarding filtration? I am planning on installing a filter, but would be interested in feedback on what type of filtration system may work best.
Thanks!

[idylldon]

I use four stages of filtration these days. Originally, I didn't need any filters for a couple of years and then we hit a couple of drought years and the well started pulling up some sediment. At this point, the well is running pretty much clear again (we had a couple of good winters) but I have a 120 micron, an 80 micron, a 5 micron, and a 1 micron filter setup. Each one is a standalone unit. The two larger micron sized filters are cleaned easily by removal and then spraying with a hose. The 5 micron can also be rinsed a few times before it's done, and the one micron is disposable. The smaller sizes are BIG filters and I usually replace the 5 micron twice a year and the 1 micron about three times a year. It's been a wonderful system and I sure like not having to filter chlorine or have to deal with excess minerals. My well water is pretty much a blank slate for a brewer. I can do any style with a minor amount of treatment. IMHO, there's nothing like having great water to brew with.

Cheers,
--
Don

[BuckeyeHydro]

Thanks for your response. We are going to be running tests on the water quality shortly. I ran a quick "at-home" test for mineral content and it was workable for brewing. Do you have any suggestions regarding filtration? I am planning on installing a filter, but would be interested in feedback on what type of filtration system may work best.
Thanks!

The appropriate filtration, if any, can only be determined once you run your lab tests on the water, as the appropriate filter type depends entirely on what you're trying to treat (e.g., iron? sediment? hardness? manganese? hydrogen sulfate?).