all grain

08-Oct-2006 - Today I retired my Corona grain mill and replaced it with a JSP Malt Mill. I picked it up from a friend at work who didn't have time to brew anymore. Cost was $40 plus a 12-pack of Oktoberfest. I built the extra large capacity hopper with the idea coming from a fella named Stirplate on Northern Brewer's forum. The knurled rollers are 10" long and really make a nice crush and power through a 40 lb grain bill in no time. I bought a 1.5" pulley with 5/8" bore, a 10" pulley with a 3/4" bore, a 1/2" X 3/4" bushing and a 40" Type 3L V-belt all from Graingers for about $23 total. The rest of the stuff you see is all leftover scraps of lumber and electrical stuff from various odd jobs. The pulley ratio gives a grain mill speed of about 194RPM. Here are the pictures:

23-July-2006 - I got tired of making 5 gallon batches so I set out to upsize my brew system. I bought a 25 gallon SS megapot from Austin Homebrew for $199 and free shipping and bought a March 809-HS mag drive pump for the wort transfer. I had a friend model up the concept for the new brew cart on Pro Engineer. Then he borrowed a MIG welder and we spent the better part of a day welding and fabricating all the pieces. Then when I got it home, I spent a few more hours putting the finishing touches on it. I took great care to keep all the brewing equipment on the cart and ready for use.

Now I can get 4 times the amount of beer from the same brew session with less work. No more heavy lifting of hot liquids.

9-11-2008 I'll give you all the details about my brewcart and with a little tweaking, you can make one to suit your needs. I bought my steel at Home Depot. Probably could have been cheaper if I went to a steel company. The steel for mine is all 1.5" X 1.5" X 1/8" thick angle iron. I made the inside opening for the Superb burner to drop in exactly 11.75" X 11.75" and the burner fits in real nice. Here are some of the other dimensions measured from the bottom of the stand (base) where applicable:

overall length 64"; overall width 15"; overall height 48"; ground to base 4"; base to BK surface 10"; base to MLT surface 30"; base to HLT surface 48"; length of BK surface 20"; length of MLT surface 29"; length of HLT surface 15"

I changed a few things after making the stand and using it a few times. One thing was the wheels. I removed the two wheels under the HLT and the two adjustable pegs under the BK. I replaced them with heavy duty locking swivel casters. They were $15.12 each from McMaster Carr. Much better maneuverability. (4) Swivel Casters McMaster Carr p/n 87845T172 DUAL-WHEEL THREADED-STEM CASTER, W/BRAKE,3" X 1" RUBBER WHEEL,1/2"-13 STEM,250#CAPACITY I also recommend a waterproof top where the MLT goes. I started with wood paneling but eventually replaced it with a thick piece of acrylic. Put as many hooks and things onto the brewcart as you think you will need. I also hate always trying to figure out how much strike water I need in the MLT so I made a SS ruler with the marks showing corresponding pounds of grain. Then I fill up my MLT until the depth is equal to the total weight of the grain bill. Same concept for another ruler to measure the volume of wort in the BK.

The fermenters are made in Holland by a company called Curtec http://www.curtec.com . They are called 7055 wide mouth kegs and have a capacity of 55 liters or about 14.5 gallons. They have an o-ring seal in the screw on lid and function very well for 10-12 gallon fermentations. I drilled through the lid a 綌 hole and installed a rubber grommet so it will accept a 3-piece airlock. I got my containers from a guy in Ohio who uses them (or the product inside of them) in his business. He uses the baking soda product and then sells the containers for about $45 each (shipping included). His name is Doug and his email is dbgrammllc@aol.com if you want to see if he has any available.

In case he does not have any more, you can also get them from the following website for around $40 plus shipping http://www.generalcontainer.com/product.aspx?pid=20

It is the N37055 (5th item). These are very sturdy, easy to clean and pretty easy to transport, even when full. I have had mine for 3-4 years now and they work great for my 20 gallon batch sizes using 2 per batch.

The advantages of them vs plstic buckets of carboys is that I only need two per batch instead of 4 buckets. Other than that, they are comparable. Very easy to clean out and inspect for cleanliness. They are a bit heavy when filled but at 6'5" and 300+ lbs, I have no problem carrying them around.

