NLR eBIAB Brewery Done!

It was a lot of work and took many months but I've finally completed my dream electric brewery in my basement. The brew room was part of a larger project to finish off my entire basement, but off course the brewery had to be completed first! I've brewed 4 batches so far without any glitches and am most please with the results. I can't wait for a bellow zero mid-winter brew day!

I managed to DIY the entire project from the framing to the plumbing, electrical and tile wall. My only regret so far was not putting an extra light above the sink, which i'll probably get around to fixing at some point after the bar is done.













Some in progress shots:

Damn! Pretty slick man. Looks great. I can't wait to have something like this that I can brew in. Good job!

very nice and elegant, I guess I don't understand why you went biab single vessel with so much space and a decent budget. I am not anti biab, but find 3 vessel brewing more flexible and less messy. Though your nice mash basket amd hoist probably works worlds better than my paint strainer in a steam basmet and a ladder rigged as the hoist. I am not looking to argue brewing styles, both make great beer, just curious about your decision.

Ramitt said:

very nice and elegant, I guess I don't understand why you went biab single vessel with so much space and a decent budget. I am not anti biab, but find 3 vessel brewing more flexible and less messy. Though your nice mash basket amd hoist probably works worlds better than my paint strainer in a steam basmet and a ladder rigged as the hoist. I am not looking to argue brewing styles, both make great beer, just curious about your decision.

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I've done the 3 vessel setup. I started doing single vessel BIAB when brewing away from home and really enjoyed the simplicity. You are correct it can be messy, and I had lots of spills until I went to larger straight sided pot.

My most recent set up prior to going 100% electric was a gas electric hybrid with a 110v rims tube. I found with this set up I could save my self 1-2 hours on brew day. I also find I spend a lot less time monitoring the system, there are no flow rates to regulate, fewer pumps and hoses to move around, no stuck sparges to ever worry about, and fewer parts to clean and maintain. The more time I can save save on brew day the more time I can spend with the family, which in turn lets me get away with brewing more.

Cost and space was a factor. The more space I can save the more room I have for refrigeration and storage. And the money I saved from not having to buy larger control panel, additional heating elements, pumps, hardware, rack systems, I can spend on the granite countertops for the bar, or a bigger TV for the new family room

I also think water adjustments are easier because I am doing full volume mashes there is no separate sparge water to adjust for. Typically I throw my water adjustments in with my grain prior to mashing.

I really can't think of a anything I can't do with this set up that I could with my previous 3 keggle set up. It does come down to style preference and this is definitely non traditional. One of my favorite things about this hobby is there are so many ways to make great beer!

Blagoe,

Thanks for sharing your first class brewery build.

BIAB is often promoted as an introduction into full mash, incorrectly setting an expectation that BIAB is only a first step, and that the novice brewer will want to graduate to a 3 vessel rig if they become serious brewers. Rather, the BIAB process is a stand-alone brewing technique.

Your brewery is leading the way to go with this technique.

Very nice. Where are the pot and basket from?

1342 said:

Very nice. Where are the pot and basket from?

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Got the brew pot from Adventures:
http://www.homebrewing.org/1-Weld-25-gallon-SS-Brew-Pot_p_3630.html

The Basket was a custom build from Arbor fabricating:
https://arborfab.com/

My buddy Mike made this great video of the brewery in action!

Here is the parts list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YZmcD_nvMh90x3EKfyyVaUBSsmbngn5fYhWZ24M7z3U/edit?usp=sharing

Does the steel basket sit on top of the boil coil?

jwalkermed said:

Does the steel basket sit on top of the boil coil?

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Yes the basket has legs that suspends it just above the coil.

Awesome system, great job. Are you brewing 15 or 20 gallon batches on this?

rshortt said:

Awesome system, great job. Are you brewing 15 or 20 gallon batches on this?

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Despite being a 25g pot typicaly I'm only brewing to finish with 12-14g of finished wort. Because I'm doing full volume mashes, I need the extra space to fit in around 18g of water and 30lbs of grain for a 14 gallon batch of IPA.

Once the mash is finished and the grain basket pulled out I have plenty of space and no worry of boil overs.

blagoe said:

Despite being a 25g pot typicaly I'm only brewing to finish with 12-14g of finished wort. Because I'm doing full volume mashes, I need the extra space to fit in around 18g of water and 30lbs of grain for a 14 gallon batch of IPA.

Once the mash is finished and the grain basket pulled out I have plenty of space and no worry of boil overs.

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I'm doing 10 gallon BIAB in a 18.9 gallon pot and the same goes for me. I've been thinking about changing to a two 25-30 gallon vessel system but I came across your video on youtube which gave me second thoughts. I'd love to be able to do 20 gallon batches.

rshortt said:

I'm doing 10 gallon BIAB in a 18.9 gallon pot and the same goes for me. I've been thinking about changing to a two 25-30 gallon vessel system but I came across your video on youtube which gave me second thoughts. I'd love to be able to do 20 gallon batches.

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I'm sure I could do 20g it just wouldn't be full volume. I would just add some extra water after the mash to bring me to my boil volume. But if I was planing to brew 20g batches I'd just get a bigger pot. Blichmann make larger heating coils for their bigger pots.

blagoe said:

I'm sure I could do 20g it just wouldn't be full volume. I would just add some extra water after the mash to bring me to my boil volume. But if I was planing to brew 20g batches I'd just get a bigger pot. Blichmann make larger heating coils for their bigger pots.

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This video was a major inspiration for me in my build. Watched it many times. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1497387901.893181.jpg

I meant your video of course.

Nmnbrewer said:

This video was a major inspiration for me in my build. Watched it many times. View attachment 404191

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Wow your space looks great! I can say having the big sink and sprayer next to the pots is one of my favorite parts of my system. You going with a single pot with a bag or basket?

blagoe said:

Wow your space looks great! I can say having the big sink and sprayer next to the pots is one of my favorite parts of my system. You going with a single pot with a bag or basket?

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Basket from arbor fab. No legs. Just rim tabs. Sits about 3/4 inch off of element.

blagoe said:

Wow your space looks great! I can say having the big sink and sprayer next to the pots is one of my favorite parts of my system. You going with a single pot with a bag or basket?

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And yes the sink is killer. Makes cleaning much more enjoyable.

That vent hood is slick

that is one nice setup and the video was great. Thanks for sharing it. Damn...wish houses in Dallas had basements so I could build a room like that.