The MaxOut Brew Station

Do you notice a difference if you put the output of the mash into the bottom part of the herms compared with starting at the top of the coil?

DrPhilGood said:

Do you notice a difference if you put the output of the mash into the bottom part of the herms compared with starting at the top of the coil?

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Yes, the coil is nearly 45'. Through testing I found going in the top reduces the head pressure and increases flow through the coil.

MaxOut said:

Yes, the coil is nearly 45'. Through testing I found going in the top reduces the head pressure and increases flow through the coil.

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thanks. I have been doing the opposite, like kal, but I always thought top down made more sense.

DrPhilGood said:

thanks. I have been doing the opposite, like kal, but I always thought top down made more sense.

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I think it makes better sense for two reasons-

1. In my case coming in the bottom adds another 45' uphill climb for the pump.
2. I heat from the bottom up so from an efficiency stand point it makes sense to add wort from the top down. Kinda like a counter flow chiller.

Hi Max. May I ask where did you get the 3 boiling kettles?

chrislzh said:

Hi Max. May I ask where did you get the 3 boiling kettles?

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Are you referring to the keggles?

Yes Max. Trying to find something like that but no luck.

chrislzh said:

Yes Max. Trying to find something like that but no luck.

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Used kegs are getting hard to come by around here. It took a while to get these together gathering the parts and getting the couplers TIG welded in. Most of the hardware can be found at vendors here on this site. I've seen kegs on eBay with tops cut, valves, sight glass etc. Nice thing about a keggle is they are heavy duty and can take a serious beating.

Thanks Max.

I’ve made some changes recently and thought I would update this thread. First I had been working on finding a good way to cool both of my new fermenters and planned on using a Perlick line chiller I have with immersion coils and a manifold. I had Glacier Tanks manufacture custom lids and added additional 4” tri-clamp openings to accommodate the coils and also make it easier to dry hop and knock out. While I was waiting for the lids I came across two, True GDM-26 refrigerated coolers with glass doors. I found them on Craigslist and they were listed as inoperable but in good condition. I made a low ball offer because I was not sure they would fit and the guy passed. I got to thinking about using the immersion coils and the fact that my shop where the fermenters would be is not conditioned all the time. I decided I would look into building a custom walk in box and use the Perlick chiller. In the meantime the Craigslist guy called me and said he was moving that day and if I wanted the coolers come and get them out of his garage. I dropped what I was doing and went to get the coolers and the guy thankfully accepted $200.00 for them. I was happy but a little worried the fermenters were not going to fit. First thing after unloading from the truck we measured them and…they fit! Next I started digging into them to see what was wrong with them. I plugged them in and the circulation fans worked but neither compressor would run. They were apart a little hacked and parts were missing. Thinking the worse I decided I would abandon the compressor/condenser and use the Perlick line chiller to pump antifreeze through the existing evaporator coils to cool the fermenters and abandon the condenser/compressor in the GDM-26’s. My HVAC buddy stopped buy a few nights later and over a few brews while talking about the coolers and decided to play around with them. Long story short I got both units operating and set up on 5” casters for another $300.00 total. This was less than the cost of two immersion coils, associated manifold and plumbing so it was a home run. So I could get brewing I tied the True cooler to my BCS automation. I wrote a few processes for the coolers on the BCS and I have multi stage fermentation schedules for ales and lagers. Glad to share my BCS process programming if anyone is interested. Here are a couple shots of the coolers and test fitting.
__________________

Now that I have the coolers working I wanted to do a few more things. I had some LED light strips left over from another project and decided to use them on the coolers. I didn’t like how bright the florescent lights in the door were and wanted something more efficient. I removed the florescent bulbs and attached the LED lights around the inside of the door frame. I installed the SSR for the compressor control and 12vdc power supply for the LED lights in the electrical compartment next to the compressor. I ran the thermometer probe for the BCS through a wire passage to the thermo coupler on the tanks.

now that is spiffy

I also added some more FRP as the BrewStation has expanded out. I added some stainless panels to the office door, ice machine door and going to skin the coolers next week. The connections behind the coolers are wired to Molex connectors so I can un-plug the automation and move fermenter on casters closer to BK for transfer. Believe it or not it rolls effortlessly on the cheap $8.00 casters that screwed right into threaded spots the adjustable feet were in. I’m having stainless Max Out Brewing signs made for light boxes on top of the coolers.

