Squam Lakes Brewery with Pictures

Williams 728
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Hello from VT -

Very nice setup, and you can brew regardless of wind, rain, snow etc.

From the looks of the size of your vessels, comrade Obama may suspect you are exceeding the 200G limit !
 
kappclark said:
Hello from VT -

Very nice setup, and you can brew regardless of wind, rain, snow etc.

From the looks of the size of your vessels, comrade Obama may suspect you are exceeding the 200G limit !
Click to expand...

Oh yes, as a homebrewer I would definitely be exceeding the 200G limit. But I have a Brewer's Notice from the TTB and a Beverage Manufacturer's license from the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, so the sky is the limit now :).
 
How do you print your labels and apply them? Are they self adhesive, etc...?
 
Wow, just found this thread- incredible job! I hope everything is still going well for you. I'm curious about what you do for yeast- I saw something in the thread about the costs (twenty something per 500 grams) but not much more. Are you making starters? Just pitching a lot of dry yeast? Reusing yeast?
 
I'm sure they are reusing yeast. Especially since they have a line of beers, it would make it very easy to do.
 
hlumbard said:
How do you print your labels and apply them? Are they self adhesive, etc...?
Click to expand...

I get all of my labels printed by Smith and Town Printers up in Berlin, NH http://www.smithandtownprinters.com. I typically get them printed off in batches of 1000, but they will also print off smaller quantities of 250 or 500 if I'm doing a custom batch of beer or something. I couldn't be happier with the quality and their prices were considerably less than the quotes I'd received from other companies. The labels are self-adhesive, so I apply them all by hand. Its a bit time consuming, but I'm still a bit too small to get into automated labeling machines. If you have any other questions, let me know.
 
hillhousesawdustco said:
Wow, just found this thread- incredible job! I hope everything is still going well for you. I'm curious about what you do for yeast- I saw something in the thread about the costs (twenty something per 500 grams) but not much more. Are you making starters? Just pitching a lot of dry yeast? Reusing yeast?
Click to expand...

I've been using dry yeast for the ease of use and repeatability. I don't have worry about under pitching from a failed starter, or contamination from reusing yeast. Buying fresh dry yeast is fairly inexpensive and to me is worth the piece of mind. So far I'm happy with the results.
 
North End Superette in Manchester has a pretty good selection of local beers - given any thought to selling there? Then I could walk over and buy some at lunch!
 
What sparge style are you using? I'm guessing batch but not sure. Also is the bulkhead fitting in the MT just a cooler bulkhead or how did you rig it up?
 
Is fly sparging a preference? Could you batch sparge and still be successful? Looking at 44 and 55 gal MTs it seems like most brews would fit and still be batch sparge compliant. At least at the 1bbl limit. Just asking as a possible insight to nano brewing.

Thanks for the fast response.
 
Boy
As you will see on this site there is a huge amount of discussions about Fly, Batch and even some combinations. This is what we started out doing when we made 5 and 10 gallon batches and we just ramped it up to 1bb. Its fairly simple and you sparge until you get your required boil volume or you hit your required starting gravity.
 
Hopefully last question for a while. Did you notice any loss in flavor/quality from upsizing to the conicals? Or any loss with the bigger batches. How long do you keep the beer on the yeast? Thanks for all your help.
 
Boy said:
Hopefully last question for a while. Did you notice any loss in flavor/quality from upsizing to the conicals? Or any loss with the bigger batches. How long do you keep the beer on the yeast? Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...

Yes, some of the flavors in my beers changed when I ramped them up to one barrel. This is likely due in part to the change in temperature that occurs in a one barrel fermentation compared to a 5 or 10 gallon batch. Other variables that may have played a roll include switching from propane to electric, better crush from my Monster mill, utilization differences from using bags to contain the hops in the boil, efficiency differences of my larger mash tun compared to my old Igloo cooler, and chilling the wort at a different rate using a plate chiller instead of an immersion chiller. I don't think my quality went down as a result of these changes, but some recipes taste a bit different now and I've had to make some adjustments as a result. The length of time I keep the beer on the yeast varies from beer to beer. I'll let it sit longer on a barleywine than on a wheat beer. I don't know what the optimum times are, but my system seems to be working pretty good for me so far.
 
Great thread. I wish y'all the best. This has me thinking, maybe i should look into nano-brewery. Indiana is a self distribute state. Hopefully I can get up your way sometime and try some of your brews. Cheers
 
Maybe you all have been wondering how the brewing was handled now that we are up and running.
The attached photos are the 6 42 gallon conical fermenators from Blichmann.

IMG_20110630_190322-1.jpg


IMG_20110630_190327.jpg
 
Boar Beer said:
Maybe you all have been wondering how the brewing was handled now that we are up and running.
The attached photos are the 6 42 gallon conical fermenators from Blichmann.
Click to expand...

Sweet Jesus! I have been throwing around the idea of a nano-brewery for a few months. But after all the research, I'll probably wait til I leave GA in the next few years. You're story is definitely an inspiration though. Looks like things are going pretty well.
 
I just stumbled across this thread and read it all from page 1.

Congrats on an excellent set up, and an excellent brewery staff! It is really cool to see a father son team living the dream!

Side note: you posted a link to your website a few pages ago.


