Anyone ever consider brewing when looking for a new home?

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BmillaTheBrewzilla

BmillaTheBrewzilla

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My SWMBO and I are going to start looking for a new place in a few months. I hope she takes it alright when my main criteria include a deep sink, a powerful stove, room for a chest freezer, and plenty of pantry space.
 
I got lucky in that my place was well set up when we bought it, and that was long before I started brewing. The basement was set up for canning, with a deep sink, work table, and solid shelving in a dark cubby. Now I never want to leave the place.
 
I would consider thing like pantry space and room for a chest freezer. When I buy my first house I want a decent sized garage and finshed/finishable basement. When you're spending that much money, its ok to be picky to a certain extent. A sink and a stove wouldn't be deal breakers for me. I can add a deep sink, but I cannot make a small/low ceiling basement more livable, or build a garage for the same price.
 
100%. When we move, we want to look in a particular neighborhood where every house has a detached garage and basement. Basically, I would cede the basement to the kids, and turn the garage into a brewery/bar. She's totally onboard with my goals, so unless the market changes big time, it will probably happen in the next few years.

I don't think there's anythign wrong with doing that. If someone is a gardener, they are obviously going to take that into account when buying a house. Someone who tinkers with cars is certainly going to look for a good garage/driveway. Being a brewer is no different!
 
Yeah, the soon to be wife and I are looking for a new home and it must, MUST have it's own Brewery/Bar building. And enough space to grow our own hops and raise some animals for food. Off the grid as much as possible is the goal.
 
There really isn't anything you would need besides a little extra square footage. Sinks are pretty easy to change.
 
We just bought our first house in December and brewing was a definite consideration when we were hunting. Unfortunately other considerations had to win out so we're planning on building some sort of brew shed in the future. There was one house that had an 800 sqft shop that would have been PERFECT but the bank drug their feet getting back to us and we went with another house. I checked back later and they had dropped their asking price to less than what our offer to them was and it was down to what we paid for the house we bought! If they'd gotten back to us in a timely manner they would have sold it to us for more than they ended up getting!
 
When we were house-hunting two years ago, we kept an eye out for brewing considerations. I was advocating a basement with a walk-out door, particularly if it had a hard surface outside. However, we ended up with a fully under-ground basement, and that in my opinion worked better, since it stays cooler and darker.

I still have to lug all of my equipment upstairs though. And I'd have liked to have gotten plumbing in the basement, but the rest of the house was more than worth the trips up and down the stairs on brewday.
 
Absolutely considered brewing. It was one of the big criteria we had when looking last July. Had to have a place with either a detached garage or basement space for brewing. Ended up with basement space of about 600sqft. SWMBO loves it because it keeps my stuff out of her way.
 
We just went through looking for a new apartment. Almost had to give up brewing, bike parking, and outdoor plants. Neither of us were in a very good mood about that, but it was our best choice. Luckily, that didn't happen.

Since it was our best choice, I kept telling SWMBO that it was fine, I could give it up for a year, or figure something out. But that doesn't mean I would have been happy. But at the time we thought our choice was between brewing and having a roof over our head 2 weeks from then.

I figure any house has to be a better setup than what I currently have, so I'm looking forward to owning a house for that reason.
 
Yeap. I was sold when I saw that my house had a cellar in the basement. Last winter, it was a constant 45 degrees in there.
 
Got lucky myself. We bought a home that has a second full kitchen built in the basement. We bought it about a year before I started brewing.
 
JJL said:
Got lucky myself. We bought a home that has a second full kitchen built in the basement. We bought it about a year before I started brewing.
Click to expand...

That is lucky. You are also lucky to live in New Glarus. I'm very jealous- living in Illinois, I can only get New Glarus Brewing products when I'm in WI.
 
BmillaTheBrewzilla said:
That is lucky. You are also lucky to live in New Glarus. I'm very jealous- living in Illinois, I can only get New Glarus Brewing products when I'm in WI.
Click to expand...

That's likely going to change in the very near future. They just built a huge new brewery in New Glarus. The word is they are ramping up production to increase their distribution.
 
At some point in the future the ol GF will have her status upgraded to wife and we will buy a new house. Brewing will definitely be a consideration. Where I live there aren't a lot of houses with basements so the big consideration will be whether we can build a separate brewhaus in the backyard without running afoul of HOA or municipal rules.

The father-in-law of the feller who got me involved with brewing is completing building a house in Missouri not far from Branson on the lake out there. It's an amazing house to begin with, but they built a completely separate brewing kitchen in the house. He definitely had the right idea.
 
i hadn't fully finished my brewery, but my home purchase a year ago did have many benefits and one was the ample room for brewing/cellaring (although in the house)
 
I have a list of things I need/want/would-be-nice for "the next house". Recently a lightbulb went on and I added "200+ amp electric service" to that list so I could have ample capacity to use 90 amps (give or take) for electric brewing ;) I just have 100A service to my house right now. Sometimes you can have your service upgraded but it costs about $1500 to have an electrician do it and I don't even know what it would cost for me since my power comes to the house underground.

You could also look for houses that might have an electric sub-panel in the garage. One can probably be added for the cost of a few march pumps. The cabling alone would probably cost around half of what you pay depending on the length.

A second full kitchen would sure be nice. My basement has a high exit for waste water so I would need a pump to do sinks/toilets/etc.
 
I moved apartments to have more room for primaries,fermentation chamber, bottles, kegerator, etc.

Actually I've had to move twice for that reason! Anything without 2 large walkin closets and a spot for future kegerator was crossed of fthe list.
 
