Building a brew table - advice on components, equipment, and process

[spdorsey]

Hello

I am relatively new to brewing. I have been brewing for a bit more than one year. In that time, I have brewed 18 recipes of all kinds; from pilsners to porters to double IPAs. I have fallen in love with the craft and I intend to continue improving my experience and quality. To date, I have only produced partial-grain extract recipes (mostly provided by MoreBeer). I have pretty much mastered their style and process, it's time to move on to all-grain recipes.

My hopes are to someday become a serious brewer and create my own recipes. I would like to entertain the idea of opening a small-scale brewery someday. My Wife is in full support of this "plan" (dream).

I am building a brew table right now. (The ability to do so has landed squarely in my lap, and I have lots of time since I quit my job last year). I have chosen a layout that is somewhat similar to this one (I'm sure you have all seen it before). Mine will be fully horizontal in layout, with no part of it being elevated. This is primarily for the purpose of easy storage in my garage when not in use. I'll pump liquid when I need to transfer.

Here's the problem; I have never brewed all-grain, therefore I have very little knowledge of the processes and equipment compared to that which is needed for partial-grain. I need some advice on what to purchase and how to produce some good all-grain beers. I am hoping that I can leap-frog a few of the intermediate steps in order to (a) not buy redundant equipment and (b) learn a process that will translate to a production-ready environment in stead of learning "garage-operation" steps that will not matter as much when I scale up further or go pro.

I have been posting on Reddit's homebrewing group and the people have been helpful. I have been a lurker here for some time, and I'd like to get established as a regular user. I'll pay for a membership when I become a more regular member.

Here's my equipment list so far:

1) Kettles

2) Burners (are these good? They sure do have a great price!)

3) Pumps

4) Sparge Arm

5) PH Meter

6) Chiller Unit

Questions:

What else do I need? (Gauges? Thermometers? Valves? Aeration equipment? Controller stuff? RIMS integration (or at least a way to plan on integrating that when the time comes))?

Does anyone have plans for a more horizontal table setup that might work better or at least be more intuitive? (Those plans are very confusing to me!!)?

How far apart should I set the burners in order to ensure that I will be able to brew 1bbl batches in the future (if that time ever comes)?

Will the listed sparge arm work with my kettles?

What is your BEST video recommendation for learning the all-grain process (for a new student such as myself)?

Can I effectively purchase kettles that are big enough to brew 10-gallon batches and still use them for 5-gallon batches?

Can anyone recommend a good resource for water quality? (I'm using a 5-micron filter now with no additives, our water sucks in my area)

For chilling the wert, is a chiller unit (like the one listed) the best option for water conservation and effectiveness? How can this be maximized?


I fully realize that I am biting off a big chunk here. I do not fully understand every question I am asking mostly because I have not actually brewed all-grain yet (can't really learn until I do it). Please forgive my obvious lack of knowledge and please fill in the holes where you see them. I'll be checking this forum often to reply to questions and issues as much as I can. And I'll contribute as much as I can when I'm at the level where I can do so.

Thanks very much for your time and answers.

----------------S

 

[SteelManCM]

Check out the blog in my signature. I just went to 10 gallon all grain batches and am in the process of documenting the equipment and building it to suit my needs. Hopefully you will find it helpful.

1) You chose a nice kettle and it will get the job done. However, keep in mind that depending on the evaporation rates for the kettle and boil times, you will have 12 - 14 gallons of boiling water in that 16 gallon pot. I built a 20 gallon kettle for less than the cost of that one.

2) Those burners seem to be popular and a lot of people use them. I don't. Not any reason not to, I just had a different solution.

3) Industry standard pump

4) That sparge arm looks to be overkill. But that's my personal opinion. A lot of what I do is viewed as overkill to others, too.

5) PH Meter will help with your mash and can help keep your water quality on track.

6) The plate chiller looks nice. I haven't used one. My Immersion Chiller cools 10 gallons of wort to 70 degrees in about 12 minutes.

Note that using the kettle as a MLT will also require insulation to keep temps.

Good Luck!

 

[spdorsey]

I will DEFINITELY check out the blog - thanks for posting and replying!

1) You "built" a 20 gallon kettle?

2) I'm hoping the burners are adjustable - at least in as much as I can use less gas and BTUs when making smaller batches, but still get effective heating when ramping up to 1bbl batches.

4) The guy at MoreBeer was using the sparge arm, I have no idea what the alternatives are. Sparging is something I have little or no experience with. Suggestions are VERY welcome in this area.

6) Are you chilling your "chill water" in a cooler before circulating it? I use garden hose water for cooling, and it takes me 15-20 minutes to cool a 5-gallon extract brew. I think that's too long and HUGELY wasteful (I live in California, and we are in a massive drought). I'm looking for something that is (a) efficient and (b) fast - in that order. I need to save water where I can.

Lastly, what do you recommend for insulation of kettles? I have no concept of that (yet)

 

[SteelManCM]

1) I bought the Bayou Classic 82 quart (20.5 gallon) pot. Drilled the holes, added the valve and thermometer, as well as a side pickup tube.

2) I'll let someone else answer this one. You will see what I use in my blog. Extremely happy with it.

4) I built my sparge arm for $12.89. I also have that detailed in the blog.

6) Chill water straight from the tap. Of course, I can't leave anything alone and I improved the cooling efficiency of my IC. If I were you, I would recirculate the hot water from the chiller into the HLT to use for cleaning. Once the water starts to cool a bit, recirculate it through some ice water.

Use a cooler for your Mash Tun. If doing 10 gallon batches, a round 10 gallon Igloo or Rubbermaid cooler works well. If you will be doing high grain bills (over 24 pounds), then I recommend a larger rectangular cooler. I converted a round Igloo for just over $75. That includes building the manifold. The manifold would replace the false bottom.