Now that I’ve used the BrewStation with the 60 gallon BK for a while I’ve decided the original last miniute hop spider solution was a little lacking and the bags had thier issues. I was following a few threads here on HBT and noticed a few nice robust stainless options were becoming available. I contacted a guy who sells stainless biodiesel filters on eBay and who is also a member here on HBT to see if he could make me a filter. A week later I recieved this.

I primarily use pellet hops so decided to go with 300 micron mesh. The stainless mesh is resistance welded to 1” band on top and ½” band on bottom. There is a 1/8” handle for removing but will only be used for removing empty filter. The filter is 21” diameter X 18” deep and has four hangers TIG welded to the top ring. I also got another ring made out of 1” band that the basket would fit in. The workmanship was top notch and the customer service was as well. Thanks Chad. I made a removable stainless frame that holds the basket centered in the brew kettle and supports it. The frame also acts like a handle with four holding spots to remove the filter when full of hops. I’ve been busy but will do a brew this weekend to try this thing out.

The frame just lifts up and out. Looks like a nice option for the mash tun too.

Dude the coke coolers are just sick man! awsome, I'm jelous.

Love the new additions. Despite the incredible stuff you've done in that brewery I think one the best lessons has been this: befriend an HVAC guy. Guess I'll be adding inoperable commercial fridges to my craigslist feeds, and start inviting my friend's step brother (who happens to have just graduated HVAC tech school..) over more often.

And that hop spider looks really promising, and even better, advances towards everything possible being stainless! Let us know how it works out.

Dude you are my hero

Just looked through the entire thread for the first time! I know this has been said time and time again but this is a truly phenomenal build!

Now you need to wire the lights to flash to the bubbling of the airlock.

ProjectOrion said:

Love the new additions. Despite the incredible stuff you've done in that brewery I think one the best lessons has been this: befriend an HVAC guy. Guess I'll be adding inoperable commercial fridges to my craigslist feeds, and start inviting my friend's step brother (who happens to have just graduated HVAC tech school..) over more often.

And that hop spider looks really promising, and even better, advances towards everything possible being stainless! Let us know how it works out.

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Your right, my HVAC buddy has really helped me out and has proven to be a great friend as well. I'm glad he likes home brew!

orangehero said:

Now you need to wire the lights to flash to the bubbling of the airlock.

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Here is a couple shots of the new lids Glacier Tanks made for me . I had them add a 4" Tri-clamp to the center and moved the 11/2" to the outside. I was planning on using an immersion coil through the center but now they are for dry hopping and knocking out.

So how did that giant hop spider work out? I normally don't use whole hops but I was thinking something like that might be one the better solutions to help reduce the headache involved for hop heavy beers...

I will let you know tomorrow. I mainly use pellet hops. I'm hoping the hop spider will perform we'll for both The filter is 300 micron so it is tight enough for pellets. I recirculate during boil and I should get good utilization. Doing a BBL tomorrow so this will be the trial run. I've got my fingers crossed..

Well I brewed 45 gallons last week and put the hop filter to the test. It was a modestly hopped beer and I had mixed results. First I decided to recirculate the entire brew and this caused the filter to be compacted with hops. It filtered too well and when it came time to cool I could not get the filter to drain. The wort in the center was 6" higher level then the wort surrounding the filter. This also made it difficult to determine the post boil volume and due to the constant recirculating I boiled off an extra 6 gallons!!! Needless to say my OG was high and I didn't have any distilled water to add and correct it. It was a new recipe and I ended up on the high side of my estimate OG but still in range. I also adjusted the gap on my Monster Mill as it is starting to wear the bushings causing the gap to widen. This adjustment was well overdue and I attribute this adjustment to a surprising 10% increase in efficiency to 85%. I eventually got the filer to drain but took nearly 30 min. Once the filter drained and the kettle was empty I was very pleased with the overall results. There was literally less than a shot glass of hop residue that made it past the filter! It was the cleanest I've seen my BK after a big brew. I didn't even whirlpool. This is what I love about this hobby that every time is a learning experience and keeps me interested.

