A Simple Hot Liquor Tank

Hot Liq. Tank on the right, above the mill

Basically I have always considered myself a professional home brewer. I would squirm if called a master brewer (I am not), but certainly I have made a living as a professional in the brewing business as a brewer and owner.

What I mean by professional home brewer, is that I brew much the same way as a home brewer would. With the exception of the few times I’ve had breweries with turn-key set-ups, most of my brewing equipment has been cobbled together with what is available at the time that fits into the budget.

This brings me to the Hot Liquor. Of the seven breweries I have owned, five of them have had a modified version of the three-tier system many home brewers use.

For my Hot Liquor Tank, I find a suitable stainless steel tank and set it on some sort of platform above the mash tun. There is no heating element, and typically it is not insulated either.

I like to put them up on a platform above the mash tun because it saves space below the tank, and no pump is required, just gravity.

For hot water, I simply use my kettle. It goes like this.

1. Day before fill the kettle as much as possible with water and heat to about 190, then close off the top (I have a way to close off the top of the tank in the steam vent) and turn the burner off. Let the kettle sit over night.

2. Next morning click the kettle back on - it will have lost some heat during the night - and heat to about 170.

3. Transfer what is needed to mash in. This will give me a mash temp about 153.

4. Turn the kettle back on and heat the remaining water to about 180.

5. Transfer remaining water to Hot Liquor Tank. It will cool enough to give me a sparge temperature of 170.

   That’s all there is to it. Unless you are double batching. - and most are not - you don’t need an expensive Hot Liquor Tank. If you are a brewery in planning, this should save you a few thousand. Think of it as a Christmas present. Buy the expensive Hot Liquor Tank when you need to expand and you have the cash. My guess however, is this one will last you a long and prosperous time.

Have a great holiday this week everyone. If there is a topic you would like me to cover in 2022, just let me know. Below are the brewing books (The Affordable Brewery outlines the Hot Liquor Tank and everything else in the brewery) that can go into detail all the things brewery related.

Cheers,

Tom

Brewery Operations Manual

Colorado Boy SOP

The Affordable Brewery