Pro-brewers fermentation question.

I took a tour at a small brewery several months ago, and I wish I would have thought to ask this, but I didn't. The brewery had a 15 bbl system, but they had several 30 bbl fermentation tanks. My question is, how do they ferment their batches? Obviously, they need to brew two batches to fill their fermenter. Does the first batch just sit there and wait several hours while they make the second batch and pump it into the tank? You would think that they'd want to pitch the yeast right away, and not have a batch of boiled, cooled wort just sitting there. Any thoughts?

Based on my conversations with the pros (including Rod Widmer), they pitch into the first batch of wort while the second is being mashed. Widmer's has a 250 barrel system with six 750 barrel fermenters and six 1000 barrel fermenters. The mash tun keeps cranking, 23 hours a day. ONE person runs the operation.

So if I understand that correctly, they add a second or third batch of wort to beer that is already in the process of fermenting?

Why not? The first batch is basically a "starter" for the yeast while the next batch is getting ready.

Sounds like a good practice to me!

In the few hours it takes to get the second batch in there, there's not a ton of fermentation going on, so adding it to the first would be just fine.

The first batch gets O2 and ALL the yeast for the total batch size. The subsequent batches are just pumped in behind the first usually without any O2.

I think it is ROB not ROD.