Ferm Tanks - Uni VS FV and BBT

[jordandemoss]

I'm in the process to doing research to open my own brewpub and I have a question relating to the common usage of fermenters and BBTs vs just using Uni tanks to do the same job. The setup I have in mind is to have 8 jacketed uni tanks to serve 6 taps. The brew process I have running in my head would go like this.

1. Brew and transfer to a uni tank for fermentation.
2. Once fermentation is complete, dump the yeast/hops, run through filtration system, transfer to a clean uni tank to serve the beer.
3. Clean out the now empty uni that was used for fermentation and begin the cycle over again.

Having two extra (tanks #7 and #8) uni tanks will allow the brewhouse to always have a clean tank to transfer to and one to have a special/seasonal brew. I like this workflow idea for the following reasons.

1. All the tanks are the same which will simplify maintenance, cleaning and troubleshooting.
2. It reduces the number of tanks required to do the same job, which will save floor space and potentially money.
3. Because the number of tanks required is reduced I have more room for future expansion or for other things.

It seems like there's plenty of obvious advantages but what about disadvantages? I'm interested in hearing first and second hand experience with this style of setup both good and bad. Why did you (not) decided to go with this kind of setup?

[Bbump22]

I'm in the process to doing research to open my own brewpub and I have a question relating to the common usage of fermenters and BBTs vs just using Uni tanks to do the same job. The setup I have in mind is to have 8 jacketed uni tanks to serve 6 taps. The brew process I have running in my head would go like this.

1. Brew and transfer to a uni tank for fermentation.
2. Once fermentation is complete, dump the yeast/hops, run through filtration system, transfer to a clean uni tank to serve the beer.
3. Clean out the now empty uni that was used for fermentation and begin the cycle over again.

Having two extra (tanks #7 and #8) uni tanks will allow the brewhouse to always have a clean tank to transfer to and one to have a special/seasonal brew. I like this workflow idea for the following reasons.

1. All the tanks are the same which will simplify maintenance, cleaning and troubleshooting.
2. It reduces the number of tanks required to do the same job, which will save floor space and potentially money.
3. Because the number of tanks required is reduced I have more room for future expansion or for other things.

It seems like there's plenty of obvious advantages but what about disadvantages? I'm interested in hearing first and second hand experience with this style of setup both good and bad. Why did you (not) decided to go with this kind of setup?

So 8 total tanks? 6 being used as servers? I feel like you might run into problems of running out of beer and not having enough in your additional FV to replace it in a timely manner. For instance, what if you are running low on two or three of your brands at once? You would only have one batch to replace the empty SVs, leaving 2 empty for a while. Am I understanding this correctly? At places I have worked at they have all had one dedicated SV for each core brand, plus another one or two SVs for seasonals and additional lines for kegs.

[jordandemoss]

You're right and I thought about this the day after I posted it. That's obviously a bad ratio of in-use/empty tanks. A setup of 5-6 'in-use' and 2-3 empty tanks would be better. I'm just looking for some validation on my idea of using just uni tanks instead of fermenters and bright tanks. It seems like you could probably get away with having fewer tanks along with the other advantages I mentioned previously.

[Matt Dog]

If you are going to brew into and serve out of tanks there is no real advantage to having only unitanks. Either way you need X amount of tanks. Maintenance and troubleshooting are not simplified in any meaningful way. The tanks use identical hardware for the most part. Disadvantages are that Unitanks are not set up with carb stones though you could always add them but they would not be ideally located as in a purpose built brite tank.

[ATB Consulting]

First, FV's are more expensive. Also, think of the beer line set up. How are you going to switch from tank-to-tank for your tap lines? How about cleaning? Depending on the beer style and time in the bright tank you may be able to filter/transfer into the tank without cleaning or purging the CO2. This saves time, chemical and CO2.