I need a lot of help.

[Codafisler]

I don't know how many of you keep up with my few posts. But I have brewed 2 batches of coopers real ale. All extract. One can lme. One bag dme. I let my grandfather taste them. He judges beers at festivals/fairs things like that. He tells me that it's very good for my first batches and is extremely impressed. Out of the blue he gives me $500 to invest in my hobbie. I make plenty of money. That's not my problem. My problem is he wants me to start making 15gallon batches. I do not know how. Nor do I know the equipment I need. I would really like to not let him down. That's why I'm coming to you. HELP ME HOME BREW TALK PEOPLE!!! So far I have.
2. 5 gallon fermenters. One with a side spicket. One without.
1. 10? Gallon boiling pot. Might be more I don't remember off the top of my head.
1. 4 1/2 gallon pot.
3. Glass 5 gallon carboys.
1. Siphon.
1. Long food grade plastic spoon.
1. Drill attachment aerator.
Several air locks.
2. 2 burner propane stoves. Model. Explorer.
1. Old fridge that works.
Sanitizing stuff.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few little things.
He does not want 3 buckets fermenting at one time. He wants it all in the same container. We will be Kegging. All this will be in a 2 car garage. So space is not a huge problem. But less is more? I can answer any question you have about anything else.

 

[mxstar21]

Why not ask your grandfather? If you are happy with the beer, just buy the equipment you need to brew the same beer on a larger scale.

 

[mxstar21]

What is the 4 1/2 gallon pot for?

 

[Codafisler]

Why not ask your grandfather? If you are happy with the beer, just buy the equipment you need to brew the same beer on a larger scale.

He is going to help me brew everything. He just wants me to go out of my comfort zone and research and get everything we would need. He wants me to learn on my own and correct as we go. I completely understand his reasoning.

 

[Codafisler]

What is the 4 1/2 gallon pot for?

I started in that. Then upgraded to the bigger pot so I can eventually to all grain batches

 

[mxstar21]

I started in that. Then upgraded to the bigger pot so I can eventually to all grain batches

Gotcha. I mis-read and was side tracked. I thought the list was stuff you were thinking about getting.

I would go with a big pot and bag so you can do either BIAB or extract.

 

[SocalianMike]

Look into HERMS or RIMS Systems.
Your going to need (3) 20-25 Gallon pots for that size brew.
A few Marsh Pumps....

Might be a good idea to have 3 different 5 gallon fermentors, gives you the flexibility to change the yeast profile or the dry hop flavors or fruit additions etc. You could get 3 different recipes/beers for each brew and really try and dial in a beer recipe for your Brewery (your likely next step).

It is certain you will need a lot of customization. I saw some great photos and ideas to go off of here on the site;

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/brew-setups/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/brew-setups/dragonhartbrewdesigns-46.html
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/brew-setups/mientcat-brewing-47.html

These are 20 gallon pot systems, might be possible to brew 15 in it...

Good luck!

 

[xico]

What's your budget? Is 500 dollars the lot, or are you putting money into the equation as well? You could set up a solid 5 gallon system for that if you scrounge. Items you would source would all be usable if you decide to upgrade your steel to something larger.

I would recommend building out something that is scalable. Rather than target 15 gallons of beer, focus on brewing amazing 4-5 gallon brews with materials available. If the love is there to keep going you will likely invest more in the process. I wouldn't recommend laying out a bunch of money until you are sure this is a passion.

If you are handy with tools, I'd either go BIAB or source a couple kegs to turn into a HLT and Kettle (either one for mash or a cooler works well). Get a couple turkey fryer burners (~60k btus), and use a pump to recirculate your mash water through your wort chiller while it is in the hot liquor tank. Look up HERMS systems, it will utilize what you will already have available with many all grain systems.

I would invest in plumbing, silicone hosing all the way for hot liquids, quick disconnects are expensive but worth it.

For a few hundred bucks you could pull all the hot side materials together. Check local sellers of homebrew supply on craig and other sources, if you are patient you should be able to snatch up some good deals. I would recommend not investing in something you will likely replace. A wort aerater attatched to your drill you will likely outgrow before long. A mash tun for 15 gallon batches is at least 20+ gallons to accommodate grain.

