Brewing in Basement

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Daver77

Daver77

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My current set if is really simple as pictured below. Winter is coming and I wont be able to brew outside. I want to continue to brew and I'm wondering about brewing in the basement. It's an unfinished basement and I have running water. I have a door that leads to outside and was thinking of setting up near that area. perhaps a fan that can blow some air out?

I'd imagine that the door would be a large enough opening?

Any thoughts?

IMG_2676.jpg
 
You're worried enough to keep a fire extinguisher on your deck, but not worried about using an outdoor propane burner inside your house? ;)

I wouldn't, personally. Those types of propane burners are terribly inefficient, which means they tend to produce a lot of CO; I'm not convinced just having an open door and a fan going is going to give sufficient circulation. And if you don't... well, the good news is that you'll never know.

This is a matter that tends to generate a lot of debate, however. I just come down on the side of - it's a lot of risk to take (both CO and the fire from the burner) to keep yourself a little bit warmer.

What about setting the burner up outside, not too far from the basement door? Nothing to keep you from mashing in the basement. Keep boiling outside, but set up your burner so you can watch it from inside the doorway so you can stay out of the wind.

Besides, you're in Jersey, not Anchorage. I know it gets cold, but... c'mon. There are always those nice days even in February when it's sunny and not too windy, just put on your long underpants and an extra pair of socks and suck it up. I'd rather brew in 10° weather than 90°!
 
Got to agree with the bird. Don't think I'd fire up a propane burner indoors for the fire and CO hazards. Garage maybe?
 
the_bird said:
Besides, you're in Jersey, not Anchorage. I know it gets cold, but... c'mon. There are always those nice days even in February when it's sunny and not too windy, just put on your long underpants and an extra pair of socks and suck it up. I'd rather brew in 10° weather than 90°!
Click to expand...

+1
I grew up in NJ and those "winters" are pretty mild.
 
CanadianQuaffer said:
+1
I grew up in NJ and those "winters" are pretty mild.
Click to expand...

Dude, last year we had snow on the ground everyday from Dec through March. Mild my ass

It's not so much the temps its the constant rain and snow. The problem with the garage is that there's no water supply in there. Cant bring a hose because it will be frozen.

IMG_1835.jpg


this is that same deck. I want to brew when the weather is like this.

I want to brew and not have to look at the weather.
 
Wow...I lived in NJ for 12 years and I'd be surprised if the total amount of snow in all that time equaled what you have in that photo.
 
That actually looks like a pretty great day for brewing. It's sunny, it doesn't look windy, and it doesn't look THAT cold out (you aren't wearing a hat or gloves) I'd get out the shovel and go to town ;)

I mean, if you've made up your mind, you've made up your mind. I personally think it's a really, REALLY bad idea. I'd rather do extract batches in the kitchen than set up my burner in the basement. Either that, or investigate an electric-brewing setup (that's what a lot of folks do to handle brewing indoors, but it's beyond my level of expertise).
 
So I gotta clean out the garage or see about and electric set up.

No water means can't use a wort chiller. Then again the copper may not handle the cold that well.

What to do?
 
How far's the garage from the outside spigot? The hose isn't going to freeze as long as the water is moving. Just don't turn the water on inside the house until you're ready to chill, and as soon as you're done empty the hose and turn the faucet back off. You'll be fine. And the copper's only going to be an issue if you let it freeze up solid, so once you're done with the chiller, bring it back in the house.
 
Why not go with the first suggestion and set up the BK right outside the door of the basement? If you had it on wheels or something where you could mash/drain/sparge right outside the door, wheel it close for filling the BK, and then pushing it away a bit for the oil, and then stay inside yourself that would be the best of both worlds.
 
Daver77 said:
Dude, last year we had snow on the ground everyday from Dec through March. Mild my ass

It's not so much the temps its the constant rain and snow. The problem with the garage is that there's no water supply in there. Cant bring a hose because it will be frozen.

IMG_1835.jpg


this is that same deck. I want to brew when the weather is like this.

I want to brew and not have to look at the weather.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to "poo poo" you, but that is seriously nothing compared to many of us! We get -45 degrees sometimes in January, and 300 inches of snow a year. I have to drive 3 hours south to get to the "banana belt" area of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Of course, that is why I brew indoors.........................
 
