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Storing Spent Grain from 30-90bbl Batches

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  • Storing Spent Grain from 30-90bbl Batches

    We've been on a 10bbl system for the past couple years with a mix of 10, 20, and 30bbl fv's. At the end of the year we will be adding a 30 bbl brewhouse with 5 90bbl fv's. We currently store our spent grain in 55gal drums that are picked up weekly by a farmer (15-20 drums a week). Trying to wrap my head around the numbers of that increasing to 80-90 drums a week. Our farmer wants as much as he can get, but I'm trying to figure out a more efficient way thatn to store it in the 55gal drums. What do other similarly sized breweries to do get rid of your spent grain?

  • #2
    our farmer has a trailer that he picks up every day. As we are planning another expansion we will be buying 2 double axles dumping trailers. I dont think storing drums is an option at all. He needs to plan on picking up everyday or at least every other or the smell will get bad and attract flies. Unless you have good trailers most will leak and so it would be a good idea on planning some type of drainage
    Mike Eme
    Brewmaster

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    • #3
      IBC totes

      How about totes? We grain out of our 15bbl Specific Mechanical mash tun into slightly modified totes. A few minutes with a sawzall, and they mate right up to the manway on our tun. Depending on the gravity, we use 1 or two per batch. They'd hold much more, but we are limited by the manway height, which would not likely be an issue on a 30bbl. Easily moved around by pallet jack or fork truck, built in drainage, stackable, pretty sweet overall.Click image for larger version

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      • #4
        Originally posted by beerguy1 View Post
        our farmer has a trailer that he picks up every day. As we are planning another expansion we will be buying 2 double axles dumping trailers. I dont think storing drums is an option at all. He needs to plan on picking up everyday or at least every other or the smell will get bad and attract flies. Unless you have good trailers most will leak and so it would be a good idea on planning some type of drainage
        This is a good idea, especially the drainage! Upside being if you get a big enough trailer, he/she only has to come once a week. The downside to this is that by the end of the week the thing smells.

        I have also used a grain out silo, where the bottom valve is a 12 inch wide slide gate. Just make sure you have enough space for a full 2 days of brewing and make sure the farmer knows they have to come by everyday, but they can come anytime they want. 5pm, 10pm, 4am, etc etc.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by MikeyB View Post
          How about totes? We grain out of our 15bbl Specific Mechanical mash tun into slightly modified totes. A few minutes with a sawzall, and they mate right up to the manway on our tun. Depending on the gravity, we use 1 or two per batch. They'd hold much more, but we are limited by the manway height, which would not likely be an issue on a 30bbl. Easily moved around by pallet jack or fork truck, built in drainage, stackable, pretty sweet overall.[ATTACH]37295[/ATTACH]
          That could work better. Are you using lids? Looks like most IBC totes just have a small circular opening on top.

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          • #6
            Storing Spent Grain from 30-90bbl Batches

            We have the entire top cut out, so they can be easily shoveled out.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by MikeyB View Post
              We have the entire top cut out, so they can be easily shoveled out.
              You shovel them out? That takes time and man hours plus who wants to shovel out stinky grain. I like the tote idea but it has to be quick and painless to save costs. I love my dump bin on the fork truck dumps right in the trailer so I dont touch it and the farmer is here everyday. Thats pretty much key to it unless you can afford a grain out silo IMO
              Mike Eme
              Brewmaster

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              • #8
                Storing Spent Grain from 30-90bbl Batches

                We are on a 30bbl system. Our farmer uses an old manure spreader trailer to collect the grain. He drops it off the morning of the brew and trucks it off afterwords. I've fit nearly 5000lb (dry weight) of grain in with no problem. It does leak some so try make sure to drain as much liquid as you can before graining out. Our drainage under the trailer isn't as good as I'd like. I'd suggest trying to do a sloped drain under where the trailer will park to reduce the mess!


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                Last edited by tappullers; 09-13-2016, 06:37 AM.
                Using Tapatalk

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                • #9
                  When I worked in a 200hl brewery in Germany, they pumped / augered the spent grains out to a sort of Silo that was quite a way away from the Sudhaus. A farmer would come and empty it every two or three days. Kind of looked like this:

                  Click image for larger version

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                  • #10
                    We make many different sizes of spent grain bins. Please give us a call and I would be happy to discuss the many options we have.

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                    • #11
                      Heavybilt Spent Grain Silo

                      Click image for larger version

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ID:	191190 Here is an example of two dry grain bins and one spent grain on the left.

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                      • #12
                        We have one of these from Heavbilt

                        Originally posted by heavybilt View Post
                        [ATTACH]38571[/ATTACH] Here is an example of two dry grain bins and one spent grain on the left.
                        We have one of these spent grain silos from Waylon at Heavybilt. Our's might be a little bigger than the one in the photo. It comes painted and it was easy to install with a crane rental. We auger into the silo which is also fitted with a 16' pneumatic gate valve. Our farmer comes a couple of times a week and the just dump right into the dump bed. We are probably going to add a spray ball to the vessel but otherwise it works great. We priced a comparable stainless vessel but it was nearly $70K. This one was less than $20k.

                        Todd
                        NoDa Brewing

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                        • #13
                          Todd--From your handle, I take it you're in N. Dakota?

                          Do you have any problems with the spent grain freezing in the silo? We just went through some serious sub-zero weather, but I'd expect N.D. would see worse.
                          Timm Turrentine

                          Brewerywright,
                          Terminal Gravity Brewing,
                          Enterprise. Oregon.

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                          • #14
                            Timm- Check out this website... ( http://www.powerblanket.com/ ) Here is what some of my customers in the northern states have used in the past.

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