MullerBrau 2500 - 25 Gallon Homemade Brew Cart


Motorized JSP Malt Mill with cart	1/3HP 1725 RPM => Mill Speed 194 RPM - 50' Cord with GFCI	10" Long Knurled Rollers Grind 40 lb. FAST	Extra Large Removable Hopper Stores Underneath Mill

Custom Made Guard Fits Around Pulleys To Prevent Accidents	6.5 Gallon Bucket Fits Underneath to Catch Grist	Guard is Attached By One Screw Through Hopper	25 lbs of Belgian Pilsner Malt

25 lbs of Belgian Pilsner Malt	100 Seconds Later	Guides Help Reduce Startup Torque	Perfect Looking Grist Ready to Mash


The Concept Model (ProE)	Welding and Grinding Complete	35K BTU Hot Liquor Tank Burner In and Panels Added	Heat Shields Added

Adjustable Height 100K BTU Brew Kettle Burner and HD Swivel Casters	Completed 20 g Capacity Brew Cart	Back Side of New Cart	Close Up of Pump and Drip Guard

Fabricated Base for March Pump	Homemade Counter Flow Chiller (CFC)	Hoses and Gas Line Hang Neatly	Special Priming Valve Plumbing

Wort Pickup Tube in 25 g Brew Kettle	Quick Disconnect for Natural Gas and Locking 250# Capacity Swivel Casters	Superb Burner 35k BTU Fits In Frame	58k BTU Ring Burner Flame Test

Homebrew Stash - Full Cases on Right; Empty Cases on Left	SS Braided Manifold w/Copper Tube Inside to Keep Shape	Closeup of Tee and Connection Through Mash Lauter Tun	Closeup of Ball Valve and Connection Through MLT

120 Quart MLT for Making up to 20 Gallons of Those Really Big Beers	120 Quart Manifold - 8' Long Braided SS Mesh with 1/4" Copper Tubing Inside	120 Quart MLT - Close Up of Bulkhead (#6 Drilled Stopper w/ 3/16"ID Bev Line	120 Quart MLT in Action with 65 Lb. Grain Bill - 24 Gallon Rye IPA Fly Sparged for 83% Mash Efficiency

Pic of Entire System Ready to Brew	Close Up View of Brew Kettle Pickup Tube	Small Yeast Starter Instructions	Two Yeast Starters Ready to Go and Cane Sugar for the Belgian Tripels

Prepared Some Snacks for the Brew Session	Weighing Out Grains	JSP Grain Mill Ready to Go	Doughing-In the Grain Bill

HLT with Homemade Shephards Hook	Homemade Shephards Hook to Fill HLT	The Mash @ 154癋	The Mash During Fly Sparge

Collecting the Sweet Wort - FWH (Full Wort Hops) in Bag	Apply 100,000 BTU's Heat - Natural Gas	20 Gallons Wort Starting to Boil	Whirlpool Hot Wort

Whirlpool Results w/ Wort Pickup Tube - Just One Little Tip and It'll Be Empty	Recent Upgrade - 110V Outlet GFCI Protected	Pumping Thru CFC and Into Primaries	Resulting Cold Break

Wine De-Gasser Tool in Drill Makes Aeration Task Easy	Big Bore Blow Off Tubes (BBBOT) Ready for an Active Fermentation	Blowoff 12 Hours Later	Brew Stand Stored Neatly Away

Recent Upgrade - Cord Storage for 110V Outlet with GFCI	Natural Gas Hard Piped to Workbench	Natural Gas Quick Disconnect for Brewcart via 15' Flex NG Hose	Brew Area - Phone, Furnace, Stereo, Cable TV, etc.

15 Gallon Plastic Fermenters	15 Gallon Plastic Fermenters	Closeup of 15 Gallon Fermenter Full with 12 Gallons of Irish Red Ale	Results of 11-2008 Big Brew Day with 21 Gallons Clearwater Light Blonde Ale and 12 Gallons BVIP

Three of My Four Plastic Fermenters Happily Bubbling Away at 66癋	Secondary Fermenting Room and Keg Storage Area - New Upper Deck Added 11-2008 for Ease of Racking to Kegs	Reference Picture of Volume vs Height on a 6.5 Gallon Glass Carboy	Brewday 15 Gallons of Rye IPA

Pumping 15 Gallons 212癋 Hot Wort Through Counterflow Chiller and Into Awaiting Fermenters	Pumping 15 Gallons 212癋 Hot Wort Through Counterflow Chiller and Into Awaiting Fermenters	Dumping Hops and Trub Afterwards	Resulting Beer a Month Later - Rye IPA

New HLT Put Into Action Today Holds 25 Gallons 2-15-2014	Brew Cart in Action with New 25 Gallon HLT and Twin ChillZilla CounterFlow Chillers	My Breakfast Stout Bombers Bottled Today from the Keg	My Breakfast Stout Bombers Bottled Today from the Keg

MullerBrau - All-Grain Brewing