Daver77 said:
No water means can't use a wort chiller. Then again the copper may not handle the cold that well.

What to do?
Click to expand...

I bring my kettle into my basement brewing area and use an immersion chiller in a utility sink.
 
I've brewed in my garage in below 0 F temps and never had problems with hoses freezing.

And the snow in that photo is about half of what we have up here.... in April.
 
Yooper said:
I don't mean to "poo poo" you, but that is seriously nothing compared to many of us! We get -45 degrees sometimes in January, and 300 inches of snow a year. I have to drive 3 hours south to get to the "banana belt" area of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Of course, that is why I brew indoors.........................
Click to expand...

.... that may explain why you can buy a house up there for $25,000....
 
Go electric! A simple 1500w element in an HLT pot or cooler will heat plenty of strike / sparge water with a little patience. 2000w will boil a 5 gallon batch, helps a bit to insulate the kettle by wrapping a blanket or towel around the kettle. Best part is ferment in the basement so no more carrying heavy wort in and out of the house. Electric brewing can be stupidly simple and cheap! Use GFI's!

HPIM5462.jpg
 
the_bird said:
.... that may explain why you can buy a house up there for $25,000....
Click to expand...

Only if you're splurging!

My daughter paid $12,000 for her house last fall. It's only three bedrooms with one bathroom, though, and only a one-car garage. :D

Anyway, you CAN brew safely indoors. I went with electric because I was concerned about propane and safety. I am sure there are ways to do it, but the cheapest/easiest way may be to do everything inside except heating the mash/sparge water and boiling.
 
wilserbrewer said:
Go electric! A simple 1500w element in an HLT pot or cooler will heat plenty of strike / sparge water with a little patience. 2000w will boil a 5 gallon batch, helps a bit to insulate the kettle by wrapping a blanket or towel around the kettle. Best part is ferment in the basement so no more carrying heavy wort in and out of the house. Electric brewing can be stupidly simple and cheap! Use GFI's!
Click to expand...

What about just an electric HLT? You can use a 1500 W in any regular GFI outlet, so the only thing being done with propane can be the actual boil outside? Just a thought!

I have an electric HLT that I'm not using- it's made out of an Igloo 10 gallon cooler. Heating the water up to strike temps isn't fast- it takes about 90 minutes- but it's possible. I think it leaks on the bottom, though, since I tried to take out the podded element. :mad:

Anyway, something like that or a heatstick could be a lifesaver for you!
 
Yooper said:
I don't mean to "poo poo" you, but that is seriously nothing compared to many of us! We get -45 degrees sometimes in January, and 300 inches of snow a year. I have to drive 3 hours south to get to the "banana belt" area of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Of course, that is why I brew indoors.........................
Click to expand...

I hear ya, I was just trying to prove a point to the guy that said he lived in Jersey and always had mild winters.

Wisconsin might as well be in the arctic.

I want comfort. Directly in front of the basement doo that goes into the yard are stairs.

I think the solution will be the garage. The water faucet is about 60 ft away.

The garage is a total mess so I would have to re-organize it which is cool.

I want to build a brew station so I wouldn't have to carry anything heavy. Be it Gravity fed or pump so be it. What I'm looking for is ease of use. I need to get another pot and another burner for the sparge water. Unless I get another cooler for that. I think a cooler might hold hot water for a couple hours.

Keep the ideas coming though I appreciate it.
 
If you decide to risk it, get 2 CO alarms one for your breast pocket and one for the room

(if I had a way to get the steam out i would probaly have tryed, but that requires quite a bit of fans)
 
What if I'm only brewing 5 gallons?

wilserbrewer I like that I have to look into it.

Yooper, you have electric right?
 
janivar123 said:
If you decide to risk it, get 2 CO alarms one for your breast pocket and one for the room

(if I had a way to get the steam out i would probaly have tryed, but that requires quite a bit of fans)
Click to expand...

Nah not going to risk it but thanks
 
Daver77 said:
What if I'm only brewing 5 gallons?

wilserbrewer I like that I have to look into it.

