Just kind of blowing smoke out my ear at this point but where would I start looking to get a quote on equipment for a 7bbl or 10bbl brew house, that would include MLT system, mill & auger, wort chilling system, and 2-5 (or more) tanks for fermenting, lagering, and serving,and anything else I have forgotten?
I am looking for both:
manufacturers of new equipment
forums where I could keep tabs on used stuff being sold
-red
Thinking of a big step up, Red?
In Michigan I know of 2 places. One is GW Kent, they sell systems from various manufacturers. Another is Craftwerk, which is fairly new but making systems for places around the country.
There are also many more I don’t know.
As for used equipment, try probrewer.com
stout tanks? they have most of what you listed.
For pro brewer forum go to ProBrewer.com.
Equipment. It depends how much money you have.
There is no used equipment market. A lot of time a used equipment cost as much as a new one.
Leos is correct, I know guys who say the only reason to buy used is that you don’t have to wait for 6 months for new.
Dreaming (me and some other folks)… thanks for the leads, that is enough to get me going for now…
-red
As Leos said, it depends how much money you have. We started with very little and decided to invest our money first into fermentors and refrigeration (glycol). You probably will find a better deal if you shop vendors rather than going to a single vendor for everything.
We had out brew house built from dairy tanks by a guy Wisconsin. It ain’t perfect, but it works and was under 15K for a 15 bbl brewhouse.
Our first batch of fermentors came from a company in Fla who I’d prefer not to recommend. Second batch were used, and now we have three 30 bbl tanks from GW Kent that are close to flawless.
Our first glycol unit came from afore mentioned company in Fla, but the second is coming from pro-refrigeration (this week, as a matter of fact).
Our next brewhouse will come from Premier. I can tell you the cheap stuff works but with lots of headaches. When you go with the high end you really do get what you pay for. That said, it can be difficult to start out without cutting some corners unless you have serious $$$.
I got my glycol from Pro-Refregiration. It is 5 hp unit and I have it almost one year. Works great no problem so far.
There is always something to buy. Now I am buying filter, manual canning line and tap room expansion.
…Sounds interesting… care to share a link or manufacturer info?
If you don’t mind spending a little money ($195), you can join the Brewers Association as a brewery-in-planning. You will have access to information on pretty much every supplier/vendor in the country. In fact, there is a supplier/vendor directory at the end of every issue of The New Brewer, the monthly BA publication.
I joined the BA in December as a brewery-in-planning, and I’m finding it extremely helpful so far.
Wild Goose Engineering out of CO. This is manual line that is expandable to automated line. Stay away from Cask. At least my opinion after dealing with them.
Anyone have first-hand experience with Stout’s fermenters and brite tanks in the 1-bbl to 3-bbl range (or in any size, actually)? Their pricing (at least based on quotes I’ve been getting back from a few companies) is extremely competitive and attractive… does that means they are cutting corners???
-red
No firsthand experience, but I’ve read they’re pretty good. IIRC they use a thinner gauge steel than other manufacturers, and that’s why their prices are lower. That might be a good thing when you ship and install them, since they’d be a lot lighter and easier to move, though more fragile.
As long as you’re looking around, check out Newland Systems as well.
I have a 65 gallon single walled conical from Stout. I love it so much more than the plastic fermenter I had before.
I have done a couple of mods and added a few things since I bought it though. I have a stainless coil that I attached to the lid to pump glycol through for temp control. I swapped the thermowell that came with it for a sample port, and I took off the 1/2" 90 degree TC elbow and replaced it with a 1.5" TC T with a 1" TC fitting for blowoff and a 24" thermowell.
The only thing I wished I would have changed on it is that there is a threaded fitting for the CIP spray ball. I wish I would have had it changed to a 3" TC fitting as shown on some of the other larger fermenters. I noticed it on the drawings before I ordered, but just didn’t think much about it at the time. It would make it easier to remove, and give a larger access port for pitching yeast, dry hopping, etc. (instead of taking off the entire lid).