1 BBL construction in Costa Rica. Help?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Rackerman

Rackerman

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 13, 2008
Messages
65
Reaction score
1
Location
Malpais, Costa Rica
Hello all,

My wife and I are back in costa rica and poised to make the next move on construction of our mini-brewery. Back in the states I acquired a three-tier gravity system and brewed some moderatly successful all-grain batches - this ****´s easy... well, not really at all and I´m fully grasping how much i have to learn, but I´m happy with how things have gone so far.

I am a newbie for sure, but we have a great idea here in the land of terrible beer and a whole community (and thirsty customers) pulling for us.

So, I ripped off my burners from my system back in Boston and brought them down here with me, along with some misc. hard to find parts, and am slowly moving forward with the next phase. I am going for a 1BBL system and am currently commissioning the construction of pots. My plan is to have two 55 gal stainless steel pot built here with some stainless steel ball valves I´ve brought from the states welded on. I´m going to use these for my hot water tank and boil kettle. I´m going to purchase the 55 gal BoilerMaker mash tun (seen on the Blichman Engineering website no URL allowed). It´s just easier to purchase than build and only slightly more money.

I have a strange request and a not so odd dilema... first the dilema - I´ve come to realize I am likely unable to construct this myself. I have a friend in town who is a welder and can put together the frame and TIG weld the piping. I also am friendly with a plumber and electrician than would be able to assist as needed with the temp controls. My problem is I need plans for them to use. I want to see if any one of you equipment-savy guys or gals would be interested if I commissioned you to draw up plans for a system, piping, electrical, pump location, etc.

I want to go with a simple, temperature controlled system, similar to the B3 1100 on the three system (only 1bbl size). IF your specialty is HERMS I´m interested as well. I would also potentially be willing to fly you down and put you up here to help w/the install (depending on what you have to offer for skill set - welding, electrical, etc.).

So that´s my strange request. I´m puting this offer up on some brew-boards and am going to float this to our new friend here who just re-started his microbrewery, K&S - whassup Gabe if you´re reading - in the capital. That´s about the size of it. This is a serious offer and please let me know if you are interested and your qualifications - pics are nice but don´t need to be sent on the first email. Just need to do the proper vetting.

Timeline - w/in the next 1.5 months (today is 12/16) or July 2009 onward.

BTW - we are located in the beautiful quiet surfer-town of Santa Teresa/Mal Pais, Costa Rica and we part-time manage the Hotel El Rey Patricio (www.elreypatriciocr.com)

Thanks,
Ryan
 
I'm sorry that I can't help you, but I wish you all the luck in starting out a brewery in a far off land. If I ever make it to Costa Rica, I'll look you up.
 
Ryan:
I have recently done something very similar in my garage. My boil kettle is a 55 gallon stainless steel drum. It is powered with two 4500 watt water heater elements. My Mash tun is a 55 gallon high density polyethylene drum (blue plastic barrel). My hot liquor tank is a 15.5 gallon converted keg with herms heat exchange coil. The hlt is also powered by two 4500 watt elements. My brewery has slowly grown from a 10 gallon propane powered herms system to a 35 gallon electric powered herms system. My hlt tank is clearly undersized and will likely be my next modification. Anyhow, I am more than willing to share my experience. Send me a PM if you want to discuss.
 
How long does it take to boil 35 gallons of wort with 9000W?
 
z987k said:
35 gallons from 155F(runoff temp) to Boil with 95% eff takes 34mins.
Click to expand...

No, not in theory... I mean, really how long. I can punch that into my calculator too, I mean, really.
 
I mash out to 165F. I drain the mash tun and start heating the wort as soon as the electric elements are fully immersed in wort. I then do one batch sparge with 170F water. My first runnings are usually boiling before I start draining my second runnings. It usually takes another 15 minutes to bring it all to boil after the second runnings are completely drained. During my first 35 gallon batch, I started the boil with 45 gallons of wort and I ran my PID on 90% power to maintain a nice rolling boil. My BK is not insulated (yet) and I did this batch in my garage with temp of about 30F.
 
