Home Super Brewery Build: Hybrid Electric/Gas 3BBL Build

[marcb]

And the best part of the brew day was seeing the BCS in action as a PID during the boil. 45 Gallons of boiling wort is pretty nerve racking watching for a boilover on a new system! The BCS cycled the elements and was set for 213 degrees, nice vigorous boil and no chance of boil over. Also the hood performed well and the garage was comfortable to work in with the door closed for the entire brew day. Mix in a little award winning Saison (thanks Chad!) and it was a pretty awesome brew day!

 

[Boar Beer]

marcb Nice job and thanks for all the pictures. I am sure somewhere you have explained what that smaller round screen in your boil kettle was for. I guess its to keep the hops out of your wart but it must be a pain to clean. My second commend is you filled your brew kettle to with 1-2 inches of the top and it looks like a boil over waiting to happen. I know you hand no boil over this time but do you plan of running your BK that full all the time?

 

[marcb]

marcb Nice job and thanks for all the pictures. I am sure somewhere you have explained what that smaller round screen in your boil kettle was for. I guess its to keep the hops out of your wart but it must be a pain to clean. My second commend is you filled your brew kettle to with 1-2 inches of the top and it looks like a boil over waiting to happen. I know you hand no boil over this time but do you plan of running your BK that full all the time?

I've got another thread on the hop baskets so you didn't miss anything here. It is basically a 12" diameter 22" long 300 micron filter. It is super easy to clean and makes cleaning out your plate chiller a snap. The plate chiller I used is a brazetek monster that I acquired used, it took six cleanings to get the hop gunk out. I actually did not intend to fill the BK that high, just got busy doing other things and forgot that is was filling the BK! Fortunately Chad was there and called it out or that would have been disastrous. I plan on filling it about 4-5 inches from the top although this was awesome proof that electric brewing works well, the BCS cycles the elements and won't let it get above 213 so no boil over is possible.

 

[marcb]

I've got another thread on the hop baskets so you didn't miss anything here. It is basically a 12" diameter 22" long 300 micron filter. It is super easy to clean and makes cleaning out your plate chiller a snap. The plate chiller I used is a brazetek monster that I acquired used, it took six cleanings to get the hop gunk out. I actually did not intend to fill the BK that high, just got busy doing other things and forgot that is was filling the BK! Fortunately Chad was there and called it out or that would have been disastrous. I plan on filling it about 4-5 inches from the top although this was awesome proof that electric brewing works well, the BCS cycles the elements and won't let it get above 213 so no boil over is possible.

Oh, and the stainless hop basket gets hosed off and is old as new, I don't even bother to PBW soak it as it goes right back into the boil!

 

[Boar Beer]

Thanks
For our plate chiller we run PBW back through it when we are sending the hot PBW to the conical for cleaning and that keeps them clean. But Ya cleaning a plate chiller that's gunked up can take time.

 

[Big_Cat]

And the best part of the brew day was seeing the BCS in action as a PID during the boil. 45 Gallons of boiling wort is pretty nerve racking watching for a boilover on a new system! The BCS cycled the elements and was set for 213 degrees, nice vigorous boil and no chance of boil over. Also the hood performed well and the garage was comfortable to work in with the door closed for the entire brew day. Mix in a little award winning Saison (thanks Chad!) and it was a pretty awesome brew day!

Congrats...truly happy for you...i feel like if i also got to enjoy it since I've followed your post as others too

 

[marcb]

Congrats...truly happy for you...i feel like if i also got to enjoy it since I've followed your post as others too

Thank You!

 

[marcb]

A beautiful sight! Sitting right at 71 degrees.

 

[Marquez]

Must have been a joy to brew in such a beauty!

So Marc, ya gotta confess...... maybe I missed it.

Whatcha going to do with all that beer? Seems an awful lot for 3 fellas to share, seeing that you seem to brew all the time!

I am sure you have plenty in the pipeline, much more than three average beer drinking homebrewing guys can drink.

 

[Carlyle]

Must have been a joy to brew in such a beauty!

So Marc, ya gotta confess...... maybe I missed it.

Whatcha going to do with all that beer? Seems an awful lot for 3 fellas to share, seeing that you seem to brew all the time!

I am sure you have plenty in the pipeline, much more than three average beer drinking homebrewing guys can drink.

Incredible build that has me drooling, but Marquez raises a good question...

 

[marcb]

Incredible build that has me drooling, but Marquez raises a good question...

It's been answered earlier in the thread somewhere but I can't remember where....

I'd like to go pro on a very small scale and do local keg only distribution. Given that I have an attached garage it may not fly, even with separate entrances. Now that I'm brewing again (my stock has been totally depleted over the past couple of months of non-brewing) with at least one brew day per month I should be right as rain. With 20 gallon batches we would still run out or god forbid only have one beer on tap at a time (gasp!) We go through lots of beer at the house and I can always ratchet down batch sizes and only use half the brewery to keep things rolling. I just didn't see the point in merely doubling batch size again so I figured I would kick it up a notch or two and continue to learn and grow in this obsessive hobby. Make sense?

 

[fastev]

...Whatcha going to do with all that beer? Seems an awful lot for 3 fellas to share, seeing that you seem to brew all the time!

I met these guys once that could put away some beer...

 

[marcb]

So a rookie mistake on first brew day (no temp reading on output of plate chiller!) led to higher starting temp than desired (72 instead of 65) which is resulting in a fermentation that is hotter than intended (peaked at 75). All of this occurred in a temp controlled room at 65 degrees. Neighbors actually did me a favor by complaining about the external garage AC noise when run all night so I started just leaving the side garage door open which got the garage down to 58 and brought the fermentation back down to about 70. Will be incorporating stainless coils into each fermenter for glycol pumped through for temp control.