For cold side, a good chiller will improve beer quality and consistency. There are differing preferences in equipment. IMHO a good immersion chiller with a recirc arm will be useful as you scale up and is worth the investment. Fermentation temp control is critical to beers fermenting in a timely and dependable way. I scored a 23 cu ft. chest freezer on craig for 60 dollars. That with a 2 stage etc for 30 and I have a fermentation chamber that I can use to ferment and condition my brews at the temp optimal to the yeast I am using. Yeast health will depend on starter care, fermentation temp, and oxygen (especially if you are washing and repitching yeast--big money saver!) Aeration by stirring can be done using a recirculating immersion cooler. Because oxygen is a blend in air you won't exceed 4 ppm of O2 no matter how long you stir. O2 tanks are 8-10 dollars at hardware stores, and regulators and diffusion stones will run you 35-40 dollars. If you save yeast, you will make that back in savings in ~10 brews of 5 gallons and 2-3 batches of 15 gallons.

Also, if you ferment in conicals (plastic or steel) you are spared the process of racking from primary to secondary. You simply dump your trub, let sit for longer to condition (or dry hop), and bottle or keg using gravity. No more bottling buckets, sieves, funnels, and oxidation along the way.

My personal priorities would focus on:
Mash temp control 1
Cooling rapidity 2
Easy cellaring (conicals) 3

Then
Fermentation temp control 4
pH meter, refractometer, water test 5
Yeast stir plate, flask, and O2 tank and diffuser 6
Keg, CO2, counter pressure bottle filler 7

 

[PADave]

So you've done 2 extract brews and he wants you to do something you don't want to, know how to, or have equipment for? Why 15 gallons? You've got the equipment for 5 gallon batches, learn how to brew with it. Once you start going big, things get a lot more expensive. Plus, I'd rather dump or have to choke down a 5 gallon batch rather than 15 gallons. That's one of the reasons I started with 1 gallon. Learn what you are doing on a smaller scale. Yes, sometimes less is more.

 

[Boleslaus]

So you've done 2 extract brews and he wants you to do something you don't want to, know how to, or have equipment for? Why 15 gallons? You've got the equipment for 5 gallon batches, learn how to brew with it. Once you start going big, things get a lot more expensive. Plus, I'd rather dump or have to choke down a 5 gallon batch rather than 15 gallons. That's one of the reasons I started with 1 gallon. Learn what you are doing on a smaller scale. Yes, sometimes less is more.

I agree with Dave. If you have the equipment to brew 5 gal batches do that first. Do some all grain 5 gallon batches before you dump hundreds of dollars into a 15 gal system. Plus, you can brew a wider variety of beer at the smaller scale. Why did he ask for 15 gal batches specifically?

 

[Codafisler]

I agree with Dave. If you have the equipment to brew 5 gal batches do that first. Do some all grain 5 gallon batches before you dump hundreds of dollars into a 15 gal system. Plus, you can brew a wider variety of beer at the smaller scale. Why did he ask for 15 gal batches specifically?

I have no clue really. This was out of no where. I thought about it over night and I think I'm going to talk to him about just doing a couple 5 gallon batches at a time like you suggest. I still have a lot to learn about brewing.

 

[radwizard]

Id go biab and invest your money in fermentation temp control, and kegging. Id keep a five gallon system... you can brew twice in a day and call it a 10 gallon system!!

 

[AgBrew12]

Id go biab and invest your money in fermentation temp control, and kegging. Id keep a five gallon system... you can brew twice in a day and call it a 10 gallon system!!

+1 on this.

I started controlling my ferm temps more carefully after my first two batches and saw a HUGE difference in quality of my beer.

 

[DirtyPirate]

You will learn more by doing 5 gallon batches because you will have 3 brewing sessions instead of one. He might be a beer judge but does he brew? He might not under stand the grand scale of a 15 gallon set up.

 

[invictusbrew]

Just an FYI, it's a "spigot"

You might not want to use that other word, just saying.
*fades back into the shadows*

 

[dwhite60]

How much do you drink?

Fifteen gallons is a LOT of beer. It can be fifteen gallons of GREAT beer or fifteen gallons of swill.

I'd move up to a five gallon all grain system first. Then go to ten. Then fifteen. Something scalable would be nice.

Start small. Learn the finer points. Until you've made some mistakes you're not going to fully appreciate the process.

