The MaxOut Brew Station

Thank you Whutever I'm humbled by all the nice words.

I am insanely jealous

cowgo said:

Can you post pics of your entire garage to include the kitchen dining area? Your next build has to be a garage bar with all the bling.

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Sure, I've made some improvements to the Brew Station and will update this post after the holidays. Got a few more brewery related upgrades planned but no big bar build in the near future. Half the garage is still used as a work shop and the other is the grill zone and Brew Station. Cheers!

What did you use for the electronic gas valves?

225 said:

What did you use for the electronic gas valves?

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Honeywell SmartValves. I used the ones with intermittent hot surface ignition and standing pilot. I like these because they do not require a separate ignition module. I could supply you with the part numbers of the ones I used if you are interested.

MaxOut said:

Honeywell SmartValves. I used the ones with intermittent hot surface ignition and standing pilot. I like these because they do not require a separate ignition module. I could supply you with the part numbers of the ones I used if you are interested.

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That would be great, PM me. Thanks

Does PBW do enough to clean around the HERMS coils, or do you need to dump the MLT and BK after a brew day and hose them out? I was hoping to have a completely CIP system built, but I'm finding that I don't think I can completely clean out my MLT or BK without turning them upsidedown and hosing them out... is that how you clean your system?

The way I use my system wort never enters the HLT except through the heat exchanger coil so the HLT and coil are clean in place. The boil kettle and mash lauter tun are removed and flipped for cleaning. I could clean them in place but I find it easier to remove them and flip them over. I use a 4 wheel dolly to roll them out of my shop and suspend them at a 45 degree angle for rinsing with the hose. Once the mash lauter tun is dumped I rinse and fill with water and PBW. Once I'm done with the mash lauter tun I transfer the cleaning solution to the boil kettle and repeat. I usually clean the mash lauter tun during the boil so it gives me something to do in between hop additions. I've considered a CIP procedure but I don't think I could get things as clean as I would like. I am waiting for the weather to break so I can cut in a dedicated floor/ sink drain at the brew station. I will reconsider CIP once I have a more convenient place to drain water. Right now all waste water is rolled out of the shop and dumped or dumped in a lager wash sink in the shop bathroom. Always a work in progress

Thanks to a member here on HBT the MaxOut Brew Station was featured in December in the "Pimp My System" section of the American Home Brewers Association web site.

To view the article go here - MaxOut Brew Station on AHA

Thanks Daniel!

Maxout, amazing system!

I am in the market for starting a build and I just go from an awesome build to an unbelievably more awesome build. I feel like a honey bee that doesn't know where to stop. All of you creative people are killing me. I hate all of you. Now I will have to go take a welding class. Cr*p! Oh wait, the things I could try to make! My wife is gonna kill me.

BrewHobby1 said:

Maxout, amazing system!

I am in the market for starting a build and I just go from an awesome build to an unbelievably more awesome build. I feel like a honey bee that doesn't know where to stop. All of you creative people are killing me. I hate all of you. Now I will have to go take a welding class. Cr*p! Oh wait, the things I could try to make! My wife is gonna kill me.

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I felt the same way when I began my venture into a brewing rig...and my wife...thank god I got her to start drinking

Next week I am organizing some of the misc build photos and info on a web site. I will link it here. I have also made allot if improvements to the MaxOut Brewstation that I will update here as well. Thank you and have fun with your build!

Made some upgrades to the MaxOut Brewstation.
Added some shelves, overhead lights and working on some private labeling on the equipment. Here’s a few shots of the shelves over the counter and over the side wall.

I wanted to clear the working counter and decided to upgrade the 19” computer screen and get it off the counter. I went wireless with the keyboard and mouse and made a custom stainless sign to house the new 32” LED screen and custom lighted sign. Here is a few build shots of the sign and installation.

MaxOut said:

I wanted to clear the working counter and decided to upgrade the 19” computer screen and get it off the counter. I went wireless with the keyboard and mouse and made a custom stainless sign to house the new 32” LED screen and custom lighted sign. Here is a few build shots of the sign and installation.

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Okay, now you're just taunting us. Lol, great job. Digging the sign.

Wanted to have the kegs private labeled and made a few extra to label the other equipment. Made from stainless on a plasma table and backed with the black FRP board for contrast.

Your build never ceases to amaze me.....Nice!!!!

Freaking amazing.

Dan

You, sir (and I mean this in the best way possible) are absolutely nuts.

DUDE!
Keeps gettin better.

MaxOut Brestation upgraded to 1 BBL capacity and first 1 BBL brew!

I acquired a 60 gallon steam kettle and plan on making a single vessel brew system but for now found a place in the existing brew system to increase capacity to 1 BBL for my regular house lagers. I wrote a process in the BCS to control a dual mash. I converted my existing BK keggle to a mash tun and did two mashes at the same time direct firing the BK and using the HERMS for the MLT. I mashed out and fly sparged each mash in to the boil kettle. After boil I cooled through plate heat exchanger then through Heat exchanger in HLT with ice to get me to the 50 degrees in one pass. I got a slightly stuck mash during recirculation in the BK and scorched the mash a little but caught it quick (Lesson Learned).Overall it went well and filled 5 buckets with 6 gallons each.

