Building the New Brewery

[Nosybear]

I scored nicely for the last birthday - a 9 gal brew pot and a propane burner. Problem is I have no place to use it! The plan is to build out my brewery in the basement, meaning lighting, installing a sink, drainage and water supply, work surfaces, perhaps a steel rack for holding the burner and pot.... Anyway, anyone have any ideas as to how to build the basement brewery? Thanks in advance....

 

[Sluggo]

A propane burner in the basement? :shock: That's a pretty dangerous proposition. If you're set on doing it, think largely in terms of ventilation—without it, the fumes could kill you and anyone upstairs. For the investment you'd have to make in proper venting of the fumes, you could setup an electric solution and save yourself a lot of headaches—literally! :mrgreen:

 

[LarryBrewer]

+1 on venting, and understanding the risks of propane indoors, which are HUGE

 

[chessking]

Also to do it legally you will have to leave the propane tank outside and run a hose in. That is if you care about the law, and safety, and that sort of thing. Tanks apparently can explode, although I have never heard about it actually happening. Venting is necessary even with an electric setup. Basement brewing is great, especially in the cold months, but you have to get set up enough to leave it all down there. Don't want to be humping up and down the stairs. Also having a brew room where all your equipment is stored is ideal. I am currently building mine, which will also include the keggerator, snooker table and flat screen. More of a man cave with brewing applications. I'm going all electric and scaling up to 10 gallon batches. Electric can add some noticeable up front expense, but the energy usage per batch is reduced. It is quieter, more precision controlled, and you don't have to refill tanks. You can build your own control panel or buy one like Larry has from High Gravity

http://www.highgravitybrew.com/ProductCart/pc/Build-Your-Own-Brewery-c276.htm

Yah, I know. Home brewing is supposed to save you money, right?

If you got the basement space, think about it as building a small kitchen. You will need a sink. A big one if possible. You can also run an additional water line through a filter to fill your kettle. Some cabinets for storage and counter top support. If going electric you will need to run dedicated lines and a GFCI breaker. If you bottle think about a dishwasher dedicated for bottles. Microwave, Tea kettle for heating small amounts, Stir plate for making starters. A refrigerator for beer storage, and another for a fermentation chamber.You may in the future put a kegerator in as well. You will be spending a lot of time down there, so plan it out for the future expansion. Recliner, couch, foosball table, Pachinko, dartbord, TV, stereo. Better have a phone and a computer terminal for using BF. Now with all this going on you need a bathroom, or else it's the stairs again. Don't forget the decor. Football memorabilia, Beer signs, bottle collections........

 

[LarryBrewer]

Wow Chessking, yes you have covered it, and I can tell thought about it extensively. Yes, safety first, favor electric, and make it as cool as you can!

 

[Nosybear]

One step at a time, gents! Of course, being both a redneck and an engineer, I'll have to try the propane burner first - I can use it outside on the back porch for now. And no, I will not allow my kettle to be used as a turkey frier nor my burner to fry turkeys. That excludes turducken by inclusion. As the basement brewery expands, I'll consider some variant on what you are talking about - maybe firing the kettle with house natural gas and venting to the outside. I was more interested in any cool racks or work areas you've created. As I work my way up to the brewer's man-cave, the next logical step is installing a sink with a drain, water and lighting and a work surface - I'll build that out of plywood and cover it with cheap laminate. The lagering fridge is already in place. I have an idea for a cool swamp-cooled fermentation closet - Denver is swamp cooler heaven with our altitude and dry air!

Just bottled Raspberry Ale. Dunkelweizen is in secondary. Doppelbock is lagering. And through the low-tech magic of bottling, I'm enjoying just about everything I've brewed this summer! Kegerator is an eventual must for the Brewer's Man-Cave.... Just hope Mother-In-Law doesn't decide to move in.... :-(

Cheers!

 

[chessking]

Natural gas works inside, but a propane burner wont work the same without some adjustment, or possible replacement.


Edit: Turducken.....Mmmmm.....Tasty!

 

[Nosybear]

Update: Talking with my wife about the possibility of Mother-In-Law perhaps eventually moving in, the idea of just building a basement kitchen is gaining traction....