Craft Brewery Experts, Author at Stout Tanks and Kettles

Pro Brewing

Jimboney Malt Mill Customer Story: Tom’s Brew Shop

By Craft Brewery Experts December 20, 2021

A consistent, precise grain crush is essential to making the freshest beer possible. Built to exacting standards, Stout Tanks and Kettles malt mill and Jim Boney malt mills feature 3 hardened steel rollers that can “crack” 20-30 lbs of grain per minute. The adjustable rollers give you the ability to precisely control your grind, use a wider variety of malts, and innovate with new flavors and combinations.

“If we were grading this essential tool, it would receive 5 stars for sure. Thanks for a high quality mill that has made our lives much easier.” – Tom Shurmann, President of Tom’s Brew Shop

Tom’s Story:

“In the summer of 2013, we were struggling to keep another brand of mill in spec. Almost daily we had to keep adjustingthe rollers that just would not hold the correct gap. After using it for less than 6 months we decided we needed a mill that could handle the daily use of our busy Home Brew Supply Store. After searching online, we found the Jim Boney mill and saw many positive comments. I called and ordered one with a large hopper and three rollers. When we received the mill, we were impressed immediately at the quality of the build. I had a handyman we knew build a great base frame and cabinet that fit right into our heavy duty shelving system. The counter is a slab of food grade white plastic used in meat cutting plants. We then mounted the mill so that the hinges allow us to lift by releasing the Vertical Toggle clamps on the opposite side. We can tilt the mill over in order to clean or set the gap if required. This mill is used 7 days a week and I’m guessing it has run hundreds if not thousands of hours in the 8 years we have had it.

Our experience with Jim and his service was great. We have recommended this mill to many other stores and customers that have asked us about it. Even several small breweries have asked us about this mill and found it would work well for them. On average we can mill a 55lb/25kil bag of grain in 90 seconds. The only modification we did was paint the hopper and belt guard. If we were grading this essential tool, it would receive 5 stars for sure. Thanks for a high quality mill that has made our lives much easier.”

Take A Look at Our Malt Mill Options On Our Website:

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Pro Brewing

What Size Brewhouse is Right For You?

By Craft Brewery Experts December 17, 2021

The Brewhouse is the Foundation of your Brewery

Our commercial brewhouses come in multi-vessel configurations, with brew kettle, hot liquor tank and mash tun included. We offer larger free standing 1 bbl to 30 bbl brewhouses and skid mount systems in sizes ranging from 2 bbl to 30 bbls.

Skid Mounted Brewhouses

All of our skid mount brewhouses offer the advantages of a fast and easy setup. They come pre-piped and, except for utility or steam connections, do not require skilled trades to get going, and typically include the following features (unless otherwise requested):

Advanced touch-screen controls with remote-control capability
Insulated mash tun with rakes, plow and grist hydrator (Mash tuns can be made with rakes and plow or be hand stirred).
Insulated or non-insulated kettles
Glass wort grant with automated pump controls
Hard piping and platform
Stairs with wheels for easy access under platform

Stand-Alone Brewhouses

A traditional brewhouse offers all the functionality of a skid mount system with less stainless steel, less labor to manufacture, and less weight to truck to your brewery. If you are working with a more confined space in your brewery, a stand-alone brewhouse may work better for you. Here are some of the other advantages of a stand alone brewing system:

Control over Configuration: Stand-alone brewhouses can be easier to fit into more spaces. If your building has odd shapes and spaces or obstructing doorway locations, it will be easier to fit a traditional brewhouse than a skid mount.
Better for Non-Traditional Space: Stand-alone brewhouses also offer more flexibility as you grow or change your process as it is easier to add components or new steps to your brew process if you can position your tanks as needed to fit your space
Flexibility: Without the constraints of hard piping, it is easier to modify your liquid flows for unique or trial brewing processes.
More Room to Grow: Stand-alone brewhouses also offer more flexibility as you grow.
Lower Cost: A traditional stand-alone brewhouse with soft piping offers all the functionality of a skid mount system at a lower cost.
Easy setup with our flexible piping – brewers can do it themselves.
Insulated or non-insulated kettles.
Platforms available.

What Size Brewhouse is Right for You?

