The System
Badbrew Brewing Company uses a uniquely designed mobile brewing platform to which the RIMS chamber, wort chiller, pump and control panel are attached. The Mashtun sits atop the platform during mashing and the brew kettle sits atop the platform during some wort chilling operations. The platform itself is a base Rubbermaid Industrial Wheeled Cart.
Dough-In - Heated water is pumped into the Mashtun and mixed with the crushed grains. A manifold is positioned on top of the grain bed to allow a gentle return of the recirculating liquid.
Mashing - The mixture is circulated through the RIMS system with the mash temperature monitored and controlled by a PID Controller.
Sparging - Hot water is sprayed onto the grain bed as the grains are "rinsed" of fermentable sugars and other flavor elements resulting from the mashing process. The run-off is collected in the brew kettle and now becomes the "wort".
Boiling - The wort is now "cooked" with hop additions by boiling. Boiling allows the bittering and flavor elements of the hops to dissolve into the beer. It also stabilizes all flavors and clarifies the beer. Boil times range from 60 to 90 minutes depending on Beer Style being brewed.
Chilling - After boiling is complete, the hot wort is prepped for chilling. Badbrew Brewing Company chills the wort by either immersing stainless steel coils into the boiling liquid or by lifting the boiled wort onto the "chilling cart" and using a copper counterflow gravity fed chiller.
From boiling hot to yeast pitching temperature, Chilling cools the wort to approx. 70 degrees Fahrenheit to prep for the final phase of the brewing process.
Fermenting - Stainless Steel & Poly Conical Fermenters or Glass Carboys are utilized by Badbrew Brewing Company in the fermentation process. Chilled wort is aerated with Pure Oxygen to kick-start fermentation. Then a healthy yeast starter is pitched into the unfermented wort.
Becoming Beer - The vigorous nature of this initial fermenting process necessitates the blow-off tubes. Primary fermentation usually takes 7-10 days.
Secondary Fermentation - After primary fermentation is complete, the beer is taken off the settled yeast cake by either drawing yeast from the bottom of the conical fermenter or by "racking" from glass carboys into smaller 5-gallon glass fermenters. Then it's conditioned for 2 to 6 weeks depending on the style being brewed. The beer is allowed to ferment to completion during this time.
Completion - After secondary aging is complete and the beer is fermented to completion, it is kegged and/or bottled. Most beers then require additional aging to reach their full flavor potential.
