“Begin with the end in mind.”
Having broken my HLT and grown tired of always dealing with water measurements for the cooler I would like to take the opportunity to upgrade the system. The opportunity has unfortunately been available for some time, but due to time constraints and my continuous incisiveness I have not made progress. In part the goal of this part of the website is to hopefully clarify my thoughts and set clear direction. If this happens to help another person or two along the way this will have been an overwhelming success.
The key stumbling block that I have had recently is deciding on the ultimate goal. It’s funny it’s similar to how I’ve had trouble in deciding what I want to be when I grow up. This is a great opportunity for a home brewer to conduct some self reflection and really decide what their realistic goals are and where their strengths lie. Based on this introspection it should make the path forward clear and so while execution may still represent a challenge at least the goal is clear.
Brief SWOT Analysis
Strengths –
I have some expendable income. While it’s not enough to start a nano brewery it should be sufficient to overtime cover the system upgrade.
I have brewed for long enough on my current rig and smaller extract brews to understand the brewing process and pieces that I enjoy or do not enjoy.
Weakness-
I’m not terribly handy. I can do basic home repairs/maintenance, but more importantly I’ve discovered that I don’t derive an immense amount of joy from it. I view them as chores that must be done rather than fun.
I do no currently have space for a dedicated weather protected brewing setup. Any rig must be weather resistant to winter weather and wetness or be able to be compact and movable.
Opportunities-
Nothing is tying me to my current system. The current system is first and foremost a sunk cost, but even so there is nothing so special I’m tied to it.
Threats-
My wife would not be happy to brewery things all over the place or a gross large expenditure. It’s a hobby she tolerates not one she loves.
Time over the next year is at a premium. Time is always at a premium, but I would hate to get through a part of an upgrade and not be able to brew or at least have the brew day improved at any partial progress.
Goals:
Size – 10 gallons is ideal. Time between batch sizes remains relatively constant so there are obvious economies to scale. 10 gallons is twice the payoff as a 5 gallon system for nearly the same amount of work. For the same reason I strongly considered 15-20 gallons. However, the larger batch size brings with it added difficulties and expense of needing larger or more fermentation and serving capacity. Finding more friends to drink beer would be a necessity rather than a nice option.
Repeatability – The current system brews fine beer but does lack a certain consistency. There are numerous (and more fun) variables to worry about as a brewer such that hitting and holding step mash temperatures does not need to be one of them. A fully automated system is obviously the holy grail. There also seems to be a strong argument that for a potion of the expense and effort you can probably get most of the way there with some automated temperature controllers. There is some tradeoff on hardware vs. software solutions and there are a range of commercial options that will be subject of another post.
Ease of Cleaning – Somebody once said to be a great brewer is to be a great dishwasher. A significant amount of the brewing process is spent maintaining equipment and ensuring it is clean. An automated clean in place system is the ultimate ideal. However, there are potential incremental improvements that can help immensely. For example, stainless steel over plastic is a priority. Industry standard tri-clamps would be nice. Consideration of limiting extraneous tubing, vessels, or steps is also a factor.