Wood Fired Brewery

[winkle]

In this big brown land, I'm guessing somebody must be using a wood fired kettle.
Brassie Caracole in Belgium uses one, (probably because they are too stubborn to change) - apparently the wood causes hot-spoting that adds character to the brews.
I'm interested in the effects, that anyone has noticed.

 

[Screwtop]

In this big brown land, I'm guessing somebody must be using a wood fired kettle.
Brassie Caracole in Belgium uses one, (probably because they are too stubborn to change) - apparently the wood causes hot-spoting that adds character to the brews.
I'm interested in the effects, that anyone has noticed.

Pretty sure POL use to, think I remember some pics of her rig.

Screwy

Edit: found this, check out Brewday Weather: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...ost&p=22689

And this reference: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&p=703894

 

[bum]

Manticle did for a while. He put some pics up too.

 

[Doogiechap]

In this big brown land, I'm guessing somebody must be using a wood fired kettle.
Brassie Caracole in Belgium uses one, (probably because they are too stubborn to change) - apparently the wood causes hot-spoting that adds character to the brews.
I'm interested in the effects, that anyone has noticed.

I think our very own Pint of Lager does or used to do this. There was an entry of the setup on brewiki.org but I couldn't find it :-(

 

[pdilley]

Now that I have acres of trees I have been thinking of doing this.

Been considering wood fired rocket stove technology for brewing and wok cooking Chinese food.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[winkle]

Now that I have acres of trees I have been thinking of doing this.

Been considering wood fired rocket stove technology for brewing and wok cooking Chinese food.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

That sounds like a plan Pete :icon_cheers:

 

[Chappo666]

Funny how life runs in circles... endless entangled circles... is it not?
I live basically butt **** nowhere in remote Northern Rivers NSW on 332 acres of heavily treed eucalypt forest land. 2 hours rough track driving to get to our closest town for gas if I run out. However I will NEVER run out of fire wood. I mean NEVER! Even the worst bush fires in living memory didn't make dent.
Any hoo... So I google "Wood Fired All Grain" and this tread appears.
Not only is it a thread by my dear friend Perry but also on topic.
SO it looks like I am going to have put my Mad As A Cut Snake brain into gear and make a fully wood fired all grain brewery and distillery.

Love

Chappo

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Hope you can share what you are doing, I have a holiday house in Trentham and I notice there is plenty of firewood in the surrounding forests, will only be going up there in the winter but will probably brew some beers there as well.

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

Look up 'eco billy'. They have a chimney coming up through the middle, which is where the fire is. Gets to the boil very fast. They're only small but the idea could be scaled depending on how handy you are.

 

[MHB]

Do try very hard to keep smoke out of your wort, unless you really do like Rauch(ish) beer. Bit like smoking food different woods can bring their own flavour, a faint hint of eucalyptus isn't really my cup of tea, or glass of beer if you prefer.
Well seasoned wood and avoid smoke, other issue is hot spots in the kettle, it's easy to scorch the wort.
Mark

 

[S.E]

Rocket stove would be the way to go. Next to no smoke and you can control the flame/heat to a certain extent. Made and played with a couple many years ago and was really impressed how well they worked. I always meant to make and try one for brewing but never got around to it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_stove

 

[Ballaratguy]

Hope you can share what you are doing, I have a holiday house in Trentham and I notice there is plenty of firewood in the surrounding forests, will only be going up there in the winter but will probably brew some beers there as well.

WEAL just remember that there may be wood out in the bush you need a firewood collectors licence to be able to go and get it (legally)
also a firewood collection area may not be available for the area that you want to get the wood from

 

[wide eyed and legless]

WEAL just remember that there may be wood out in the bush you need a firewood collectors licence to be able to go and get it (legally)
also a firewood collection area may not be available for the area that you want to get the wood from

Thanks for that I was aware of the license etc.

