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scaling up to 7 barrel from 2 barrel

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  • scaling up to 7 barrel from 2 barrel

    Good day,

    I am looking for any information or tips regarding moving from a 2 barrel system to a 7 barrel system. We have a successful 2 barrel operation producing 250 barrels per year. We are expanding to a 7 barrel in the spring and hope to be up to 1000 run rate by years end.

    I look forward to reading your responses.

    Thank you in advance,

    Jeff P.

  • #2
    Jeff,
    We did the same upgrade a few years back after 1 yr on the 2bbl setup. We are now on yr 4 and these are a few of the things we learned

    - 7 bbls is a lot of beer. We consistently were running out on the 2bbl in a month or so. 7 bbls will take a lot longer to go through so your packaging has to be on point or have distribution in mind.
    - The grain ratios scaled up pretty easily but the hops were way off. The intensity of a 7bbl boil kettle is way more then a 2bbl at least in our case. Hop utilization is much higher.
    - Your mash efficiency should go up as well as more weight in the tun drives better efficiency
    - 7 bbls is a lot of beer( once again) You need to have much larger cold storage. We started with a 8x10 and added a 20x25. As well you will need a lot more kegs, Which means a keg cleaner if you don't have one already.
    - The equipment is relatively the same, just bigger and more expensive. I wouldn't recommend hoses over 1". We initially ordered 1.5" and they were overkill.
    -7bbls is a lot of grain. We were able to get rid of most the 2 bbl batch to a few friends with chickens. 500lbs requires a dedicated farmer, grain bins and probably a forklift to load it.

    Overall its been a blast! A few ups and downs and a lot of learning on the way. But I'm much happier we grew in stages and had the opportunity to figure it out. Any questions send me a PM. Love to chat

    Sean Wallner
    Whitewall Brewing Co.

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    • #3
      We have done it. Yes on the dedicated farmer. We try to split it between a couple so we have a few options to get rid of it. We cut plastic barrels in half and put them in the back of a pick up truck, not as bad to handle. We scaled up with promash from our 2bbl batches with out too much trouble. Get to know your new system and figure your efficiency, you will most likely need to tweek grains, hops, and you mill crush based on your first few batches.
      Michael Ieronimo
      Brass Works Brewing Company, LLC
      President/ Head Brewer

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