So should I move it or sell it?

I am moving about 1500 miles in August and have quite a dilemma. I looked at the cost movers and shipping and all, and don’t know what to do about my brewery. I have about the equivalent of a one bedroom apartment to move not including my brewery. So a base cost of about $1000 just for my apartment. In my brewery there is:

2 keggles,
A round cooler mash tun
An immersion chiller
2 SQ14 Burners
2 bottling buckets
A sanyo 2 keg fridge with tower and CO2 system
All of the misc odds and ends (cappers siphon tubing airlocks, sanitization stuff etc)
6 primary fermenters glass 6.5 gallons
2 secondary fermenters glass 5 gallon
28 cornie kegs

Now this amount of stuff will easily take up as much space as the rest of the furniture and clothes and stuff I have in my apartment. So the major question is do I let the movers pack it up and increase the cost of shipping my stuff $350 - $500 or do I try and sell it here in Boston and then try to re-buy similar equipment when I get to my new home.

Any advice on moving a relatively large home brewery cross country? Or moving cross country in general, it seems like it is going to be a daunting task.

Are you shipping your car? You could pack much if it in there if you are.

I would probably move it. Maybe I'd sell some of the Cornies though. If you sell 10 conies at 15 bucks a pop, you've just paid for half of your increased moving expenses. And you'll still have a meager 18 kegs left!!

I think you'll end of spending more trying to replace the equipment + the hassle of buying it all again vs just paying the increased cost in moving expenses.

I don't think its going to cost you an additional $300 - 500 to ship the brewing stuff. Have you confirmed this with your moving company?

If I were you I would probably take it with me. But if you arent going to take it with you im in boston and would gladly buy some of this from you.

Good luck

You are not going to make nearly as much money selling it used and it's going to cost quite a bit to replace it. Unless you really are that tight on money, you should pay to move it.

Don't pack anything yourself; they will not cover it in insurance then. They just mark the box PBO (packed by owner). Insure everything, you WILL be buying new carboys on the other end. Dump the cornies and rebuy on the other end. Maybe all the odds and ends can stay behind too - start off relatively fresh - with just your brewing and fermenting stuff. While you're waiting take the cash from your sold stuff, build a big keezer, and take it easy on the cornies.

-OCD

I'd start thinking of the time you'll spend reacquiring everything. Maybe sell off some of those 28 cornies!

Maybe if you pack it up, not much addition to the cost of the move. Movers typically have a minimum amount of stuff, and you might get in much less than the $300-500 range.

This isn't a "dibs if you sell it" thing I am really looking for advice about moving a brewery. With regards to the additional cost, the estimate from the moving company was based on linear feet in a cargo truck with a minimum of 10 linear feet. I figured my brewery would take up an additional 3 linear feet and I am assuming I will be maxing out or exceeding the 10 feet I already have.

I already took into account that I am not going to move my chest freezer, which is why it isn't on the list.

Additionally if I do wind up selling it first crack will as always go to members of the Boston Wort Processors, Boston's oldest and most active homebrew club! The Boston Wort Processors. I have tried selling stuff to members of this board before, as it is the internet, they often don't come through. (stops to think about that shaggy gray bearded guy who never picked up his carboys, you know who you are!)

I say move it, you'll kick yourself later if you sell it. I used to be really big into Guitar, and when I moved to where I am now, I sold most of my stuff. I always regretted selling it and consequently lost interest in Guitar.

Definitly move it all. It'll be worth it. In fact, I'd order some ingredients so that you can christen your new home the second everything's unpacked.

But dang, 28 Kegs?!? Thats nuts yo.

TurboBrew said:

But dang, 28 Kegs?!? Thats nuts yo.

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Got to keep the pipeline flowing. I use them to secondary as well as serve. and with the ability to do 30 gallons a week, if I was running at full capacity. it would not be excessive.

Move it on Amtrak, all shipping done on the train is government subsidized and I moved a couple of pallets of stuff across the country for $200ish. Plus the insurance is dirt cheap. It took about a week to arrive from Seattle to Providence.

I think the cost was $65ish for the first hundred pounds then about $.50 for each additional pound.

Again, move it or kick yourself later. Better yet, let me kick you now so that you get the point.

Time to weed through the stuff you don't need/use. Then move the rest. By the time you sell used equipment and then buy new at the other end you will easily cover your moving costs. Then you have to think about the effort of replacing all of your parts including rebuilding and custom made components.

Now if you are thinking about upgrades, nows a good time to sell of the old stuff and buy the upgrades after the move. Same goes for stuff like beds and other furniture. If you have some partical board junk or an old mattress that is due for replacement then leave them behind.

Craig

What about getting a Pod? PODS - Reinventing Moving and Storage > Home

And I thought having 15 gallons brewing at once and 5 kegs was impressive. Looks like I got some more stuff to buy

additionally I dont know how much it would cost but I have had friends who have shipped car engines using forward air. A couple hundred pound engine crated was about 200 dollar I believe. Im pretty sure they measured the cost in weight not in size.

