homemade brewery

i'm in the planning stage of a 9 gal brewery. has anyone already put one together and has any tips? Where's a good place to get hold of old kegs for vessels? is it easier to use a pumping system or build a tower and use gravity?

sammo said:

i'm in the planning stage of a 9 gal brewery. has anyone already put one together and has any tips? Where's a good place to get hold of old kegs for vessels? is it easier to use a pumping system or build a tower and use gravity?

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You are about to get so much information from everyone here that your head will spin.

First, there are 3 main setups to decide from (I am sure that there are others out there though.)

1. 3 tier (Tower)
2. 2 tier Hot Liquor Tank and Mash Tun on top level, Boil kettle on bottom level.
3. 1 Level.

Is there a space constraint at your place? Do you want to run a HERMS or RIMS to recirculate your mash?

Somebody else will need to chime in on good keggle prices as I do not own them but here is a link to one on Ebay.

Home Brewing Keggle - eBay (item 290308004029 end time Jul-04-09 04:55:33 PDT)

Since you're in the UK, it sounds like acquiring kegs is much more challenging than here in the US, so I doubt most of us will be able to help you with that.

Many of us have built brew stands. Here's one thread with a bunch of pictures. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/show-us-your-sculpture-brew-rig-46578/ I'd suggest picking out a few you like and sending those people a PM to talk about their designs.

Gravity vs pump is really a personal preference. I've built/used both a 3-tier and single-tier and I really like the single-tier much better. Everything is nice and low. No heavy lifting and it eliminates the need for ladders. Here's a pic w/ both in use. You can see the difference I'm talking about.

I've probably got about 2 x 2 metres think a 2 tier might be the best bet. ive only ever brewed AG in buckets so i just recirculated manually. so excuse my ignorance, what it HERMS and RIMS?

HERMS and RIMS:

Recirculating mash systems - Home Brewing Wiki

You might try contacting KegWatch to see how you can legally obtain kegs. Or just PM Orfy.

menschmaschine said:

You might try contacting KegWatch to see how you can legally obtain kegs. Or just PM Orfy.

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I guess it's a great link if you happen to live in Great Britian.

sammo said:

i'm in the planning stage of a 9 gal brewery. has anyone already put one together and has any tips? Where's a good place to get hold of old kegs for vessels? is it easier to use a pumping system or build a tower and use gravity?

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Contact Terry at Kegglebrewing.com. He can sell you kegs that you can convert yourself or do the conversion for you. His prices are very reasonable and if you choose to have him do the conversion you will get top grade sanitary welds. He can include site tubes, valves, dip tubes and false bottoms if you wish. Lastly, he is damn nice guy to deal with. You will not be dissapointed.

Sawdustguy said:

I guess it's a great link if you happen to live in Great Britian.

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Look at the OP's location.

Sawdustguy said:

I guess it's a great link if you happen to live in Great Britian.

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:facepalm:

People really don't read closely, do they?

well first off you do not need kegs. 2 10 gallon beverage coolers will work fine.

You will need a kettle but I think this will be easier to find. You can either snag a keg or get a cheap aluminum kettle from a restaurant supplier.

I personally would go electric herms. Easy to implement all you need is some 3/8 copper coil and a hotwater tank element. Run a PID which is 40 bucks get a pump and your set very little work. Also you will need a ss relay other then that its very simple to use and make.

Rims you have to worry about burning an element out and your going to need expensive fittings to install the heater in. Most guys use SS but copper is les expensive but still the fittings get pricy.

thanks for all the advice.