All Grain Equipment Question?

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moreheadbrewingco

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We have all heard the story of Sam Calagione brewing on his 10g system 2-3 times a day. I was wondering what he was using for fermentors, and how many fermenting buckets/conical tanks he had?
 
Thanks for the thoughts, if Sam (DogFishHead) was using sanke kegs, he must of been pressure fermenting them. If you pressure ferment, how do you get rid of the spent yeast?
Also, trying to do the quick math, if Sam brewed 2 times a day * 5 days a week, and it takes * 2 weeks to ferment, he would need 20 kegs just for one weeks worth of brewing, not to mention a second weeks brew & the kegs needed to be used to be dispensed.

How did he ferment these beers?
 
I wouldn't have the energy to brew 3 times in a single day, let alone every day.
 
Thanks for the thoughts, if Sam (DogFishHead) was using sanke kegs, he must of been pressure fermenting them. If you pressure ferment, how do you get rid of the spent yeast?
Also, trying to do the quick math, if Sam brewed 2 times a day * 5 days a week, and it takes * 2 weeks to ferment, he would need 20 kegs just for one weeks worth of brewing, not to mention a second weeks brew & the kegs needed to be used to be dispensed.

How did he ferment these beers?
If he was using Sanke kegs, I assume they were converted and from Sabco. You can see how they work there I guess.

Beer doesn't take 2 weeks to ferment and professional brewers don't leave beer sitting around in fermenting vessels forever like homebrewers.
 
Yeah, I heard this was after he went pro, but before he (obviously) got big. He might have been brewing 2-3 times a day and putting those 2-3 batches in one fermentor? The brewery near me has to brew twice to fill their bigger fermentors and I don't think this is uncommon for small brewery's.
 
Yeah, I heard this was after he went pro, but before he (obviously) got big. He might have been brewing 2-3 times a day and putting those 2-3 batches in one fermentor? The brewery near me has to brew twice to fill their bigger fermentors and I don't think this is uncommon for small brewery's.

It isn't uncommon for large breweries either. One 300 barrel tank costs less and takes up less room than 3 X 100 barrel tanks. Makes more sense to brew the same beer 3 times in a day (assuming you brew that often, most brewpubs don't) to fill that big tank. You also get a more consistent product since the fermentation for all 3 batches is uniform and the wort gets mixed. A lot of breweries would even further mix batches down the line (eg 3 worts in one fermenter, 2 beers in one clearing tank).
 
www.brew-magic.com/bm_samtest.html

He brewed on a Sabco system when he first started his brewpub in Delaware.

He was the head brewer/owner and his best friend was the bar manager. He did nothing but brew all day, every day. He had to so he could keep up with the output that a normal brewpub with a professional capacity had. After he opened his brewpub, he didn't have enough money left to invest in a larger capacity system.

He actually started making eccentric beers because he got so bored making the same old ales everyday and started wandering into the kitchen grabbing different spices and other ingredients.

At one point he actually got larger capacity tanks from a preserves canning operation that was out of business and auctioning off their equipment. He took cases of beer to the auction and started handing out beer to all the farmers who were there to bid on the equipment along with a nudge and wink to let the farmers know which equipment he was bidding on. He got everything dirt cheap.
 
He took cases of beer to the auction and started handing out beer to all the farmers who were there to bid on the equipment along with a nudge and wink to let the farmers know which equipment he was bidding on. He got everything dirt cheap.

That is CLASSIC! OMG! I love his style!
 
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