Need help redesigning/reconfiguring my garage brewery

[luckybeagle]

I'm kind of stumped on how to improve my brewing space. It's been reconfigured a dozen times, and right now it looks a bit rough. I've got a back wall of approximately 12 feet wide and an adjacent side wall with about 7-8 feet available. The adjacent wall has a big french cleat system that is under-utilized, but my goal is to have those totes either standardized or removed altogether, with their items stored on that cleated wall. I've done it with my grain, grain mill, and brewing salts, and figure I could get the rest of my brewing supplies nicely stored on it.

Any ideas on how to clean up the aesthetic of this brew space? As much as I want it to be pristine and lab-like, like Kal's, or homey with lovely wood tones like some that look like they were modeled after Irish pubs, this is--first and foremost--a garage, of which my brewery takes up just one corner.

The wall is ugly, and I don't like the color. I was thinking subway tile for its easy-to-clean properties, or beadboard with a clear coat for how quickly I could slap it up there and call it done. I've also found some large galvanized metal sheets that I could hang behind the kettles and sink, and treat it more as an industrial/utility space that's easy to keep clean, rather than setting such a high and impossible to achieve benchmark for this DIYer. Basically, I'm just short on ideas and would love a little input!

 

[Deadalus]

You've functionally maximized the space almost fully but that makes it look crowded. And then the mixed white and stainless doesn't pop. Some lighting and pictures on the blue wall could make it nicer.

Where do the windows go? Do they open? They would look nicer with some trim, however, they are unfortunately close to the ceiling. I have a door like that that makes the top trim awkward. My house has a few windows with interior wood shutters that open and close. Something look those and then a small sill would dress the window(s) up.

Dark walls in a small space makes a room look smaller, although your blue wall is more of an accent wall. Seems like a cooler blue, perhaps a warmer tone and maybe a lighter color. Stencil a few hop vines on it maybe, nothing too busy. Or some hop cones? I'm also a fan of the metal sheets but I'm not sure about those with the cleat wall. Tile could be nice too.

The switch is kind of lonely and oddly placed over the sink. At the very least put on a white or even metal switchplate. Maybe change to the flat rectangular switches, the big ones.

I had some suggested moves typed out but only realized at the end that there must be some sort of chiller in that white cube under the fermenters? Do you condition in the extra keezer in the corner? If you could reduce the depth off the wall of the white cube, you could conceivably get it on the floor, under the brewstand. There is room to raise the shelf a few inches up and some wheels could also lift the whole table a few inches. Consider painting the cube in a metal tone to match the brew table better. Then you could flip the corner keezer to have its back against the tote rack and move the fermenters to the french cleat wall. I'd suggest a shallower depth SS table on the cleat wall or perhaps stacking them up on a SS rack against the blue wall.

If you can move the sink, that might open other options. Maybe just a little to the right. I think that you have a steam slayer so you are proably wanting to keep the brewstand next to the sink.

It's way nicer now however than my old unfinished garage which is downright ugly!

 

[luckybeagle]

You've functionally maximized the space almost fully but that makes it look crowded. And then the mixed white and stainless doesn't pop. Some lighting and pictures on the blue wall could make it nicer.

Hey Deadalus, thank you for the suggestions! I'm gonna go through some of them here in my response. First, though, I agree with you that my keezers, glycol box and stainless don't go great together. Maybe they do need painted, like what you suggest later in your post. I hate that blue wall, too, lol, but agree that some framed pics would be good on it.

Where do the windows go? Do they open? They would look nicer with some trim, however, they are unfortunately close to the ceiling. I have a door like that that makes the top trim awkward. My house has a few windows with interior wood shutters that open and close. Something look those and then a small sill would dress the window(s) up.

The windows are fixed pane. I plan to frame them out with some 1x3 and I have the trim wood ready to be cut and installed. I've just been waiting to trim them out because I don't know what material I'm going to use on the wall, and if the trim will need to sit on top of that material (e.g. beadboard) or if the material will come up to it (e.g. subway tile). The former would add thickness and throw off my sill width. So it's unfortunately kind of on hold. The windows face my neighbor's house and are pretty high.

