Brew in a box, the portable brewery

[poptarts]

I've been kicking around the idea of making a pilot system for making 1-2 gallon batches, I was also thinking that it would be nice if the brewery could be portable that way i could move it around the house or take it to a friends to brew or to the park or w/e i feel like haha. I tried my best to get my idea into drawing to help convey it.
It would be a brutus 20 system on a two tier so it will only require 1 pump and 2 pots. I will be HERMS that I will keep in the boil kettle so it can double as a chiller at the end of the boil.
Here is the basic box with a split lid, everything should fit inside the box making it easy to store and transport.

here is a picture with the lids opening and pots inside.

Box on side, with bottom lid open part way it will produce support for the other lid to make the bottom tier of the stand.

Here is the system in brewing mode minus control panel and pump etc, I think you get the idea

Pretty cool right? Are there any systems out there like this? Ideas thoughts comments?

 

[DerrangedPOJO]

pretty sweet idea! run with it!

 

[poptarts]

Im trying to design out a way to make my panel and possibly my pump from my main system to be modular so I can attach it to this system and not have to buy / make a second one. although if I built it into the box the price would be like 25$. idk still kicking around alot of ideas and concepts.

 

[DerrangedPOJO]

Well the concept is a great idea! I like the mobility end of it. Would be a great learning tool for others if you can get it mobile! Share the joys of homebrewing!

 

[MindenMan]

An appropriate sized disconnect for the power/panel, and some kind of QD for the pump lines, maybe?

 

[ross_daly]

Depending on how small you went you could probably hack a big crock pot with a stc-1000 for a e-brew setup cheaply.
Here's a 22qt one for $90. http://goo.gl/hCRRz0 You could do one-pot E-biab for about $120.

 

[poptarts]

Depending on how small you went you could probably hack a big crock pot with a stc-1000 for a e-brew setup cheaply.
Here's a 22qt one for $90. http://goo.gl/hCRRz0 You could do one-pot E-biab for about $120.

I can pick up a 3 gallon pot and get an element in it for under 50$ and that would be alot more energy efficient. I want to keep the system under 15 amps so it can run on any basic wall socket. plus im looking into the 12 quart pot range as 2 gallons is the biggest I want to brew on the system.

 

[Hello]

That is a wonderful concept. Keep going.

 

[poptarts]

An appropriate sized disconnect for the power/panel, and some kind of QD for the pump lines, maybe?

yea I was thinking if I put some l brackets on my control panel I could swap it between stands with like 2 bolts and wing nuts. especially if I mount the bolts into the stands them selves then it would be as simple as pulling out a pin or loosing a wing nut swapping stands and re attaching.

 

[rekoob]

http://picobrew.com/

So, your talking about this really. Except this one is all automatic and smaller. Pretty neat.

 

[northcal]

Reminds me of that hop box thing, but yours should be much more functional.

 

[poptarts]

ha yea im not trying to reinvent a shoe box.

 

[poptarts]

Here is a little diagram i drew up for hard plumbing the system, the pumps on the output have 3 way valves. This system would be the two tier design. but with an additional pump it could be a single tier and you wouldn't have to have the crazy lid so you could just buy a standard box like a footlocker of some sort to store it all in.

I was planning on useing these pumps so the cost to add another might just be worth the cost of not having to build out the box. I was thinking a box like this would work really well since it is heavy duty plastic so it wont rot when it gets wort spilled all over it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZSH4EW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[poptarts]

I found a way to make my control panel and pump modular so i can attach and remove from main stand to the portable stand.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-QTY-2-H...360?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23374a9e08

 

[MindenMan]

The Picobrew is a cool idea, but very pricey. For someone with a boat load of money wanting bragging rights, okay, I guess.

 

[EMPyre]

You need a third vessel...
go trace the routes again and think about what is in each of your two pots at any given moment, and where you're trying to move it to or what it's purpose is for being there. I think you'll find some issues with trying to do to many things in one place at the same time.

 

[JustLooking]

OK. I'll say it. For 1-2 gallon batches, this is just silly. You're going to use a pump or two tier on a one gallon batch?


Stove top BIAB!

 

[LabRatBrewer]

OK. I'll say it. For 1-2 gallon batches, this is just silly. You're going to use a pump or two tier on a one gallon batch?


Stove top BIAB!

I like his idea, and I hope he follows through. It is an effort for 1-2 gallons, but the size makes sense for portability. I have an induction cooker on a kitchen cart that I can use to brew (BIAB ) while camping or anywhere as long as there is electricity. I usually make 2.5 or 3 gallons. I find myself using it way more often than my outdoor 15 gallon pot blichmann burner set up (also BIAB ). I agree nothing wrong with stove top BIAB, but the portability makes it interesting.

 

[poptarts]

You need a third vessel...
go trace the routes again and think about what is in each of your two pots at any given moment, and where you're trying to move it to or what it's purpose is for being there. I think you'll find some issues with trying to do to many things in one place at the same time.

Wrong look up Brutus 20, http://www.alenuts.com/Alenuts/brutus20.html

OK. I'll say it. For 1-2 gallon batches, this is just silly. You're going to use a pump or two tier on a one gallon batch?
Stove top BIAB!

Correct I can do BIAB but my stove isn't portable and isn't controlled by an STC so mash temp accuracy wouldn't be near as accurate as I would like. I could get 1 pot with element and biab with recirc but I still need a a way to chill and the HERMS coil and mash pot would cover that. However if I do a single pot solution I feel I will need a false bottom to prevent scorching of the grain during the mash and the cost of a false bottom is more then the cost of an additional 12qt pot. and on top of all that the point is to reuses and make modular as much items from my main stand as possible. I already have a herms system / pump / control panel so the cost is going to be a pot / ballvalve / element either way.

 

[alphaomega]

Imho, mashing is the least of all the worries when brewing. Sanitization, fermentation control, yeast health and such are far more important.
With that said, if you want precise control of mash temp also, then do it.

I really like this idea, I could really consider something like this (but 5 gallons). Not so much for hauling, but for neat storing. I really like the dual purpose box.
One thing I've been thinking about is sourcing vessels (hlt, mlt and bk), that fits inside each other, like the Russian dolls.
Combined with the dual purpose box/brew stand. You could probably fit all brewstuff in one place.

 

[poptarts]

Yea the nesting pots would rock and you could do it very easy if you didn't have ball valves and just used racking canes but that seems annoying to me.

 

[alphaomega]

That is not so much a problem, I like weldless valves (only the bk that I dont want to drill into, I use racking). Then they can be disassembled and cleaned before storing.

Inspired by this thread, I went looking for a HLT that will fit in my brew pot and still be able to contain my mash pot, and I think I might have found one. If this works out, I may seriously have to look into building a customized brew box/stand

 

[poptarts]

yea even if you didn't use it for portability just the ability to have it collapse on it self and make a nice neat box to store everything would be way nice. And thats a good idea the thought never clicked that they can come off once they are on lol