First DIY Project

Hello out there, i'm new to the site. And i would like to say that i have never brewed a beer before in my life. I signed up here cause i respect what you all do and i love beer, and plus i know how much of a pain it is to run a website with no money coming in. Anyway now that i have got that out, let me go on with the reason i am here.

My father, is a pretty active home brewer, he has been doing it as far as i can remember. And as of lately he has been laid off with the economy the way it is right now, And since my Dads, Moms and I's birthday all happen to fall into the month of march, i figured I would build my dad a home brewery, and it would be something we could all enjoy. And seems how i think he has had the same "Home Brewing equipment" since i was born oh 27 years ago, this would be perfect.

I've looked into the Deluxe kits etc from various websites, but i am the type of person that likes to get hands on, and put my heart into it, and i think he would enjoy it more, then me just buying a kit and saying happy birthday!

Only one thing is holding me back, i dont know much about all of this, i have been reading alot, and looking at alot of systems, and looking at diagrams.. and i think i want to build a smaller version of something like this Phils HERMS Brewery altho i dont know exactly what i need to be purchasing, And i was wondering if any of you lads out there may be able to help me out on what to buy or some type of plans/diagrams.

Thank you all in advance

Joshua

Welcome Joshua. I assume you've found the Show us your sculpture or brew rig thread
It can be a little overwhelming, I know. Lets cover some basics.
Where are you located? (Somewhere warm, somewhere cold...)
Where will the brewery be? (Basement, garage, patio, carport, etc.)
Electric, NG, Propane, Solar (okay maybe not that last one...YET!)
Pots or Kegs?
Can you weld? Plumb? Wire? Paint? Plasma Cut?
and most importantly, because it's not for you,
How much time/money are you willing to put into this project?

TerapinChef said:

Welcome Joshua. I assume you've found the Show us your sculpture or brew rig thread
It can be a little overwhelming, I know. Lets cover some basics.
Where are you located? (Somewhere warm, somewhere cold...)
Where will the brewery be? (Basement, garage, patio, carport, etc.)
Electric, NG, Propane, Solar (okay maybe not that last one...YET!)
Pots or Kegs?
Can you weld? Plumb? Wire? Paint? Plasma Cut?
and most importantly, because it's not for you,
How much time/money are you willing to put into this project?

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Very good questions that need answered.
Also what kind of brewing does your dad do? All Grain, Partial mash, Extract?
What does he currently ferment in? Is it temperature controlled?
And what is his current chilling process.
And what equipment is he currently using? Some of it may just need simple modifications or you may need to start from scratch to get to where you're wanting to go.

Sorry for the long response time, was at work.

We are in Central Florida, Space Coast.

Most likely will be stored in the garage, But will be brewed on the porch or the driveway.

As for the electric, i am not completely sure on that more then likely propane, maybe electric.

Since i cant find any kegs to convert i scoured the area this morning before work, so there for it will be pots, and since pots are a bit expensive, i may go with 10 gallon pots, over the 15gallon ones unless i can find a decent price.

And i can do all the above expect weld and plasma, however.. my neighbor that works on cars said he will help me out with the welding, as long as i get him some brew!

As for time and money, time isint a problem, i have lots of it, i'll have to make this over time, because i dont have all the money upfront.. but aslong as it doesnt go over like 3 grand i can wing it. Its for the person that made me who i am, so i guess time and money doesnt matter!

And what he did before was really mostly on the stove top, with extract? i do believe.
and i'm pretty sure it ferments in a glass enclosure, i dont think its a carboy think its something he has had for years and years.
You got me on the chilling process i have no idea =P

I know he has always wanted to get into all grain brewing, atleast according to my mom. and i kinda would like to start from scratch anyhoo, More of something from me to him.

Thanks again guys!

Great, I think it's wonderful you're diong this for him and your attitude towards your father sounds like you guys have a great relationship.

Without knowing your father's interestes/skills besides homebrewing, I would recommend either a 3-tier Ag setup or a single tier AG set up with a pump.
I would again recommend checking out the thread on sclutures to get some ideas. Most users would be happy to answer any questions about their rigs through a Private Message. And lots have Cad or sketchup files they would be willing to send or at least dimensions.

That's awesome!

As for design, will he be able to roll it from the garage to the patio or will it need to be carried piece by piece?

Also I think if you can make it a gravity system it will be easier to learn. I like my 1 tier pump system but the pump can be quite a pain until you get used to it.

I think that what you are doing for your dad is awesome; there should be more sons like you. But I have one little suggestion, and of course this is entirely up to you. Rather than doing this FOR your dad, what about doing it WITH him? I have a feeling you both would enjoy it even more that way. I know I would.

Bernie Brewer said:

I think that what you are doing for your dad is awesome; there should be more sons like you. But I have one little suggestion, and of course this is entirely up to you. Rather than doing this FOR your dad, what about doing it WITH him? I have a feeling you both would enjoy it even more that way. I know I would.

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+1, Maybe you can get all the equipments/items together and schedule a day or two that you can both do it together and surprise him.

jshnks said:

Most likely will be stored in the garage, But will be brewed on the porch or the driveway.

As for the electric, i am not completely sure on that more then likely propane, maybe electric.

Since i cant find any kegs to convert i scoured the area this morning before work, so there for it will be pots, and since pots are a bit expensive, i may go with 10 gallon pots, over the 15gallon ones unless i can find a decent price.

And i can do all the above expect weld and plasma, however.. my neighbor that works on cars said he will help me out with the welding, as long as i get him some brew!