HOLY CRAP I've had your beer! A friend of mine who lives in NH sent me a "care package" a couple months back, and one of the beers was your Bobhouse bitter! You "officially" distribute to Maryland! (haha) It was definitely a great beer and it is living on in the sense that I used the empty bomber to bottle my latest batch.

Prost!
 
Awesome job!! Big inspiration to get my ass in gear to get my brewery up and going. I had plans to do the blichmann 55s for my hlt,MLT,and kettle. I would like to do 1.5bbl brews. Is there a reason your not doing 1.5bbl brews with your system?
 
That is unbelievable, you guys really did a nice job, I'd love to see what the outside of the barn looks like
 
ColdCracker

There are lots of reasons for settling on the 1bb size.

We felt that with anything larger than 1bb system we would have a heat problem during fermentation. Currently we do generate a fair amount of heat but we control the room at a constant 68-70 degrees. This may not solve all the problems but what it gives us is a repeatable brew.

To control the tempter (which many people would say is better) would have been a great deal of additional investment. In addition the gadgetry required all needs to be cleaned, maintained and controlled.

Room size was another important consideration. The Blichmann 42 gallon fermentors have casters under them which allow us to role them in and out of the fermentation room easily. In addition cleaning is quiet easy.

If you look at the Stout Tanks or other larger systems you will see that they become fixed in place. You need a ladder to get up to the top for cleaning and observing. You end up with more plumbing and other costs. (yes one 2 bb system is less than 1 bb system)

A 55 gallon brew kettle is what is required for a 1 bb system if you are brewing a verity of beers. Same with the 42 gallon fermentor it yields you 30 – 35 gallon

That’s the short answer.
 
Yet another question. What's your time frame from bottling to delivery to make sure the beer is carbonated? Do you set aside one from every batch to test before delivering? I really like the idea of going nano with bottles over kegs even though it is far more work.

Thanks again.
 
So if you wish to expand or modify your brewery, the equipment not the building, like adding another fermentor or brute tank, do you have to do paperwork and get approval before you can do that?
 
2 years later and still rocking the dream! So glad its all working out! I think the Nano thing is catching on! Nice work guys! Love the rolling fermenters!
Keep the dream alive!
Cheers
Jay
 
Jaybird
The false bottom you made for us is still working great. We put two handles on it and use a split piece of tubing around the edge to make the fit tight

We used a piece of Pex tube with 1/4 in holes drilled in it to drain the wart. The false bottom fits nice and snug into the 44 gallon Rubbermaid (food grade) tub. The system has been used without problems 1-2 times a week for a year or more.

By the way the Rubbermaid tub is great. It holds the heat much better than SS and is easy to move around and clean.

Thanks again for the custom made false bottom

100_1708.jpg


100_1705.jpg


100_1704.jpg
 
Yes we started with the corona and upgraded in November see page 16 for the mill we built

IF you buy your mault pre crushed from the factory (not your HB store) by the bag then you only have to crush your special grains. Still the new mill is much nicer
 
I just read through all 20 pages, and I am green with envy.

Have you ever considered a way to (semi) automate the bottling process? Or is that just icing on the cake? :cross:
 
I have a couple questions, if you don't mind answering them, that I didn't see addressed in the thread yet.

1) You provided the total cost of brewing a beer with materials/electricity but did not include bottles in there. What would you say your profit is currently after all the costs (would you mind listing what you get for a full batch after all is sold)?

2) Obviously you age certain beers for different amounts of time, but we hear about the large commercial places that are able to age a beer for 2 weeks prior to bottling. I was curious how long you age a couple of your beers?

3) How many batches are you doing in a given month? You said you are making profit and this is your day job, but curious how oftern you are actually brewing vs. selling, distributing.

Thanks again for all the info, its great that you are so open about everything.
 
Just wanted to pass my congratulations to you for your article in yankee brew news. I read the article before stumbling onto this thread, which makes it that much cooler! No idea that you guys had a presence on these forums prior to becoming a micro. Actually just came back from a vacation in central NH, but when I get back up there I'll be sure to grab some of your brews!
 
Hey guys. I love your setup. Stories like this make me wish I had more time to brew and actually make a living with it. I am just starting out in my brewing life but what you guys have done is one of my big goals in life. :)
 
Time for an update

Finally a sculpture for the brewery
It has a heavy duty swing system for the MT
A light duty swing system for the brew kettle to make clean up easier
For the MT and HLT we have a quick disconnect system using the 1/2 in ID (3/4 in OD) tubing to connect to. I know it’s not the fancy Try Clover but its worked for a couple years and its priced right.

Two pumping systems

The first is a standard pump which I just put in a tool box
The second is a double peristaltic

The brew kettle is a Blichmann 55 gallon kettle with a Brewmation controller. The addition of the light duty tilt system allowed us to attach the wiring to the frame reducing the risk of inadvertently causing damage. With 220 Volts and water everywhere I consider this the week point with DYI electric brewing.

The next step is to convert a second 55 gallon (gray) Rubbermaid barrel to a MT to replace the white 44 gallon one. We brewed a large Imperial stout and had to use the old 20 gallon MT along with the 44 gallon one. The sculpture is designed for this up grade I just have to figure out how to get the old false bottom to work.

We also have to rework the venting system but will try it the way it is for now.

BK in stand.jpg


Brewmation controllor.jpg


MT White Rubermade.jpg


HLT 55 gallon Rubbermade.jpg
 

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