Equipment limit

[barney]

Hello I wonder if anyone can help me with one. Currently I am making forty ltr brew lengths which I am quite happy with. I have been thinking what's the maximum that I can get out of my system.

I have a 38ltr Igloo mash tun and a 70ltr pan for boiling on a gas ring. Are the two items well matched?

[Kev888]

It partly depends on what sort of gravity wort you make and what sort of mash ratio you want, and the losses in your system, so its difficult to be very precice but in general it seems like a very reasonable combination to me, if you fly sparge.

I know from experience that its difficult to dough in if the mash tun is very full, but in theory and with care you should be able to get about 10 or 11 kg of grain in the MT at a 2.5L/kg mash ratio - depending on how much space is taken up by manifolds etc (and assuming the igloo capacity doesn't include any space in the lid). That could give you different combinations of brew length vs gravity, but an example with the losses in my own system would be around 45L brew length at roughly 1.057.

Depending on your losses, with that example the boiler would need to start with a volume of wort probably around 55L plus headspace to help prevent boil overs, so 70L seems a good ballance to me. If you needed to you could up the grain bill a bit by mashing at a stiffer ratio - possibly up to about 14kg - and either get higher gravity or more volume; you'd have to try it and it wouldn't be easy/nice but it may 'barely' be possible to get 60L if you mash at 2L/kg and completely max out the boiler.

If you batch sparge it may be different though.

Cheers
kev

EDIT: thats assuming I have my facts right of course - I'm feeling a bit vague this am..

[barney]

Cheers for the reply Kev, at the moment I am batch sparging, currently with two batch additions after the original sparge. 60ltr is a lot of beer, its nice to know I may be able to stretch to that eventually.

[stu-le-brew]

Cheers for the reply Kev, at the moment I am batch sparging, currently with two batch additions after the original sparge. 60ltr is a lot of beer, its nice to know I may be able to stretch to that eventually.

60ltrs only seems like a lot when its more than you usually make, my batch size is about 55lts all I can think about is 100+

[Kev888]

60ltrs only seems like a lot when its more than you usually make, my batch size is about 55lts all I can think about is 100+

Yes I agree, I do 80 to 90L batches and its pretty much business as normal - except from a pracatical viewpoint some of the sizes and weights are getting a bit more awkward. For me the main issue has been storage; I don't drink any faster, I just brew less often, and so have to store more.

(That said, my rough estimate 60L is of the absolute max; I don't think you'd find it nice to do that without more headroom even if it fits)

Cheers
Kev

[Skiptonian]

For me, 60 litres is a great batch length. It makes 3 Cornies, uses a half bag of grain, 100g hops and 2 hands full of hops for the second hopping to make my favorite brew. I like to keep it simples.

I use 70 litre HLT, 60 Litre MT and 100 Litre boiler. Seems about spot on (for me)

cheers
Skiptonian

[LM600]

Hi Skiptonian,

Liking the sound of your kit, would you be so kind as to post the details of it (where you got it from etc)?

I have a 'standard' set up from H&G and am very happy with it but my current limit of finished wort in the FV is 25ltrs, of this I lose ~1ltr to trub and would love to be able to brew in higher volumes.

Cheers,

LM

[Skiptonian]

Hi Skiptonian,

Liking the sound of your kit, would you be so kind as to post the details of it (where you got it from etc)?

I have a 'standard' set up from H&G and am very happy with it but my current limit of finished wort in the FV is 25ltrs, of this I lose ~1ltr to trub and would love to be able to brew in higher volumes.

Cheers,

LM

It's home made like many of the set ups that are used by people from the forum. Best thing would be to search Beermonsters, Dom Clarke's (and others) various posts. There is a lot of info and photos on here that show the various stages of construction. It's deffo not an overnight project but people on here are very helpful and some are real enthusiasts. You will save (some) money making it yourself but the real value is that you know how it all works. The best bit however is the friends you will make along the way in your Beerquest.

I doubt you would have any trouble selling your existing kit if you do start (and complete) the project. Good luck.

cheers
Skiptonian