Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking they'll get this kind of equipment haul

Well, at least I didn't.

I have been working on a 3 tier hlt mlt to boil kettle gravity fed system. I was kind of there, without having setup a stand and some other stuff (counter flow chiller... welding the stand, etc..) and was just going to be content with what I had. The beer I've made with that system has been good.

Then my neighbor (who got me in to brewing) calls me this afternoon. He tells me that the guy who owns the brewery where we hold our monthly competitions/meetings is selling their pilot brewing systems. I had seen the system before, it's a Sabco system. I've looked at those new, but there was no way I was gonna pay $5k for one.

So he tells me the price (which was drastically reduced) and says he's going to go look at it. I figure he's gonna go work something out with the pub owner, but this gentleman was selling this so he could purchase some other piece of equipment he wanted so he needed some cash quickly. So my brewin' bud couldn't convince his girlfriend to let him get it (I'm sure we can all relate to this), but I fared a little better with my wife.

So, I'm now the proud owner of a sabco system without having to fork over anywhere near full price. It is a used system, but all of the parts seem to be in working order, and it includes a thermenator chilling unit and some extras.

It doesn't stop there though. This is a day more than a few homebrewers dream about. After I finish the deal and go home to what looked like was going to be a chokeHusker (football, for those that don't care/know), my neighbor drops by. He had scored a 5 lbs CO2 tank and a couple of extra 5 gallon soda kegs ( he already has a bunch of 5 gallon kegs and a 10 lbs CO2 tank) recently and decided that I absolutely must have them, since I was still bottling everything.

So I wake up brewing in my own all-grain contraption (which I was happy with, by the way) and bottling every ounce of beer I produce to having a full-blown brewing system and a kegging system. That's what I call a good day.

Pics are below. The brewpub I bought this from is going to clean it all up for me (they were using it to brew experiment beers) and I take it home in a week or so.

Congrats! So, the obvious question is - How much did you pay?

I hate to say.. but if you really want to know PM me. It was more than half off the original price.

Another one of the "right place at the right time"?

Real nice. Congrats!

The Brew-Magic is AWESOME.

I absolutely love mine.

You're gonna have some fun learning the SABCO shuffle.

F you.


Seriously, nice haul.

Where are these pics you mentioned? Nice score BTW

IrregularPulse said:

Where are these pics you mentioned? Nice score BTW

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I had to refresh the page a couple of times to get the images to show up.

I'll say it. YOU SUCK!

Congrats.

That is a pretty sweet day. The whole brew magic system looks pretty intense.

ibbones said:

Another one of the "right place at the right time"?

Click to expand...

Definitely was the case. Can't wait to brew with this... Just have to figure out how to use! It's a little different than the 10 gal rubbermaid cooler setup I've been brewing with.

Awesome score - you must be good to your friends and neighbors

Very nice haul; I Recently missed a great score (cause he thought my first mail was junk mail... second time I addressed it craigs list ad but it was already in the proccess of bein sold). Now if the buyer doesnt come... thats another story. Anywho Grats on it all

Still awaiting those pics.


And...you suck.

Aww what the heck.. I linked to the pics in my initial post..

Here it is again. If it doesn't work, check out my gallery.



This is still at the brewpub backroom. I'll post some pics at home in my own setting, all cleaned up.

Also, I apologize for the crappy quality of the images. I'll get some nice pics put up when it's all home and settled this upcoming Wednesday.

nicely done man. I would love a system like this (or a brutus 10)

Congrats! So what is NBC going to use as thier pilot system now?

More importantly, what's your first venture with this new-found monstrosity?

First I need to congratulate you on a fantastic score, and second on having a wife that is that understanding!
The pictures showed up on the first post if you reloaded, but hey a second post is good.
What is the large SS vessel below the left keg?
In any case, may I sincerely say I hate you!

yellowcolumbia said:

Congrats! So what is NBC going to use as thier pilot system now?

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Some winery in Eastern Iowa bought a brand new sabco system (the one pictured is a few years old). From what I hear that winery never used the system and ditched the idea of brewing beer and now just serves NBC's beer. This winery made a good deal with NBC, and NBC sold me their old one.

scrambledegg81 said:

More importantly, what's your first venture with this new-found monstrosity?

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I've been thinking on this... My first batch on this was going to be a week from today (which would be the 25th...), but the guys in the brewclub had other plans. I had invited those who wanted to learn how to all-grain brew over next Saturday to brew a batch of oatmeal stout using my 10 gal rubbermaid cooler system prior to getting this system. After the guys in the club heard about it, they insisted that we do both, at the same time. Luckily my neighbor can help out, so we're going to do a 10 gallon batch of a dry stout he cooked up on the brew magic system and a 5 gallon batch of oatmeal stout in the cooler system next saturday. I'll definitely take pictures, and if possible a little video.

Kauai_Kahuna said:

First I need to congratulate you on a fantastic score, and second on having a wife that is that understanding!
The pictures showed up on the first post if you reloaded, but hey a second post is good.
What is the large SS vessel below the left keg?
In any case, may I sincerely say I hate you!

Click to expand...

That is a 25 gallon stainless steel kettle. I couldn't talk them out of that.... I did try, but it wasn't happening.

I do have a 20 gallon stainless kettle but it's too wide to fit on the stand, so I'm selling that to a club member and will eventually pick up a 25 gallon stainless kettle.

Got it home tonight, finally. We couldn't wait till Saturday, sadly, so pilot is going to be an Oktoberfest. I know it's not march, but meh, it's all about experience. Next march I'll have an idea what I'm doing.

My brew brothers were besides themselves. We rdwhahb a few times in celebration.


At some point one of the guys was trying to obtain product from some valve on the system... Seemed too early to be that toasted to me but whatever...


Finally, some shots of the brewmagic system at home. No fat bastards (me) to block the shots... Thanks again to my local brewpub for hooking me up. You guys are the best.