As others have said, there should be no flavours imparted by the stainless.

Make sure to passivate before use with citric acid.

For cleaning, sodium percarbonate, PBW or even a caustic cleaner will work. At my brewery I use PBW, which works perfectly.

Rule no. 1 of brewing, record keeping! 😂

I’ve made 3 batches of mead so far. A sweet, a semi-sweet and a dry. My favourite by far was the semi-sweet, and it only took about a month to finish clear and be drinkable!

IBU production slows down over time. There will be some increase from 60 mins to 120 but the effect will be a lot less than say 40 to 60. Not saying there isn’t a difference, but that it won’t be that great.

See this paper for graphs of IBU production over time of the boil. You will see that almost all of the IBU production is in the first 10-15 mins, then it slows right down.

Obviously your taste is the ultimate decider however. If you find too much bitterness then shorten the boil addition, of course. I always add a 60 minute addition, even if it’s very small (5g for a 25L batch will do).

Your 60 minute addition isn’t going to get any more bitterness compared to adding it at 40 mins. I’d use a 60 min addition for bittering and throw the rest in at flameout, like an extended whirlpool.

Sounds like you know what you’re getting yourself in for, which is good.

I’d say make sure the clothes, especially the shoes are comfortable. You are on your feet all day long when brewing, so having comfortable footware is a must.

3.5BBL, approx 400L batch size. But honestly, not much changes as volumes increase, just more is automated.

Some general tips:

• Get some chem and water resistant brewing shoes. I wear Birkenstocks.
• You will get sprayed with beer eventually, guaranteed. Take a change of clothes to work.
• Be careful of hot wort, treat it like hot sugar (i.e. carefully)
• Always triple check you’ve released pressure before opening anything. People have died.
• I personally don’t drink beer while brewing, although I know some do. Instead, I drink coffee during the brew day, and beer when it’s done.
• If you are stepping into an assistant role, make sure you listen to the head brewer even if you have years of home brew experience. Commerical brewing is not that much different, but the specific processes are and it will take time to learn them.
• Every brew house is different. Take your time to learn the equipment.
• Brewing is just slow, cold, baking really. Learn the process and stick to it and you’ll be fine.

I love brewing, and the first time someone tries your beer and tells you it’s great is an awesome feeling. Also, when you get a call from a venue to deliver more beer because they’ve sold out is fantastic. 😁

Hit me up if you have any other questions.

I work at a commercial nano brewery. What do you want to know?