1 bbl brewhouse: Our 1 bbl brewhouses for sale are excellent pilot systems for testing ingredients, processes and supplying your tasting room with variety. Test your batches before committing to a full brew length. Easy to install and low footprint is perfect for limited spaces.
2 bbl, 3 bbl, and 3.5 bbl brewhouses:
Excellent for tap room, small brew pub or “proof of concept” brewery. These are the systems that launched a thousand breweries!!
A very popular way to supply pubs with limited production ~300-500 bbl/year. Custom tanks and equipment available to fit your process needs.
5 bbl brewhouse:
The 5 bbl brewhouse is an excellent small to medium brew pub system! Get your brewery started with variety and flexibility in mind. Easily expandable as demand grows, this brewing system is great for the beginning entrepreneur, restaurateur and artisan. Custom tanks and equipment for sale is available to fit your demands, just let us know your needs and we can build the brewing system you’re dreaming of.
7 bbl brewhouse:
An excellent system for medium brew pubs! The ultimate in capacity flexibility – brew half batch seasonals, full batch rotators and double batch flagships. Get your brewery started with variety and flexibility at your fingertips. Easily expandable as demand grows, this system will allow your craft to reach out into your community. Custom tanks and equipment available to fit your process needs.
10 bbl brewhouse – 15 bbl brewhouse:
Our 10 bbl and 15 bbl brewhouse systems that are for sale are the production size brewing systems that bring your beer to market. If you plan a medium to large size brew pub or beer hall, our distribution system is for you. Here at Stout Tanks, we build a vast array of custom tanks and brewing equipment available to fit your needs.
20 bbl brewhouse and larger: Distributing breweries that are distributing require larger systems, which are more customized than our smaller systems. Reach out to our brewery design experts for help taking your brewery to the next level.

Let’s Start the Conversation

There are a million different ways to configure a brewhouse. Quality and your brewer’s safety matter, so do not leave your professional brewing system to chance. Request either a Quick Quote or Detailed Quote and our Brewery Design Team will get a brewhouse quote back to you within the next business day. Former brewers themselves, they are some of the best in the business and will work with you to customize a brewhouse that is right for you.

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Pro Brewing

What is Calandria and When Would I Need One?

By Craft Brewery Experts March 30, 2021

In the beer and brewing world, a calandria is an extra source of heat, generally located in the center bottom of the brew kettle. It is a cylindrical device with vertical tubes/openings through it, with steam (or, in rare cases, oil) passing inside to transfer heat to the wort. Calandriasare really just ‘shell-in-tube’ heat exchangers. As such, they can be installed as internal, or external, and can use steam, hot oil, or even electric elements (though this last one isn’t technically a true calandria).

Sometimes wort is pumped through the calandria in order to increase its effectiveness – wort passing through the openings will result in more heat transfer.

Why or when is a calandria needed?

A calandria becomes necessary as brew kettles get larger and the volume of liquid to be heated starts to require a significant amount of additional power. In microbrewery sized steam brewing systems, the steam heats the wort through the jacketing on the side walls and bottom of the kettle. Enough heat can be transferred to provide a vigorous boil and evaporation rate. But, because volume increases faster than the surface area of the tank as the tanks get bigger, there is less and less heating surface per gallon of wort. In general, calandrias are mainly used on pretty large brew kettles, perhaps 30-40 BBL’s and larger.

To keep it simple, think of the kettle as a cube. The volume of the cube is L x W x H, or L cubed. The surface area of the sides and bottom is L x W x 5, or L squared times 5. As the tank gets bigger, the volume is increasing at a cubed rate, but surface area is only increasing at a squared rate. Before long, the ratio of surface area to volume gets pretty small. And, if we are only relying on the surface area to heat the wort, there are fewer square feet of jacketed surface area per gallon of wort.

Calandrias are also used to convert a non-jacketed kettle into a boil kettle. You can use an internal or external calandria to provide the heat necessary to boil your wort.

Are there any downsides to using a calandria in my brewing system?

Many brewers report that calandrias are difficult or frustrating to clean, having to get in the kettle and scrub it by hand. I’ve done this, and it isn’t very fun, especially when the kettle is still a bit hot and you need to get another batch underway quickly. If you don’t need the extra heating power a calandria can provide, then it is likely going to only create more work and take more time for cleaning after every batch.

