Turnkey Brewhouse Systems: What 1500L and 2000L Actually Mean on the Floor

Most inquiries we get for 1500L and 2000L brewhouses come from breweries that have outgrown a pilot system but aren\’t ready to commit to a full-scale industrial plant. They need repeatable batch yields, predictable lautering times, and a brewhouse that a two- or three-person crew can run without babysitting every valve. That\’s the design target here.

Vessel Configuration

The turnkey package typically includes a mash/lauter tun, brew kettle/whirlpool, hot liquor tank, plate heat exchanger, wort pump, and the piping, valves, and control panel that tie them together. Two-vessel and three-vessel layouts are both available. A two-vessel setup saves floor space and capital; a three-vessel gives you parallel lautering and boiling, which shortens the brew day considerably once you\’re running back-to-back batches. For a 2000L system doing two turns a day, that time difference matters.

Materials and Fabrication

Product-contact surfaces are SUS304 as standard, with SUS316L available for the kettle and any section handling high-chloride cleaning chemistry. Interior welds are ground and pickled, then passivated; we polish product-contact surfaces to Ra ≤ 0.6 μm where the wort path demands it. Exterior surfaces get a brushed finish unless you specify mirror polishing. Shell thickness on 2000L vessels is typically 3 mm for the inner wall with dimpled jackets on the kettle and HLT for steam or direct-fired heating.

Heating, Whirlpool, and Wort Clarity

Kettles can be configured for steam jacket, electric immersion, or direct fire. Steam gives the most even heat flux and is easier to control during the boil-off ramp; electric suits sites without a boiler room. Whirlpool inlets are tangential and sized to the pump curve — undersized inlets are a common cause of poor trub cones and slow runoff to the heat exchanger.

Controls and CIP

Manual, semi-automatic, and PLC-based control packages are available. Semi-automatic covers temperature ramps, pump sequencing, and step timers; full PLC adds recipe storage and data logging. CIP is integrated through a dedicated pump and spray ball circuit, with the brewhouse vessels sharing one caustic loop. Specify your cleaning chemical concentrations early so we can select gasket and seal materials accordingly.

Typical Specifications

Common Questions

Can the system be expanded later? Yes, if the vessel layout and utility stub-ups are planned for it at the outset. Retrofitting a third vessel into a two-vessel footprint is expensive.

What utilities do I need? Plan for steam or high-amperage power, chilled water for the heat exchanger, compressed air for pneumatic valves, and floor drainage sized to your CIP flow.

How long is lead time? Typically 60–90 days depending on control package and jacket configuration.

Tell us your batch size, beer type, number of fermentation tanks and available space. We can recommend the tank volume, cooling area and configuration for your brewery.