New Brewery Build - Goosegog

[Kev888]

You get clumps of grain unless you mix (dough) it in with the water well, and these will neither mash nor sparge very effectively. The sparge arm is mostly used with fly sparging; sometimes they rotate and sometimes they don't but the idea is to distribute sparge liquor evenly and gently over the grain bed - i.e. its doesn't mix the grain. You can use a sparge arm with batch sparging too, but you don't need to as you'll be mixing the grain up in it again rather than letting the water trickle gently through.

The mashing and sparging processes are key to all grain brewing; the mash temperatures in particular are important to get a decent brew - get that wrong and you may not extract the goodness you need to, or could extract additional unpleasant flavours. If you're not clear about the stages involving the grain then it will definately pay you to do a bit more digging into it.

Cheers
kev

[goosegog]

We've (sorry, should've mentioned my other half and partner in crime Andrea (AKA Andy)) got two great books but do drop the odd ball still as I'm sure many do. It was great of the chap in the local home brew shop who knew I was batch sparging with an 80l insulated MT to sell me a sparging arm, wasn't it. He was wrong to do so, right? Unused, still have my receipt.

I have a lovely shiny thermometer to fit to the tun. We've been doing light reading and research for 9 months or more but we're bound to make the odd guffaw for more months to come!

The reason I ask about casks is we'll be wanting to pull through fresh ale with an engine to serve at parties so it will all be gone within a day anyway. Does anyone do that here?

Cheers, Ferg

[Horatio]

I’ve been following this thread with interest and now feel I have to say something.


Don't take this the wrong way but you are asking for advice from the more experienced brewers on this forum and then, it would seem, choosing to ignore that advice? Most people on here speak from experience and have done things the hard way and then learnt from them and discovered better (safer) ways of doing things. If brewing is awkward or even remotely unsafe then it is not being done correctly.

Earlier you stated that you thought the sparge arm was for mixing the grain and mash liquor. That says to me that you have lot more reading to do before you embark upon brewing. Does this not make you think that if you do not fully understand the brewing process then you may not be armed with enough knowledge to design a brewery?

Why ask for advice to only shrug it off and think you know best? Why reinvent the wheel? I would certainly take the advice of people who know what they are talking about make my life easier.

Nothing personal but this worries me a lot and yes, I will mention large volumes of VERY hot liquids as you seem to be very blasé about the dangers!!! This is speaking as someone who has suffered severe burns from brewing when a piece of good kit failed!

Hope it all goes well and I wish you happy brewing.

[goosegog]

Why ask for advice to only shrug it off and think you know best? Why reinvent the wheel?

I don't think I like you very much. Most of the others who have replied have done so nicely. It can be difficult to correctly get across the tone of meaning with written text so maybe I have taken you the wrong way but Milo and Boingy have certainly been very kind in that respect. Please read my previous post on page 2 Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:58 pm , it explains that I am still open to advice and changing my setup (I most likely will due to the kind advice I've been offered) and very grateful for all help received. I have been warned of the danger. I thank you for your concern. No additional concern is required thank you. Especially if it makes me feel like I'm being told off

We've got these two great books

We've both read them twice. There's a lot to take in and we're bound to ask questions but with reactions like yours, it makes me worried to ask questions in case I look stupid and people bark at me. The sparging arm purchase was sold to me by a home brew shop who knew I was batch sparging in an 80l MT. I took their advice. Oops

I honestly feel like there's now quite a few folk reading this frowning that we've jumped in at the deep end and splashed out on some stainless stuff straight away. I didn't want to buy 25l plastic stuff then spend again on the bigger stuff. I'm happy to learn to brew once with the bigger stuff and greater expense. I've built a rally car with no rally driving experience. I've built motorbikes with no riding experience. They were all a steep learning curve I very much enjoyed.

I will change my setup. I won't burn myself. Can we please move on??

[Spud395]

Hey GG, I've a great bit of advise for you.

This is coming from a guy who is brewing kits then AG less than a year.
Get yourself along to a brewday someone else is doing, be it a demonstration or just another brewer at home.
It made the process so real/easy for me, compaired to reading about it or even watching video's.
You get to ask loads of questions as they occor to you, any brewer worth their salt would love to have an eager apprentice along for the day.

It really is a simple process and seeing it in real life demistified it for me anyway !

[goosegog]

That's great advice thanks Spud. Someone here has very kindly offered just that and we hope to do so soon. We're also attending a mashing course soon. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words
Cheers buddy

[JabbA]

Hi Goose,

I'd just like to give my big two thumbs up to you and Andy You're obviously full of enthusiasm and I wish you all the best! I can see where those warning of the dangers are coming from and I wouldn't want to see anyone get hurt brewing, but i'm sure you'll be sensible and you can, as you say, always change the system if you feel it's not safe enough for you.

Please don't get put off, this forum is by far the most friendly of all the forums I've come across on the net and the wealth and depth of knowledge that is given in good spirit is outstanding. I'm sure some of the barbed comments have arisen from a bit of jealousy- I for one am very envious of your set-up!

Here's to some great hand crafted, home-brewed beers

Cheers,
Jamie

[Scotty]

I am glad that you are willing to take our advice on board. I was being blunt and to the point for a reason as your safety is paramount, as is mine. Yes, it may cause tension and a few bad words to be said but I would rather it be this way than folk injuring themselves when it could have been prevented.

A brewday at a fellow JBK member's house will work wonders and really simplify the process. I couldn't get my head around it until Garth invited me over to his home for a brew and seeing how it was done really helped.
You sound a bit like me. I can read books, instructions etc all day long but I won't absorb it fully. Show me how it is done and I won't forget it.