What is an electric calandria?

There are some equipment providers offering kettles with vertical elements that are enclosed in a cylinder, and they are calling them calandrias. These are not technically calandrias. Some concerns about these designs are that 1) they require more time to fill the kettle to start heating (because you don’t want to run an element dry or even half-way submersed), and 2) if the vertical element is short, then it must have a higher watt density, which means that your wort will be more easily scorched. Encasing the element in a cylinder will cause further heat stress. We recommend reading about Low Oxygen Brewing if you want to know more about what heat stress is, and why it should be avoided, especially in lager brewing. In the end, a calandria can certainly be a valuable tool in larger-format brewing, but at the smaller scale, often results in more trouble than they’re worth. That said, we are nothing if not innovators here at Stout Tanks and Kettles, and we’re always happy to discuss how we can make your work easier, process more efficient, and beer as great as it can possibly be. Cheers!

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Pro Brewing

Choosing the Right Malt Mill For Your Brewery

By Craft Brewery Experts January 7, 2021

Grain mills (also known as malt mills) are essential for commercial brewers looking to improve the quality and freshness of their beer. Milling your own grains means you have the freshest flavor for your beer. Choosing the right malt mill means finding one that is durable, gives you complete control over your crush settings, and will last many years. No two brewspaces are exactly the same and there is no single malt mill that fits all needs. We offer various malt mill options to set your brewery up for success, no matter what your situation.

Jimboney Malt Mill

The Jimboney Malt Mill is our smaller scale grain mill. It’s ideal for brewers using 1bbl, 3bbl and 5bbl brewing systems. It’s designed for manual transfer of grist from the mill to the mash tun. This malt mill will help you save money by allowing you to purchase more affordable unmilled grain in bulk, and mill just the right amount for each batch.

Features:

20lbs per minute crushing rate
50lb hopper capacity
Mounted on an enclosed cabinet to contain dust as much as possible, with room for a large bucket or other container to catch the grist underneath the hopper. Grist is manually moved to mash tun.
3 diamond knurled, case hardened rollers
Belt drive
Made in the USA

The Jimboney Malt Mill comes with standard and explosion-proof wiring options. Some municipalities require explosion proof wiring in any area with grain dust as a safety matter.

Model Options:

Jimboney Malt Mill = Standard motors and wiring. Most cost effective grain mill.

Jimboney Malt Mill-EXP = Includes Explosion Proof motors and wiring which is required by many building codes.

Stout Tanks Malt Mill

Our Stout Tanks Malt Mill is our more advanced grain mill, ideal for use with 5bbl, 7bbl, 10bbl, and 15bbl brewhouses. It’s designed to be used with an auger or a chain conveyer. An auger adapter is included with a slide gate, allowing you to control the flow of grain into the auger or conveyor. Our unique, adjustable, hardened 3-roller design provides an excellent crush for any grain varietal.

Features:

30lbs per minute crushing rate
100 pound hopper capacity with large 24 x 24 opening (will keep up with the speed requirements of almost any microbrewery)
(Alignment issue with bullets) Mounted on a durable, power-coated, open-metal frame for easy cleaning and maintenance
3 diamond knurled, case hardened rollers
Meant for use with Auger or Chain Conveyor
Direct gear-drive system. No pulleys
Made in the USA

The Stout Malt Mill comes with standard and explosion-proof wiring options. Some municipalities require explosion proof wiring in any area with grain dust as a safety matter.

Model Options:

Stout Tanks Malt Mill = includes auger adapter

Stout Tanks Malt Mill-EXP = includes auger adapter and explosion proof motor

Diamond Knurled Rollers Designed to “Crack” Grain

All of our malt mills have three diamond-knurled rollers that have been case hardened in high heat to 60 Rockwell of hardness. The third roller is completely adjustable, providing absolute control over your grain and the same quality as some of the largest mills at a price smaller craft breweries can afford. Compared to other mills with softer rollers, our custom-made mills are extremely durable and will last many years of use with your all grain brewing system.

The knurls are sized and shaped to ensure a good “crack” every time, but not grind the grain to flour. If the grain is ground, crushed or pulverized too much, it will turn into flour, creating a muddy mess in your mash tun, potentially resulting in a stuck mash, low extraction, and poor clarity. A bad crack can also release too many fines into your mash, altering the pH of your wort, and releasing tannins from the husk, potentially leading to off flavor extraction.

