Input on home brewpub

I had a sunroom with a hot tub in it and decided to get rid of the hot tub and convert the room into a brewpub. In Houston it isn't cold for enough days to justify the expense of keeping a hot tub running. I've had the hot tub removed and had a floor drain run and ran some water to the place that I intend to put the sink. The carpentry work will begin next week if all goes well. What I'm planning is to have a bar top with a sink behind it on one end of the bar area. Against the back wall and parallel to the bar would be my keezer that I'm having some cabinets built around to enclose and conceal it. I'm doing a mirror the length of this wall with shelving mounted in front of it. I'll use the cabinets to store my gear. I'm wanting to cook in this area as well but am not sure about needed ventilation. This room has ceilings that slope from 10 ft to about 15 ft as a guess and the entire room is actually pretty large(around 500 sq. ft. with the bar portion taking about 1/3). I wasn't sure if I could use natural gas and if so what kinds of burners to buy or if I should just use LP. Are there any issues with using LP indoors? Would there be issues with using natural gas with a strong flame for over an hour indoors? Are there any other features of this project that I'm missing that could make it more convenient?

You would need to vent either way you go. (And bring in fresh makeup air, as well.) In the mean time you may could get by with propping the outside door open and using a box fan.

Note: I'm not an expert, so proceed at own risk, but I used to use LP in my garage and just open a window and one garage door to get a cross wind.

Of course, if you could go electric...

There are a few people here who brew with LP indoors. Make sure that you ventilate very well and keep a fire extinguisher handy.

I will be installing air conditioning on this room as well. I guess that would be just recirculating so that's not quite the same. I could definitely install ventilation though. I'll start asking about that. Is there anything else this room needs?

Yeah just make sure you have proper ventilation, It seems like a range hood would be in your budget and ideal.
I would go with at least a second Chest freezer for fermenting temps if you don't already have such control.

Yeah, I'm getting another upright for free that I was thinking of using for fermentation temp regulation but I'm not sure if I want it in this room or not. It would take up space that I was thinking of using for cabinets. There's still plenty of room outside of the proposed bar area of the room but without enclosing it in some way it would hurt the aesthetics of the room. I could put it in the shed which is just outside of this room. I'm thinking of maybe doing a mini fridge under one of the countertops to keep bottled beer cool.

So what about the burners. Does anyone know what kind of burners I should get if I want to do natural gas? It would be more convenient than having to refill/runout of LP and it wouldn't take a lot to run natural gas to this spot. I'm also trying to find one of those retractable sink spray hoses that they have in restaurants to make cleaning easier. I spend a ton of time going in and out of there now to get to a hose. I have to walk inside to the kitchen if I want hot water. Having hot water and a good sprayer will be nice. Another thing that I was concerned about was concealing the keezer. So basically I'll have some kind of countertop over it that would raise with the lid. I haven't built my collar on my keezer yet. Would I need bulkheads that go through the collar and the enclosure? I'm not sure how long that would be yet.

At the peak or highest part of the roof I would add a belt driven roof mounted ventilation fan like they use in commercial restaurants. They look like big domed flying saucers that can handle steam and grease fumes being made out of stainless steel. I have installed many plus threw away older units on remodels with nothing wrong with the old ones. Belts, bearings are the only wear items. One of these high cfm fans with a hood would make for a swamp free brewing room provided you had replacement air vents down low to replace what the fan pulls out of the room. Without return vents doors will open and your ears will feel the reduced atmospheric pressure.
It sounds like you have a win win with the War Department. Brew on.
I would go with natural gas heating plus use a CO alarm in that room.

I'd be placing the burner on an exterior wall.

If you are burning gas indoors a carbon monoxide detector might be a good idea.

Pictures please !

I was going to draw a crude diagram but the forum seems to require that images be hosted on another site and I don't have anything setup for hosting ATM. I'd be glad to show you what we've got so far. I found out that they're actually building the wall for the bar tomorrow so that will give a better picture as well.

All the info I have seen has pointed to a CFM calculation of 1 CFM for every 100 BTUs. I think this mostly applies to residential installations and may not be quite as applicable in the range of BTUs you may be hitting.

Clonefarmer said:

If you are burning gas indoors a carbon monoxide detector might be a good idea.

Click to expand...

Back up two posts I stated "use a CO detector in the room", I believe I had it covered about the air quality and safety for that room plus the big roof vent fan.

I have a multi gas detector in storage that I used when installing electrical power and lighting in gold mine shafts some years back.
They would go off with lights and buzzers with readings on a LCD window if you exhaled near the probe. We had to carry a oxygen generating mask in a stainless container like a stainless WWII water canteen. It would blister your lips if used due to the heat from the chemical reaction making oxygen.

Belmont said:

I was going to draw a crude diagram but the forum seems to require that images be hosted on another site and I don't have anything setup for hosting ATM. I'd be glad to show you what we've got so far. I found out that they're actually building the wall for the bar tomorrow so that will give a better picture as well.

Click to expand...

Heck post your pictures on Photo Bucket so we can open it up and lookie lookie.

