Building a retirement system.

[The Brew Mentor]

So the plan it to retire in a couple of years.
I haven't had a system at home for a number of years now.
My old system is with my son in law and he also has a bigger Ruby Street system.
I want a smaller, simpler system.

5 gallon batches.
Pressure Fermentor.
Definitely brewing in my basement.
Immersion chiller.
And preferably no pumps.
Looking at the electric, all in one systems, but certainly not sold on them. If I get one, I'll use the pump mostly for cleaning.
I have a stove in the basement, so BIA Basket is a thought.
I have no problem building the system and or things around it.
I would like to hear your thoughts.
Go!

 

[Sunfire96]

I'm a big fan of fermenting in a corny keg. Plenty of advantages, like pressure fermenting, closed transfers, serving from the fermenter, and the option for no chill, if you want. Morebeer sells a 6 gallon keg that will ferment a 5 gallon batch with plenty of head space.

As far as hot side goes...I feel like there's a lot of personal preference there. I assume it'd be easy for you to get a 220v outlet wired in, so electric could be a good option. Brewhardware.com has an interested BIAB recirculating all in one vessel that looks pretty bullet proof.

Good luck with your search, I'm excited to see the other responses here

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I'm a big fan of fermenting in a corny keg. Plenty of advantages, like pressure fermenting, closed transfers, serving from the fermenter, and the option for no chill, if you want. Morebeer sells a 6 gallon keg that will ferment a 5 gallon batch with plenty of head space.

As far as hot side goes...I feel like there's a lot of personal preference there. I assume it'd be easy for you to get a 220v outlet wired in, so electric could be a good option. Brewhardware.com has an interested BIAB recirculating all in one vessel that looks pretty bullet proof.

Good luck with your search, I'm excited to see the other responses here

I have plenty of kegs, and have fermented in them a time or 3, but not really a fan of them mainly because I can't dump break/ hops on cold crash and yeast recovery is difficult at best.
Thanks for the response and keep them coming!
Cheers

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Looking at the electric, all in one systems, but certainly not sold on them. If I get one, I'll use the pump mostly for cleaning.

I'm not sure how this would work, unless you had a hot liquor tank and did single infusions in a separate mash tun. As I get older, I look to the pump as a way to move and lift a lot of heavy liquid with a simple pump. I have an custom electric mash tun I designed and built myself and it works very well. Dare I say it blows away the "all in one" systems just on control and horsepower alone. But a pump is essential to a RIMS and I can't imagine going to any other system than some kind of RIMS. I love it.

I'm looking to switch my system to all electric as well, right now I run the boil and HLT with gas. Electric has many advantages over gas in systems that are 20 gallon or less,. When I do upgrade to electric I plan on adding two more pumps to move liquid and to ease the cleaning chores all brewers have. March pumps are pretty common among homebrewers and are easy to clean and require little maintenance.

ve fermented in them a time or 3, but not really a fan of them mainly because I can't dump break/ hops on cold crash and yeast recovery is difficult at best.

I resisted the keg too, but I will never ferment in glass or plastic again. The conicals made for homebrewers are clumsy to me and they don't fit very well in my keezers. I have one, but never use it. I ferment in modified Sanke kegs. I use a floating pick up to transfer out of them. I ferment, cold crash/clear and sometimes serve without dropping the trub/yeast cake. I brew a lot of lagers that way and I have gotten a couple of NHC medals with that method. When the fermentation is done and the beer is crashed/cleared, I transfer to a corny keg, I guess that's a way of getting the beer off the trub/yeast. I also have harvested yeast from the fermenter, I just stir the remaining beer and yeast/trub and use the floating pick up to get some of the yeast. Granted it's not as easy as "blowing the cone" on a 10 barrel conical and it's not as pure, but I'm a homebrewer and I have to work with the tools I have.

I think I'm in the same boat as you, except I don't brew for a living. I want to retire soon and I'm looking to make it easier and smother. I'm getting older and I'm not ready to give up because of my age. Eventually age will get the better of me, but I'm not giving up without a fight.

PS. Designing a new homebrew system is pretty fun, so enjoy! .

 

[Donoroto]

Brewzilla 35* 220V version, Spike Flex+ fermenter. Brewzilla pump can be used for recirculation and pushing cooled wort** into the fermenter. All other transfers are with CO2, completely closed.

Old fridge as ferm chamber OR Spike sells a coil that fits in the Flex for glycol.

Kegs and CO2 of course, with a chest freezer/inkbird controller as a dispensing fridge.

*Or the equivalent Anvil, which allows you to set a percentage of power, but uses an external pump.

**I recommend a counterflow or plate chiller instead of immersion, less chance for cold-side contamination. But that is a minor concern if you pitch promptly.

A pump is nice as you get older. Like a house without steps, not having to lift heavy things (use hoses instead) helps.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Brewzilla 35* 220V version, Spike Flex+ fermenter. Brewzilla pump can be used for recirculation and pushing cooled wort** into the fermenter. All other transfers are with CO2, completely closed.

Old fridge as ferm chamber OR Spike sells a coil that fits in the Flex for glycol.

Kegs and CO2 of course, with a chest freezer/inkbird controller as a dispensing fridge.

*Or the equivalent Anvil, which allows you to set a percentage of power, but uses an external pump.

**I recommend a counterflow or plate chiller instead of immersion, less chance for cold-side contamination. But that is a minor concern if you pitch promptly.

A pump is nice as you get older. Like a house without steps, not having to lift heavy things (use hoses instead) helps.

