Brew Day SOP

1. Confirm the mash/lauter tun water needed for brew day is set: 18 bbls of water heated to 185°F in the whirlpool/kettle (WK).
2. Fill by sending Service Water into the WK drain. Fill rate is about 1 bbl/minute.
3. Set an 18-minute timer once filling starts, and turn the jackets on: bottom jacket once water is above the dam, side jacket once water reaches the first rung.

1. Open the middle valve to the left of the ST temp control panel for "pump water."
2. Flush the pathway left to right from the hot liquor tank (HLT) through the top and bottom elbows on the right side, then isolate the HLT with the middle valve.
3. Flush pathways to the elbows from the WK/HLT line and rinse through the tangential deadleg.
4. Confirm the mash tun (MT) drain is open.

1. Mill first, then run the auger; set the mash mixer (rakes) to 35% and close the MT lid.
2. Pump at 85% and send WK/HLT water to the lauter CIP sprayball, then vorlauf, then the mixer for a rinse of about 15 seconds each. Repeat through the lauter CIP until the water is 5-10° below the target mash temp.
3. Turn the pump off and reset the flow meter. Set the pump to 55% plus 3 clicks on the water mixer, and start once the drain valve is closed.
4. Set the ambient valve to target temp; pump range for mash-in is 45%-60%.
5. Mash-in and milling should track closely, with milling slightly ahead if anything.
6. During mash-in, set up the long ribbed red hose from the heat exchanger (HX) out elbow to the "HLT Grundy."
7. At the end of mash-in, kill the auger and mill, and clear out the slide gate/grist case.
8. Divert remaining kettle water to the backup HLT and pump at 85%; rinse old caustic to the drain at the Grundy and wait for hot water before sending it in. At 6 bbls into the HLT Grundy, kill the rakes (line up the basketball marker with the grist case leg near the mixer motor to keep the rakes clear for grain-out).
9. Once the WK is empty, dose lactic acid into the HLT (this can happen earlier) and recirculate for 10 minutes. Open the pathway for vorlauf, including setting the runoff valve to "3." If the MT is maxed out, send through the mixer valve instead. Set the pump to 35%, run a 35-minute vorlauf timer, and a 10-minute mash pH timer. Runoff valve should not exceed 3-5 during vorlauf.

1. At the end of vorlauf, kill the pump and open the pathway to the WK. Begin sparge with the pump at or above 35%, adjusting between 35%-50% as needed.
2. Bottom steam on at the dam, side steam at the first rung.
3. At 16 bbls in the WK, aim to be a couple inches above the grain bed and cut the sparge - usually with about 3 bbls left in the HLT. Target 18 bbls total in the WK.
4. At the end of runoff, start the rakes if possible and open the MT drain.

1. After sanitizing the fermentation vessel (FV), detach the "out" hose from the FV blowoff arm and attach it to the HX elbow to send sanitizer backward through the HX to both elbow drains until the FV is empty, then isolate the HX.
2. If not cool-pooling: break down this setup and put clean parts away.
3. If cool-pooling: leave the hose attached at the HX elbow, remove the block-and-bleed from the pump outlet, and attach it to the WK tangential arm valve.

1. Dose lactic acid as needed based on pH, and follow the recipe for hop additions.
2. At the end of the boil, determine top-up water and pH adjustment. Flush the top-up pathway of sanitizer before sending it into the WK.

1. Set the cool-pool pathway: WK bottom valve to pump to HX with water open and glycol cracked. Turn the pump on at 85%, targeting 5°F under the target temp, then swap to the WK tangential arm to homogenize for a few minutes. Depending on the time of year, ground water top-up may be sufficient to cool without glycol.
2. After cool pool, carefully detach the block-and-bleed manifold/hose. Rinse the hose with hot water and hang it; rinse the manifold and return it to the pump.
3. Whirlpool for 10 minutes, then let rest for 25 minutes.

1. Confirm the FV is fully drained of sanitizer and open the tank's drain valve. Turn the pump on at 85% once the pathway is open - water should be fully open at first, then adjusted as needed. Glycol may or may not be needed depending on the season. Attach the O2 hose and turn it on.
2. Pump anywhere from 50%-75% (85% for Table Beer in winter).

This SOP is still a working first draft - if a step doesn't match what you see on the floor, don't guess. Flag it with the brew team so the doc can be corrected.