Hey everyone! I just recently joined, but I have been brewing (at a not very consistent rate) for a few years now. I’ve made around 10 batches, all done in a fairly small apartment, or other non-permanent situation.
This week I am closing on a home, and have a very large garage that I will be able to use a good chunk of for a dedicated brewing work area. I was hoping to ask others for general ideas/tips/etc as I go to get settled in to the space.
I have access to water (I can add whatever plumbing I want) and electric. I plan on adding a workbench, shelving for storage, and some kind of water source(s?). Beyond that I’m not 100% sure how I want to do those things. I typically stick to 5gal batches, but occasionally do 10. Mostly all grain and extract.
Any advice or ideas would be really appreciated! Maybe even a picture of a similar garage set-up would give me a nice idea as to what I’m getting into.
Not sure if you have space for a sink, but if you can squeeze one in, I would recommend it. Maybe add just a utility sink and build some counter space next to it. I have a 2-tub sink in my basement that I use (6’ L x 19" wide), and I find it very useful for both brew and bottling day.
Yep, I do! I hadn’t thought about the counter space next to it at all, or using the 2-tub kind. Was just imaging one with a single huge tub, but glancing at some types online those look like they’d be really useful. I was thinking of adding one of those spray handle attachments to it (like in industrial kitchens) instead of a traditional one? I’m not sure if that’s going to be overkill or not.
That thought actually just popped into my head, because I’d definitely like to use that space for fermentation if I can. Is there a reasonably cheap and efficient way to keep them at temp. without building a big fermentation chamber? I haven’t really looked into that much since I’ve had warmer spaces to keep the stuff in my apartment. I’m not opposed to building a temp. controlled chamber, but if there’s an easy way to do it without one that would be good to know.
I do not have a spray device, but the faucet on mine allows me to slip tubing up into it or slip tubing around it, which allows me to rinse carboys, wash things down, etc. quickly ( I have different lengths of tubing for different jobs). Need to also consider connections for your wort chiller, bottle washer (my faucet fits nicely into the mouth of bottles for cleaning).
I need to figure out how to post pics to this thread.
Woah, that’s a beautiful set up. A lot of really great organization ideas there. I didn’t even consider trying out electric. That website looks like a pretty good resource for it as well.
Fridges or freezers are reasonably cheap and efficient for temperature control. You can add a temperature controller and a heating element and run the whole gamut of fermentation temperatures.
As far as setup, I need to put everything on wheels. Don’t know if that is helpful to you Scott - something occasionally happens where I need to hose out and wash out freezers, like a leaky keg or blown fermentation lid.
You can go electric for A LOT cheaper. Check out High Gravity Brewing. Brewing in the garage with propane will require some ventilation, electric eliminates the CO2 issue.
Yeah that was one of my big worries. It would be nice to just not have to deal with the safety issues of propane in a space like that. I’ll look into them and see what it’ll take to convert.
I didn’t think about that at all! I was just thinking of keeping the temps up during the winter, but it’s likely I’ll need to keep it down at some point. I have one that’s becoming a kegerator, but I imagine I can find a cheap/free one to convert.
This will help a lot.