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  • Tips for budget start-up?

    Dear fellow brewers,

    We are going to start a micro brewery and we are very tight on our budget, so I need some advice on building stuff.
    Instead of going for a pro brewhouse system, I decided to invest on specific pro equipment and I want to convert second hand diary equipment for brewing purposes.

    I will buy these from pro suppliers:
    - Mash/lauter tun (China)
    - Unitanks (China)
    - Bottling/canning (Germany)
    - CIP, Chiller, pumps (local)

    I'm planning on carbonating after cold crashing and bottling directly from Unitanks.

    The equipment I want to build/convert from second hand stuff:
    - Malt miller
    - HLT
    - Boil tank / whirlpool kettle
    - Control panel

    I need advice/plans on building the boil kettle with a whirlpool ability. Which type of parts should I use? Should the motorized system be included underneath the kettle or should it be modular and attachable on top of it after boiling is finished? I'm a homebrewer so I2m not really familiar with how pro equipment works and I couldn't find a useful information on the internet about a combined boil/whirlpool plan.

    Thanks in advance, cheers!
    Last edited by gokcenami; 12-24-2019, 03:53 AM.

  • #2
    We would really need a bit more detail in terms of production goals, distribution, and desired brewhouse sizing to offer more insight.

    You will face some challenges in bottling directly from the Uni-tanks, although it is possible to do. Much more advised is to use a bright tank for sedimentation of solids. You will probably loose some potential volume from a Uni-tank vs a bright tank, FWIW.

    Cellar controls can be made in house for a decent budget savings. HLT and Boil Kettle can be retrofitted or re-purposed from other equipment, however efficiency may be reduced significantly. I would strongly advise against a DIY malt mill for efficiency and reliability reasons.

    Comment


    • #3
      For bottling/canning, you will need tanks with a higher pressure rating than is normal for fermenters. A 2 Bar rating would be about right.
      Timm Turrentine

      Brewerywright,
      Terminal Gravity Brewing,
      Enterprise. Oregon.

      Comment


      • #4
        Canning and bottling can be done fine with tanks rated to one bar. Have done so many, many times without issue at many facilities on many beers. If you are bottling or canning cider or seltzer (more than 5.5g/l or 2.8 volumes CO2), then you may need a tank rated to 2 bar. If you cannot keep your beer cold (close to freezing), you will have issues regardless. If you are at 5.5g/l then you can warm to 4.5*C before reaching one bar pressure. 5.5g/l @ 1*C would be about 0.82 bar equilibrium pressure.

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        • #5
          For a combi kettle/whirlpool, you just need a pump. The pump should be rated for boiling wort. You pull out of the bottom level of the kettle, and pump back into the kettle at a tangent, about 1/2 way up the side wall. Five minutes or so of pumping will start the whirlpool action, and the you can stop the pump, let settle, and pump out through your heat exchanger.

          Originally posted by gokcenami View Post
          Dear fellow brewers,

          We are going to start a micro brewery and we are very tight on our budget, so I need some advice on building stuff.
          Instead of going for a pro brewhouse system, I decided to invest on specific pro equipment and I want to convert second hand diary equipment for brewing purposes.

          I will buy these from pro suppliers:
          - Mash/lauter tun (China)
          - Unitanks (China)
          - Bottling/canning (Germany)
          - CIP, Chiller, pumps (local)

          I'm planning on carbonating after cold crashing and bottling directly from Unitanks.

          The equipment I want to build/convert from second hand stuff:
          - Malt miller
          - HLT
          - Boil tank / whirlpool kettle
          - Control panel

          I need advice/plans on building the boil kettle with a whirlpool ability. Which type of parts should I use? Should the motorized system be included underneath the kettle or should it be modular and attachable on top of it after boiling is finished? I'm a homebrewer so I2m not really familiar with how pro equipment works and I couldn't find a useful information on the internet about a combined boil/whirlpool plan.

          Thanks in advance, cheers!
          Linus Hall
          Yazoo Brewing
          Nashville, TN
          www.yazoobrew.com

          Comment


          • #6
            If you are looking for a budget system and you are below about 10hL then you can just stir with a good mash paddle for a whirlpool. You don't need a tangential inlet at all. Above that, about as Linus says.

            My suggested modifications if fabricating from scratch, is to use a cone or dome bottom vessel. Pull the pump inlet wort from about halfway to 2/3 up the dome/cone and output from pump to tangential about 1/2-2/3 way up the sidewall of the kettle. Have your bottom center outlet run to valved pump inlet and a valve to drain. Basically you want to knock-out (and probably whirlpool) from the side drain and not from the kettle bottom to avoid the hops and hot break in the pump and heat exchanger. Then dump the break to drain after knock-out.

            Comment


            • #7
              I'll add that on our 3BBL flat bottom kettle, we need at least a 17gpm pump flow rate to get a good whirlpool. Anything less and we pull too much solids in to the plate chiller.

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