Malt mills play a very important role in the quality and consistency of your brewing process. We can work within your space and specific needs to help you find the right malt mill for your brewery. Give us a call or send us an email to talk about customization options. Let’s get you brewing!

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Home Brewing

Using a HERMS Coil

By Craft Brewery Experts June 9, 2020

(The following is a first-person narrative from Stout Tanks and Kettles’ owner John Watt.)

A HERMS coil in a hot liquor tank is a useful tool for maintaining and increasing mash temperature, providing the ability to maintain consistent temperatures during the mash, but also providing the ability to step mash without infusions and without overheating the wort. We have found that they are useful at both the homebrew and nano/microbrew scale.

What is a HERMS coil? Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash System coil; or simply, it is a coil of stainless steel tubing placed into a hot liquor tank. It can be either built-in, with connections going through the hot liquor tank wall, or the coil can be just set into the hot liquor tank. Electric HLT’s normally require that the coil be positioned above the heating elements; therefore, the electrically heated HLT HERMS coil is raised.

I am going to share my experience using my HERMS coil. I use mine with every brew now, and it makes brewing so much easier and I believe, makes for better beer. Why? Because I am able to maintain mash temperatures within a small range, and I am able to quickly do step mashes without overshooting or undershooting my target temperatures. Hitting and maintaining your temperatures in brewing is one of the biggest factors to making better beer.

I hope this information provides solid guidance to you, but you should also know that your experience may be different for all kinds of reasons.

When I am raising my mash temperature, I have found that I can set the hot liquor tank to 5 degrees Fahrenheit above my target temperature while I run the HERMS and get a good result. With this, I get a nice, relatively quick temperature rise in the mash tun. I change the HLT setting right when I start the mash step-up with the wort running through the HERMS coil, so that the hot liquor tank temperature is rising at the same time as the mash tun.

I like this because it is not neutralizing the mash enzymes unnecessarily. For example, if I were to raise the HLT to 10 degrees F above the mash then the wort coming out of the HERMS coil will be that much hotter. This will cause more enzymes to be neutralized; the very enzymes I want to be active for the mash.

This temperature setting will vary based on the flow rate of the wort going through the HERMS coil, fill height in the HLT, and volume of the mash. Faster flow rates mean less heat will be transferred and thus higher temperatures may be needed. Conversely, slower re-circulation rates will mean more heat transfer and lower HLT temperatures may be needed. You should experiment with your system and your pumps as each system is unique – knowing your system is a part of the brewer’s journey.

I also use the HERMS coil to maintain mash temperature. This is a very easy way to keep the mash temperature constant for long step mashes when making traditional lagers, for example. I have found that when I am maintaining temperature, I only need to keep the hot liquor tank about 3°F above the mash temperature. If your mash tun is insulated, you may use similar or lower temperature settings on HLT. Insulated tanks will hold temperatures steady longer than tanks without insulation. Again, these parameters will change based on your system, the batch size, flow rates, coil dimensions, etc., so you need to experiment on your system.

Over the years, at Stout Tanks and Kettles we have increased the coil diameters and lengths of the built-in HERMS coils in our hot liquor tanks to improve efficiency and speed. While the old coils were able to get the job done, now they do it faster and better than in the early days. We constantly strive to improve designs based on real world experience.

In summary, a great way to improve your beer is to use a HERMS coil in place of infusions or direct heating to adjust or maintain your mash temperatures. The heat is indirectly transferred and is both efficient and gentle for your brews.

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Pro Brewing

Why You Should Be Using Stout Tanks and Kettles’ Stainless Steel IBC Totes

By Craft Brewery Experts May 7, 2020

Not all IBC totes are made equally. Some plastic intermediate bulk containers are made as cheaply as possible to store and transport waste oils or hazardous materials. These plastic IBC totes, however, can allow oxygen to pass through the plastic, which can oxidize wine, cider, beer and other beverages or liquids. If maintaining flavor and limiting oxidation is important to you, we recommend using a stainless steel ibc container.