I like the 220V as I believe it'll preform much better.
I plan on doing a fair amount of Lagers, so likely looking at a glycol option.
Stainless Steel is my favorite, but I would try a Fermzilla 60L PET as an option if I can glycol chill it.
I really don't want to move fermenter in and out of a chamber and really don't want that footprint.
I'm thinking I want to have the ability to do a double batch so I'd likely go with a bigger single fermentor.

 

[Donoroto]

I like the 220V as I believe it'll preform much better.
I plan on doing a fair amount of Lagers, so likely looking at a glycol option.
Stainless Steel is my favorite, but I would try a Fermzilla 60L PET as an option if I can glycol chill it.
I really don't want to move fermenter in and out of a chamber and really don't want that footprint.
I'm thinking I want to have the ability to do a double batch so I'd likely go with a bigger single fermentor.

Glycol is the ideal, albeit costly. More beer is good, but consider who's going to drink it. I find that 5 gallons can last from a month to three depending on who stops in. If you don't have much cold storage, then you might get tired of what's on tap.

My own goal is to get or make a glycol system for fermenting and serving, but I need to save up for that.

 

[Ward Chillington]

A pump is nice as you get older. Like a house without steps, not having to lift heavy things (use hoses instead) helps.

That's the the killer for me....moving the fermentor and bottle bucket! I think the best solution is an apprentice! Come on grand kids!

 

[The Brew Mentor]

As I'm thinking through this, if I get an all on one 220V, BIA Basket system with an external pump, I could CIP the Brew system and the Fermentor with a spray ball.
I could use the pump to move wort through a chiller to the Fermentor as well.
I could also set up a sanitizing loop pre- brew.
I currently do this with gravity at the shop.

 

[soccerdad]

I just want to say that retirement is not all its cracked up to be.
- You may have to fish more.
- You may have to get used to a nice nap now and then.
- if you are reading a good book, you can keep going into the wee small hours
- because you can get up whenever it feels right
- neither brewing nor fermenting need to be rushed

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

I just want to say that retirement is not all its cracked up to be.
- You may have to fish more.
- You may have to get used to a nice nap now and then.
- if you are reading a good book, you can keep going into the wee small hours
- because you can get up whenever it feels right
- neither brewing nor fermenting need to be rushed

Thanks for the warning. That sounds pretty bad.

 

[soccerdad]

More seriously - and back to the original question - I have often thought that an All In One system would be great for the kind of more relaxed brewing that I do. At the same time I fear that "cheap" systems like the Mash and Boil would end up (for whatever reason) next to a million toaster ovens in the landfill. If I bought one, I think I would go with the Anvil Foundry. It appears to be quality made and repairable.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I have a Anvil Foundry 240V system that I downgraded from a 3 pot 25 gallon herms system, it works perfectly fine, my only issue is how light the build material is, I realize it is easy to lift and dump but I do think I could dent the metal just by knocking it over, "Trade Off" I guess because I can lift the pot with one had, you do need a volume site glass in my opinion, if interested there are several threads on homebrewtalk.com about this system as well as one pot systems in general, good luck

 

[west1m]

I have the Anvil as well. I did add a level sight glass. A hook in the celing above it is very convenient for lifting the basket. And 240v is a must. But it works quite well and I am happy with it.
I had another brand 120v system and it ended up on Craigslist after two batches.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I was looking at the Spike system. I know the owner at Ruby Street and he recommended them.
Everything is welded there and the gauge is much heavier than the others.
I'm thinking the all in one on a portable cart so I can roll it around when brewing and under a basket hoist, then into the storage room after. CIP so I don't have to lift anything.
Roll it out, plug it in, brew, roll it out from under the basket to drop and dump, pump transfer through plate chiller to fermentor, then put spray ball in and CIP.
Obviously there will be some bumps in the road, but the process is starting to come together.

 

[Texas Ale Works]

I brew on a High Gravity Wort Hog BIAB and love it, it does use 1 pump for circulation, and I use it to drive the whirlpool while chilling., 220v 30a simple controller, and they used to have a Spike kettle option for it. 15gallon pot making 5 gallon batches.

 

[Donoroto]

I have the Anvil as well. I did add a level sight glass. A hook in the celing above it is very convenient for lifting the basket. And 240v is a must. But it works quite well and I am happy with it.
I had another brand 120v system and it ended up on Craigslist after two batches.

I did add a sight glass to my system. And I have a hoist to lift the basket.

 

[Nosybear]

I just want to say that retirement is not all its cracked up to be.
- You may have to fish more.
- You may have to get used to a nice nap now and then.
- if you are reading a good book, you can keep going into the wee small hours
- because you can get up whenever it feels right
- neither brewing nor fermenting need to be rushed

I can't drink more, so I'll have to get used to the activities you mention (done with Corporate America on 12/31).

 

[Ward Chillington]

Another way to skin the proverbial cat of carrying a full Carboy down the steps....

The deck is angeled to get me relatively level while the wheelbarrow is lifted. I might add a bracket to the side to grab the lip of the barrow. Right now that's just a compression fit.

 

[Donoroto]

Another way to skin the proverbial cat of carrying a full Carboy down the steps....
View attachment 23043

The deck is angeled to get me relatively level while the wheelbarrow is lifted. I might add a bracket to the side to grab the lip of the barrow. Right now that's just a compression fit.

Wow, great idea! I might steal that. (The idea. Not the wheelbarrow...)

Yeah, couple of brackets to make sure it can't move horizontally.