Lessons learned-

Do not recirculate the entire boil just the last 15 min to sterilize the chiller, oxygen injection and associated transfer tubing.
Keep distilled water on hand to make post boil adjustments
Adjust recipe for new efficiency

All in all the brew day was a success and I got a chance to run my BCS automation through it's new processes and utilize/tweak some of the advanced automation I added recently. The 1.5BBL system has constantly evolved and I have been tweaking my equipment and processes nearly every brew. I recently added another BCS and dedicated it to my conicals and their perspective chambers. This freed up some In/Out's on the BrewStation BCS allowing me to automated the 1.5BBL boil kettle and mash tun. The mash was a total success and I nailed and held my temps perfectly. I'm finally at a point with the current configuration that I am satisfied and should only need to make little adjustments from here on out. Now I can focus more on recipe creation and less on system functionality. I plan on two more brews in the next week and should give me the pipeline I want to get through the summer!

Sounds like you are getting it all dialed in! What did you brew btw?

AVLbrewing said:

Sounds like you are getting it all dialed in! What did you brew btw?

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I brewed one of my house recipe's called Hop on Blonde. Hop on Blonde has only been the same recipe a few times, started as a light lager and is now fermenting with ale yeast. Hop on Blonde like my brewery has been evolving and I’m trying to get it dialed in. I originally created this recipe for my wife to drink because she like’s light beers with lower alcohol content (she is a blonde in case you are wondering ). I have not been 100% happy with it and have been trying to dial it in. I have the grain profile I like down but with this batch I plan on experimenting with multiple dry hop profiles when I transfer to the kegs and hopefully will settle on a permanent "Hop on Blonde". Hop on Blonde is a dry beer with light body, complex fruity hop profile, has a crisp clean lager finish and a little high level CO2 bite. My intention this brew was to make it a little lighter but I ended up on the high side of my gravity due to the extra boil off and gained efficiency. It’s a work in progress for sure. I will post the recipe when I get it dialed in.

How is that stainless filter/strainer from glacier doing for you? I see you are working on kettle filtration for the hops, so is it something that you would only used after the bulk of the material is already seperated. My thought is to go post whirlpool to the glacier strainer to a plate chiller for my application...so what I am really getting at, do you think that would work or do you thinkthe strainer might clog during transfer?

Bensiff said:

How is that stainless filter/strainer from glacier doing for you? I see you are working on kettle filtration for the hops, so is it something that you would only used after the bulk of the material is already seperated. My thought is to go post whirlpool to the glacier strainer to a plate chiller for my application...so what I am really getting at, do you think that would work or do you thinkthe strainer might clog during transfer?

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The new boil kettle strainer works really well to the point that the Glacier strainer has not been used since I got the kettle strainer. I used the Glacier strainer in addition to a hop spider with a paint strainer bag prior to the plate chiller as you described and worked well with light to medium hopped beers. Bottom line is the Glacier strainer works good up to the point that it becomes filled and starts to compact. If you could plumb it where it can be removed easy for cleaning mid transfer that would be you best bet. I've never had to remove it but between the whirlpool and strainer bag there was not allot left behind even with 35 gallon batches.

Mr. Woody,

Or should it be Dr. for what you've put into this. Simply amazing build of your brewery. I'm in awe in of what you've done...

Makes my ideas of a great brewery look so small and not so nice.

One question based on your operation diagrams of a 6 gallon batch. Do you use your HERMS for cooling your wort as well? As in move the wort through the HERMS and the keggle is filled with ice water?

Simply amazing and an inspiration to many!!

Also, what is your all-grain Moosehead recipe?
This was my beer of choice while living in Canada and hate the 'stale' tasting version I can buy here in MI.

markymarx said:

Mr. Woody,

Or should it be Dr. for what you've put into this. Simply amazing build of your brewery. I'm in awe in of what you've done...

Makes my ideas of a great brewery look so small and not so nice.

One question based on your operation diagrams of a 6 gallon batch. Do you use your HERMS for cooling your wort as well? As in move the wort through the HERMS and the keggle is filled with ice water?

