Newbie: Build me a 15 gallon operation

[pneumatic]

I've googled for some days now and there's not a lot of good info out there (or worse, conflicting good info) so I am hoping that we can reach consensus here.

The beef: my brothers and I would like to start a home brew / kegging operation (we're tired of 5 gallons + bottling) and we need help. Since we can all see that this equipment should probably live longer than we do, we're leaning to the stainless steel route. We will get the return on investment!

Kettle - does a BoilerMaker 30 gallon sound good (it seems to be rated for 15 gallon batches)? It seems expensive but we're splitting the cost three ways and we don't want to screw around replacing stuff in the future.

Burner - I have no idea here. The electric stuff seems intriguing. I wouldn't mind staying away from gas but is this possible at such quantity? If gas, what size burner?

Chiller - is 50 feet of copper good?

Fermentor - 27 gallon Fermenator, yes? Remember, most of our batches will be in the 15 gallon area. We'd use the 14.5 gallon unit but it appears to be rated for "10 gallons". Question: why not just rate them for what they are rated at (also see: 30 gallon kettle, 15 gallon rating)?

Kegging - I have no idea here. Can anyone suggest what I will need to move from the fermentor to the keg.

Carbonation - anything special?

Kegs - sources for half barrels?

Any alternative suggestions to the hardware choices are appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[HalfPint]

Considering the kettle your wanting costs $500 (lol wow) I would forget that and here is what I'd do.

Kettle- 2 keggles with sight glasses and ball valves

Burner- banjos or bayou classic obviously you'd need two.

Chiller- two immersion chillers or one counterflow chiller and just do one at a time.

Kegging- If you're planning on making a kegerator, you'd need some sort of tower/shank system that includes 3 cornie kegs, gas lines, beer lines, regulator, Co2 tank, and faucets/shanks. Something like this: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=7743

That's just what I'm thinking. Here is the guestimated prices for that stuff just off of the top of my head.

Keggle's- $175 for both

Burner- $200 for two banjo burners

Chiller- counterflow $175

Kegging- $300

So around $900 or so.

You must remember that you have to decide what to ferment in. I'd say the cheapest way would be to use three carboys or better bottles those of which you probably have some of. If you have three guys brewing, running two keggles on the burner is not that big of a deal.

I'm just cheap.

If I were you, I'd probably just brew 10 gallon batches on one burner in one keggle.

 

[pericles]

I'm not sure about a 27 gallon fermenter for a 15 gallon batch. . . that's a LOT of headroom.

 

[ForRealBeer]

A couple of comments, fow what they are worth:

I would look hard at the way that the commercial fabricators make their sculptures and other gear, plus the way the other guys round here and some of the other forums have built their stuff. From that, you can probably save yourself a ton of time and money.

I sure wouldn't use a 27 gallon fermenter for 15 gallon batches. That's not going to lead to happy times, I am afraid.

Chiller - is 50 feet of copper good?

As much trouble as you fellows are going to, I would probably make one of Jamil Z's whirlpool immersion chillers. See: http://www.mrmalty.com/chiller.php

Burner - I have no idea here. The electric stuff seems intriguing

Electric is very nice, because you can brew indoors. Is it worth the extra expense of the equipment and potentially some new wiring if your electrical service is not up to snuff? Your call here.

 

[HalfPint]

I'm not sure about a 27 gallon fermenter for a 15 gallon batch. . . that's a LOT of headroom.

I agree. I think that your over thinking this man. I'd say just go the ten gallon way with a keggle and a couple of carboys. If your going to keg it, that means your going to have all of the beer in one spot. Why would you have to do 15 gallons at once? I assure you by the time the three of you drink 80 pints you will be ready to brew again. You will want to brew again.

 

[arturo7]

Three guys? By all means make 15 gallons. You said you're splitting the costs, right?

Get a decent brew pot, it will last nearly for ever. You can pick up a second for the HLT or save a few bucks with aluminum. For the mash ton you can usually pick up 20 or 30 gallon HDPE drums on Craigslist.

Do you absolutely need a conical? Why not get started with 3 HDPE pails, decide on a conical later.

 

[pneumatic]

Thanks all.

Some good info here that got us thinking that we should scale back to the 5-10 gallon range for the sake of variety - better to have 3 or 4 beers on tap than just a bunch behind a single tap.

The smaller sizes are also better for transporting (they WILL want to take some home for their own use).

I'll take some pictures when we're done.

Have a good one!

 

[Scooby_Brew]

If I were you, I'd probably just brew 10 gallon batches on one burner in one keggle.

I agree with that. It's a route traveled by others before, so it's easier for you to follow their steps.

So 10 gal batches, 15 gal Sanke keg setup, 5 gal fermenters, 5 gal Cornelius kegs.

Look around these forums, you will find all the info you need for this kind of setup right here

 

[HalfPint]

I agree with that. It's a route traveled by others before, so it's easier for you to follow their steps.

So 10 gal batches, 15 gal Sanke keg setup, 5 gal fermenters, 5 gal Cornelius kegs.

Look around these forums, you will find all the info you need for this kind of setup right here

Yep. Imagine how much money you guys would be able to spend on a sweet kegerator and or ingredients and such b/c your not spending tons of money on your brewpot and stuff lol.