Feel free to ask questions, theres no harm or shame in not knowing or if there is something that you don't fully understand. We've all been there and as brewing is a hobby, we are all learning no matter how experienced we may be

[goosegog]

Many thanks for your warm words Jamie and your wise words Scotty. They are much appreciated
Now, time for a refund on that sparging arm and spend it all on Citra hops!

[Scotty]

Many thanks for your warm words Jamie and your wise words Scotty. They are much appreciated
Now, time for a refund on that sparging arm and spend it all on Citra hops!

Not a problem. Even though we don't know each other, I would feel awful if a fellow brewer hurt themselves.

Remember, you cannot have too many hops

[pas8280]

Many thanks for your warm words Jamie and your wise words Scotty. They are much appreciated
Now, time for a refund on that sparging arm and spend it all on Citra hops!

Hi Goose dont know how much the sparge arm was but get as many citra as you can whilst you still can As far as your build is concerned i too am somewhat green eyed, i can see the concern of other members and i believe it is genuine concern, all the advice re watching/helping another is spot on and having had hands on experience i am sure you will see that the advice is well meaning and aspects of your set up may change as you become aware of the method.
Just remember we all do the same thing all slightly different and what works for you probably won't be the same as the next brewer
Ahhh Citra best order some more
Paul

[beermonsta]

Hi Ferg and Andy! Welcome to Jims. That conical fermenter looks familiar

If you want any advice on using it, cleaning it, fitting the seal which will be loose(!) etc ask away - I'm a step ahead of you!

I appreciate you are very hands on with all your engineering - are you happy with the entire load of a full brew, plus the mass of the pots and frame all bearing down on a single floor board? I'm not saying it's not strong enough, I obviously can't see what you can - but I know my own floor boards rest on beams next to the wall with old crumbly mortar to support it! you might have already checked but I would ensure the foot of each wooden piece is directly above a beam - or spread the load using inch thick plywood (you wouldn't want that beautiful stainless getting dented if it falled - see, I avoided mentioning hot liquour )

Please report back after your first brew, I would personally highly recommend using a pump such as the March may 809 (approx £135) which will allow you to pump with all the vessels on the level, which will make mashing in, sparging, monitoring, cleaning etc etc much easier and thus save time.
I would also recommend more shineyness in the form of Cornelius kegs - plenty of information availble on this forum.
Have you decided how you are going to vent the steam in the end? and I'm curious what method you are going to use to initially fill the tanks with liqour.
If you have any more questions, ask away, plenty of experience here on the forum to share. Bon chance.

[Horatio]

Why ask for advice to only shrug it off and think you know best? Why reinvent the wheel?

I don't think I like you very much. Most of the others who have replied have done so nicely. It can be difficult to correctly get across the tone of meaning with written text so maybe I have taken you the wrong way but Milo and Boingy have certainly been very kind in that respect. Please read my previous post on page 2 Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:58 pm , it explains that I am still open to advice and changing my setup (I most likely will due to the kind advice I've been offered) and very grateful for all help received. I have been warned of the danger. I thank you for your concern. No additional concern is required thank you. Especially if it makes me feel like I'm being told off

We've got these two great books

We've both read them twice. There's a lot to take in and we're bound to ask questions but with reactions like yours, it makes me worried to ask questions in case I look stupid and people bark at me. The sparging arm purchase was sold to me by a home brew shop who knew I was batch sparging in an 80l MT. I took their advice. Oops

I honestly feel like there's now quite a few folk reading this frowning that we've jumped in at the deep end and splashed out on some stainless stuff straight away. I didn't want to buy 25l plastic stuff then spend again on the bigger stuff. I'm happy to learn to brew once with the bigger stuff and greater expense. I've built a rally car with no rally driving experience. I've built motorbikes with no riding experience. They were all a steep learning curve I very much enjoyed.

I will change my setup. I won't burn myself. Can we please move on??

No offence was meant at all! Sorry if it came across that way; maybe I could have chosen my words more carefully having read it back.

With regards to buying stainless straight away, I think you've made the right choice there as it happens. I wish I had done it the same way and saved money in the long run.

Once again, I didn't intend to sound unfriendly, please accept my appologies.

[goosegog]

Hi Ferg and Andy! Welcome to Jims. That conical fermenter looks familiar. If you want any advice on using it, cleaning it, fitting the seal which will be loose(!) etc ask away - I'm a step ahead of you!
I appreciate you are very hands on with all your engineering - are you happy with the entire load of a full brew, plus the mass of the pots and frame all bearing down on a single floor board?

Many thanks for the warm welcome. That's a lovely fermenter you have there. I may be tapping you up for tips soon, cheers!
The weight is borne at the floor, skirting, wall in several places, window ledge, again at the wall and by big coach bolts in all four corners of the Velux recess into the ceiling beams. With the angle of the dangle too, some of that load is also transferred across the ceiling beams into the surrounding walls which are 1930's cavity brick. Very happy!

No offence was meant at all! Sorry if it came across that way; maybe I could have chosen my words more carefully having read it back, please accept my apologies.

No problem at all. It can be tricky communicating just with text. No hard feelings

Onward and upward er, downward

[Timmo]

Hi there,
I am relatively new to Home Brewing and am still making beer with the extract kits. I look forward to moving up to AG brewing in the future and I do applaud you for going the whole hog and getting some serious kit. I read a lot on the forums and its all very helpful with great advice from the members but I also find that a visual explanation is very helpful in understanding some of the ins and outs of AG brewing. I found these videos on youtube linked to before and they served as quite a good introduction to what is involved in the AG process. I'm not linked to or affiliated with this guy but he gives a good explanation of the AG brewing process so it might help you and Andy if you watch these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABve6NbP ... re=related
Good Luck and let us know how it all goes. I hope the series of vids helps (I think there are 4 or 5).
Cheers
Timmo