Rocket stove would be the way to go. Next to no smoke and you can control the flame/heat to a certain extent. Made and played with a couple many years ago and was really impressed how well they worked. I always meant to make and try one for brewing but never got around to it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_stove

I have seen similar with a drum welded around a flue for heating hot water though I could not imagine them lasting long.
Looks like something easily made with some scrap stainless.

 

[S.E]

Thanks for that I was aware of the license etc.

I have seen similar with a drum welded around a flue for heating hot water though I could not imagine them lasting long.
Looks like something easily made with some scrap stainless.

I don’t see why they wouldn’t last long? They can be made from all sorts of things. Here are some simple crude ones made with concrete blocks.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I don’t see why they wouldn’t last long? They can be made from all sorts of things. Here are some simple crude ones made with concrete blocks.

The one I saw was a 45 gallon drum welded around a flue, both mild steel, heat water and mild steel don't mix.

 

[S.E]

The one I saw was a 45 gallon drum welded around a flue, both mild steel, heat water and mild steel don't mix.

Ah ok, I thought you meant rocket stoves wouldn’t last very long.

 

[Chappo666]

Hey there Guys!
Thanks for the ideas and opinions.

Let me be less cryptic than my original post above. Firstly I was known on AHB a while, while, while back as Chappo. I basically vowed never to return as there was was too much bullsh@t being posted here. ENDLESSLY... if I recall correctly. I just couldn't stand it so rather than keep fighting it I left the BS behind me. So enough said there IMHO.

Anyhow since those days I have moved with the Wife (Jodie) from Brisvegas (ewww!) to a very rare spot in Northern Rivers NSW, Newton Boyd. Basically on the top of the Great Dividing Range between Grafton and Glen Innes. 780m above sea level so we do get the 4 seasons thankfully. So I plan on brewing and fermenting in Autumn thru to early Spring. Ales early, then darks drinkin' and lagers kneeling into winters edge with Ales again in early spring. Lager definitely winter. We're on the Little River or Boyd River (now) for those who know the area. We are on 332 acres of ex logging land, I estimate it was logged about 40 to 50 years ago, so its still recovering and even more now since the bushfires incinerated us back in Nov 2019. We have about 5ha of natural Aussie Hinterland Rain Forest on our property which again we are nursing back to health and trying to keep invasive euro weeds out. However the natural spring water is UNBELIEVABLE and cannot wait to brew/still with it. As for timber there is about 40 different species of gum/eucly oak acacia etc. So will need experimentation on best type, species, dryness etc. Should be interesting.

So GAS, PETROL, DIESEL, ELECTRICAL is NOT AN OPTION here okay guys. No grid here. Zero zilch none naa-daa zip. We generate all of our own via diesel gen sets and solar. Yes REALLY! Wife and I call ourselves the "Heavy Metal Hillbillies" (Take ya finger off the send button... already trade marked it f@ckers : ) And seriously it is EXACTLY like being in DELIVERANCE the movie. Look it up you young'ans and learn a thing or 3... And yes I can call myself a Hillbilly if I want too. Lets not get judgy here okay? But seriously if you read between the above lines you'll figure out I literally live butt f@ck nowhere. Even Nowhere has a post code FFS!!! I am surrounded by 2.5M hectares of Nat Parks. I know, I know! Boo fuc#ing hoo for me right? Agree, wholly, that my situation is not shitful at all HAHAHAHA! Anyways... driving 2hrs each way to either Glen Innes or Grafton is just not an option. Especially now all you CItySlickers (yep finally got to use it out loud LOL) are diseased rabbits hording toilet paper for ya'll nests (well that's my best guess is what ya'll weirdo city folk are doing with it). Again... apologies... my Wife doesn't let me off the chain to regularly interact with you normal folk... says I am a bit to extreme, possibly very politically incorrect, possible I am genderistic (what ever the f@ck that means?) and whole bunch of other terms ending in "IST".