Stout Tanks and Kettles’ IBC totes are designed for craft beverage production, cannabis and pharmaceutical uses. If quality is a concern for your product, here are some things you should consider when searching for intermediate bulk containers:

Design:

IBC totes are designed to fill the gap between drums/barrels on the small side, and permanent tanks on the large size. They fill that intermediate need for storing and transporting liquids.

Forklift Accessibility:

All IBC tote tanks should be easily moved with a forklift, and easily stacked when full or empty. While some IBCs can be forklifted only from one direction, it is better to have a tote that is accessible from any side. This will help to increase maneuverability and save you time when loading and unloading your product.

Stackability:

Please make sure that your IBC can withstand the weight of another full tote on top. All of Stout Tanks’ IBC totes are forkliftable from 4 sides and can be stacked 2 high when full. This is a great way to save storage space in your building.

Material:

Materials matter when it comes to IBC construction. Plastic IBC totes are popular because they are less expensive than stainless steel, but not all plastic is rated for food and beverage use. Some plastics will pick up flavors and odors from the previous liquid in the container, and this can affect the flavor and aroma of whatever is in the tote next. Food-grade plastic IBC totes are not always sanitary. Plastic is easily scratched, and any scratch in plastic can harbor bacteria or yeast that can infect your container. Once a plastic IBC is scratched, it can be difficult or impossible to clean completely. Many plastic IBCs include NPT fittings or NPT-to-tri-clamp adapters, which are less expensive but require manual cleaning and still allow bacteria to build up over time. All of our tanks feature stainless steel tri clamp fittings and to ensure the most secure and sanitary connection.

Distilleries or extraction companies that use ethanol, (or any other flammable liquid, including alcohol in greater than 16% ABV) are not allowed by code to use plastic IBCs for storage. Many building codes specifically prohibit plastic containers for any flammable liquid. But even the type of stainless makes a difference. Many distilleries find that neutral grain spirits (also known as GNS or NGS) are hard on 304 stainless steel, and prefer to store their ethanol or GNS in 316 stainless. Stout Tanks and Kettles sells both 304 and 316 grades of stainless steel IBC totes.

Temperature control:

If you need to control the temperature of the contents of your IBCs, stainless steel gives you a couple of options. First, stainless steel is an excellent conductor of heat energy. Many winemakers and brewers choose single walled (non-jacketed) IBC totes that can be stored in a cooler, cold room, or barrel room. The difference between the ambient room temperature and the contents of the IBC tote are equalized via the thermally conductive stainless steel. Plastic totes insulate the contents of the tank more-so than stainless.

Stout Tanks offers stainless steel totes with glycol jackets for more precise temperature control. Jacketed totes have an extra external jacket layer for chilled or heated glycol to circulate. You can mount a temperature probe into your IBC and circulate glycol to maintain the precise temperature for your tote. If you need accurate temperature control, faster temperature changes, or if the space in your cold room is limited, you should consider jacketed totes.

Maintenance Cost:

Price is obviously an important factor in any IBC purchase, but the costs to maintain, clean, and replace an IBC are also important considerations. Stainless steel is durable, and will last decades when maintained properly. Plastic IBC totes will last only as long as the plastic is not scratched, stained, or contaminated with flavors or odors. Stout Tanks’ totes are cylindrical which makes cleaning much easier, eliminating tricky corners in rectangular tanks. Plastic IBC containers often have many nooks and crannies. Stout Tanks and Kettles’ IBC totes come with a sanitary tri-clamp port for Clean In Place (CIP) spray balls. A tote that takes extra effort to scrub and verify cleanliness will be much more expensive in the long run than a tote you can CIP in a jiffy.

Uses and Applications:

Many brewers use IBC totes as a cost effective cold liquor tank. A non-jacketed tote in the cool room or a jacketed tote connected to the glycol system will provide a nice reservoir of cold water to cool your wort. Many winemakers use a tote as a barrel topping tank. They fill a tote with wine and move it around the barrel room wherever needed. Distillers and cannabis extraction companies use IBCs to store their distillate or ethanol, or to infuse alcohol with botanicals. Kombucha brewers use IBC containers to steep and store tea, or to infuse tea with botanicals or other back sweeteners. The uses for IBC totes are limited only by your imagination.

Take a look at our Jacketed and Non Jacketed IBC totes

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