Photos of a Nano!

[Bigbre04]

Hey yall,

Looks like I may have figured out how to post photos from my laptop.

First set is from setting up our cooler. We have an 80ft long draw system that I talked about before.

The things on the wall are called FOBs. This stands for Foam On Beer. They basically prevent the keg from making a mess when it kicks. They also save a lot of beer for us since the line holds about 3 pints of beer which isnt wasted when changing the kegs.

The Airconditioner is just a normal window unit hooked up to a Coolbot which overrides it and allows it to get FAR colder then it would normally. Super awesome for a small walkin cooler.

 

[Bigbre04]

my little kettle/mash.

 

[Bigbre04]

kettle at my old job. that internal colandria is over 6ft tall. Brewhouse is a newlands 4 vessel 30bbl. I can dig some old pictures up if yall want.

E-stop and Power switch i built into my current system because it did not come with one...fucking germans.

closeup of a FOB that i drew on for my cooler SOP. not that my bartenders are actually capable of following an SOP...

My little Grain room. Screwtop 6.5 gallon buckets from Uline. 2 buckets hold 1 55lb bag of grain.

Photo looking at my little cellar.

My most recent batch(double of Golden lager) making a mess on the floor.

 

[Donoroto]

The Germans did not install an E-Stop because when they use the system nothing goes wrong.

 

[Bigbre04]

The Germans did not install an E-Stop because when they use the system nothing goes wrong.

Yes this is the way.

They built in an insane safety factor. It's a 2hl system which is roughly 1.5bbl. I'm pushing out over a half barrel more liquid and I have never had a boil over.

This is partially because the heating elements are underpowered for a 2bbl. So my boil isn't great.

They also mounted my touch screen at knee height.

That picture of the big system. I have seen that fucking thing boil over and spew hot wort in an arc over 7 feet.

 

[Donoroto]

Yes this is the way.

They built in an insane safety factor. It's a 2hl system which is roughly 1.5bbl. I'm pushing out over a half barrel more liquid and I have never had a boil over.

This is partially because the heating elements are underpowered for a 2bbl. So my boil isn't great.

They also mounted my touch screen at knee height.

That picture of the big system. I have seen that fucking thing boil over and spew hot wort in an arc over 7 feet.

You mean "Zis ist der way..."

Full disclosure: love (Love!) German beers, speak/read/write fluent German, been there dozens of times. Germans DO have a sense of humor!

 

[Bigbre04]

You mean "Zis ist der way..."

Full disclosure: love (Love!) German beers, speak/read/write fluent German, been there dozens of times. Germans DO have a sense of humor!

For sure. Iv been to Germany several times as well. I studied in Munchen, as part of my degree.

As a general rule I tend to make more traditional beers. I have to make things to sell like fruited beers and Big juicy IPAs, but overall they are not my personal preference.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Looks like an oversized Brewmister I see what you mean.

Horizontal elements cool.

Looks like a busy little brewery going on there man!

Thanks for the peep out the back.

You use the brewersfriend software for brewing on that system?

 

[Bigbre04]

Looks like an oversized Brewmister I see what you mean.

Horizontal elements cool.

Looks like a busy little brewery going on there man!

Thanks for the peep out the back.

You use the brewersfriend software for brewing on that system?

That is what it is! Its a 200L Braumeister. I HATE IT. So inefficient and slow!

Not too busy right now since we are in the slow season. Batches are sticking around longer right now. Brewing a Vienna on Monday, would do it this week, but my grain shipment wont be here until Friday afternoon...womp womp.

Ya man, I planned 60(1860gal) and 90(2760gal) bbl batches on this software in my past life. We didnt use the inventory or batch tracking as we had more sophisticated software for tank and inventory management, but brewer's friend's calculators are great and easy to use. The math is the same at 5 gals or 5000gal.

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

kettle at my old job. that internal colandria is over 6ft tall. Brewhouse is a newlands 4 vessel 30bbl. I can dig some old pictures up if yall want.

E-stop and Power switch i built into my current system because it did not come with one...fucking germans.

closeup of a FOB that i drew on for my cooler SOP. not that my bartenders are actually capable of following an SOP...

My little Grain room. Screwtop 6.5 gallon buckets from Uline. 2 buckets hold 1 55lb bag of grain.

Photo looking at my little cellar.

My most recent batch(double of Golden lager) making a mess on the floor.

Real cool!!

 

[The Brew Mentor]

@Bigbre04 , Do you like you're job?
From your posts, it seems that there is a lot you're unhappy and angry about?
Brian

 

[Bigbre04]

@Bigbre04 , Do you like you're job?
From your posts, it seems that there is a lot you're unhappy and angry about?
Brian

I actually really like my job.

I just complain about some of my gear because it makes my work life a little harder. I came from a relatively high level brewery where alot of my stuff was automated to the opposite end of the spectrum.

