One of those good problems...

[mpietropaoli]

Some guys I know with a fair amount of financial resources are looking to get into brewing (on a hobby level, and for their family), and are looking to me to help them build out a brewhouse and likely brew beer, at least in the beginning.

We would probably be looking at 20 gallon to 1bbl batch sizes, partially because they have a huge extended family that lives in very close proximity to the site of their proposed family brewery...and likes to drink beer.

I was looking at Stout and Spike Brewing Equipment, but does anyone have any recommendations? I was looking at some of the turnkey systems (such as Blichmann) as well, but wondered if anyone knew of anything I should be looking for. Obviously full PID/electric would be my ideal, but that may be slightly in excess of their (at least current) budget.

[Das alte]

Sounds like a lot of fun setting up a brewing system for your friends. Stout has some nice equipment and Spike does, too. The best advice that I can give is to purchase the right stuff, one time. The lautertun and its plate and the fermenters are the most crucial pieces and buying the best, one time, would be good. Otherwise, a boiler is a boiler and beer stuff boils at 212F, depending on pressure. A decent pH meter and accurate thermometers are good tools to have.
I learned things the hard way. The brew guru who we all payed obeisance to was clueless. We didn't know any better and we followed him like good sheep. When I should have saved up enough shekels to purchase the right stuff, I rushed into things, instead.
If cost is of concern and aesthetic value is not, perhaps, the systems which Bubba's Barrels sell would fit the bill.
A few things to take into consideration before purchasing a system are; the brewing method which will be used, be it single infusion grain soaking, step mash or decoction. The type of heating system which will be used to heat the kettles. Is the electrical service amped high enough to allow for the use of electric heaters when the wife/girlfriend/BFF are washing and drying clothes, cooking a turkey and drying their hair all at the same time? Is the LP tank large enough to provide adequate pressure while brewing in cold weather and large enough to not have to worry about running out fuel during a brewing session? Is the NG service large enough to provide enough gas to the burners when the kettles are fired? How many pumps will be needed? The type of chiller and how big the chiller should be to cool wort quickly. Having a stirrer that is electrically operated is nice to have, especially when larger grain bills are going to be used. Dealing with more grain is another concern when it comes to cleaning up. Cleaning large pieces of equipment takes more effort, as well. Heat and steam generated during brewing will need to be dealt with.

I purchased equipment manufactured by Blichmann because they were the only company that I knew about. I have a small, five kettle system. The kettles are fired with four Blichmann NG burners. I went to Blichmann after the lautertun which I owned collapsed after 20 years of use. The plate and plate retainer collapsed. The tun was four feet tall and made from spun copper. The diameter to bed depth ratio was perfect. The plate was radial slotted and fluted. The design for the plate was based on Lager plates. I still have the tun. I was in the process of building a new tun and plate when Blichmann came out with their lautertun plate. The price was a fraction of the cost of the machining required to build a new tun. After looking at Blichmann's plate I knew that it would be an easy task to re-set the gaps to change pressure drop. I reset all of the gaps to increase flow through the bed without sticking the mash and the plate works extremely well. The bed "pulls in" evenly, now. I have about four to five grand wrapped up in the brewing system and that includes the grinder, electronic meters, water filter system and stainless steel tables.
The system includes a 30 gallon wort boiler, 20 gallon water boiler, and a 20 gallon lautertun, all from Blichmann. The mash tun and decoction kettles are 15 and 10 gallon Vollraths. The mash tun handles 35 pounds of grain without a problem and the system is large enough to easily produce 25 gallons gross at 1046. A Blichmann chiller, a hop back, three pumps and two Blichmann conicals make up the downstream side of the system. The water system includes an air scoop. Not too bad for a few grand. I have designed the system to be lean and efficient, it only took me three times in three decades to get it there.
System cost does not include labor, pain and suffering, vortex separator, plate filter, sugar reduction meter and brewers vacuum system. The gadgets were about three grand.
Stainless piping, valves, gas controls and electrical items are not included, either. The room that I had built in the garage was a couple of grand on top of the other stuff.

[brewmeister13]

[Das alte]

Why is there a plate in the mash tun? Re-circulation?
A properly designed plate will have slots which vary in size which will allow sparge water to be evenly drawn through the bed during run off. The slots are smaller closer to the draw point. Slots are smaller near the draw point and gradually increase in length. Slots nearest the suction point might be a half inch in length, slots can be as long as an inch and a half and even longer near the outer edge of the plate. Slot lengths are determined by the diameter of the plate, pump GPM and bed depth to tun diameter ratio. A plate used for producing Lager uses a gap sized differently than a plate designed for Ale.
There will be a depression in the bed at the point where suction is higher. Adjusting the slots will correct the occurance. Use a feeler gauge to set the gaps in the plate. Also, slide two O-rings on the draw tube. Place one O-ring between the plate and the washer and the other O-ring on top of the washer. Slide the top O-ring down and ensure that it holds the washer tightly to the bottom O-ring and tightly to the plate.
Something to keep in mind, the bed formed from single infusion and step are not the same as a bed formed from decoction. Single infusion and step beds form differently due to air in the husk and once the bed forms it shouldn't be stirred. When a recirc type system is used along with an unbalanced plate, hot spots occur where draw is strongest, cold spots are in the low circ. rate areas. Stirring the mash becomes crucial in order to stabilize temperature. However, a recirc system is basically single infusion stepped by heating and recirculating the liquid beneath the plate, by stirring the mash to stabilize temperature, the bed compacts during recirc and during run off and it can stick. An issue with a bed formed from a brewing method that does not require boiling the mash is that more solid matter and protein goop is transferred to the tun, which causes issues during recirc and run off.
Have a GREAT Holiday!!!