Brasserie L'Etrange (my brewhouse build)

I am adding a 20 gallon BoilerMaker HLT in a couple weeks, but this is my current brewhouse. Current HLT is my former boil kettle (10 gallon megapot). Using a 70qt Coleman Xtreme as MLT. 30 gallon BoilerMaker is my boil kettle. I was originally planning to get a 20, but LHBS had a 'factory blemished' 30 (I've yet to find the blemish) that with a Facebook trivia discount (15% off any single item) came in cheaper than a 20.


Design:


Base platform:


Boil kettle tier:


HLT/MLT tier:


First tier mounted:


Second tier begins:


Second tier complete:


Mocked up:


Another view:


Checking fit in the area it's going to be stored in:


Added a center shelf for additional stability and function:


Added backboard to mount a few things:


Put a coat of honey gold tinted water sealer:


Bought a roll of flashing just in case:


Flashing on the top tier:


Mounted the Therminator:


Ready for maiden voyage:


From boil to this (with a pre-chiller) instantly:


Took some of the left over flashing and made windscreens:


Mounted the water filter and potable hose reels:


Mounted a paddle/tool rack:

The view from the HLT. I put an inline valve before the water filter to control the flow while I'm filling it.


HLT ready for heating.


Took a wooden paddle and measured marks and wood burned them.


To the right, I have my tools mounted for easy access.


Wind screen


Heat shield (fun with flashing). The spigot on my current HLT is lower than the BoilerMaker I designed around. That will be fixed as soon as my BoilerMaker HLT comes in.


Better shot of the whole thing.


Mashing in.


Wolf blanket guarding the heat at the lid handle lol


Sparge water for the first batch


First runnings and first wort hops


First batch done. Need to collect another 4-5 gallons.


First and second


Ready to boil.


Flame on (pre-chiller in the background).


Boil


Flame out and post-whirlpool (spigot half open IME will get me to 78-80)


And we're chilling...

I like it. I really need to work on something similar soonish.

20 Gallon BoilerMaker HLT added...

looks great.

Nice. Not to jack your thread, but how quickly can you boil with the burners you have and you have Blichmann boilermakers, so what was your deciding factors on the Bayou Classic burners as opposed to Blichmann burners?

mblanks2 said:

Nice. Not to jack your thread, but how quickly can you boil with the burners you have and you have Blichmann boilermakers, so what was your deciding factors on the Bayou Classic burners as opposed to Blichmann burners?

Click to expand...

Not a thread jack. Questions about the build seem completely on topic. lol.

Well, the indirect answer to the question is that it takes me about 25-30 minutes to hit strike temperature for the mash in (going from 70-80 to 164ish). I treat and heat about 17 gallons at once for most batches. Initial mash uses about 6-7 gallons for most beers and then another 6 or so for a couple batch sparges. I usually only drop 10 or so degrees during mash in the HLT, so 5 or 10 minutes to get to sparge temp. Typically I don't drop enough to be concerned with between first and second batch sparge.

Once both batch sparges are complete, I'm typically still in the 150s in the BK, and it takes 15-20 minutes to hit boil. I boil about 13.25 gallons down to 10.5-11 for a 90 minute boil.

As far as the KAB6 vs Blichmann, it was basically price/performance. I got the KAB6s for 102.04 each with Prime shipping from Amazon by watching prices like a hawk. The Blichmanns would have cost me 150 plus shipping from most anywhere I looked. Blichmanns were also rated at 72K BTU vs 200K for the KAB6. Granted, I rarely crank it up all the way, but I'd rather have the capacity there and run it at 30-50% than run it at 80 or 90 and not have anywhere to go.

Good information. Thank you. I just ordered 2 of the kab4's. I dont need the additional size of the frame and the burners and regulators are the same. $99 each and 5% discount using my Lowes card.

looks great!! ... if you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost to put together -- currently have my mind on a brew stand and wondering if a project like yours is a worthy endeavor

The stand itself was ballpark around $200. The casters were over half of that, with lumber around $50-60 and hardware around $30-40. If I added up the total brewhouse cost, it would probably be $1500-2000 even including the great deal I got on the 30 gallon BoilerMaker.

TobyG said:

The stand itself was ballpark around $200. The casters were over half of that, with lumber around $50-60 and hardware around $30-40. If I added up the total brewhouse cost, it would probably be $1500-2000 even including the great deal I got on the 30 gallon BoilerMaker.

Click to expand...

Wonderfully documented process. One day when time allows I would love to do something similar. I love how streamlined your build is. Everything in easy reach, neat and compact. Thanks for sharing this.

Gavin C said:

Wonderfully documented process. One day when time allows I would love to do something similar. I love how streamlined your build is. Everything in easy reach, neat and compact. Thanks for sharing this.

Click to expand...

Thanks, it's going to be relatively easy to convert to a shorter electric/2 pump/RIMS setup eventually as well. That's probably going to happen at some point next year. Basically going to involve unbolting the top tier and moving it down roughly where the shelf is currently.