Help me design a nanobrewery with "alternative" equipment

[thrasher141]

Hi everybody. I am putting together a plan for a nanobrewery (large homebrew system) capable of producing up to around 100 gallons per month. Here's the catch: I live in a country where alcohol is not widely consumed and access to ingredients and equipment is very difficult. I have found a source of barley (and will have to malt it myself) and can bring in hops and yeast easily enough.

So I don't have access to professional brewing equipment and need to piece together my own system.

Here are things I know I can get:
-large sports drink coolers (the cylindrical ones), I believe up to 12 gallons or more.
-large rectangular coolers, perhaps 20 gallons or more (quite large).
-Large pots for boiling, perhaps up to 15 or 20 gallons.
-hot water tank heaters, various sizes. I have one that looks to be about 25 gallons.
-enormous rooftop water tanks (they look to be hundreds of gallons but perhaps I could find a smaller one)

So let's say I'm doing 30 gallon batches, pale ale. A grain bill would be around 60lbs, which at 1.25qt/lb of mash water requires 18.75 gallons of hot water, which when mixed with the grain will take up about 24 gallons of space.

So, maybe I get a small hot water tank to by my hot liquor tank for mash and sparge water. Heat up water (and possibly supplement with a pot of hotter water if necessary) and mash in a giant rectangular cooler. Drain runnings into larger hot water tank with top cut off (to be used as boiler). Boil and drain into - ? any ideas for a fermentation vessel?

Any creative ideas? Could be totally outside the box. Again, I don't have access to real equipment.

 

[bja]

I live in a country where alcohol is not widely consumed and access to ingredients and equipment is very difficult.

When did Washington become it's own country?

 

[amandabab]

When did Washington become it's own country?

when did we stop drinking?

but a visit to Brown Building Supply (between trent and sprague) and Pacific Steel (freya and trent)should get you some stainless parts that can be reused.

House of Hose in the valley
Spokane pump. you can't miss the big sign "We make and fix things that suck"
Carson sheet metal
There is always Spokane Fermentors, (custom tanks )

 

[thrasher141]

I used to live in WA but am overseas now. amandabab, that's good info if I'm back in Spokane someday.

 

[amandabab]

Someone the board was reusing 30 gallon SS pool filter tanks for brewing vessels. I don't know if you have access to something like that.

 

[Monster Mash]

Someone the board was reusing 30 gallon SS pool filter tanks for brewing vessels. I don't know if you have access to something like that.

I'm guessing if there is no access to brewing supplies pools will be scarce also. I helped brew beer in Kuwait and it was not even worth the trouble because of the lack of good fresh ingredients.

 

[duboman]

What about dairy farmers, many people repurpose dairy tanks for brewing

 

[jCOSbrew]

I would look for 55 gal SS drums for the BK, MT, and HLT.
Add fittings, pumps, and a couple propane burners.

Look for the large plastic irrigation tanks for fermentors.

This should handle about 1.5BBL per batch which is still small for a nano brewery.