Yooper, you have electric right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm all-electric. The only issue I have indoors is moisture. I have an open door with a fan, as well as an overhead "bathroom fan" but there is still quite a bit of moisture.

That's the other thing- brewing indoors in your basement would be a ton of moisture. Maybe ok in the winter, since you may have dry air from the furnace, but your basement's rafter will be good and wet!
 
Yooper said:
Yeah, I'm all-electric. The only issue I have indoors is moisture. I have an open door with a fan, as well as an overhead "bathroom fan" but there is still quite a bit of moisture.

That's the other thing- brewing indoors in your basement would be a ton of moisture. Maybe ok in the winter, since you may have dry air from the furnace, but your basement's rafter will be good and wet!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I think I'm going into the garage. Gotta take the kayaks and canoe outta there and maybe store them under the deck.

Got electricity so I can listen to music and stuff.
 
wilserbrewer said:
Go electric! A simple 1500w element in an HLT pot or cooler will heat plenty of strike / sparge water with a little patience. 2000w will boil a 5 gallon batch, helps a bit to insulate the kettle by wrapping a blanket or towel around the kettle. Best part is ferment in the basement so no more carrying heavy wort in and out of the house. Electric brewing can be stupidly simple and cheap! Use GFI's!

HPIM5462.jpg
Click to expand...

I think I recognize that set-up. Is there a pool table in the front and to the right?
 
Garage might need some ekstra ventilation too(or the burner could be badly adjusted)
So a CO alarm will add to both safety and comfort there too
 
Why dont you spend the 1-200 dollars it takes to convert to electric? Especially since its only one pot?
 
I brew in the garage with the garage door cracked, and a CO alarm. Last month the CO alarm did go off because the garage door wasn't cracked enough, so there is danger there. Last brew day, I monitored the CO detector, and it never registered anything. I was also careful to make sure the burner was putting off a nice blue flame with out any orange. So if you vent, I think you'll be in good shape if you also have a CO detector.
 
Daver77 said:
I hear ya, I was just trying to prove a point to the guy that said he lived in Jersey and always had mild winters.

Wisconsin might as well be in the arctic.
Click to expand...

Sorry, gotcha both beat, lol.

It's all perspective. *To me* NJ winters are a joke, but obviously not to someone who lives there and has never experienced a winter in Canada or Wisconsin.

Are you doing 5 gallon batches? If so why not brew in the garage and bring your brew kettle inside to use the wort chiller by your sink? 5 gallons is an easily managable lift.
 
cjd3 said:
I brew in the garage with the garage door cracked, and a CO alarm. Last month the CO alarm did go off because the garage door wasn't cracked enough, so there is danger there. Last brew day, I monitored the CO detector, and it never registered anything. I was also careful to make sure the burner was putting off a nice blue flame with out any orange. So if you vent, I think you'll be in good shape if you also have a CO detector.
Click to expand...

Why not just leave the garage doors open? Portable heater?
 
Daver77 said:
Why not just leave the garage doors open? Portable heater?
Click to expand...

Right now it is 40 degrees, this winter it will be much colder.
 
Okay, here is my opinion.

Break out a shovel and some winter gear for the big AG batches. Mash indoors. Rock the boil on the deck. And rely on your Partial Mashing techniques for indoor stove-top batches. I know the effect moisture plays on your house. I feel it's not worth brewing indoors unless properly ventilated. Even when I did a small stove-top batch, I end up opening the doors and windows, I have since started using a burner on my deck in the middle of some nasty winters.
 
Have no problem with winter, but then I spent 6 yrs in an arctic SF unit, a year in Korea, and 2.5yrs in Germany. I just brew in the garage with the door fully open, with a wind break set up with a sheet of plywood to protect my burner.
 
cincyjrod said:
Okay, here is my opinion.

Break out a shovel and some winter gear for the big AG batches. Mash indoors. Rock the boil on the deck. And rely on your Partial Mashing techniques for indoor stove-top batches. I know the effect moisture plays on your house. I feel it's not worth brewing indoors unless properly ventilated. Even when I did a small stove-top batch, I end up opening the doors and windows, I have since started using a burner on my deck in the middle of some nasty winters.
Click to expand...