Dark walls in a small space makes a room look smaller, although your blue wall is more of an accent wall. Seems like a cooler blue, perhaps a warmer tone and maybe a lighter color. Stencil a few hop vines on it maybe, nothing too busy. Or some hop cones? I'm also a fan of the metal sheets but I'm not sure about those with the cleat wall. Tile could be nice too.

I think I keep coming back to subway tile. Simple, cheap, super easy to clean, use light gray or white grout and call it good. I could do the whole wall from floor to ceililng and have a nice, clean, uniform look--then work on encasing the kegerator and conditioning chamber a little more nicely along with the glycol box.

The switch is kind of lonely and oddly placed over the sink. At the very least put on a white or even metal switchplate. Maybe change to the flat rectangular switches, the big ones.

The worst part about it is it doesn't do anything! haha. I'll probably disconnect and put a coverplate over it. That thing bugs me.

I had some suggested moves typed out but only realized at the end that there must be some sort of chiller in that white cube under the fermenters? Do you condition in the extra keezer in the corner? If you could reduce the depth off the wall of the white cube, you could conceivably get it on the floor, under the brewstand.

I like that idea. I'd need to swap the cooler out or orient it differently, but that's definitely possible. I could then run the glycol lines to another stainless table that the fermenters sit on top of, in the back right corner where the conditioning chest freezer currently is.

There is room to raise the shelf a few inches up and some wheels could also lift the whole table a few inches. Consider painting the cube in a metal tone to match the brew table better. Then you could flip the corner keezer to have its back against the tote rack and move the fermenters to the french cleat wall. I'd suggest a shallower depth SS table on the cleat wall or perhaps stacking them up on a SS rack against the blue wall.

What do you think about finishing out the conditioning freezer and keezer (proper lid, drop tray, maybe some simple trim) and painting those black? Build a new glycol chiller box, paint it black as well, and make its home underneath the kettles? Small stainless table for the fermenters that goes against the cleat wall in the back right corner, with the conditioning chamber OR the keezer moved to the left of the sink? Totes removed altogether, pumps and chiller mounted neatly to clean up the aesthetic? White subway tile from floor to ceiling along that entire wall with the window neatly trimmed out?

If you can move the sink, that might open other options. Maybe just a little to the right. I think that you have a steam slayer so you are proably wanting to keep the brewstand next to the sink.

Yeah, that's exactly it. I used to have the BK on the far right of the brew table, with the sink to the right of that. Now I need to plug and re-punch the kettle to mount it on the left side of the kettle. D'oh!

These are all super good ideas that got my brain bubbling (thank you) and I'm feeling a bit more invigorated to make it happen.

Think black and stainless goes better together than white and stainless? I can't do much about the sink right now--maybe get a nice stainless one down the road I guess.

 

[WayFrae]

I don’t think you necessarily need to subway tile the whole thing. I think a backsplash over the brew stand and sink might add some good texture to the wall. I did that for my setup and it has made it really nice to clean. Mine is also in my garage so I know what you mean about wanting it nice but it’s still a garage haha

 

[whoaru99]

I was thinking subway tile for its easy-to-clean properties, or beadboard with a clear coat for how quickly I could slap it up there and call it done.

Look into FRP panels and or "dairy panels".

 

[Deadalus]

Look into FRP panels and or "dairy panels".

That's what I've been thinking of using on my cinderblock wall. Couldn't remember what they were called. Looks nice, I've seen a few people on here use it.

 

[Bassman2003]

Yes, I would say anything with grout is not great. It soaks up things and gets dirty over time unless the whole area is sealed. I do not now the cost of the dairy panels but they look like a great brewery solution.

Not to state the obvious but add some ceramic style beer signs, and maybe some more wood-look trim and it looks pretty good to me You have a nice space to work in. My perfect brew space is something that can handle being sprayed with water and not have an issue.