Sounds great, good on ya! I've traveled a few times to central and S. america (costa rica, mexico, ecuador, brasil), and have thought to myself "someone should come down here and make some good beer"...
 
sorry its taken so long to get back. HBF does not like to load on the dial up down here so I've been unavailable (now at a sat. connection). Again thanks for those who've got back to me and I will follow up with PMs. I have brough down two 45,000 BTu propoane burners with me. for 50 gallons on the boil kettle should I be looking at something larger?
 
I get 50 gal boiling on my rig no problem.

Sanke propane HLT supplied with domestic hot water tank water gravity feeds to 55 SS drum MLT which is then pumped into the 55 gal drum NG jet burner fired kettle. I did not really have plans to go by other than some ideas I had. Keeping the elements separate has allowed me to experiment to find the optimal placement.

img3371uk7.jpg
 
I have nothing to add but to say that it's kick*ss you're taking the operation abroad. You dont hear much about that and I bet travelers and locals alike there in Costa Rica would appreciate some quality suds. (you can only drink so much Imperial!)

BTW I've been to Costa Rica a number of times and actually just booked airfare for my dad and I to go in May for his 60th bday. I'm gonna take him fishing down in Quepos for a few days. But next time I want to hit your area and I'll be sure to stop by! Never been all the way down the Peninsula.
 
Rackerman said:
sorry its taken so long to get back. HBF does not like to load on the dial up down here so I've been unavailable (now at a sat. connection). Again thanks for those who've got back to me and I will follow up with PMs. I have brough down two 45,000 BTu propoane burners with me. for 50 gallons on the boil kettle should I be looking at something larger?
Click to expand...

Hopefully you weren't too close to the earthquake there. I've been to Costa Rica once and if I could I would move there in a heartbeat. My wife and I loved it. Get this thing running so I can have a good excuse to go back down there.

An interesting side note is that High Falls Brewing in Rochester now brews Imperial up here. It's not QUITE the same sipping one of those in 20 degree weather staring at snow drifts as it is sitting at the beach in 90 degree weather.
In fact.. not even close. :)
 
Thanks for all the feedback and words of encouragement. Just wanted to let you know the only fully operational microbrewer in Costa Rica has agreed to help with the design plans for the 1BBL system. Looks like a RIMS system with Blichmann Eng. components. I'm headed back to the states in three weeks to purchase be begin shipping down. I'll keep you posted on it. Also, thanks for the advice on boil time. Having seen that a similar size burner output can achieve boil in a suitable time is huge... as someoneone else wrote, the math is one thing, actually achieving it is another.
 
Are you going to have issues getting your ingredients? I assume that it will all need to be shipped. How do you figure that will effect price? Wife and I are dreaming of retiring to Costa Rica.
 
Malt will be purchased through a local, licensed brewery called K&S. They're newly re-opened, legit and make a great lager called Chivo Blanco. Hops and yeast will be brought down to start with... we're going really small so once we're fully functional we'll go legal and start importing the grain ourselves - I understand it's a fairly easy permit to obtain. Price is going to be at the rate of the "higher end" local beer - Bavaria - around 1,600 colones (around $2.50) for 12 oz. in most restaurants. I honestly can not predict what its going to cost me to brew until I have a price break on the quantity and type of grain we're going to buy. We'll be selling by the keg and we need to outfit any and all clients with a tap system/jockey box. Operating any business in CR requires a lot of planning and then a lot more of trial and error...
 
Hey Rackerman,

Good for you, sounds like a great endeavor and a beautiful place to do it!

Only question I have: Why only ONE barrel??

My brother and I brew on a one barrel system, and we have to brew pretty regularly just to keep us and a few buddies in beer....(mostly us...hehe) I couldn't imaging trying to keep up with the demand imposed by selling it in kegs!

Although, I suppose it may be easier for you to find "ready made" equipment in the 1 bbl size. Also, probably cheaper/easier to ship the smaller size stuff.

Just a question / observation. Not knocking you at all.

Wishing you the best of luck down there! :mug:
 
Hey sleepystevenson,

Simple answer to why only 1BBl is.... Money. I priced out having larger kettles built in San Jose, CR, but it's too much. I wanted to buy the $15,000 2BBL complete system from NABS, but it's not really complete at that price and by the time I shipped it down I'd be at the $25K mark... not that I have $15K to begin with. Maybe a year ago I could have borrow that $$ but everyone's broke now.