Don't let your grandfather's wants take the fun out of your hobby.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Jimbodaman]

It really depends if you want a system that's "cheap as possible", "good enough", or "it has to be the best", and also how much you want to DIY. Here's what I would buy
3 of these http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/crest-pot100.html. or something similar possibly concord stainless steel.

I would drill holes and put in a weldless bulkhead for valves, and more holes for thermometers.
Ball valve and weldless bulkhead http://www.homebrewing.org/Stainless-Steel-Weldless-Kettle-Conversion-Ball-Valve-Assembly_p_2380.html

Thermometers for easy temp readings http://www.homebrewing.org/Blichmann-WELDLESS-brewmometer-F-Scale_p_2684.html

3 good pumps ( you could get by with less) not exactly sure which would be best for you.

Personally for the Mash Tun I would fabricate a simple copper manifold, much like what people make for their cooler mash tun, or take a smaller dome shaped lid and with a drill press drill a bunch of holes.

I believe the brew stand would be the trickiest bit, since they're probably difficult to find new for that size. If you were to make it you better trust your welding and engineering skills. I think one could be made with 1/2" angle iron, and some welding/cutting expertise, fairly easily. I would go big with the burners at least 150K btu's.

As for fermenting Maybe just two 8 gallon wine fermenting buckets would work. I'd probably go for two ten gallon buckets. Or of course there's the fancy conicals...

I do believe this could be done for a reasonable price. Of course there's a ton of miscellaneous do dads that add up. Cheers

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know how many of you keep up with my few posts. But I have brewed 2 batches of coopers real ale. All extract. One can lme. One bag dme. I let my grandfather taste them. He judges beers at festivals/fairs things like that. He tells me that it's very good for my first batches and is extremely impressed. Out of the blue he gives me $500 to invest in my hobbie. I make plenty of money. That's not my problem. My problem is he wants me to start making 15gallon batches. I do not know how. Nor do I know the equipment I need. I would really like to not let him down. That's why I'm coming to you. HELP ME HOME BREW TALK PEOPLE!!! So far I have.
2. 5 gallon fermenters. One with a side spicket. One without.
If you are doing 15 gallon batches you will need 3. I suggest bigger. I use 6 gallon Better Bottles. I do not suggest glass carboys. They are too dangerous.
1. 10? Gallon boiling pot. Might be more I don't remember off the top of my head.
If you are going to do 15 gallon batches you will need a pot about 20 gallons
1. 4 1/2 gallon pot.
What would this one be for?
3. Glass 5 gallon carboys.
5 gallon carboys are only big enough for about 4 gallons. Again, IMO -NO GLASS- They break!
1. Siphon.
Autosiphon
1. Long food grade plastic spoon.
1. Drill attachment aerator.
Several air locks.
Get plenty, they are cheap
2. 2 burner propane stoves. Model. Explorer.
It depends on your setup, I have a 3 tier gravity rig so I have 2 separate burners.
1. Old fridge that works.
Sanitizing stuff.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few little things.
He does not want 3 buckets fermenting at one time. He wants it all in the same container. We will be Kegging. All this will be in a 2 car garage. So space is not a huge problem. But less is more? I can answer any question you have about anything else.

If he wants to ferment all at once you will need a 17-20 gallon fermenter.
You didn't mention what type of rig you are going to do. 3 vessel will take a hot liquor tank, a mash tun and a boil kettle. Your mash tun is going to be pretty big. I have a 10 gallon water cooler tun and max it out doing high gravity 5 gallon batches.

For a 15 gallon rig you are less than half way there with $500, IMO. And that is just bare minimum equipment, when you add what you want you will probably be well over $2000

I would suggest you look at a lot of brewing videos, read a ton, and decide what type of setup you want. There are so many options that it is difficult to steer you in the right direction without more information on what you want to use.

 

[Codafisler]

UPDATE.
I went to my brew store and had a conversation. I orders every thing I need to do a 3 pot brewing system. It will handle 5gallon batches very easy. 10 gallon batches is what it's designed for. They are building me the whole system from scratch for just under $1000. Before I give them the okay to build. Does that sound like a good price? I have enclosed the order log.

 

[Codafisler]

First picture did not want to upload here it is. I'm on my phone and don't know how to rotate. I'm sorry.