 

[Deadalus]

The windows are fixed pane. I plan to frame them out with some 1x3 and I have the trim wood ready to be cut and installed. I've just been waiting to trim them out because I don't know what material I'm going to use on the wall, and if the trim will need to sit on top of that material (e.g. beadboard) or if the material will come up to it (e.g. subway tile). The former would add thickness and throw off my sill width. So it's unfortunately kind of on hold. The windows face my neighbor's house and are pretty high.

I think I keep coming back to subway tile. Simple, cheap, super easy to clean, use light gray or white grout and call it good. I could do the whole wall from floor to ceililng and have a nice, clean, uniform look--then work on encasing the kegerator and conditioning chamber a little more nicely along with the glycol box.

The worst part about it is it doesn't do anything! haha. I'll probably disconnect and put a coverplate over it. That thing bugs me.

I like that idea. I'd need to swap the cooler out or orient it differently, but that's definitely possible. I could then run the glycol lines to another stainless table that the fermenters sit on top of, in the back right corner where the conditioning chest freezer currently is.



What do you think about finishing out the conditioning freezer and keezer (proper lid, drop tray, maybe some simple trim) and painting those black? Build a new glycol chiller box, paint it black as well, and make its home underneath the kettles? Small stainless table for the fermenters that goes against the cleat wall in the back right corner, with the conditioning chamber OR the keezer moved to the left of the sink? Totes removed altogether, pumps and chiller mounted neatly to clean up the aesthetic? White subway tile from floor to ceiling along that entire wall with the window neatly trimmed out?

Yeah, that's exactly it. I used to have the BK on the far right of the brew table, with the sink to the right of that. Now I need to plug and re-punch the kettle to mount it on the left side of the kettle. D'oh!

These are all super good ideas that got my brain bubbling (thank you) and I'm feeling a bit more invigorated to make it happen.

Think black and stainless goes better together than white and stainless? I can't do much about the sink right now--maybe get a nice stainless one down the road I guess.

We put beadboard in the kitchen. I should have installed it before the cabinets but it was expensive so I made the mistake of fitting it in after the cabinets. What a nightmare! It's hard to get straight cuts, when it is more of a puzzle piece, I was using a jigsaw. Best as you are contemplating to put it in first and the trim over it. Also it expands with moisture. I think the idea is to get it very dry and maybe sealed. I have a lot of projects myself where something needs to happen creating a delay like that!

You know what I think it is with the white and stainless steel is that it is appliance white and stainless steel. There are some nice black keezers posted in the forums, often with chalk paint. I've never done any fancy painting but what about a marbled sort of gray and black? Or something that mimics a style of stone? Many keezer builds involve painting them and have a nice trim piece around the raised lid and a drip tray. You could tie the trim in with the cleat wall perhaps. There's that burn look but I haven't tried that yet. Moving one of them at least to the left side I do think is a good idea and reconfiguring the chiller box. One way I have found to capture some space is move furniture off the wall (nothing original there), like your tote rack doesn't have its back against the wall. I put a bar top on my keezer surround myself. The bar top is three sides as I have a tower. Originally I was going to have the taps on the side and have wings on the end for a left and right stool. That could maybe work on the wall as it is once the other pieces were move or perhaps as an island although it might be a bit wide. Just a thought, the lid does end up heavier.

Also, I did notice that you had a wood cover on the one but hadn't thought of this when I posted yesterday. I think you may be impacting the cooling ability having the wood flush to the freezer skin. I put an air gap on mine, about a couple inches.

 

[WayFrae]

Here is a pic of how my brewing area backsplash turned out to give you an example of what I mentioned yesterday.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Look into FRP panels and or "dairy panels".

I have used those panels on various projects. For those who are considering them, they need to be attached to a solid base, they are real thin material. There's also lots of trim pieces for them, like a cove piece for inside corners. Get product, easy to cut and can be painted but it looks great without.

 

[redrocker652002]

I did not read the whole thread, but the one thing that jumped out at me was the keezer being in the corner and not having access to it. It has gotta be tough lifting 5 gallon kegs or buckets over the collar and into that and not having full access to it. Other than that, I wish I had that space to set up my stuff. Also, I agree maybe some signs and posters or something like that. Check amazon, I used to have a couple of the neon bar signs that I hung in my garage, but they got to be too much of a pain in the butt. Still looks great.