Simply amazing and an inspiration to many!!

Also, what is your all-grain Moosehead recipe?
This was my beer of choice while living in Canada and hate the 'stale' tasting version I can buy here in MI.

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Thanks for the kind words, truth is my brewing has slowed down for the summer and starting some new brews now. I was really busy last spring and with the 1.5BBL batches it has taken a while to drink them up and make room for more. I also had a lightning strike while I was away for a couple weeks and lost two refrigerators that included my entire yeast bank and 31 gallons of fermenting beer!!!

Yes I do cool through the HERMS when doing 6 gallon batches and fill the HERMS with ice and water. I have a large ice maker that I use to supply the ice and it takes around 100lbs to do the job quickly. Probably not cost effective if I had to buy the ice. I also use the HERMS in line with the plate chiller on 1.5BBL brews to chill to lager temps. I come out of the BK, pre-filter if needed, go through the plate chiller, HERMS (full of ice and water), in line oxygenation, and into the fermenter all closed loop. With the new hop strainer and a good whirlpool I have not used the pre strainer. I have however used the pre filter with the fine filter when going from fermenter to kegs to catch any small debris and clumps of yeast.


As for the Moosehead clone It is really close to the real thing…even better I think. I only know the all grain version but you could convert it.

4 lbs Pilsner, 3 lbs. American Two-Row, 2 lbs flaked corn (Thomas Faucett), 1 lb. Belgian carmel Pilsner (Cara-8). Mash at 154F degrees.

Hops- .25oz Tettnanger 60min, .25oz Tettnanger & .25oz Hallertauer 30min., .75oz Hallertauer & .5oz Tettnanger 5min.


Wyeast 2035 American Lager yeast I use the smack pack and make a 2 liter starter. Cool wort to 50 degrees oxygenate good and pitch away.

I primary @ 51F for 4 weeks, cold crash to 36F and transfer to kegs and carbonate at 12PSI for minimum of two weeks before serving. You can do a d-rest at 75% fermentation but I have and can’t tell the difference in the final product when doing 6 gallon buckets. Depending on your techniques you may want to secondary to Lager and clear it up. It gets better with age so don’t rush it. Good Luck and enjoy!!

just went through the whole thread and man, this is awesome. My only question is are you taking applications for friends?

71westbrewing said:

just went through the whole thread and man, this is awesome. My only question is are you taking applications for friends?

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id like to apply also! AMAZING system! truly in awe. and drooling all over my desk haha:rockin:

Cheers! We are all friends here on HBT!

Your Moosehead is missing a hop schedule.

Brewskii said:

Your Moosehead is missing a hop schedule.

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Thanks for that I've been out of town and just returned. I updated the original post with the correct recipe including hop's

As for the Moosehead clone It is really close to the real thing…even better I think. I only know the all grain version but you could convert it.

4 lbs Pilsner, 3 lbs. American Two-Row, 2 lbs flaked corn (Thomas Faucett), 1 lb. Belgian carmel Pilsner (Cara-8). Mash at 154F degrees.

Hops- .25oz Tettnanger 60min, .25oz Tettnanger & .25oz Hallertauer 30min., .75oz Hallertauer & .5oz Tettnanger 5min.


Wyeast 2035 American Lager yeast I use the smack pack and make a 2 liter starter. Cool wort to 50 degrees oxygenate good and pitch away.

I primary @ 51F for 4 weeks, cold crash to 36F and transfer to kegs and carbonate at 12PSI for minimum of two weeks before serving. You can do a d-rest at 75% fermentation but I have and can’t tell the difference in the final product when doing 6 gallon buckets. Depending on your techniques you may want to secondary to Lager and clear it up. It gets better with age so don’t rush it. Good Luck and enjoy!!

Taken a couple of days to read the whole thread. WOW! makes the build I'm doing feel kinda wimpy and dull... but will finish it anyways. I wont be doing anything bigger than 5gals so....wah wah wah.... wish I had a reason to get this involved, but at 66yrs old and single would be a bit over the top! I am totally amazed at the whole thread from start to finish...WOW.
Thanks for the great "trip"
Time for my nap as had 2 nice little blondes while reading the last 2 hours...
zzzzzzzzz