20 gallon batches...

[freshhoarse]

Hey guys, I'm about to pony up for a Blichmann TopTier and would like the flexibility of doing 20gal batches. Will I be ok with 3 - 30 gallon boilermakers? (Running a RIMS set-up).

 

[SpikeBrewing]

You wouldn't need (3) 30's. The boil kettle is what you need oversized. Here's a sizing guide from their site. http://www.blichmannengineering.com/boilermaker/boilermaker.html

 

[freshhoarse]

Thanks! Need to run some numbers on what gravities i can expect with a 20gal mash tun assuming 75% efficiency ...

 

[CoalCracker]

I'd do two 20's and a 30 for the BK. Save yourself some money.

 

[freshhoarse]

I'm guessing that my math is wrong, but what type of OG's are you able to get out of that system?

By looking at Blichmann's data, with a 1.25qt/grain ratio I can fit 41# of grist in the 20 gal mash tun. Going by Beersmith, with 41#s of Belgian 2-row and a light body infusion at 75% eff. My estimated OG is 1.057 for a 20 gal batch.
I'm not going to be doing 20# of barleywine, but with 61# ("max" for 30 gal tun) the est. OG is 1.086.

If I'm doing something wrong, please steer me in the right direction....

I would like to save the $$ but if I'm correct, for the extra cash, I'd like to have the flexibility. It will be a LOOONNG time before SWMBO agrees to another upgrade.

Thanks again, guys!

 

[Ajgeo]

For a 20 gallon batch with a 20 gallon mash tun, you will probably max out around 45 lbs at 1.25 qts/lb and an OG around 1.06. That's is pushing the limit on a 20 gallon mash tun, I ended up using a 25 gallon ebay kettle for 20 gallon batches. If you have recipes in beersmith or promash, you can figure out how much grain will fit here.

 

[freshhoarse]

That's what I figured. Looks like, for me, the extra $130 is worth it.

 

[Monster Mash]

I have 3 30 gallon pots and I would not recommend going with 20's for the HLT and MT. I can fit 75lbs of grain in my MT and when I do big beers I use 75lbs, I have no problem doing 20 gallons of a 1.038 beer either. I don't always use up all of the water in my HLT but there are times that I have, It's also nice to have a few gallons left over of hot water to clean up with.

 

[mpcluever]

I do 20 gal batches occasionally, and I've pushed the absolute limit of my 25 gal mash tun. A 20 gal HLT is plenty, but if I was targeting 20 all the time, I would have liked to have 30 MT and 30 BK. 25 is enough for boils, but for extended boils of 90 or 120 minutes, it would really get up there. I'm an advocate for not overbuying unnecessarily, but 2 30s are right in what it sounds like you're shooting for. I can't see a reason to need more than 20 gallons of sparge water unless your mash is EXTREMELY thick.