Prefab Brew Stands

I am getting geared up to step up my AG game. I've spent countless hours digging through posts on here so that I do this right the first time and don't spend a ton of $$. This forum has been amazing for helping me get prepared and all the great info on here has brought my forecasted project spend down by over $1000. Hopefully I discover something during my build that I can contribute something to the HBT community.

I'm trying to achieve a good balance between quality and cost but one thing I am certain of is that I want to buy a brew stand instead of building one. DIYers, your brew stand builds never ceases to amaze me but I'm 100% sure that I want to buy a stand. I don't have the tools, skill set, or time to acquire the parts and weld a stand.

I haven't found a ton of threads on prefab stands but I've come across a handful of companies that build 1 or 2 tier stands. I'm not looking at 3 tier stands bc my back is terrible. Also, I'd like to eventually wire up a PID and valve setup on the MT burner for automated direct fire RMS. Here is the list of manufacturers I am looking at. I've tried to list out the costs and main selling points of each one. I'm trying to decide on which stand I want very soon because Sabco currently has free shipping when you order in the month of June.

Sabco: $1,635. Free shipping in June! 2-tier. Casters. Gas line and burners included. From the picture, it looks like it might be difficulty to retrofit the gas valve since the lines are metal. Nice shelf under the top tear for storing tools.

Brewstands.com: $1,700 plus approx. $250 shipping for FedEx will call. 1-tier. Includes 2 pumps, 3 burners and gas line. Mount for water filter. Casters. Gas setup is advertised as customizable. The gas manifold has 2 extra ports for a pilot light. The height of the stand is pretty low so it will be easy to lift kettles and see inside them.

abetterbrewstand.com: $1,450 plus $300 shipping (to PA). 2-tier. Dolley style wheels. On board GFCI. Collapsable. Comes with 3 burners, plate chiller.

Ruby Street: $?,???. 1 or 2 tier. Dolley style wheels. burners, pumps and shields included. Looks like you have to buy through a dealer.

Brew Steel: $1,026 + approx $340 shipping. 1 tier. Not sure about any of the other specs on Kurt's stand except that includes burners.

What would your vote be? Am I missing any other vendors? Thanks in advance for any input.


I apologize to any of the vendors if I got my info wrong...

Morebeer.com makes some pretty nice looking rigs. I'd add them to your list.

Edit: They are pretty expensive. Maybe a different category of hardware...

evrose said:

Morebeer.com makes some pretty nice looking rigs. I'd add them to your list.

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I forgot to list morebeer.com and I think it's because it was out of my price range. Their single tier is really nice but at $3,900 it is a bit pricey. I was planning to drill and set up the kettles myself in order to cut back on costs and tailor the system to my preferences. Thanks for adding that one to the list though.

Looks good, im thinking about building one also,

You should consider Blichmann Engineering too. The top tier stand can be arranged for three, two or single tier. They got awesome burners, the tower or power. I have been drooling over that set up. So far I have a blichmann burner.. its a start. It's priced well, allows you to add as you go. Put your HLT on 2nd tier and gravity feed your MLT to start (one less pump).

Ruby has a cool storage setup for your pots.

I bought the Blichmann top tier a few months back, and its great... I have it set up as a 3 tier system, and use one pump, so no lifting for me.. I have two burners, and all in all, the cost was pretty low. I think I have about $1300 into it, which includes the pump and two burners.

I have my HLT on the top, MLT on the middle, and boil kettle on the bottom. Ill fill up the boil kettle, then pump that water up to the HLT. Then, gravity to the MLT, and gravity into the boil kettle. Finally, I will do a whirlpool chill, then gravity into the fermentor. So far, I am really liking the system, and its nice to be able to customize it as my needs change.

I had been just about to buy a stand for years. Finally my wife got sick of it, and bought me a top tier for fathers day. I get texts for excessive charges on my cc, so I had to pretend to be surprised...

Anyway, I'm in love with it. I can brew 2 beers in just over the time it used to take me to brew one. The guy at my lhbs paid for half the shipping as well, which even before that was way cheaper than what you quoted atmthe other places.

