My Single Tier Brewing Stand

[johnholzer]

Cool build, what'd you use for steel? I'm looking at picking up some 1 1/4" steel square tubing for a stand project and my local outfit has got 18, 16, 14 and 12 gauge steel in this tubing. I'd like to make sure I've got a strong enough frame but thinner steel is going to be cheaper and easier to cut.

I used 2"x2" carbon (mild) steel, 11 gauge (.120), which is almost a 1/8" thick wall. Painted it with high temp Rustoleum engine paint.

I went with the 11 gauge because I needed to tap holes in it to mount everything. Also, I think having the heavier gauge helps with the welding process to help keep the metal from distorting more than it would if a lighter gauge was used.

 

[BlindWillieBrewer]

NBT guy? Anyways congrats on your Brutus build! I love the way it is basically an all in one system. I'm looking at doing something similar but maybe add an additional section to mount a milling station. Where did you get that huge water filter?

 

[opengun]

I have to learn how to brew all grain.

 

[thorongil]

This would be a great rig to feature in a NBT homebrew special edition. Something to be proud of and show off!

 

[johnholzer]

NBT guy? Anyways congrats on your Brutus build! I love the way it is basically an all in one system. I'm looking at doing something similar but maybe add an additional section to mount a milling station. Where did you get that huge water filter?

Thanks! I got the water filter at Home Depot, with the $30 carbon filter. It's intended to be used as a whole house filter.

 

[johnholzer]

This would be a great rig to feature in a NBT homebrew special edition. Something to be proud of and show off!

Thanks. We do plan on doing a show about it, with a blog post and video, etc.. I just need to get a few more batches under my belt to really know how to use it. I'm getting there...

 

[johnholzer]

Just added some photos of the build. Also added some photos I took during my last brew day (Nelson Blonde Ale). More photos are to come. If there's anything specific anyone wants to see or know about, let me know.

Here are the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnholzer/sets/72157630291278288/

 

[AlkiBrewing]

Very Nice work John. Thanks for posting the pix & info.

 

[jfrizzell]

Where did you get your pot lids? That cutout is a nice touch.

 

[thorongil]

Nicely done John... How's it working? Any surprises?

 

[johnholzer]

Where did you get your pot lids? That cutout is a nice touch.

I got the lids from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PZBEPE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

They are aluminum. They're kinda thinner than I wanted, but they fit pretty well on the keggle and were easy to modify. Only downside is that they get hot and are a bit tough to handle. But the price and construction was right for what I was looking for. The MLT lid triangle cutout was modeled after Lonnie Mac's Brutus 10 MLT lid, much like the rest of the stand.

 

[johnholzer]

Nicely done John... How's it working? Any surprises?

It's working great, now that I have all my numbers (boil off, etc.) figured out and dialed in. I initially had a false bottom in the brew kettle, with a secondary filter covering the dip tube to filter out pellet hops (which worked just fine), but I ditched it for whirlpool type setup, with a whirlpool arm and a pickup tube off the the side of the bottom of the kettle. I use both march pumps in series for the whirlpool and it works great.

The only down side is that I need to let the proteins and hops settle out before cooling and transfer to the fermentor, so the wort sits for about 20 mins after the boil. With the false bottom, I could hot kill the plate chiller with filtered wort and then get it below 150º. Both methods work fine, but I feel I get less break and hops in the fermentor by whirlpooling. I can easily put the false bottom and pickup tube back on, if need be (say, to brew a lager or pilsner and to chill the wort ASAP, thus avoiding potential DMS problems), so that's convenient.

It took a while to figure out how to raise the mash temp during vorlof efficiently, but other than that, it works great. Brewday is about 6 hrs, but if I hustle, I think I could shave 45 mins or so off of that time. It's also far less work setting up to brew than it was before, where I had to get everything setup of the shelf.

 

[Ralphadopolis]

for your keggels did you use weld-less fittings or did you weld them on?

 

[johnholzer]

for your keggels did you use weld-less fittings or did you weld them on?

Weldless. Working just fine, too.

 

[Tomtanner]

Very sharp build man! It looks like you and I had very similar ideas about what to build, mine is about 98% complete and I'm about six months into the build if I include my search for empty kegs. I can't wait to try this thing out!

 

[johnholzer]

Very sharp build man! It looks like you and I had very similar ideas about what to build, mine is about 98% complete and I'm about six months into the build if I include my search for empty kegs. I can't wait to try this thing out!

Thanks! Luckily, I've had my kegs for quite a while, collecting dust, so I was lucky on that front.

 

[beers4girls2]

What brand of burners are you using and what size?

 

[rekoob]

Nice build John.
Are those needle valves you have for burner control? you remember where you got them from?

 

[johnholzer]

Nice build John.
Are those needle valves you have for burner control? you remember where you got them from?

Thanks!

I have needle valves and shut off valves. Got the needle valves here: http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/misc_propane_burner_parts.htm

 

[johnholzer]

What brand of burners are you using and what size?

Bayou Classic BG12 burners. Got them at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JXYT6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[rekoob]

Thanks!

I have needle valves and shut off valves. Got the needle valves here: http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/misc_propane_burner_parts.htm

Thanks for the info John.

 

[kblankenship11]

Dude this is sick!! Nice job!

 

[johnholzer]

Dude this is sick!! Nice job!

Thank you!

 

[beers4girls2]

Thank you! You have a great set up!!

 

[troutbum51]

Thank you for the details of your brewing system, I've just completed fabrication of my second all-grain system (first system was a 3-tier gravity setup) and wanted to give you kudos for a simple, clean design.....I've mimicked most of your design elements for my own system and wanted to say thank you for posting details on your build.
Attached is a photo of my system a few days ago before I took it apart for cleaning and painting.....looking forward to my first brew session with the new system.

 

[johnholzer]

Thank you for the details of your brewing system, I've just completed fabrication of my second all-grain system (first system was a 3-tier gravity setup) and wanted to give you kudos for a simple, clean design.....I've mimicked most of your design elements for my own system and wanted to say thank you for posting details on your build.
Attached is a photo of my system a few days ago before I took it apart for cleaning and painting.....looking forward to my first brew session with the new system.

Very cool! I see you used the copper tubing for the burners. It works quite well and looks very clean. I also like the placement of your switch box. Makes me wonder why I didn't put mine there, ha. It's really cool to see some of my modifications make it into your final design. Congrats on your build!

 

[johnholzer]

BTW... here's a video of my two March pumps doing a whirlpool. I never really posted any photos of my completed kettles and pump-valve setup, so here it is.

Cheers

 

[ArrowheadHops]

nice video and build

 

[mjohnson]

I was waiting for you to drop your camera in the drink. Nice setup!

 

[RPhBrewing]

I really like your build! Thanks for posting such great quality pics. Would you be willing to share your dimensions for your framework? Anything you would change based on the size now that you have been using it for a while? Starting to think about building a stand with a buddy.