My job is pretty easy, I work short days unless I'm brewing(I have a lot experience running a much bigger facility with so many more moving parts). I have the freedom to set my own schedule and make(to some extent) whatever beers I want. During our slower season(winter), I really only need to work about 4 days a week. I dont have to worry about QA because I dont package anything and all of my beer stays cold and under my direct supervision.

Compared to my previous job this place is a cake walk. It's low stress and easy. I just like to complain about my brewhouse alot. It works, but it is very different then what I am used to and requires me todo alot of strange stuff to make quality beer. In some ways it really holds me back. Hence the bitching about it.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I actually really like my job.

I just complain about some of my gear because it makes my work life a little harder. I came from a relatively high level brewery where alot of my stuff was automated to the opposite end of the spectrum.

My job is pretty easy, I work short days unless I'm brewing(I have a lot experience running a much bigger facility with so many more moving parts). I have the freedom to set my own schedule and make(to some extent) whatever beers I want. During our slower season(winter), I really only need to work about 4 days a week. I dont have to worry about QA because I dont package anything and all of my beer stays cold and under my direct supervision.

Compared to my previous job this place is a cake walk. It's low stress and easy. I just like to complain about my brewhouse alot. It works, but it is very different then what I am used to and requires me todo alot of strange stuff to make quality beer. In some ways it really holds me back. Hence the bitching about it.

Sounds like any brewer I know we all want the new brew kettle/fermenter/ fancy gizmo.

I can't complain about my brew unit I built it ha ha!

I'd love to upgrade its PID controller so I can do slow ramp times and I'd love to mount the control pannel on my kettle stand.

I'd love to set up a Cold Liqour Tank as well so I could cool using this water (no waste Australia: drought prone).

And last I'd like one of them tilt Hydrometers to better guage when to start spunding.

That's not too much to ask Santa for right?

 

[Bigbre04]

Sounds like any brewer I know we all want the new brew kettle/fermenter/ fancy gizmo.

I can't complain about my brew unit I built it ha ha!

I'd love to upgrade its PID controller so I can do slow ramp times and I'd love to mount the control pannel on my kettle stand.

I'd love to set up a Cold Liqour Tank as well so I could cool using this water (no waste Australia: drought prone).

And last I'd like one of them tilt Hydrometers to better guage when to start spunding.

That's not too much to ask Santa for right?

Exactly.

I have my eye on a 3.5bbl brewhouse with a HLT(thinking heated oil) $50k, mini canning line($25k), 3 more 3.5bbl unis, and a 7 uni(about $5k each), 8 more draft lines and a larger walk in cooler, big porch, etc. I think Santa has got this lol.

Man I'm pissed I spent the whole damn day waiting on a pallet of grain and then I call them and it won't be here till 530 which is right in the middle of dinner...so now I have to wait till Monday for it to be redelivered...it was supposed to be here between 1 and 3pm...fml.

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

That sucks!

 

[Donoroto]

I actually really like my job.

I just complain about some of my gear because it makes my work life a little harder. I came from a relatively high level brewery where alot of my stuff was automated to the opposite end of the spectrum.

My job is pretty easy, I work short days unless I'm brewing(I have a lot experience running a much bigger facility with so many more moving parts). I have the freedom to set my own schedule and make(to some extent) whatever beers I want. During our slower season(winter), I really only need to work about 4 days a week. I dont have to worry about QA because I dont package anything and all of my beer stays cold and under my direct supervision.

Compared to my previous job this place is a cake walk. It's low stress and easy. I just like to complain about my brewhouse alot. It works, but it is very different then what I am used to and requires me todo alot of strange stuff to make quality beer. In some ways it really holds me back. Hence the bitching about it.

Well, one benefit of complaining is that it relieves stress. Even if you love something, there are always less pleasant aspects.

In any case, we're here to listen as well.

 

[Bigbre04]

Very nice!

lol where did the last line in that quote come from?

 

[Bigbre04]

The pallet finally arrived last week. It was full of Sawtooth beetles. They sent another pallet. It arrived on Monday. It too was full of Sawtooth beetles. Third pallet is shipping from a different warehouse...it won't be here until Monday. I'm out of town until Wednesday. Gonna have some empty draft lines...

Fuck my life...vent complete. Lol

 

[Bigbre04]

Ohh is bad

It's very very annoying. I'm a little guy. They are gonna have alot more issues when big guys start requesting whole trucks of grain to be replaced

 

[Bigbre04]

Can't you conclude a deal with them somehow?

Ya they are bringing me new grain but with the holidays and the fact that it is shipping from a warehouse 15+ hours away by car. It means that I won't have it until Monday and I can't brew until Thursday. Which puts me behind schedule on several brews. So I'm gonna have probably 2 draft lines empty when I get back. And not have anything to put on draft for a week or more.