Designing the perfect German beer homebrewing setup

On copying open fermentors, research what depth those breweries fermentors are as that would be the most important factor imo. Yeast has a habit of adapting to its environment - see ale yeasts losing their top cropping ability when fermented in conicals (very deep) and becoming bottom fermentors (like Fullers yeast in their conicals). So if you wanted a homebrew solution for copying traditional english open fermentors with the tiny volumes we use it would probably look more like a high (about six feet to give four feet of beer depth and a couple of feet to let the yeast head rise - just an example, they do differ depending on type) wide pipe than a big open square. I think german open fermentors are shallower but I'd still apply the same thinking to it .

Also consider they are open to allow easy top cropping at the right point in time; easy to do at a commercial brewery but possibly a pain in the arse for someone who works a day job

you could build cooling/warming jackets for your fermentors to control the temp rather than using a refrigerator. Or internal attemperators

Good luck, sounds like great fun and we will all look forward to the pictures

 

Consider that at a homebrew scale you probably do not need to duplicate things exactly as a brewery does in order to get your desired product. In fact, you may find that scaling down a brewery system is the wrong way to go. Many of us have brewed some very good beers with nothing but stovetops and plastic buckets (well, a little more gear than that, but you get the idea). No brewing system will immediately start cranking out awesome German beers. Plan on spending some time learning how to make great beers with whatever system you end up.

 

You will have an extremely difficult time finding undermodified malt.

Edit, so difficult you might have to malt the barley yourself.

 

You may consider starting small and building from there. Before dropping hundreds of dollars on a cylindro-conical you can get in that game cheap and easy with a plastic bucket. Just take off the lid and you have an open fermenter.

The only area where it makes sense to start big (in my opinion) would be larger expenses like a boil kettle. Buying a 10 gallon kettle with attachments can get expensive, and your batch size would be fairly limited (think 8 gallons or so).

I prefer to do 10-15 gallon batches and still ferment in five gallon fermentors so I can experiment with different yeast strains, dry hopping techniques, etc.

Again, I would consider it prudent to start small in general to make sure you really enjoy the process.

 

Here are my thoughts then:

1. Just like I mentioned above. I would start simple and cheap with buckets/carboys and build up from there.

2. No experience in this regard. Single infusion for me. I've considered decoction but never tried it due to time constraints.

3. I use a chest freezer with temperature controller. Super easy to setup, and pretty much hands off. The freezer can easily get down to lagering temps, but can also hit fermentation temps easily.

4. Just like Hopfen says, likely difficult to source under-modified malts since technology and scale allow for greater modification now. If you're just a sadist, feel free to decoct modern malts though, you wont do any damage that I'm aware of.
5. No experience with these advanced techniques you mentioned. Sounded like overkill but knock yourself out, that's the beauty of homebrewing. It can be as simple or complicated as you like. Certainly don't let someone on a discussion forum talk you out of what you want to do.

In general though I think you may get more out of the hobby if you go slow. Adding too many variables at one time will make it more difficult to troubleshoot issues. Not to mention you'll probably have some gratification as your beer and skills improve over time.

 

What scale are you talking about? 5 gallon batches? 10? 20? 1bbl?

Most often I do 10 or 15 gallons at a time and have no trouble pulling decoctions by hand using 1, 2, and/or 3qt pots for measurement and I transfer (usually) into a 20 qt stainless pot (with a thick bonded bottom for more even heating) on a Blichmann propane burner to raise the temp and boil. Unless you're going really big right out of the gate (1 bbl or more), I don't see any reason to make your decoction process overly complicated.

Re: refrigerator vs. freezer... Think carefully about this *before* you purchase or build your fermentors (again, if you're going 'big'). If you're sticking to 10 gallons or less, it's not a big deal. OTOH, I negotiated a terrific deal for two 27 gallon blichmann conicals (bought used from Tree House after they outgrew them) before I'd fully hashed out temp control given how big they are. They won't fit in any 'standard' refrigerator, and putting them in a chest freezer is impractical for a number of reasons. The 'preferred' solution for them is to put them in large, upright freezers that sell for about a grand apiece. That's a lot of money and space, considering I already have two freezers (one large chest, one smaller lab-grade -30C) and a full-sized upright fridge in the garage.

I'm still glad I bought them, but DIY heating and cooling for them is not as easy as it is with some others currently on the market.

 

Regarding capacity, 10 gallons is the sweet spot for me, except I only do 5 gallon batches of high gravity beers. I probably drink 90% of the beer I brew myself, and 10 gallons allows me to brew every 3 to 4 weeks.

 

How much investment you want to expend on setting up your homebrewery is your choice.

The important thing to recognize is that it is the competence of the brewer which makes the biggest difference vs. the equipment. An experienced and knowledgeable brewer can produce extremely high quality beer using relatively simple equipment (e.g., plastic buckets, etc.). Conversely the most sophisticated brewing equipment in the world will produce subpar beer when it is utilized by an inexperienced brewer.

I agree 100% with @Seacoastbrewer: start simple.

The quality of the homebrewed beer will improve with experience and practice.

Cheers!

 

I applaud your desire to set up for decoction mashes. Even though getting under-modified malts is not really possible, you will still gain malt flavor from the caramelizing effect on the wort. Having that extra mouth-feel from the malt will make it (occasionally) worth the time and effort.

 

What made you decide to start brewing now? It looks like you could be the most well-read non-brewer around. I'm just curious...why not just dive in and make a few mistakes along the way? (you will anyway).

You obviously are infatuated with German beers, so I would invest heavily in temp control for lagers and maybe pick up, Brewing With Wheat by Stan Hieronymous and German Wheat Beers by Eric Warner (and maybe even Noonan's )

Welcome to the Homebrewing forum even though it looks like you've been lurking for awhile. Prost!

 

Agreed, re: 10 gallons. Unless you have a ready outlet for more (read: frequent parties/bbqs or really thirsty neighbors), 10 gallons is generally a good place to be. Much more than that, and I might get tired of drinking the same batch long before it's actually gone. But with only 5 gallons? Growler fills for visitors make me cringe just a little (on the inside).

 

Very high quality beer can be brewed using extracts. It is all about the skill of the brewer.

Cheers!

 

Don't forget Noonan's Brewing Lager Beers!! (damn…OP beat me to this punch too)

First thought was its basically impossible these days finding under modified malts unless you malt yourself…but @hopfenunmaltz beat me to the punch…as an aside Jeff, looks like you need to send a cease & desist letter

True open fermentation in a closed space would be tough. You need the whole vessel kept fairly sanitary. I usually just left the lid on my bucket cracked if I want "open fermentation" and seal it up again after krausen starts to fall.

For decoction mashing, I just use a small colander and a 3 gal stock pot…has worked well for me.