 

[Boar Beer]

I am interested in your temp control system as I might be building one my self. We are just moving from 1bbl to a 2bbl system. Our current system in a temp controlled room (68-70F) has been working fine. We have just filled our new Blichmann with 75 gallons of wort and are currently monitoring the temperature.

 

[marcb]

I am interested in your temp control system as I might be building one my self. We are just moving from 1bbl to a 2bbl system. Our current system in a temp controlled room (68-70F) has been working fine. We have just filled our new Blichmann with 75 gallons of wort and are currently monitoring the temperature.

What blichmann fermenter takes 75G?

Sure, will do. Looking to do 50ft 1/2" stainless coils attached to the 12" TC lids. Heating will also be provided via a heat blanket or barrel heater hooked to a relay and fired from the BCS like the glycol pumps.

 

[Boar Beer]

Its a new add on from Blichmann it takes a 42 gallon conical and makes it into a 96 gallon one

And thanks i will watch your temp control build

 

[marcb]

Its a new add on from Blichmann it takes a 42 gallon conical and makes it into a 96 gallon one

And thanks i will watch your temp control build

CRAZY! Is that the same add on that attaches to the 55 gallon kettle to make it 100?

 

[Boar Beer]

No its something new. The Blichmann have that removable top and we just add the middle section. The add on for the BK is something different.
This conical is about the same height as a 2bbl Stout tank but will take pressure and you can take it apart to clean and inspect it.

 

[marcb]

No its something new. The Blichmann have that removable top and we just add the middle section. The add on for the BK is something different.
This conical is about the same height as a 2bbl Stout tank but will take pressure and you can take it apart to clean and inspect it.

I think that is awesome, especially if you've already invested in their stuff. Nobody else gives you a migration path for larger batches: 27-42-96! Mind if I ask what that extender costs?

 

[Boar Beer]

Yes it better than throwing out your old stuff and buying new again and again.

about $650 for just the extension piece.

And for fermentation temperature on our first batch we got about a 7 degree temp rise on 75 gallons over our room temperature. While everyone would like to have 100% control this will probably be good enough for us as long as the next batch repeats consistently. Will be watching over our range of 9 beers and see how things go.

 

[Jaybird]

WOW Marc very cool to hear about the brewday man! Sounds like a monster one, and really fairly painless. What was your time frame from start to clean up?
Great job!

Cheers
Jay

 

[marcb]

WOW Marc very cool to hear about the brewday man! Sounds like a monster one, and really fairly painless. What was your time frame from start to clean up?
Great job!

Cheers
Jay

Thanks Jay, first day start to finish was about 10 hours for a 40 gallon yield. It was slow going as we were making up hoses on the fly and figuring out process while doing it plus a couple of issues with the heat exchanger setup. I'm guessing we can get it down to about that time for an 80 gallon brew day with three guys. What's your plan for the 100 gallon setup? I've seen a few of your kettles at my buddy's place down south.

 

[marcb]

Damn milk takes up all the room in the brewery fridge!

 

[SavoryChef]

Just get a bigger fridge

 

[marcb]

Just get a bigger fridge

I was just kidding, I have the cold room. I put a bunch of beer in the wife's veggie fridge and she didn't know if she could fit the milk in....

 

[Jaybird]

Thanks Jay, first day start to finish was about 10 hours for a 40 gallon yield. It was slow going as we were making up hoses on the fly and figuring out process while doing it plus a couple of issues with the heat exchanger setup. I'm guessing we can get it down to about that time for an 80 gallon brew day with three guys. What's your plan for the 100 gallon setup? I've seen a few of your kettles at my buddy's place down south.

Were going to shoot for 2.5 BBL per batch and dbl batch the brew day. With the automation I am installing in the system it shouldn't be too labor intensive.
I am guessing 9 hour brew days and planning for that.. But hoping for 7-8.
Were just getting through the drawings stage of the project. I have to install new bathrooms in the brew store so it will pass the city inspection.
Cheers
Jay

 

[Carlscan26]

What beer is that with the green wax...it wouldn't be a Paere de Bloom from Red Rock would it?

 

[marcb]

What beer is that with the green wax...it wouldn't be a Paere de Bloom from Red Rock would it?

Nope, Sierra Nevada Estate Ale. The poppy beer is Paardebloem from Red Rock (found it on beer advocate) I've never had it but it looks interesting. Is it good?

 

[Carlscan26]

Nope, Sierra Nevada Estate Ale. The poppy beer is Paardebloem from Red Rock (found it on beer advocate) I've never had it but it looks interesting. Is it good?

I mean the one with the green wax dip to the right of the milk - there's a beer with a green cap in front of it.

Looks like this bottle and it sounds like you have it. It's made with dandelion greens instead of hops. It's interesting; a very different kind of bitterness but very refreshing. Deceptive in that its a strong but doesn't come across that way IMO. Champagne-like bubbles which I really enjoyed and I think brings another level of uniqueness to the beer.

Good job scoring it - how'd you do that?

 

[marcb]

I mean the one with the green wax dip to the right of the milk - there's a beer with a green cap in front of it.

Looks like this bottle and it sounds like you have it. It's made with dandelion greens instead of hops. It's interesting; a very different kind of bitterness but very refreshing. Deceptive in that its a strong but doesn't come across that way IMO. Champagne-like bubbles which I really enjoyed and I think brings another level of uniqueness to the beer.

Good job scoring it - how'd you do that?

Damn, wish I had one of those to try now! Sierra's Estate Homegrown Ale uses the barley and hops they grow on the property. It a limited release every year. That's the green top one.