Anyone brewing on a Prospero 15 BBL brewhouse?

[patrickls83]

Hi all, we are a start-up brewery in Virginia and our brewhouse is being installed this week. Just looking for anyone that might be brewing or might have brewed on a Prospero 15 BBL steam brewhouse and would be willing to share any lessons learned on process, mash efficiency, scaling pilot recipes, etc. Thanks in advance!

Cheers!
Patrick

[jwc3224]

It's been a great system so far (2-1/2 years). We've got the 7 BBL (BH2) not the 15 BBL but i think it is the same design as the 15. Mash efficiency average is high 80's but I've achieved higher depending on malt bill and fine tuning the crush. Preheat the MLT to strike water temp then mash in with calculated temp strike water. I don't use the MLT jackets. If you plan on doing any step mashing using the jackets in the MLT, mash in thinner than usual and use rakes with the grain plow halfway down to stir. Get a long stemmed temp probe (handheld) to dial in temperature of mash. Stop stirring and check several times. Use the side jackets and stop a degree or two below target has worked for us. Ignore the digital mash temp. It doesn't extend into the mash far enough to be remotely accurate while stepping up. 20 minutes into mash rest it gets within about a degree or two. We mainly stir with the rakes while mashing in then cut them off during the rest. I cut the bed with the rakes (don't forget to lift the plow up) then rest for 10min before vorlauf and it clears up quicker. You may just have to experiment as yours may react differently due to geometry. Ours is fired with the Sussman low pressure boiler and gets to a rolling strong boil. As far as scaling up pilot batches, besides efficiency we had to dial back hop bitterness levels a bit YMMV.
Things I wish were better: Lights that didn't time out at max-15 minutes. The mash tun plates are like knives, when pulling them out watch those fingers. Other than that it's been great. Prospero has been great to work with and responsive to any questions/problems.
Good luck with your new brewhouse!