If you decide to go this route there is a place right in Chelsea Ma that you can drop off.

I agree, weed it out if you want to, but move it, even the cornies (maybe reduce that or see if you can secure "new" ones on the other end for the same price). I moved last year, not as far, but once it's on the truck, it doesn't matter. I can promise you, you don't realize what a PITA it is to try to replace (as in after SWMBO wasn't and a divorce ensued. I got rid of a bunch of my stuff). For the move, I kept all my stuff and when it came time to brew, about a days worth of cleaning and it was good as new. Let us know what you decide. Luck - Dwain

+1 on Amtrak! I was going to suggest that, but Tenchiro beat me to it.

Build a couple of pallets out of anything that won't fit in the moving truck.

I think moving everything but the chest freezer is the best plan. At least around these parts, those freezers have terrific resale value and it is easy to pick up a replacement for more or lees what you sold the old one for if you buy used.

I moved my brewery myself, but I have a Sprinter van. Only 16 cornies, though, and no carboys. You might look into a small U-Haul, because movers won't pack full cornies and you'll need some brew while you're setting in.

Hey Don-

Sorry to hear you are moving! I hope its somewhere with less taxes, more sun, and friendlier people that what us Massholes call home. I wouldn't get rid of too many cornies, since eventually they will be harder to come by. I would say get rid of the big stuff. Keep the keggles, burners, etc. If you are using the cornies as secondaries, why not get rid of your glass secondaries (will decrease possibility of damage too), and hold onto the glass primaries (6.5's I assume?) Buckets, etc are easy to come by no matter where you live. I guess what I'm getting at is that you should keep the things that you know are gonna be a pain to find. I realize you already dumped a ton of carboys at our January meeting, but maybe get rid of the rest...

I'll catch up with you at the next meeting.

Sell the glass carbuoys.
They take up a lot of space and will likely be broken during the move.
You can always find them for cheap on craigslist once you're ready to brew at your new place.

I think you will take a big hit if you sell it.

If you have a year to get the best price when selling it and another year after the move to shop around and get the best price maybe I would consider selling it. But most likely You will have to sell in bulk and you will not get the kind of cash you should.

Anthony_Lopez said:

Hey Don-

Sorry to hear you are moving! I hope its somewhere with less taxes, more sun, and friendlier people that what us Massholes call home. I wouldn't get rid of too many cornies, since eventually they will be harder to come by. I would say get rid of the big stuff. Keep the keggles, burners, etc. If you are using the cornies as secondaries, why not get rid of your glass secondaries (will decrease possibility of damage too), and hold onto the glass primaries (6.5's I assume?) Buckets, etc are easy to come by no matter where you live. I guess what I'm getting at is that you should keep the things that you know are gonna be a pain to find. I realize you already dumped a ton of carboys at our January meeting, but maybe get rid of the rest...

I'll catch up with you at the next meeting.

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I tried to get rid of all the glass secondaries, but the other person who wanted them never picked them up. The glass secondaries are just gathering dust as I use the kegs to secondary.

But you do bring up a good point, I could get rid of all of my glass (so it doesn't break in transport) and buy better bottles once I am in Louisiana. I really love the glass, but don't know how well it would ship.

I don't know if you are going to this weekend's clone brew competition, but if you are we can catch up then. I think I might head down, I have to be in the area anyway to pick up a few bags of horse manure, so I may as well make a day of it.

Edit: Sorry the clone brew thing is in a couple of weeks. Having a bad brain day here!

After moving across country from SoCal to PA just this past June, I say pay to move it now. End of discussion. And the other thing to consider is that these movers are Tetris kings. They literally use every square inch of that ten linear feet, or whatever amount you "rent" to move your stuff. Move it.

I'm pretty sure whatever Don decides to sell before moving will be quickly absorbed into our club's member's breweries... An ex-pro brewer gave our club first dib's on his homebrew gear before putting it on craigslist, and I think we bought it all within the first day he gave us the listing...

Anthony_Lopez said:

I'm pretty sure whatever Don decides to sell before moving will be quickly absorbed into our club's member's breweries... An ex-pro brewer gave our club first dib's on his homebrew gear before putting it on craigslist, and I think we bought it all within the first day he gave us the listing...

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Says the man who scored the awesome brew rig right out from under the rest of us!

Boston to Louisiana? Get ready for a culture shock! I'm not saying it's gonna be bad, just probably a lot different. When I moved to SoCal from Boston I thought I moved to mars.

By the way, I say keep all that stuff. HB equip seems like one of things that you'll never get back what you paid for it.

I didn't get the rig... However I suppose I did get the mother load from my new friend Wayne on the south shore...

Displaced MassHole said:

Boston to Louisiana? Get ready for a culture shock! I'm not saying it's gonna be bad, just probably a lot different. When I moved to SoCal from Boston I thought I moved to mars.

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It is gonna be a battle of horrible accents. I deal with New Orleans/Baton Rouge all day and can tell you they have some doozies. good luck with that.