Looking for Home Brewery Plans

[Solarsteinn Farm]

Good day! I'm new to this forum, and am looking to start making my own wine, cider, beer, and even cognac! I have 100 fruit trees and berry bushes, and some equipment. I want to put up a dedicated building to process the harvest from my little farm. If you could help me with plans for the building and the lay-out of the equipment inside, I'd appreciate it very much!

 

[Jonakr]

Good day! I'm new to this forum, and am looking to start making my own wine, cider, beer, and even cognac! I have 100 fruit trees and berry bushes, and some equipment. I want to put up a dedicated building to process the harvest from my little farm. If you could help me with plans for the building and the lay-out of the equipment inside, I'd appreciate it very much!

What equipment do you currently have, and what are your thoughts so far?

I do basically extract brewing and cider and mead making, doing no more than 5 gallon batches. Fermentation is done at one temp in a converted chest freezer (limit 13 gallons at a time). Boiling is done out back with a propane burner and 15 gallon stockpot. Conditioning is in the same chest freezer. Serving is in a converted upright fridge with about an 18 gallon limit. For cleanup, I have a "portable" 5 gallon plastic laundry sink. I have a deck box for the burner and stockpot, One full wire rack in the garage and the space needed for the chest freezer and refrigerator. For ciders and wines you need a juicer and/or crusher.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

You're talking two different ideas here - a fruit processing building and a brewing area. If it were me, I'd visit a few small orchards to get ideas of how they are setup. Many here in Wisconsin have a processing area, since they sell processed fruit items. I'm not sure what equipment you have or need.

A brewing area doesn't have to be large. I brew in my basement with a 12x12 footprint. An outside building would be great and I could see myself with a 24x24 building for brewing and serving. A building this size might work for all of your needs depending on the equipment you already have.

 

[T Murph]

Starting from scratch you should consider going all electric. And including an ample size sink with proper floor drain in your work area. Equipment wise, it will depend on what you plan on making. For beer alone you will need considerably more than what is needed for wine, meads and ciders. Scour the pages here and you can find tons of info regarding equipment, ingredients and processes.

 

[Solarsteinn Farm]

I have a 26-gallon still, a 50-gallon fermenting tank for beer, a fruit crusher, and a 90-liter bladder press, as well as a couple of stainless steel carts.

I plan to put up a medium-size building with running water, a propane stove, and 120 and 220-volt electrical outlets

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

All of your building utilities make sense but you'll also need a drain system too. Depending on your location you'll need to know where you can connect your drains to the outside.

I'd look around on Marketplace or Craig's List for used utility sinks. I picked up a double bowl stainless steel with two side drain boards with a new faucet for 200 bucks. It's seven feet long, but I've seen three bowl versions a lot longer. This is my largest piece of equipment, but I use it all of the time.

You'll need to have a source for hot water too. A household water heater is fine, gas or electric. I brew 10 gallon beer batches and use a modified 20 gallon electric water heater for my mash water. I removed the pressure relief valve and connected a temp controller so I can dial in my mash water temp.

I have no idea about weather in Montana, but you might want a heat source just for your building. You'll generate some heat while brewing but maybe not enough to be comfortable. Winter in Wisconsin can be brutal and very cold. My friend T Murph has it warmer in his location.

 

[T Murph]

A used restaurant supply dealer is a great resource for some larger items. Like OakIsland mentioned finding a used sink. Check out craigslist in your area, you never know what you may find that you can incorporate into you facility. And if all else fails check places like WebStrauntStore.com they offer quality equipment at reasonable prices.

 

[Solarsteinn Farm]

I'll do that. Thanks.

However, I'd really like to find some floorplans or drawings to show how to set everything up.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

When I was setting up my brew area I thought about how my kitchen is setup. I know there's a work triangle for the kitchen. It's placing appliances in a pattern so you work efficiently. I applied that to my brew area. Also since my area is small I put most of my equipment on wheels so I can move them together as needed and apart when I don't need them. So if you have some equipment on wheels, a layout isn't that important other than how they work with stationary items.

T Murphy mentioned restaurant supply places. I'm certain they have typical layouts you could reference. Also search on the internet for layouts to get some ideas.

 

[T Murph]

Mine is still a work in progress but here are some pics you can draw inspiration from.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Very Nice Murphy! Very impressive, ya got me beat!!