You might be on to something!
 
There has been a lot of discussion about brewing in a basement. I have done some research on this and have successfully brewed 20 gallons of beer in my basement brew room in the last 60 days. I have not had any problems or issues, I am careful and pay close attention and never ever leave the the room with the burners lit. I do have CO Detectors and Fire Extinguishers and I do not store propane tanks in the use, when brewing is done the tank goes outside.

Here are the issues: Moisture, Fire, Carbon Monoxide and a build up of explosive gas.

With either with electric or propane you have to deal with the amount of moisture brewing produces.
With propane two more items, okay maybe three more. Those are: Carbon Monoxide, unburned propane and a propane tank in the house.

Moisture is easiest an exhaust fan like for a bathroom large enough to handle the cubic footage of the area your brewing in (may have to seek out a commercial grade fan) or a stove/range hood fan. Both will work well. The hood type will work better in a more open area like an unfinished basement. Either must exhaust to the exterior.

To use propane inside you must have burners rated for interior use, normally low pressure (of course they do not get as hot and take longer to boil the wort and heat strike water). Do not use the burners you have pictured in the house, in the basement or even next to the open basement door. Those are high pressure burners and not very efficient. They produce heat fast but throw a lot of CO and unburnt propane (an explosive gas when confined) into the air. Very dangerous inside.

If you have an enclosed room, like mine, an exhaust and an intake are needed. With an enclosed area heat can also be an issue as my room got a little warm in September, but over this last weekend it was nice as the air coming in was quite cold.

With your current set up, I would use the garage, and run hoses as long as the water flows it will not freeze (just drain them when your finished). Also if the temperature is above 25F I doubt the hoses would freeze unless they sat for many hours without running water in through them.

I would go for the garage, definitely safer!
 
build yourself a exhaust vent hood out of sheet metal and a squirrel fan and run the duct work to join your dryer exhaust. Just make sure you have enough cubic feet per minute of movement and you should be ok on all fronts . . . just keep that burner away from other combustables
 
I live in Albany NY, I brew on my back porch every winter. I open the windows and we haven't had a problem with CO yet (I'm still alive). If you have enough ventilation and the fire extinguisher, I'd go for it. If you really want to be safe, get a CO detector and put it next to where you're brewing.
 
BrewerinBR said:
There has been a lot of discussion about brewing in a basement. I have done some research on this and have successfully brewed 20 gallons of beer in my basement brew room in the last 60 days. I have not had any problems or issues, I am careful and pay close attention and never ever leave the the room with the burners lit. I do have CO Detectors and Fire Extinguishers and I do not store propane tanks in the use, when brewing is done the tank goes outside.

Here are the issues: Moisture, Fire, Carbon Monoxide and a build up of explosive gas.

With either with electric or propane you have to deal with the amount of moisture brewing produces.
With propane two more items, okay maybe three more. Those are: Carbon Monoxide, unburned propane and a propane tank in the house.

Moisture is easiest an exhaust fan like for a bathroom large enough to handle the cubic footage of the area your brewing in (may have to seek out a commercial grade fan) or a stove/range hood fan. Both will work well. The hood type will work better in a more open area like an unfinished basement. Either must exhaust to the exterior.

To use propane inside you must have burners rated for interior use, normally low pressure (of course they do not get as hot and take longer to boil the wort and heat strike water). Do not use the burners you have pictured in the house, in the basement or even next to the open basement door. Those are high pressure burners and not very efficient. They produce heat fast but throw a lot of CO and unburnt propane (an explosive gas when confined) into the air. Very dangerous inside.

If you have an enclosed room, like mine, an exhaust and an intake are needed. With an enclosed area heat can also be an issue as my room got a little warm in September, but over this last weekend it was nice as the air coming in was quite cold.

With your current set up, I would use the garage, and run hoses as long as the water flows it will not freeze (just drain them when your finished). Also if the temperature is above 25F I doubt the hoses would freeze unless they sat for many hours without running water in through them.

I would go for the garage, definitely safer!
Click to expand...

Yeah thanks to the comments on here I came to the conclusion of not doing it in my basement. Instead I will build a fermentation chamber down there and brew in my garage.
 

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