I have a friend that is a superintendent for a home builder and he is kind of managing the project for me. He found someone to answer that particular question for us. I can't wait to get this thing built out. I'm going to save a lot of time on brew day once it's finished. I'm trying to decide on a sink right now. I've decided that I don't want a 3 compartment commercial sink because it takes up so much space I don't think I'll have the need to wash, rinse, sanitize because I'm not going through a lot of glasses. I was thinking of getting a single large sink that my kettle could fit in so I could put it in an ice bath when cooling and have a convenient place to wash it as well. That or a 2 compartment sink that it couldn't fit in but I could wash and fill in one and keep sanitizer in the other.

What do you guys think would be better?

Here are some before images. I'll post some current condition pics in a bit.

<a href="http://s726.photobucket.com/albums/ww268/Belmont_photo/?action=view&current=DSCN0196.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww268/Belmont_photo/DSCN0196.jpg" border="0" alt="Sunroom hot tub alternate view"></a>

Trying again.

This image shows the sliding glass doors. The room was an add on by previous owners. Three walls were sliding glass doors end to end. The ones behind the hot tub there have been removed and the wall built but not surfaced.

Here's a rough sketch of the plan so far. Don't laugh at my 2nd grade art skills.

Here are some current pics.

You have inspired me!
I'm going to tell SWMBO right now!
"We need to get rid of the spa and build a brewery!"
That's going to be an awesome pub Belmont!
Cheers

I'm really excited and it was my wife's idea. I've got Norther Brewer getting me the valves needed to convert 2 hurricane burners to natural gas. I've been checking eBay and CraigsList for sinks. The friend that is managing the project had a good idea to actually install a garden hose assembly under the sink so that I can still hook up all the things that require that type of connector. I'll connect one of those slinky hoses so that it hides away in there easily. I still need to make the collar for my keezer and need to check out some more of the DIY threads to see how to get the taps on the keezer enclosure. If anyone knows of one that is similar to what I'm doing please link it. I'll dig through until then. Any other suggestions on ways to make this a great place to brew and pour?

I have visions of a large copper hood centered over that floor drain, so a single tier RIMS could be wheeled in. (with joy - sniffs the hops in the air):rockin:
Don't skimp on electricity Belmont. Before you know it you'll be looking for matching freezer to ferment in, 220 for the boil kettle, etc...

Thanks for the input on the electricity. I'll keep that in mind. We still haven't run the electric and I'll have whatever was left from the spa equipment on that breaker. I am getting a top freezer refrigerator for free fairly soon that I was planning on using for fermentation. Any idea how many fermenters you can get in a top freezer fridge? There won't be rooms for two freezers. I'm putting cabinets on either side of the keezer.

We have natural gas now.



And I forgot to post the sign that my wife surprised me with shortly after starting this project.

This just in: She's a keeper!

Congrats and I too am green with envy.

Carry on and keep us posted!

Very cool, She make the sign or have it made?

Had it made. She's an amazing woman but her talents lie in other areas.

Picked up the sink today off of a craigslist posting. This thing is a commercial quality sink that a plumber had custom made for his house but didn't end up using it. It's still in the plastic wrapper and he was offering to box it back up for me. I told him about this project and that I was a homebrewer and he said that he had a keg that was just taking up room in his garage and that I could have it if I wanted it. It was a half full sankey keg in pretty good shape. The sink is 19.5"Lx21"Wx14.5"D stainless steel never installed and came with the sankey keg for $200. I suppose the luck of the Irish has struck me again. This sink is going to be big enough for me to easily put by brew kettle in for an ice bath for cooling or cleaning. I should be able to dump as much water in it as I need at any time. With that and the floor drain I shouldn't have any trouble disposing of liquids.

Here's a pic of the sink and keg:

Ok, that's freaking awesome. That sink is the bomb. This thread is subscribed! I'll be watching this one.

This is going to be great I have a sunporch on my house, but lack the know-how to do what you're doing.

Is Millican your name? Mine's Milligan, and in doing some ancestry research it seems they are all one in the same. O'Maolagain seems to be the horny mofo that started it all

Regardless, your brewpub build gets an a+ for even the idea!

The electrician came this morning...

The boxes are for countertop outlets and the three wires at the top of the back wall are for lighting over the bar. That is going to be mirror surfaced with glass shelving over it. The sign will be in the center over the keezer with the middle light shining on it.

Wow, very cool! Subscribed...can't wait to see this take shape.

very cool.

looking awesome. subscribed.

can you brew indoors with natural gas?

Many people cook with natural gas indoors every day using gas stoves. I will need a vent hood but it is certainly possible.

Today they installed insulation and drywall on the back wall. I talked to some coworkers about the project and may be getting a good deal on an air conditioner. I'm hoping we'll start getting the cabinets and counter tops installed soon. I'm still waiting on my burner equipment since the natural gas valve is on backorder at norther brewer.

Still looking for collar ideas? This one is quite nice...

I need the handles on the front. I think I have this figured out after talking to the carpenter. I'm still not sure about what material to use for the bar top. We're thinking either rounded off 5/4" oak or rigging up plywood and a hand rail. Work on the cabinets should start soon. I think we got them all figured out.