First Post

I decided to start a blog to document my Brutus 10 build. This is my first time ever experimenting with blogging so forgive me if it isn't beautiful or if things get all screwy. Gonna do my best to document each step in the build. From materials selection and purchasing all the way to brewing with my brand new system (which won't be for awhile)!

First off, many of you might be asking what Brutus 10 is. Brutus 10 is a single-tier, semi-automated brewing system. The heat of the mash tun and the hot liquor tank are constantly monitored and controlled using two temperature controllers. Other aspects, such as the transfer of hot water into the tun and hot wort into the kettle, are carried out manually with the assistance of pumps. Here is what it will look like when finished:

Pretty beautiful huh? I plan on using three 15.5 gallon kegs instead of those nice (and crazy expensive) kettles. I was able to procure two of these kegs locally and one more was gifted to me by a very good friend of mine who just so happens to be an amazing brewer himself. Here they are, waiting to be cleaned and converted into keggles:

My plan is to cut the tops off of each of these kegs and add a ball valve and thermometer to all three. One will serve as the mash tun, one will be the hot liquor tank and the third will be the boil kettle. For the MT and the BK, I plan on using kettle screens that will screw into the back of the ball valve. I have never been a big fan of false bottoms. I have tried a couple and neither of them worked as well as the kettle screen. So I am going with those. I still have not decided on what I will do for lids. More on this to come.

I recently ordered the parts for the kettles from MoreBeer.com and they arrived today. Here they are:

I went with weldless thermometers and valves as these will be the easiest to install. Part numbers are as follows:

• Stainless Steel Weldless Spigot Part No. WL301
• Kettle Tube Screen Part No. AG420
• 6" Stainless Steel Weldless Thermometer Part No. WL311

All of these parts came from MoreBeer.com which is a really awesome homebrew supply website with incredibly affordable prices. As I mentioned, these are weldless fittings, which means all I need to do is drill holes in the kegs and screw them in. However, I do plan on welding them on in the future.

Speaking of welding, I plan on doing all of the welding and electrical work myself. I am currently enrolled in the Welding Technician program at EHOVE Career Center so the welding part should not be a problem. I recently picked up a small MIG welder from eBay for an excellent price so I will be able to do this work in my garage. As for the electrical stuff, I have some limited knowledge in this field but overall, the wiring of Brutus 10 does not seem all that complex so I am confident I will be able to do it. I will worry more about that when the time comes.

To give credit where credit is most certainly due, Brutus 10 was designed by Lonnie McCallister, an aircraft engineer from Houston, TX. He published his full build plans in the November 2007 issue of Brew Your Own magazine and this is where I am getting my information. However, the materials list in the front of the plans is pretty outdated so, using this list as a base, I made my own materials lists with updated prices and part numbers. Here it is:

 

I am sure there will be many other small bits and pieces that I will need to add to this list as I start to assemble everything and I will update it and repost when I do. 

As you can see from the materials list, the total cost for everything will be just under $2000, not including miscellaneous other parts. While this may seem steep, it is really not bad at all when you look at the price of purchasing one of these systems pre-built. For example, the equivalent system on MoreBeer.com starts at $5400. And that's before shipping! Of course, I do not have the money to purchase all of these parts and start building right away. My plan is to slowly piece it together over the next year, purchasing one or two of the necessary parts every month or so. It will take awhile, but the reward in the end will totally be worth it. And I will keep this blog updated every step of the way! 

Thanks for reading! Look for more posts soon!