The secondary is starting to get used now that I have the capacity to keep up with my friend’s appetite for home brew. I realize the benefit of aging beers but they seem to disappear before maturing. I modified the box so I could get 6 cornies in it, added a dedicated CO2 tank and dual regulators for force carbing/carbing. The front doors were attached to the lid so I made new mounts that attached them to the front of the box. I removed the lid and used a piano hinge to mount it to the back and put a beefy seal around the top. Now I can load kegs through the top and allowed me to fit an extra keg inside.

Here’s a few shot of the brewing area as it sits now.

Okay.....WOW!

Another fine example of a mix of insanity, money, and time.

Da%n! I hope you give tours. I might stop by.

Man! That is thoroughly amazing.

oh my....

Seriously, I hope you got a good deal on that steam kettle cause holy crap those things are expensive. I speak from kitchen experience on that one.

What do you think in total $ you have into that Brewery?

Pure insanity!

...and I am insanely jealous.

You suck and I hate you.
You suck and I hate you.
You suck and I hate you.


And I'm not even the slightest bit jealous.

Really.

HopsJunkie said:

Seriously, I hope you got a good deal on that steam kettle cause holy crap those things are expensive. I speak from kitchen experience on that one.

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Found it on Craigslist advertised as the ultimate crab cooker. The add said it was 30 gallon and turned out to be 60. Was originally jetted for natural gas but the guy had it re jetted for propane so he could run it on portable tanks. He said it would cut off and needed a thermocouple. I drove two hours and bought it on the spot. I paid $350.00 for the kettle and another $50.00 for the heavy duty stir paddle. Turns out whoever re jetted it did not adjust the air on the eight burners. I adjusted the air and plumbed it in to my existing propane supply and I was good to go. I put steel heavy duty casters on it a new power cord, new dump valve, sight glass, camlocks on lid, mounting plate and a good cleaning. Total I have about $800.00 in it. To buy the kettle new is over $18K. More than I was looking to spend for a larger boil kettle but compared to a 55 gallon Blichman it's a good buy with its own heat source. Win Win

MaxOut said:

Found it on Craigslist advertised as the ultimate crab cooker. The add said it was 30 gallon and turned out to be 60. Was originally jetted for natural gas but the guy had it re jetted for propane so he could run it on portable tanks. He said it would cut off and needed a thermocouple. I drove two hours and bought it on the spot. I paid $350.00 for the kettle and another $50.00 for the heavy duty stir paddle. Turns out whoever re jetted it did not adjust the air on the eight burners. I adjusted the air and plumbed it in to my existing propane supply and I was good to go. I put steel heavy duty casters on it a new power cord, new dump valve, sight glass, camlocks on lid, mounting plate and a good cleaning. Total I have about $800.00 in it. To buy the kettle new is over $18K. More than I was looking to spend for a larger boil kettle but compared to a 55 gallon Blichman it's a good buy with its own heat source. Win Win

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I need more money, lol. That's a GREAT price. Good work, I aspire to have half the setup at home. Of course, when I go pro.....

Brew-ta-sauraus said:

What do you think in total $ you have into that Brewery?

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Oh boy... I try not to count it up. Maybe 8k with everything. Hobbies never add up. but he joy I get from it is priceless.

BrewHobby1 said:

Okay.....WOW!

Another fine example of a mix of insanity, money, and time.

Da%n! I hope you give tours. I might stop by.

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"Insanity" may be the key word but I like to say obsession

Thanks!

MaxOut said:

Wanted to have the kegs private labeled and made a few extra to label the other equipment. Made from stainless on a plasma table and backed with the black FRP board for contrast.

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Great logo. Not that you should go over the top on this build but that sign would look sick with flames (real or on an LCD) behind the letters and beer mug. I'll just throw that out.

Unbelievable build man!

Beernip said:

Great logo. Not that you should go over the top on this build but that sign would look sick with flames (real or on an LCD) behind the letters and beer mug. I'll just throw that out.

Unbelievable build man!

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Great idea! I might steal that.

Truly inspirational! Amazing build for sure

I just picked up a Stainless 3 basin 8ft long sink myself on Saturday for part of my home brewery build. So many ideas I could take from this thread!

I raise my glass to you sir

chairbornrangerx said:

Truly inspirational! Amazing build for sure

I just picked up a Stainless 3 basin 8ft long sink myself on Saturday for part of my home brewery build. So many ideas I could take from this thread!

I raise my glass to you sir

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Thank you, Cheers!

Man!....I've got a long way to go. Sweet brewery. I like the utility cart you have setup.

mikelikesit2000 said:

Man!....I've got a long way to go. Sweet brewery. I like the utility cart you have setup.

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Funny thing is I gave that cart away to two different friends and neither one came to pick it up. Now I'm glad they didn't.

You just made my train trip into NYC a true pleasure and joy. That is really a remarkable setup. After reading through 20 pages of this thread, not one person asked this question, so I will throw it out there. What the heck are you doing with plastic buckets? Why not move up to a brewhemoth conical or something similar. With a 1 barrel brewhouse why not? With all that extra refrigeration, what about plumbing in a glycol chiller to the internal coil in the brewhemoth, and if you really want high quality beer faster and fully carbonated in the conical, rig up a pressure control with spunding valve to natually carbonate the beer while fermenting. You could then transfer under pressure to your serving corny kegs and keep your beautiful beer free and clear of air contact until you're pouring it.

It just seems that using plastic buckets for your beer is like serving champagne in a solo cup.