Show us your sculpture or brew rig

[FSR402]

There. I edited my post just for you. Don't you feel special now?

Yes, I sure do. Thanks N00b.

 

[MrLucky]

It's not completely finished yet, but here is mine:

 

[509inc]

At what point does pumps and automation take the fun out of brewing? Seems like it would loss the appeal that attracted me to brewing.

 

[pickles]

At what point does pumps and automation take the fun out of brewing? Seems like it would loss the appeal that attracted me to brewing.

I like to brew beer, good beer consistantly. Plus I love to build things. Control was key to me, so it was only natural to make a rig that would accomplish my homebrewing needs. To each his own I guess.

 

[klyph]

I get as much satisfaction from building the system as brewing the beer. Maybe buying a prebuilt system might take some of the satisfaction out of it, but watching a machine you built in action is a great feeling.

 

[MrLucky]

I agree with pickles, however, mine isn't automated at all. The pumps are neccesary to move the 20 gallons of liquid, which weighs about 160 lbs.

 

[pickles]

Lookin gooD BTW Mr. Lucky! I love that conical.

 

[Brewmoor]

At what point does pumps and automation take the fun out of brewing? Seems like it would loss the appeal that attracted me to brewing.

At no point.....It makes it even more exciting. How many brewpubs or breweries do you know that use gravity?

 

[509inc]

At no point.....It makes it even more exciting. How many brewpubs or breweries do you know that use gravity?

To clarify I meant to say Home Brewing. On a large scale I see the need but for 5 maybe even 10 gallons that all seems like overkill. IMO

I moving to 10 gallons soon so my opinion may soon change.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Even with 5G batches, my back knows I brewed at the end of the day. Pump is in the building waiting for it's turn to be integrated.

 

[user 40839]

At what point does pumps and automation take the fun out of brewing? Seems like it would loss the appeal that attracted me to brewing.

Ahh, I used to think that way. Then I built a brewstand.

Now I'm popping out 10 gallon batches, my efficiency has skyrocketed, the beer is consistently better, and when I want to make a beer that I already did and enjoyed, I can actually recreate it.

I did a group brew day this past weekend with Ricand up in Sebastapol, and another guy who's just getting started. Rick and I were using our Brutuseseses (Brutii?) and this kid was using Rick's old 5 gallon cooler tun/turkey burner setup. When the time came to dough in, he had to lift a pot full of 170 degree-ish water, pour it into the cooler without scalding himself, then did the 10 minute dance of adding cold/hot water to get to his mash temp.

Me, I just flipped a switch, sat back, and had a beer.

Mash out, he had to lug the cooler onto the bench, then add more boiling water until the temp hit.

Me, I just flipped a switch, changed a hose disconnect, sat back, and had another beer.

Sparge, yet another pot full of scalding water had to be lifted high enough to get into the elevated cooler, trying not to splash it all over the place.

Me, I just flipped a switch, changed a hose disconnect, sat back, and had another beer.

 

[BadgerBrewer]

Ahh, I used to think that way. Then I built a brewstand.

Now I'm popping out 10 gallon batches, my efficiency has skyrocketed, the beer is consistently better, and when I want to make a beer that I already did and enjoyed, I can actually recreate it.

I did a group brew day this past weekend with Ricand up in Sebastapol, and another guy who's just getting started. Rick and I were using our Brutuseseses (Brutii?) and this kid was using Rick's old 5 gallon cooler tun/turkey burner setup. When the time came to dough in, he had to lift a pot full of 170 degree-ish water, pour it into the cooler without scalding himself, then did the 10 minute dance of adding cold/hot water to get to his mash temp.

Me, I just flipped a switch, sat back, and had a beer.

Mash out, he had to lug the cooler onto the bench, then add more boiling water until the temp hit.

Me, I just flipped a switch, changed a hose disconnect, sat back, and had another beer.

Sparge, yet another pot full of scalding water had to be lifted high enough to get into the elevated cooler, trying not to splash it all over the place.

Me, I just flipped a switch, changed a hose disconnect, sat back, and had another beer.

