Top Tier questions

I'm looking at getting a beer sculpture and (while I'm early in the research process) it seems like the Blichmann Top Tier makes a lot of sense.

Ideally, I'd get a burner up top, a shelf in the middle, and a burner on the bottom. Then the HLT goes on top, the MLT (I have a 10 gal orange Rubbermaid) in the middle, and the kettle on the bottom. A carboy would go on the ground. At least in theory, the whole thing could be gravity operated with no need for a pump or for lifting vessels.

Two things concern me:

1) Having a burner and pot of boiling water 5-6 feet in the air. What could possibly go wrong?

2) By my calculation, the top of the MLT would be a little over 58" off the ground. I'm 5'10". Unless I'm missing how these things work, that means I'd need a small step ladder to stir the mash. Right?

Am I right to be concerned about this?

I searched previous threads and I see a lot of people complaining about the cost of the Blichmann unit. According to the NB catalog, the stand is $499, the burner is $139 (need 2) and the shelf is $59. So that's $840 total. I looked at the More Beer gravity sculpture and it starts at $1800, plus $250 to upgrade to stainless steel and $220 for the gas burners. Granted, it includes 3 bare bones Megapots, but still, $2270? If there's something cheaper than the Blichmann, I'm all ears.

Anyway, I'd like to avoid pumps and go with a gravity system, but I'm open to thoughts here.

I have a top tier and love it... however, unlike you I wanted to avoid the gravity route, so I use pumps. When I first put it together I had one pot up high because I only had 1 pump, and the stand was rock steady with a heavy HLT up high. The height of your MLT will really depend on how you set things up, but the beauty of the thing is that you can adjust the tiers up and down to make it work. I'm not sure why you don't want pumps, as they have made brewing so much easier IMO, but either way I think you will be happy with the top tier.

I like my top tier a lot I have mine set up with burner on top shelf in middle and burner on bottom. You will like useing it but have to agree a pump sure makes thigs easy

RiverCityBrewer said:

I have a top tier and love it... however, unlike you I wanted to avoid the gravity route, so I use pumps. When I first put it together I had one pot up high because I only had 1 pump, and the stand was rock steady with a heavy HLT up high. The height of your MLT will really depend on how you set things up, but the beauty of the thing is that you can adjust the tiers up and down to make it work. I'm not sure why you don't want pumps, as they have made brewing so much easier IMO, but either way I think you will be happy with the top tier.

Click to expand...

I guess my thought was if I'm going to go with pumps, might was well just get a horizontal table. But I'm trying to learn as much as possible - watching the Brew Haus video on the Top Tier now.

I use gravity to get all the liquid into the brew kettle and a pump to move wort through the chiller and into fermenters that way I can get all the tiers closer to the ground and am able to mount my chiller to the center mast at any height

jbdujka said:

I use gravity to get all the liquid into the brew kettle and a pump to move wort through the chiller and into fermenters that way I can get all the tiers closer to the ground and am able to mount my chiller to the center mast at any height

Click to expand...

Interesting point. I also have a second 10 gal Rubbermaid HLT that I don't use much. With a pump, I could get away with a single burner and just pump the hot water from the kettle up to the cooler HLT. Hmmmmmm........

You got it man only thing you lift and pour is an ice cold beer and your pump does the work

jbdujka said:

I use gravity to get all the liquid into the brew kettle and a pump to move wort through the chiller and into fermenters that way I can get all the tiers closer to the ground and am able to mount my chiller to the center mast at any height

Click to expand...

Do you have any pics of how your chiller is mounted to the tier? I guess you're using a plate chiller?

I have a counterflow (home-built) and I'm trying to figure a way of integrating it into my TopTier.

i made a bracket out of some metal pieces from home depot and used square nuts that fit inside the tracks of the top tier with some additional hardware to mount the plate chiller to the mast. since its not really much weight on the bracket you dont have to get too crazy on securing it

Now I'm starting to lean away from the idea of a Top Tier.

If I'm going to use a pump (and I agree it makes sense) may as well just get a cheap utility table, put the HLT (cooler) and MLT (cooler) on the table, kettle/burner and carboy on the ground, and pump hot water up from the kettle to the HLT, then across from the HLT to the MLT, then gravity down to the brew kettle, then pump across to the carboy. Or put the burner on the table and everything else reversed. Don't really need 3 tiers with a pump. Arrghhhh, I'm so torn.

I really like mine, even though I've only brewed on it once. The burners are crazy powerful and the stand is rock solid! I also like the convenience of being 'mobile' in the case of sudden rain / snow (as I normally brew in the driveway). It doesn't take up too much floor space either (~ 4' x 4'). The modularity of the stand is nice too...there's no need to buy everything at once. Also, if you're not happy with the way the tiers are setup, change it up for your next brew session.

I do understand your concern about the pump; gravity can be a pain to work with at times. I'm using gravity now and I'm thinking of buying a pump to do these steps: get water up to my HLT, recirc the wort in the MLT and run the wort through the chiller after the boil.

Feel free to visit my blog (http://www.brewingexperiment.com/2011/01/11/oatmeal-stout-meets-the-blichmann-toptier-brewstand/) for some pics and a write up on my first brew day with the TopTier. It isn't a full review, but may help you make a decision.