 

[Moose_MI]

I have good news! If his goal was to get you out of your comfort zone then you can let him know it was a wild success because you're deffinetly not comfortable about this...lol
$500 is not going to get you to a 15gal system without hitting the CL jackpot. Even if you did hit the CL jackpot then he'll probably want his $500 back about 70 bottles into the first bottling marathon of 156 bottles . In other words most people would never think about 15gal batches unless they were Kegging.
Put your $500 into setting up a keezer...maybe 1 for each of you. If you can't keep yourselves in beer at 5gal batches then that's when I would start looking to buy bigger pots, pumps, plat chillers, stir plates, etc. etc. etc

.......at least this is what I would humbly offer as a suggestion....whatever you do...keep brewing that man beer!

 

[GHBWNY]

I know you want to please your grandpa and he has given you money, but if you aren't comfortable yet doing things on such a large scale, tell him and hopefully he will understand. His kind gesture has obviously put pressure on you and I would hope you have such a relationship that you could let him know this and not expect from him(right now) the results that "he" wants. I hate to make presumptions, but if he insists that you "man up" to his expectations just because he slapped down $500., maybe you should have an honest heart-to-heart with him. As a grandfather, I would cherish that from my grandson more than all the beer in the world.

 

[PADave]

Wow, that's quite a jump from a couple Coopers extract kits. All I can say is good luck.

 

[MaryB]

Well the bigger pots can do 5 gallon batches just fine so no issue there. I only saw 1 burner? Was hard to read the lists...

 

[Codafisler]

Well the bigger pots can do 5 gallon batches just fine so no issue there. I only saw 1 burner? Was hard to read the lists...

Me and my grand father both have a camp chief explorer. We will use these for the mash ton and the wart pot. There not strong enough to to get a rolling boil at 10 gallons. But plenty for getting it to 170.

 

[xico]

UPDATE.
I went to my brew store and had a conversation. I orders every thing I need to do a 3 pot brewing system. It will handle 5gallon batches very easy. 10 gallon batches is what it's designed for. They are building me the whole system from scratch for just under $1000. Before I give them the okay to build. Does that sound like a good price? I have enclosed the order log.

I think you should take a step back and listen to the wisdom being shared with you here. Please take the time to reread some of the responses. There are leads for 10s of hours of research. I suspect that if you make this purchase, you will wish you had done your homework first.

This is an incomplete entry-level all grain kit that you will need to upgrade parts for. Bazooka screens are a nightmare unless you have your grain mill coarse enough. You will probably get a false bottom. The ball valves probably can't be disassembled at that price so contamination control may become an issue down the road.

Will you be lifting 14 gallons of hot water each time you want to transfer liquid from vessel to vessel? Are you ready for burns of spilled syrupy liquid? Will these burners heat 15 gallons of liquid to 170 in a timely manner? Time is important in mashing if you are looking for consistency. Where are your pumps, fittings, and tubing? What about a sparge system?

And that is just hot side. When you become even an intermediate brewer you will learn that most of the work is cold side, keeping fermentation temps in the range appropriate for different yeasts and style parameters, cooling down to clarify your beer, bottle or keg conditioning or force carbonation. All of these cost time in researching what is best for your needs and money to source them. If there is one side to cheapen out on hot or cold, I would almost guarantee the majority of breweries would spare no expense on fermentation temp control, cold would win.

This is not thought through enough in my opinion. There is a wealth of information in the forum history, I would pour over as much info as I could, keep brewing extract or partial mashes, learn the importance of quality control of temp, yeast, sanitation, and timeliness.

I think you should do your homework before making a purchase. Read up on information suggested, look up the forum history, and if you have more questions ask them. This is a supportive community, and sometimes that support comes in the way of advocating protracted research before action.

 

[xico]

I have good news! If his goal was to get you out of your comfort zone then you can let him know it was a wild success because you're deffinetly not comfortable about this...lol
$500 is not going to get you to a 15gal system without hitting the CL jackpot. Even if you did hit the CL jackpot then he'll probably want his $500 back about 70 bottles into the first bottling marathon of 156 bottles . In other words most people would never think about 15gal batches unless they were Kegging.
Put your $500 into setting up a keezer...maybe 1 for each of you. If you can't keep yourselves in beer at 5gal batches then that's when I would start looking to buy bigger pots, pumps, plat chillers, stir plates, etc. etc. etc

.......at least this is what I would humbly offer as a suggestion....whatever you do...keep brewing that man beer!

yes, all of that.