So it sounds like I need to reconsider ruling out a three tier stand?

if your on a shoestring budget and you only brew 5 gallon batches in 10-ish gallon pots.

bolting a chugger pump on a Bayou Classic TB650 is a nice $350 ghetto single tier.

I'm not exactly on a shoe string budget. I'm shooting for the whole build to be about $3,000-$3,500.

Can the top tier handle 10 gal batches?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00264G584/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Probably not up to par in craftsmanship. But this has good reviews. I plan to make this my first brew stand.

FreddyMar3 said:

I'm not exactly on a shoe string budget. I'm shooting for the whole build to be about $3,000-$3,500.

Can the top tier handle 10 gal batches?

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Oh yeah.... It'll easily handle 10 gal. Blichman sells pretty big kettles, so I would not be surprised if it could handle 20 gallon batches

The rep at Sabco misunderstood me. Free shipping is only for the full system. Awaiting a quote.

You know there used to be a vendor here who sold brewing stands at a pretty good price. He was based in Texas. I bought my single tier with just burners, no pumps , on sale for around 500 dollars. Pretty bare bones but it does the job.

My suggestion, and it may be not what you are looking for, but go electric.

I have the Braumeister 20L and will never look back to large stands, running out of gas, getting up on step stools to stir, worrying about 2-3 pots with different temperatures, adjusting gas.......PFFFT

Aunt_Ester said:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00264G584/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Probably not up to par in craftsmanship. But this has good reviews. I plan to make this my first brew stand.

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It surely beats my current setup consisting of a floor burner and a work bench

I am in the same process and leaning towards Kurt at BrewSteel. I also have a bad back (had two discs removed and a fusion) so my main priority is a system that will be kind to my back. I have never used a top tier but ruled it out for two reasons.

Didn't want a 3 tier or need a ladder to brew.

Was told they are very well built but also very heavy and the two small wheels on the stand aren't optimal and makes it difficult to move for people like me that need to avoid too much stress on my back.

I realize I could make it a 2 tier if I wanted and pumping the water up from the brew pot is a great idea but I want something I can easily move without much exertion.

Just to check - have you read the thread in the DIY forum on weldless brew stand builds using unistrut/superstrut and bolted together? This is likely to be my route I think - I'm cheap, and I can't weld, but I'm happy using a chop saw,file and socket set.

Thread - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-weldless-build-using-strut-363128/

The bolt together stands aren't exactly "cheap" themselves, but they are easier.

Aunt_Ester said:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00264G584/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Probably not up to par in craftsmanship. But this has good reviews. I plan to make this my first brew stand.

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This is what I use. I bolted my Plate chiller to it, and have a cart that my MT goes on, and I use a pump in a toolbox so it's pretty portable. It's a small but sturdy cart, an that jet burner gets going real quick, even on a 10gal batch. (Although it eats propane like a beast)

MyNameIsPaul said:

This is what I use. I bolted my Plate chiller to it, and have a cart that my MT goes on, and I use a pump in a toolbox so it's pretty portable. It's a small but sturdy cart, an that jet burner gets going real quick, even on a 10gal batch. (Although it eats propane like a beast)

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So you would recommend this stand? It is in a price range that wouldn't require too much discussion with SWMBO... And it's free shipping on Prime!

funnycreature said:

So you would recommend this stand? It is in a price range that wouldn't require too much discussion with SWMBO... And it's free shipping on Prime!

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Yup! It's a great value. It works, it's small, and free shipping! Only drawback is that it doesn't have the true "area" for the MLT. So you'll have to improvise. My plan is to make a RIMS cart in the next couple of months, so I'll have my MLT and RIMS/Pump on one standalone cart. That way I can mash indoors as well as use it for sous vide, and then on a brewday, just wheel it close to the BK, and pump transfer as needed.

Aunt_Ester said:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00264G584/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Probably not up to par in craftsmanship. But this has good reviews. I plan to make this my first brew stand.

Click to expand...

had this been available when i started out i would have bought one rather than mess around with individual burners, chairs , tables and blocks to cobble together a gravity system.

i have not regretted buying the blichmann top tier stand with 3 burners, i like the smaller footprint in my very small garage.

Preface: I HAVE NOT BOUGHT ANY OF THESE STANDS, or even seen most of them in person.

But... I'm also not associated with any of the vendors you listed.

