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  • Fermentation Capacity Question

    I am not positive this is the proper place for me to make this post. If so, my apologies.

    I am currently planning a nano-brewery and have a question about fermentation capacity. I am planning to brew primarily ales that will require a two-four week turnaround at the capacity of 416 bbls/year in 2bbl batches. What fermentation capacity do I need to support this kind of volume? How many and what size fermenters would I need? Is there a resource or general rule of thumb on this to do my own calculations?

    Thank you for your responses and your support. I have been lurking these forums for a long time and am finally in the stages necessary to start making some posts and brewing some high quality craft beer!

  • #2
    I'm a visual person, so I would draw out a diagram, showing when each fermentor would be full and empty in a month, and when you'd have to brew each week to keep them full. I like to use Excel, but you could use a pen and paper, and a calendar too, if that's easier.

    Or, you can just use some math to figure it out. You want 416 bbl per year, you have a 2bbl brewhouse, that's 208 brew sessions to reach your desired production. There are 50 weeks in a year. Each beer takes 2 weeks to ferment. So there are 25 "fermentation cycles" in a year. 208 / 25 = 8.32, round up to 9, you'd need 9 2bbl fermentors. Probably one bright tank too, if you're kegging, and then serving out of kegs.

    If you don't have a lot of different varieties, you might be able to do some double-batching and use a few fermentors larger than 2bbl.

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    • #3
      That is great insight, thank you for your input. I will be diving further into it this week.

      Anyone else have any experience?

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      • #4
        nateo pretty much covered it.
        Kevin Shertz
        Chester River Brewing Company
        Chestertown, MD

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        • #5
          Yep, that's spot on.

          Every time I see someone who's like "I'm going to brew 800 bbls on a Sabco!" though I'm just like, "Ugh. Have fun with that.". Thing I'd add is you should calculate an estimated work-hours number for each brewlength and then figure out what sort of work week you're looking at. In the above scenario you'd be brewing four times a week to produce 8 bbls/week. Plus four of those fermenters should be done, and need to be racked and cleaned per week. Looking like a busy, but not yet unreasonable, full time job. But then there's sales, deliveries, taproom setup, open hours, taxes, accounting, endless phone calls, maintenance, cleaning, projects, cleaning, events and festivals, cleaning, various meetings, and also breaks for sanity (and cleaning). "Starting a business takes a lot of work!" Well yes, but how much work is reasonable and how much is just ridiculous? Lot of nanos underestimate the drain of brewing every day while understaffed. So think about how many people you need, how many you can afford, and whether that 200th brew will still be fun if you haven't slept in days. Not trashing nanos here, just saying the best time to figure out how much work it's going to take is coolly, rationally, well before you start. Then add 50%.

          If you can swing it, even a little bigger is always better. If you got a 3.5 bbl system, for example, you could double batch, brew twice a week, maybe in just one long day, giving 5-6 non-brewdays a week, still make 7bbls/week, and you'd only need five 7bbl fermenters.
          Russell Everett
          Co-Founder / Head Brewer
          Bainbridge Island Brewing
          Bainbridge Island, WA

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          • #6
            System Sizing by Specific Mechanical

            As calculated above, you can also use as reference the system sizing used by Specific Mechanical attached.

            Sizing_Microbrewery.pdf

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            • #7
              Replying to this old post per theres no new ones.

              Good site with a cal

              Best way to estimate your brewery size is to calculate annual beer production to know how many fermenters you need. Examples on various brewery sizes.

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