What system is like a brewpub

When I retire (in 15 years) I would like to open a brewpub. I have 15 years to learn the best techniques. There seems to be so many different systems (RIMS, HERMS, batch sparge, fly sparge, etc.).

I want to build a brew system that will most likely be similar to a professional system. What do you think?

Pro's generally have mash tun's with constant stirring that are steam jacketed to maintain temp. They then transfer the entire mash to a separate vessel to lauter (separate grains and wort) which is similar to a fly sparge I suppose.

Are there any brewpubs or microbrews in your area? If not maybe the next vacation you take you can plan on touring a few. Almost all of them set up tours for free if you ask (and spend a little time drinking afterwards in the pub).

ajwillys said:

Pro's generally have mash tun's with constant stirring that are steam jacketed to maintain temp. They then transfer the entire mash to a separate vessel to lauter (separate grains and wort) which is similar to a fly sparge I suppose.

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I also wondered why they did that. Is it so they can mash another batch while lautering the first batch?

It all varies by budgetary constraints and systems designs. there are a surprising variety of "out of the box" medium capacity systems available from Extract to All Grain geared for the BrewPub environment. Usually between 5 to 10bbl capacities.

As to why, IIRC, after the lauter (for some systems) they pump the wort back to the MLT and use it to boil. Because 2 vessles are cheaper than 3. And also, a few of the BrewPubs I have visisted actually have multi-purposed brite/lagering/carbonation/serving tanks too for their draft service.

ryandlf said:

Are there any brewpubs or microbrews in your area? If not maybe the next vacation you take you can plan on touring a few. Almost all of them set up tours for free if you ask (and spend a little time drinking afterwards in the pub).

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Great idea. There are a few in the St. Louis area. I tour Budweiser brewery every year but they are hard to compare to homebrewing.

Why do many homebrewers use RIMS if that is not what the pros use?

Whateva! Homebrewers do what we want!

mr_tripp said:

Why do many homebrewers use RIMS if that is not what the pros use?

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Because steam generators, steam jacketed kettles, in kettle agitation, etc....
tends to be outside the scope, budget, and needs of the average 5 gallon batch HomeBrewer. There are some exception here tho'.

From my understanding the act of pumping the grain from the mash to lauter tun does wonders for efficiency.

Pro's typically brew considerably larger batches than homebrewers and more often.

Larger batches require differnt approaches. Some of the things we do at the homebrew level simply don't work any more (or don't work efficiently) at larger batch size levels.

Pro's will also look for equipment that can be brewed on 8+ hours/day and has easy CIP (clean in place) with various caustic chemicals. This typically means all stainless steel. The equipment also has to withstand hose-down conditions which means anything electrical has to be rated to certain IP and NEMA protection standards.

Questions for you to get started:

- What size batches do you want to brew?
- What's your budget?

I would suggest building for the size you want today as a homebrewer. You'll learn all the brewing terms and techniques and start to understand why some things don't scale well to larger batch sizes.

Kal

I have brewed with quite a few smaller, but professional, brewers around Seattle. None of their systems (up to 10 bbl) were elaborate enough to have 3 vessels or steam jacketing in the mash tun. They rely simply on the thermal mass of the mash and a layer of insulation on the mash tun. Think similar to using a cylindrical cooler like the Rubbermaid.

Can you add a heating element to a cooler safely?

The vast majority of brewpub systems do not apply heat in the mash tun. The mash/lauter tun has enough insulation to maintain temps for a 90 min. mash.

RIMS and later HERMS were developed by homebrewers using uninsulated keggles for mash tuns. This was a way of working around the heat loss of the uninsulated vessel.

Most brewpubs using up to a 15 barrel system use a single infusion mash program with an occasional mash out.

The brew kettle can be either steam jacketed or direct fire. An electric boil kettle is rare.

Agitators and rakes in the mash tun are also very rare, usually reserved for systems that brew mostly lagers and whose owners have very deep pockets. They are also a HUGE PITA to clean effectively.

Hot Liquor Tanks may or may not be present. Heating the water in the kettle and then transferring it to an insulated fermenter to hold for sparging is common when space is at a premium.

For breweries located in warmer climates, a dual zone heat exchanger is common. This will have the first zone cooling with ground water and the second cooling with lower temperature glycol and water. In certain areas a cold liquor tank may be needed to help lower the temps.

Most brewpub systems do fly sparge. A goodly amount use a hydration system to mix the milled grain and water while it is being added to the mash tun.

I have tried to emulate the systems I found easiest to brew on during the time I did brew professionally. My homebrew system uses a diverter panel and hoses to make all connections. I added a whirlpool to my kettle. I mash in a Gott cooler with a false bottom as this is as close as I can get to the gear I used to use.



I based this system on the brewpub gear produced by Specific Mechanical and Newlands Systems.

The Flatbranch Brewing Co. in Columbia, MO uses a 15 bbl. Specific Mechanical system with "open" fermenters. The fermenters have a large, heavy stainless steel lid that cover the top completely but is not sealed. If you get a chance to visit, this should give you a good idea of what is being used in a lot of brewpubs.

Check out the links in my sig to read more about my homebrew system. Good luck in your quest.

Wayne1 said:

My homebrew system uses a diverter panel and hoses to make all connections.

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That's pretty badass. I've never seen a panel like that in a homebrew system.

Last month, I had the opportunity to participate in a VIP tour of Boulevard (in Kansas City, MO) and they had several large tri-clover diverter panels that look very similar to what you have going on. Very nice

Wayne1 outstanding post and system
Next time I'm in Columbia I will stop by Flat Branch. How do the open fermenters work? Are they conical or flat bottom?

What are diverted panels?

They are neither conical or flat. They have what is known as a dished bottom. The kettle and mash tun also use this. They are slightly conical but a much milder slope maybe 10-12 degrees as opposed to the 60 degree most conicals have.

The bottom and sides of the fermenters are jacketed and have glycol/water running through them. There is a thermowell with a probe inside. Each fermenter has it's own controller. In the systems I used there was a separate pump for each fermenter. The controller would turn the pump on and off depending on the temp of the wort in the fermenter.

Other systems I have seem had one pump that was constantly running and remote actuated valves that would open or close as determined by the controller.

A diverter panel has various male fittings on it and piping behind it. It allows one to divert the liquid from one place to another. In my case, I have two pumps behind the front panel with the fittings on the front of the panel, I can change hoses around and have the water from the HLT go into the bottom of the mash tun or the top. I have a filtered cold water inlet that can be moved about to any vessel I wish. I have inlets and outlets for my CFC. I can run the wort straight out of the kettle through the CFC into a fermenter or I can connect it to the whirlpool fitting in my kettle.

Here is a picture of a small 2 barrel Specific Mechanical brewhouse with a diverter panel between the kettle and mash tun.

mr_tripp said:

Can you add a heating element to a cooler safely?

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Sure. I assume for an HLT? I don't have anything in mine for an MLT.

The craft brewery I worked in had a MLT, not a separate mash tun and lauter tun. Big hopper on top that was fed from the grain mill on a conveyor belt tube from the next room (where the hot liquor was kept.) MLT was steam jacketed, constant stirring and the entire floor was a false-bottom. Also, I was the ***** that summer and had to jump into that hot thing every brew and clean out the grain

And there was a massive diverter panel with all kinds of SS tubes with tri-clovers instead of hoses. Linked the MLT, heat exchanger, boil kettle, and exterior hoses that may be attached (i.e. hose from cold liquor tank, hose to pump and then fermentation vessel, etc)