As for time and money, time isint a problem, i have lots of it, i'll have to make this over time, because i dont have all the money upfront.. but aslong as it doesnt go over like 3 grand i can wing it. Its for the person that made me who i am, so i guess time and money doesnt matter!

And what he did before was really mostly on the stove top, with extract? i do believe.
and i'm pretty sure it ferments in a glass enclosure, i dont think its a carboy think its something he has had for years and years.
You got me on the chilling process i have no idea =P


Thanks again guys!

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First, I'd like to say it's pretty grand of ya to do this. I can't tell ya how much I wish I could share a beer with my dad, much less one of my own.

Second, you are going to have to learn some of the lingo to make sense of what we are saying, so keep this open in another page.

The most important thing to remember is that All-Grain(AG) equipment isn't something that will make his beer suddenly better. He's going to have to change his brewing process a good deal, and there is no way to get around that.

The 3-tier is easier to learn AG with, as each step of the brewing process is on each level. But, if lifting stuff up a step ladder is going to be a problem, a single tier would be best. A single tier also has the most resources to look at when building, allows the most upgrades, etc.

Don't worry about the keg/pots for right now. Just keep an eye on craigslist and else where. If it gets to the point you need them, check around here for where to find the best pots.

Since you've got a lot of time, don't worry about buying any of the kits online and read on here how to convert a cooler to a MLT and how to make pickup tubes, which burner to buy. There are tons of resources in this forum and you could spend an entire week just reading about equipment.

Take your time, read up and ask any questions you have.

Hey guys, sorry for not responding in a while, i would like to thank you all.
I've been doing alot of reading up, learning, etc etc.

Bernie, I have thought about doing it, and it would be fun.. But as much as
i love my dad, He likes to take control of things, and then we just get mad.
He sees it as helping out, which it is.. But i've never been able to do anything
myself without him cutting in, so i just kinda want to keep it to myself, kind of
to make a point "See i'm grown up i can do something myself." maybe its a bit
selfish in that regard.. but i feel like i just have to show him that i've "grown up."
even tho i havent haha..

Anyway, as for the setup i've been looking more into a single tier setup, just for
the fact that he is getting older and isint too swift on his feet so i really dont want
to bother doing something that he has to use a latter for.

I was looking into the Brutus 10 system even tho it looks really advanced, but i guess
the best part of it is that it has blue prints, so thats a step forward for me.
How ever after looking over all the awesome brewery's you all have setup, i think i have
got a good idea of most of everything, still trying to get my brain over how some of it
seems to work.

I've seen a lot of systems with like control panels, PID's i believe, are these absolutely necessary or just makes things a lot easier ? thanks once again!

Joshua

You could still do a three tier system, you would just need to figure out a way to plumb water into your pot, and get a good sightglass/thermometer in the side of it so you never have to lift anything but the empty pot.

That being said, I think I might go for a two tier system. It's not nearly as complicated as a single tier, as you only need one pump. You can choose which to kettles the pump connects, and that's about as technical as it gets. There's not as much lifting as a three tier, it has a lower overall profile (good for the garage, etc) If I had to redo my stand I would go two tier...

Control panels are mostly for automated systems with temerature probes that turn off burners when a certain temp is reached. Some people have them set up just to run their plumbing (turn a certain pump on or open/close certain valves). Or you could just have a temperature display, I guess. That might be kind of cool....Oh boy here I go again.

If you use large SS or aluminum stockpots for your boil kettle and HLT instead of keggles, then the three tier doesn't need to be so tall.
On mine, I just have a food grade hose that hangs on it. Put the hose over the top of the HLT, turn it on and watch the sightglass until it's where it needs to be. No need to hard-plumb this stuff--all you're doing is putting water in a pot. As a bonus, the on-board hose with brass nozzle is also useful for cleaning and spraying things out during and after the boil.

One quick question, i am definitely NOT a welder, my neighbor is, but i think all he has is an arc(stick) welding machine at home, and i dont want to disturb him this late at night, but would that work for welding steel ?

That's what it is made to weld.

You just have to make sure he isnt using anything with lead in it. If it is an arc welder though most of them dont use lead based solder for a lack of a better term. There is also the option of using weldless fittings for the pots. and you can make the rack out of wood to save on cost. A welded steel frame has its perks though. IE wood is hard to keep clean. and if its a propane system well thats bad news waiting to happen. I am so happy to see a son doing something like this for his dad. I hope my 2 kids do some stuff like this for me when they get older.

JFK said:

I am so happy to see a son doing something like this for his dad. I hope my 2 kids do some stuff like this for me when they get older.

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Surprisingly, according to Jshnks profile she would be a daughter. I was surprised also when I saw that. It only makes it that much cooler though. More power too ya Jshnks!


EDIT: Hmmmmm, after reviewing this thread again I have realized that either her name is Joshua, or Joshua accidentally checked female in his profile page. It really doesn't matter either way. Good luck with the build.

jshnks said:

but aslong as it doesnt go over like 3 grand i can wing it.

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You've probably already thought of this, but for around $1500 you could buy something like this and this. In my opinion this is probably the coolest setup out there. I realize that you're wanting to build it yourself, but just thought I would show you another option.

Good luck!

dunno if u guys are going get anything back from JSHNKS. this thread is just about a year old. On their profile 'Last Activity 05-07-2009'. it's too bad, I wonder is he (or she) ever built the rig?

Good observation LazyPBar. I didn't realize the thread was from 2009, or maybe I did and didn't realize that we were in 2010. Either way, thanks for the heads up.