Okay, so it won't be going ON the submarine. But my CO has decided that our vessel, the USS Colorado, will need a commissioning beer. We might job it out to a small local brewery, but I've wanted a brew machine for a long time anyway, and this is the perfect excuse. This thread is more for me to organize my thoughts and get suggestions than to inform; there are a lot of threads on how to do this right. This isn't one of them.
I want the commissioning brew to have two recipes; a partial mash that most home brewers could duplicate, and a full grain for the hardcore types. We'll need a lot, and it isn't practical for me to build a 100-gallon machine, so consistency is important. This much heat demands propane or a dedicated 240V circuit; I like portability and being able to set up anywhere, so propane it is.
I've never liked the three-vessel systems. One tank to heat water, another to steep grain, and a third for the boil? Not for me, thanks. I'm not at the level where it will matter. But one tank? Yes, please. Heat the water, add the grain and steep it, then remove it and proceed with the boil. BIAB all the way, even if I lose a few percent efficiency.
So I'm looking at a keggle with propane heat. A stainless steel pot drilled with holes and lined with a mesh bag for adding grain. A winch to lift the basket out and hold it in place if I decide a sparge is necessary. For heating sparge water, either a large kettle (big coffee urn?) or, and I'm liking this idea, an on-demand water heater. The keggle can be insulated for heat retention. A pump to circulate the wort from the bottom to the top and, when the time comes, drive it through a heat exchanger to cool it before it goes into the fermenting buckets.
A bit of automation would be nice, for consistency. So a thermometer on the pump inlet, a pump control, a pilot light, and a propane control valve.
I had thought about a water jacket for the keggle. Heat water separately (on-demand water heater again?) and pump it through the jacket to heat, pump cold water to cool. But that demands a second pump if I want to circulate the wort, and I'm not sure how good of a boil I'll get.
Like I said, very preliminary. Thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.
I want the commissioning brew to have two recipes; a partial mash that most home brewers could duplicate, and a full grain for the hardcore types. We'll need a lot, and it isn't practical for me to build a 100-gallon machine, so consistency is important. This much heat demands propane or a dedicated 240V circuit; I like portability and being able to set up anywhere, so propane it is.
I've never liked the three-vessel systems. One tank to heat water, another to steep grain, and a third for the boil? Not for me, thanks. I'm not at the level where it will matter. But one tank? Yes, please. Heat the water, add the grain and steep it, then remove it and proceed with the boil. BIAB all the way, even if I lose a few percent efficiency.
So I'm looking at a keggle with propane heat. A stainless steel pot drilled with holes and lined with a mesh bag for adding grain. A winch to lift the basket out and hold it in place if I decide a sparge is necessary. For heating sparge water, either a large kettle (big coffee urn?) or, and I'm liking this idea, an on-demand water heater. The keggle can be insulated for heat retention. A pump to circulate the wort from the bottom to the top and, when the time comes, drive it through a heat exchanger to cool it before it goes into the fermenting buckets.
A bit of automation would be nice, for consistency. So a thermometer on the pump inlet, a pump control, a pilot light, and a propane control valve.
I had thought about a water jacket for the keggle. Heat water separately (on-demand water heater again?) and pump it through the jacket to heat, pump cold water to cool. But that demands a second pump if I want to circulate the wort, and I'm not sure how good of a boil I'll get.
Like I said, very preliminary. Thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.
