Electric MLT

[Garrett]

Currently been brewing BIAB on my 15 Gallon Bayou Classic Electric Kettle for 2 years with great success and almost 100 awesome beers. I have finally taken the dive with almost a full year of planning and opening a brewery in late 2015.





Looking to upgrade my current setup to mimic the similar process of the 15bbl system we are purchasing. It will be a standard HLT, MLT and Direct Fire BK.





With my current system, I want to continue going electric with the same equipment I already own, just add two more vessels. A HLT and MLT. The question I have is about creating an Electric MLT; I do not want to do RIMS or HERMS since that will not be the way we brew on the commercial system. What is the best false bottom setup that will work with a heating element and pump setup to recirculate this system to maintain constant mash temperature?





Cheers!


Garrett

 

[JoshuaW]

Is your MLT direct fired? It all works better on the big systems, because there is no thermal mass. I would say go with a cooler mashtun (or insulate the crap out of a stainless kettle) if you don't want to add outside heat to your mash. If your mashtun in your 15bbl is direct fired, I would use gas or a RIMS system. Applying an electrical element directly to the mash is a recipe for scorching.

Congrats on going pro! If you can provide some more specifics about your pro system, we can figure out what matches a little better.

 

[Garrett]

Is your MLT direct fired? It all works better on the big systems, because there is no thermal mass. I would say go with a cooler mashtun (or insulate the crap out of a stainless kettle) if you don't want to add outside heat to your mash. If your mashtun in your 15bbl is direct fired, I would use gas or a RIMS system. Applying an electrical element directly to the mash is a recipe for scorching.

Congrats on going pro! If you can provide some more specifics about your pro system, we can figure out what matches a little better.

The 15bbl MLT is not direct fired. Just insulated. I would prefer to keep to a kettle vs cooler. I have been applying direct heat to my mash in BIAB for 2 years and have had zero scorching issues. My issue is trying to find a suitable false bottom that will work with a heating element. Trying to see if anyone here is doing the same thing. I want to avoid RIMS, since this is not the way we will be brewing commercially.

Thanks! We are purchasing a brewhouse from Practical Fusion. Its a 15bbl indirect fire boil kettle, 15bbl MLT with grist hydrator, grant, sparge assembly, and temp mixing station and 44.5bbl HLT with 12kw element and temp controller.