Okay... so to the plan. I am currently drawing them up and will post them up in a day or so for CONSTRUCTIVE critical analysis. As most guessed I do plan to build a frankensteined version of a rocket stove. I have been experimenting with them for years and they are by far and a way the bomb for my needs. And for three very good reasons. ONE - Burn incredibly hot and are easily dialed up or down once you know what you are doing. TWO - Very economical on the amount of burn vs heat. THREE - Easy to set up. I have an abundance of two building materials. Stone (Granite) and timber. I mean an inexhaustible supply of both. So I plan to build it out of stone, mortar and timber poles. Very Aussie pre-1900's style. I have six 50lt S/S kegs which I will use for my vessels. I plan on a 50/100llt split system. On days I want to do my regulars I can do 100lt batches and on days I want to go specialty beers I can go 50 or 100lt over two beers if I want. I plan on using gravity as my friend so I therefore will need to figure out a lift of sorts to move liquids around the system. I reckon this parts going to be fun and will try out my carpentry and blacksmithing skills.

Legless - I will be posting regular updates, photos etc... And will be seeking intelligent advice and ideas etc as I go.

MHB - Mate that has been my exact worry and thought on this project since inception 2 yrs ago. YEP! i have procrastinated for that long on this exact subject. 20 yrs plus of brewing only using GAS has me well trained to its efficiency to boil and not imparting any taste characteristics. I still have my two Rambo burners in the shed as proof.

AND SERIOUSLY.... Who the f@ck pays for a licence to collect firewood? Seriously? And this is exactly what is wrong with this planet and good old Aussie values. Firstly, us Humans have been gathering firewood for millennia without ever killing one forest (talking about whats on the ground people). Indigenous people know the score its us dumb euro's that have it wrong. Done sensibly you are helping the forest generate and clean it up. And SECONDLY it's Aussie not only to point the law out but to also point out how to get around it! Remember my friends? Surely some of you survived the brain washing panty wearing, it's okay my son is my daughter now??? WTF??? And before you "Greta" lovin' whores start up please please please look at the science and use your powers of free thinking and thought. Not wanting a WW3 here... there's enough shyte out there already.

Anyway

Peace and Love Brewing Brothers

Chappo666

 

[JDW81]

Hey there Guys!
Thanks for the ideas and opinions.

Let me be less cryptic than my original post above. Firstly I was known on AHB a while, while, while back as Chappo. I basically vowed never to return as there was was too much bullsh@t being posted here. ENDLESSLY... if I recall correctly. I just couldn't stand it so rather than keep fighting it I left the BS behind me. So enough said there IMHO.

Chappo666

Might as well drift off into the sunset once again then Chappo, as much of the same BS still goes on.

KK vs KL is a great example of the current BS that is sullying up this once fine brewing resource.

The old guard of knowledgeable brewers have all but left (MHB is about the only one left), which represents a massive void of know how no longer contributing.

JD

 

[Hangover68]

Every forum has a little BS, just disregard what you don't like and carry on.

@Chappo its sounds like paradise to me but the missus would hate it (hmm, idea).

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Might as well drift off into the sunset once again then Chappo, as much of the same BS still goes on.

KK vs KL is a great example of the current BS that is sullying up this once fine brewing resource.

The old guard of knowledgeable brewers have all but left (MHB is about the only one left), which represents a massive void of know how no longer contributing.

JD

Pays to know where it came from, those who left made insurgents back onto this forum, to disrupt and destroy, they used other names 2, 3 and 4 times just to cause angst. Quite a lot of those who played follow the leader either no longer post on there or seldom do.
For a few months now there has been no animosity from there, and those who do use both forums do so peacefully.
Back on topic, here is where I am thinking of brewing, its an old artists studio, which I will renovate (a piss artists studio) and watch with anticipation the build of a wood fired brewery. Though if I could convince the wife to make a permanent move up here, I will probably go solar and run electricity to the studio.