Right on brother! I am slowly putting together semi-automation to better enjoy my brew day, as well as increase my consistency. I will always enjoy brewing no matter how automated I get the system, I just change my focus from hauling hot water/wort, mixing water to hit mash temps, etc. to exploring recipes, hop changes, and other DIY pieces of the system.

 

[Budzu]

Hell I did 12 gallon batches with no pump batch sparging for 6 months before I got my pumps and built my rig. Me and my back (and wet shoes) deserve this badboy!

 

[homebeerbrewer]

Hell I did 12 gallon batches with no pump batch sparging for 6 months before I got my pumps and built my rig. Me and my back (and wet shoes) deserve this badboy!

Is that electric? After seeing a bunch of electric rigs here, I'm thinking that my next one will be too. I'll have to see a couple in action before I decide to start acquiring the parts to build it, but the idea intrigues me.

 

[Budzu]

Yep, all electric and laptop control, can handle running full power at once, 11,000+ watt. Electric is NICE. I put a link there so you can see a brew on it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/first-brewday-ditches-build-lots-beer-porn-173263/

 

[homebeerbrewer]

Thanks!

 

[WIPbrewery]

Still a work in progress...although it works quite well. Typical RIMS setup with dual peristaltic pumps

 

[EarthBound]

Yes, I sure do. Thanks N00b.

Your welcome, fatass.

 

[5_Thumbs]

We just brewed our first batch this weekend..."Primus Pale Ale"

 

[IrregularPulse]

Doing heat tests on my finally built e-hlt I may just be able to post here someday after all.

 

[user 40839]

Just realized that I talked about mine, without ever posting a pic. Here's Emily, a tempremental gal that I've finally learned to handle. Before her maiden voyage (and before I put the keggles together)...

And midway through her second brewday:

She has a twin brother called Hal, too!

 

[bendavanza]

WIPbrewery:
Nice pumps! It's always a work in progress...

 

[TerapinChef]

5 Thumbs...thats one heck of a system you have there! Very nice work!

 

[aphex732]

Sorry I don't know how to resize

With a name like Agbrewer, you know it's gotta be painted in John Deere colors....

 

[IrregularPulse]

With a name like Agbrewer, you know it's gotta be painted in John Deere colors....

AG refers to All Grain most likely, not Agriculture

 

[AlchemyBrewing]

Great Rig 5 Thumbs! I am getting ready to start planning mine and would love to get some more detail about how your system works? For example. Have you just incorporated the lids like Mr.Mac? Or are you doing things another way? Thanks for the information. Great build... and beutiful. I keep going back and forth about Stainless or Reg Steel with high heat paint. One is cheaper but the other is just so damn pretty!

 

[homebeerbrewer]

AGBrewer, if you're still listening to this thread, I just noticed the CFC. How long is that? 50 ft? I built mine from a thread here in HBT, and it's only 25 ft.

IrregularPulse, even though AG may stand for All Grain, it could be Agriculture too. Given the color scheme, AGBrewer may have intended a dual meaning. aphex732 may be the only person who caught on.

 

[camiller]

AGBrewer, if you're still listening to this thread, I just noticed the CFC. How long is that? 50 ft? I built mine from a thread here in HBT, and it's only 25 ft.

I think he needed it to be bigger for the coolent flow... hmmm thats interesting:

I think in this configuration it still might be under sized.

 

[EarthBound]

Those two hose ends (in the red circle) are connected during storage, right?

 

[5_Thumbs]

Great Rig 5 Thumbs! I am getting ready to start planning mine and would love to get some more detail about how your system works? For example. Have you just incorporated the lids like Mr.Mac? Or are you doing things another way? Thanks for the information. Great build... and beutiful. I keep going back and forth about Stainless or Reg Steel with high heat paint. One is cheaper but the other is just so damn pretty!

The boil keggle lid has one quick disconnect fit fitting that leads to a short pipe and elbow fitting to let the sweet wort run down the side of keggle from the mash tun during the sparge (see the picture in our build thread - link in my signature).

The mash tun keggle has two quick disconnects. One for the Blichmann auto-sparge and a second for cleaning/sanitation/liquid transfer purposes.

The smaller keggle (European) lid does not have any quick disconnects attached. We transfer via the ball-lock valve.

Cheers!