In my experience, Kurt at Brewsteel is just an incredibly stand up guy. He knows his stuff and will bend over backwards to make your system the way you want it, and also to explain to you all the different options you have and the capabilities he has. He is extremely knowledgeable and very eager to help out. I don't think you could be disappointed going with his stuff.

Agreed, he has been great through my initial Q&A phase. Very fair and quick to respond.

daksin said:

Preface: I HAVE NOT BOUGHT ANY OF THESE STANDS, or even seen most of them in person.

But... I'm also not associated with any of the vendors you listed.

In my experience, Kurt at Brewsteel is just an incredibly stand up guy. He knows his stuff and will bend over backwards to make your system the way you want it, and also to explain to you all the different options you have and the capabilities he has. He is extremely knowledgeable and very eager to help out. I don't think you could be disappointed going with his stuff.

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I agree. Very fast to respond and reasonable quotes. Looking forward to buying a stand from him in the fall for winter brewing.

I talked to Kurt on the phone last week. Definitely get that same impression that he is fair and builds a quality stand.

eastoak said:

had this been available when i started out i would have bought one rather than mess around with individual burners, chairs , tables and blocks to cobble together a gravity system.

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I used this stand for the first time yesterday. I did some modifications to it like adding my cheap wort pump and a heat shield plus a power strip (I might post pictures later). My first impression was that yes, the build quality is mediocre, but man, these burners are powerful! I could place my mash tun on the top burner to fill the kettle on the bottom one or use it for smaller pots to heat water for sparging etc. Great purchase for sure!

If you have not bought a stand yet, there is another new option. The Ultimate Brew Stand at Adventures in Homebrewing. It is a single vessel 10" high pressure burner and it is a tank. It uses 1.5" square tubing, weighs 50lbs and comes with a cool diamond plate windscreen. They are $199 each. I bought one a couple of weeks ago and it has been great. If you wanted a three burner system, just buy three for $600. I have a thread about mine and I'm pretty sure I could not have done much or any better buying the parts myself and having it welded w/o the powder coating:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/ultimate-brew-stand-420757/

I had two small issues with mine, which may be the first one they have shipped. They replaced the windscreen and it arrives via UPS today. The shield that is around the burner was powder coated like the rest of the rig and that just did not work. I did not really care that the coating burned off. If it becomes a rusty eyesore, I'll have a new surround made of stainless. Jason is a good guy and he is going talk to his supplier about the power coating and he said he was going to start shipping these w/o the diamond plate screen attached. UPS gave mine some extra UPS love.

Here is the link to the Ultimate.
http://www.homebrewing.org/The-Ultimate-Brew-Stand_p_3773.html

Thanks for the additional option. I actually got really lucky and came across a morebeer 1550 deluxe digital on craigslist for $2600 so I decided to go with that. Can't wait for my first brew session!

FreddyMar3 said:

Thanks for the additional option. I actually got really lucky and came across a morebeer 1550 deluxe digital on craigslist for $2600 so I decided to go with that. Can't wait for my first brew session!

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Um yeah, I'd be excited about that too! Good find.

funnycreature said:

I used this stand for the first time yesterday. I did some modifications to it like adding my cheap wort pump and a heat shield plus a power strip (I might post pictures later). My first impression was that yes, the build quality is mediocre, but man, these burners are powerful! I could place my mash tun on the top burner to fill the kettle on the bottom one or use it for smaller pots to heat water for sparging etc. Great purchase for sure!

Click to expand...

I'd still like to see your setup if you find the time for photos.

Aunt_Ester said:

I'd still like to see your setup if you find the time for photos.

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Hey, I unsubscribed so I didn't see the reply. I have made a few changes to my setup.

1. I noticed that the lower, high-BTU burner is producing too much soot when it's running on 'low power'. Hence I decided to use my Bayou Classic SQ14 instead for boil. I still use the upper burner though for heating sparge/strike water and decoctions. I'm tempted to replace the lower burner with another one or even the SQ14 so I have the same rig but a better burner.
2. I let me cheap pump deteriorate too much and replaced it with a Chugger. Best decision ever!

We're currently cleaning our house and I might not get to take pictures (of a brew day) anytime soon.