upgrading from 5gal to 1/2 bbl

[promontory]

What things should I consider when upgrading from 5gal to a 15gal or 1/2 bbl system?

I haven't decided which direction to go yet but I want to increase capacity significantly (relatively speaking).

What do people recommend for chillers at that capacity?

I have looked at some Keg based systems for the 15gal rig but realized that that that really only nets me 10gal of medium gravity beer. for a 15gal rig it seems like I would need 20-25gal kettle.

anything is helpful as I consider the next steps.

thanks

 

[Bensiff]

At that capacity you really have to start thinking about how much water something like an IC is going to use. I would go be thinking plate chiller if stepping up to that capacity. For capacities think about your 5 gallon system and factor it up. 10 gallon capacities is enough to brew most any 5 gallon batch you could think of, so if you want to do 15 gallons I would think 30 gallon capacity would be able to handle anything in the 15 gallon batch size. That said, you probably don't want to have 15 gallons of certain sizes so it might be good to go a little smaller (if cost becomes an issue) so you can brew 15 gallons of your normal gravity beers, but have to kick it down to something like 10 for your high gravs.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

Yes chilling is definitely a major consideration, you must also consider something to ferment in and maintain temperatures. Also consider cold storage and your frequency of brewing, i.e., do you have enough refrigerator space to hold all this beer depending on your brewing schedule. Finally, you are correct, that you will need a 20+ gallon pot to contain 1/2bbl worth of wort.

 

[promontory]

Good call on the chiller, I agree thats a big deal. I think the Blichmann plate chiller should do the trick on that one.

Fermentation is the biggest piece of the puzzle to me right now. I just found Yuri's post from awhile back where he modified a sanke with a stainless hopper and made an 18 gal conical out of it. I think that will be cheaper than buying 20gal conicals from stouttanks or someone like that. I am looking into a walkin refer or just a temp controlled space...

Thanks for the notes, and let me know if you think of anything else.

 

[just2brew]

I've done 1 15gal batch with my 25 gal pot and found that it greatly increases the chance of boil over, I initailly got a pot that big so I wouldn't have to baby sit the boil anymore.... but of course I had to try and max it out to see what would happen.

I used an SQ-14 to boil, it took a while and got the job done. I'd recommended a larger burner for someone who wants to brew 15 gallons frequently. Also having a preboil volumn of almost 20 gallons the burner frame was showing some flexing.

I used an immersion chiller to chill which also took a while and alot of water (land lord pays the water bill....HAHAHA). I'd have to agree what others have said, a plate chiller would probably be a more efficient option.

For that batch I used 3 Ale Pails to ferment in. Sure it means 3 fermenters to clean instead of one and conicals are tempting. However I can easy move 5 gallons of beer around the house to get different temps when I'd like or get the beer up the stairs to be bottle in the kitchen.

Hope this helps

 

[Bensiff]

Good call on the chiller, I agree thats a big deal. I think the Blichmann plate chiller should do the trick on that one.

Fermentation is the biggest piece of the puzzle to me right now. I just found Yuri's post from awhile back where he modified a sanke with a stainless hopper and made an 18 gal conical out of it. I think that will be cheaper than buying 20gal conicals from stouttanks or someone like that. I am looking into a walkin refer or just a temp controlled space...

Thanks for the notes, and let me know if you think of anything else.

You might consider something other than Blichmann...there are usually ads here on HBT for some pretty hefty plate chillers that are much cheaper than Blichmann. You could consider putting a few inline to really get things sped up. You can go the build your own route for a conical, certainly can be done, but that is a lot of work and SS welding. I've never priced a walk in fridge, but I can only imagine they aren't cheap. You might consider making a small well insulated room with a modified AC unit to keep things cool as many here have done.

 

[damnitbeavis]

You could ferment in an unmodified sanke keg with either a plastic carboy cap on top, or brewer's hardware sells a sanke fermenter cap with a thermowell that makes for slick temperature control with a digital temp control and a fridge for fermentation.

I brew 30 gallon batches (share with 2-3 other people when we brew), and the rack I got came with a stainless immersion chiller. It worked, but I have since built a bigger copper immersion chiller with dual inlet/outlets. For what its worth, people here seem to like couterflow and plate chillers better. I haven't tried mine out yet, (this weekend!), but another member here posted he brews 15 gallon batches and chilled them with 50' of 5/8 copper down to pitching temps in 15 minutes by using a pump/whirlpool system. The nice thing about chilling this way is you are chilling the whole volume of your beer at once, and may get better hop aroma, plus you can leave the cold break in the kettle.

The biggest problem I've encountered with batches this large (used to do 12 gallons until I got this rack), is that all that beer is insanely heavy. You need to carefully consider how you are going to move/pump/lift/ferment/store/serve all that beer. Splitting up your fermentation into smaller vessels, as mentioned before, makes it easier but more time consuming (cleanup and whatnot).

You could probably get away with a 15 gallon converted keggle for lauter and mash tuns, but if you brew a high gravity beer you may need to brew a smaller volume. I would get a 20-25+ gallon kettle to boil in so you don't boil over. To heat all that you will need a decent burner, I have the banjo type on my rack, and really like them for their ability to apply small amounts or large amounts of heat.

Think about adding a pump to your system to make your life easier.