It’s been an interesting few months setting up my new brewery but the most challenging was adapting to the new, larger equipment. I’ve been used to brewing about 20 L each time with large buckets and various bits of kit that I’ve built myself. Now I’ve got a 100 L plant so things are quite different. Two key challenges have been heating enough water to turn it into brewing liquor. I have to do this so that the mash is at the right pH. The boiler I have is just a bit small, so I’ll have to either get a larger one or treat the water some other way. The other challenge is actually cleaning everything up afterwards! It just takes longer than it used to. But I’m gradually get a system going so it should become routine.
As I’ve taught food science at degree level for some years, I had great fun making the HACCP plan for the brewery and putting into practice what I’ve been teaching. Those of you who know about food safety systems will know what I mean. It paid off because the hygiene inspector (EHO) gave it the thumbs up.
Here’s a picture of the main brewing kit:
On top is the hot liquor tank that feeds into the mash tun on the right. On the left is the copper, where the wort is boiled. The yellow hosepipes feed cold water to and from the heat exchanger. I’m using rainwater for this and recycle it back to the storage tanks so it doesn’t get wasted.
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