That is funny. The SWMBO and I have been looking around for a house to own and she and I both say the same thing when we see a basement or detached garage/workshed,
"that would be perfect for brewing"!

I am so bad that I even look at businesses for lease around town and imagine a nano/brewpub setup with me at the helm!

I think for now though I will just concentrate on the house!:D
 
JJL said:
That's likely going to change in the very near future. They just built a huge new brewery in New Glarus. The word is they are ramping up production to increase their distribution.
Click to expand...

Whaaaaaa?!?! I know they would be more than welcome south of the (Wisconsin) border! Sure, we've got some great local brews in the Chicagoland area... but New Glarus is, well, New Glarus! :rockin::ban:
 
When me and my wife were house hunting we walked into a home and when I walked downstairs into the basement and turned the corner into a full extra kitchen I instantly thought this house would be great for brewing! Needless to say we bought it! I turned the fridge into a kegerator and its all my own space strictly for brewing! Sure beats brewing in my garage like I did for many years prior!
 
Short answer to original queastion...
YES

Anyone who would say no...prolly doesnt belong.

Longer answer...
Goes something like this....
"But Babe we have to have a canning kitchen and lots of underground space for the coming armagedon...";)
 
I bought my house just before I got into brewing, but it ended up working out well for the hobby. I have a large detached garage that is perfect for brewing. I've brewed in there in the middle of winter and during the summer months. The utilityroom in the basement has enough space for carboys, racks to hold my brewing equipment, and two large utility sinks for cleanup. The basement can get chilly in the winter, but when the boiler is going it keeps the utility room at a constant 65 degrees, perfect for fementing ales (and hence the name of my 'brewery').

There's also an established vegetable garden area in the back yard, so whenever I get motivated to start growing hops I can just put them in the ground and wait :rockin:
 
Haha this thread is hilarious. This is why I love reading this thread, it's like copies of me floating all over the place. I definitely consider homebrewing when looking at houses. In fact, when I talk to my wife about what kind of place we will get when we eventually retire, she automatically knows that I want a nano-brewery and bar. She'll say things like "...and we need plenty of land so you can grow your grains and hop vines next to the brewery."
 
I'm having a house built and one of the options I insisted on was:

gas_line_for_BBQ.jpg


not so much for the BBQ, but for the beer making burner!
 
3 years ago I bought a house that was great for brewing. I lived in the house for 1 year then moved in with SWMBO in her house. Her house is horrible for brewing. It has very little insulation and no air conditioning in the summer at all. I can't really brew cause of the heat in the summer and have a hard time keeping the house warm enough in the winter. Why did I do such a thing?
 
Since a tornado ruined our house we are in the proccess of finding a new house the 1st thing when I am looking at houses is the space for brewing, growing hops, garage, and usable basement for a bar(man cave), OOOO and an extra bed room for the wife to use for her hobby.
 
DBbrewing said:
Since a tornado ruined our house we are in the proccess of finding a new house the 1st thing when I am looking at houses is the space for brewing, growing hops, garage, and usable basement for a bar(man cave), OOOO and an extra bed room for the wife to use for her hobby.
Click to expand...

Wow- sorry to hear about the tornado. I hope everything works out with your search for a new home.
 
I will be building a house for myself , with a 24'x24' attached garage ,with a gas line and sink. I may even have it on its own braker box. Without going overboard what else might I consider?
 
In the process of looking for a new house. I'm lucky in that my girlfriend collects and drinks a lot of wine so a bar and cellar area is a must in our search.
 
I'm moving from Fort Wayne to Bloomington area. We found a house with a nice out building.

The out building has electrical, but no plumbing. I need to figure out how to get water to the out building. Any suggestions are appreciated.

It didn't have a basement, so I will have to find a usded fridge to tune into a fermenting chamber.
 
bsdx said:
I have a list of things I need/want/would-be-nice for "the next house". Recently a lightbulb went on and I added "200+ amp electric service" to that list so I could have ample capacity to use 90 amps (give or take) for electric brewing ;) I just have 100A service to my house right now. Sometimes you can have your service upgraded but it costs about $1500 to have an electrician do it and I don't even know what it would cost for me since my power comes to the house underground.

You could also look for houses that might have an electric sub-panel in the garage. One can probably be added for the cost of a few march pumps. The cabling alone would probably cost around half of what you pay depending on the length.

A second full kitchen would sure be nice. My basement has a high exit for waste water so I would need a pump to do sinks/toilets/etc.
Click to expand...

A 200A service is almost required for any remodel or expansion of service (= any new major electrical appliance) in a detached house these days. We remodeled our way right out of our old 100A service. The old box had a number of those "double up" breakers, and when we decided to replace an inoperative central air unit 3 years ago, it was time to bite the bullet. Power company had to install a 400A transformer, N/C. Electricians buried the service from the power pole for $2500, then did the main breaker box for $650. When we replaced the garage three years ago, we also buried 100A service to it, about $1400. I wired that puppy myself. It cost some money, but our century old house is now up to date electrically.
 
When my wife and I settled on our house, I noticed a mature cherry tree in the back yard. Our first summer, the birds got the cherries. This year, I have 5 gallons of sour cherry wine in a 5 gallon secondary. Mature, fruit bearing trees are a big plus!
 
I've got a nice house on 7 acres. I do my brewing in the open carport with a combination of electric and propane. I need to get a water faucet closer for the time being. My back 2 acres has a 24X16 concrete slab left over from the house that was torn down years ago. I need to get electric and water over there, and then I can put up a brew shed like John Beere and others have done.
 

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