I'm going to buy 55 gal Blichmann kettles (once the 10% MA state sale happens on Austinhomebrew.com) because they not only come with all the bells and whistles - they're cheaper than other pots I've found (w/exception of a SS drum) AND I can fly down with them as oversize checked luggage, something I can't do with the drums.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

I just bought this welder on closeout from Sears for 90% off that price!:
Craftsman Wire Feed Welder, Gasless - Model WE20568 at Sears.com

...48 lbs. it should fit under the plane as checked luggage piece #1

and 2 of these bad-ass mo'fo 315,000 BTU propane jet burners: Multi-Jet Propane Gas Burner - Large : BBQ.com

...28 lbs. of 32-tipped cast iron burners for my HLT and boil kettle (I have a 45,000 BTU burner down there for the mash tun) should fit nicely in suitcase #2.

I leave for CR a week from today and I will start building the frame.
Marriage in April in CR - 15 years together but not officially married, just a formality at this point, but great reason to get friends and family to visit. <<you all can come too and I'll put you to work>> Back to Boston in May when I'm good and broke to work for a while. Back to CR at the end of summer to bring down the kettles and finish the job. Brewing by September. Selling beer by Feb. 2010... Planning on a central American time-frame = slow and steady...
 
Not to rain on your parade but your going to have a hell of a time with that welder. I also got a flux cored wire welder to build my stand and its a true PITA. If I were to do it all over again I would have spent the extra $$ on a real mig welder.

I really wish you the best and cant wait to see the pic updates. My wife's grandfather is always going to CR for weeks at a time and I may just have to tag along once you get this all together. Cheers :mug:
 
Displaced MassHole said:
Not to rain on your parade but your going to have a hell of a time with that welder. I also got a flux cored wire welder to build my stand and its a true PITA. If I were to do it all over again I would have spent the extra $$ on a real mig welder.

Thanks for the feedback. Parade has not been rained on.
Why is it a pain? Is it an issue with time or weld integrity? I bought it for $27.99, but was banking on a non-gas welder as I'm unsure where to get Argon where I am.
Click to expand...
 
Ryan,
I'm in the process of doing something similar here in Guatemala. Been brewing lots of small batches of extract brews here for about a year and looking for something on a larger scale, but like you I don't have the cash for a system much larger than 1 BBl. Would be cool to keep in touch and share some ideas/contacts and also hear about the difficulties of making your operation "legal" down there. Feel free to send me a PM and best of luck.
Ryan Daly
 
how were you going to control that nascent system....a bcs-460 seems like it might be in your future. ;)

</hawking bcs>
 
Rackerman said:
Displaced MassHole said:
Not to rain on your parade but your going to have a hell of a time with that welder. I also got a flux cored wire welder to build my stand and its a true PITA. If I were to do it all over again I would have spent the extra $$ on a real mig welder.

Thanks for the feedback. Parade has not been rained on.
Why is it a pain? Is it an issue with time or weld integrity? I bought it for $27.99, but was banking on a non-gas welder as I'm unsure where to get Argon where I am.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your move to CR and your brewing project, keep us posted on your progress.
On your Argon gas you do not need it unless your welding aluminum. You can use straight Co2 or C25 for your steel frame build as Argon costs more than Co2 of C25. I run C25 for the Mig unless i'm welding aluminum then it's Argon gas time. A custom stainless fab shop in my area uses only Co2 on all his stainless Tig welding projects. He does top notch boat railings or anything out of stainless.
You can use straight Co2 or C25, this is a mix of 75% Co2 with 25% Argon. C25 will allow for less splatter and easy cleanup of the welds vs straight Co2. This is not a great difference in the welding results but noticeable if your a high production shop with cleanup a time factor, labor and cost added to your production. Heck you can use your regular Co2 bottle that you use to carbonate your bier for your welder.
I would get the large owner owned bottles.
If in a hot climate have a fan set against your welders louver vents to keep it running cooler thus extending the duty cycle if your running it near it's maximum output current on long welds.




Take care. CJ...............
Click to expand...
 
Hey all, just a quick update. We built the system last year, spent six month working on it, learning to brew with it and had a soft opening January last year for the 6 month season. Sold draft beer at local restaurant and for weddings, catered parties and other events. Back to work in the US for the "winter" and open again for business this weekend. Built/bought kegerators/keezers and adding a second installation at another restaurant or bar in the near future. Here are some pics. Thanks to all for the advice, words of encouragement over the years. Def. been 2 steps forward 1 step back but we've managed to make some good, quality beer and look forward to making even better beer for more people in the future. Cheers, Ryan

BK and HLT.JPG


42 Gallon Fermenter.JPG


Cold Room.JPG


Grain Mill side.JPG


Keezer Side and Taps.JPG
 
Hey, my wife and I have a couple of friends who are down there doing peace corps work (matt and ann marie?). Anyway, we'll be visiting them sometime in the next few months so if we end up anywhere near your operation I might have to look you up and stop in! I'd love to give you some feedback on your beer:)
 
Rackerman said:
Hey all, just a quick update. We built the system last year, spent six month working on it, learning to brew with it and had a soft opening January last year for the 6 month season. Sold draft beer at local restaurant and for weddings, catered parties and other events. Back to work in the US for the "winter" and open again for business this weekend. Built/bought kegerators/keezers and adding a second installation at another restaurant or bar in the near future. Here are some pics. Thanks to all for the advice, words of encouragement over the years. Def. been 2 steps forward 1 step back but we've managed to make some good, quality beer and look forward to making even better beer for more people in the future. Cheers, Ryan
Click to expand...

Hey Ryan,
I'm in the process of helping open up a bar/restaurant in Costa Rica and was wondering. I have been homebrewing in the U.S. for ~6 years and was wondering what the brewing situation is down there.

Any special permits needed to make and distribute your own alcohol?
Grain supply?
Any chance of growing hops down there?
What is the best way to ship from the U.S.?
Any other advice on how to limit the steps backwards?

Thanks,
Piper
 
Not sure if anyone caught the picture of the mash tun table. Along the side you can see the homebrewtalk.com sticker plastered there. Props.
 
I PM'd Piper a while back but thought I would share in case others are interested:

Piper, you need permits to sell beer in CR. Homebrewing looks to be legal, according to FANAL, the liquor control, however nothing is completely clear on this subject. Plan on importing all ingredients - most likely through puerto Limon. You need full phytosanitary permits for grain and hops. Some cleaning agents can be purchased in-country. If you want to sell beer you need permission from the municipality, the Min. de Agricultura and the Ministerio de Salud. Ultimately the municipality will sign off on your permit to produce and the permit to sell is a diff. one depending on how you plan on selling. Brew Pub would require a liquor license. Hops could be grown in a large scale green room - you have to "hibernate" them for a portion of their life cycle. I'm sure it could be done, but it's not something you're going to be doing in the back yard w/o some serious attn. and $$.
In short, there is no limitation to the amount of backwards steps one would have to take in order to have a legally operating brewery in Costa Rica. We are in the process of forming a Homebrewer's association, sort of a non-profit beer advocacy group comprised of a wide selection of Ticos and foreigners. Coming up in April will be the country's 1st craft beer fest and homebrew competition... so things are changing here.
There is a homebrew shop in San Jose - La Bodega de Chema (www.bodegadechema.com) - and there is another opening in March in Santa Ana, not too far from there. There is a growing craft beer culture, a lot of opportunity for sure, but a full time effort is required... For sure it's happening here and will continue to grow largely in 2012, according to all in the industry here.
 

Similar threads

fljim
SS Brewtech 1BBL Unitank - BEWARE!!
Replies
22
Views
779
Indian_villager
I
kotamoore23
120/240v DIY PID Controller Help
Replies
17
Views
1K
whoaru99
W
B
I`m Baaaack
Replies
2
Views
262
HBT_Admin
HBT_Admin
Z
Massachusetts SS Brewtech 10 gallon InfuSsion Mash Tun, Custom 22 gallon stainless insulated bottom triclamp drain mash tun
Replies
0
Views
218
zman_
Z
M
Michigan Sabco Brew Magic in Michigan.
Replies
0
Views
329
madmax77
M

Latest posts

Back
Top