 

[luckybeagle]

Here is a pic of how my brewing area backsplash turned out to give you an example of what I mentioned yesterday.

That looks great!! Love it. Exactly what I'm going for.

I'm hard at work with the transformation and have a stainless sink and additional stainless table for my fermenters enroute to me. The keezers are getting trimmed out at the moment and will get painted a satin black here pretty soon. Hopefully I can tile that wall within the next several days and, maybe, add additional french cleats from the window up. Not entirely sure if I want to tile to the ceiling, to the bottom of the window and put cleats above it, or hang cabinets to store all my shiz.

I did not read the whole thread, but the one thing that jumped out at me was the keezer being in the corner and not having access to it. It has gotta be tough lifting 5 gallon kegs or buckets over the collar and into that and not having full access to it. Other than that, I wish I had that space to set up my stuff. Also, I agree maybe some signs and posters or something like that. Check amazon, I used to have a couple of the neon bar signs that I hung in my garage, but they got to be too much of a pain in the butt. Still looks great.

Thanks kindly! Yeah, the keezer in the corner is not super accessible. You gave me an idea, though--I might end up moving that to the left of the sink, and relocating my fermenters and (redesigned) glycol rig to that corner. If I do that, the fermenters would never need to be lifted while full if they lived over there--I'd just pump directly into them at the end of brew day and rack to kegs after fermentation. If they go straight into the keezer with the taps, it couldn't get any easier. But if they get conditioned for a while in the other chest freezer, a little lifting would be involved. No biggie with its accessibility next to the sink, though. Thanks!

I'll post an updated photo once it's further along.

 

[JAReeves]

Sometimes, you just need a second opinion for your ideal space.

 

[luckybeagle]

Slowly but surely, it's coming along.

Still need to trim out the window, figure out what I'm going to do to finish off the tile edge (trim piece, shelf, picture rail?), rebuild the glycol chiller to fit beneath the fermenter stand, install the stainless sink in the open space once it arrives, paint and clean a ton, epoxy the garage floors, etc.

It's been such a big, time-consuming project. And a little hard to balance with work and kids, but such is life! It'll get finished... eventually.

Any suggestions welcome.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

You're spending lots of time designing and moving stuff around, have you given any thought on what you're going to brew?

 

[Deadalus]

Looking nice! Didn't know you had room for a couch! Nice to see that you get some daylight in there. I wouldn't have wanted to reconfigure the steam slayer port either. A thin black trim piece might tie it all together? Looks like you are leaving room under the fermenter table for your glycol unit.

Just wanted to mention you maybe could have cavitation issues with your pumps in that position. I think the general idea is that any position where the inlet comes in lower than the outlet is fine. Something I have also seen mentioned is that drips will go down the motor body if positioned as they are there. Horizontal motor body might be a better option and if necessary, you could put in a priming valve. There's a type of clamp that works well on the legs but I can't remember the name that "unlocked" all the selections on Amazon. I've considered placement on the legs off and on for a long time. Mine are just horizontal on a shelving unit I added underneath takes up more space than necessary for me. Pros and cons to both locations.

Looks like a David Crosby face on the floor (center)!

 

[JAReeves]

Slowly but surely, it's coming along.

Still need to trim out the window, figure out what I'm going to do to finish off the tile edge (trim piece, shelf, picture rail?), rebuild the glycol chiller to fit beneath the fermenter stand, install the stainless sink in the open space once it arrives, paint and clean a ton, epoxy the garage floors, etc.

It's been such a big, time-consuming project. And a little hard to balance with work and kids, but such is life! It'll get finished... eventually.

View attachment 844872

Any suggestions welcome.

This is beautiful, my garage brewery is very...closely put together. Do you have enough venting for steam? I have to brew with the door open, and because of kettle placement, that means no brewing when it's raining or windy.

 

[luckybeagle]

This is beautiful, my garage brewery is very...closely put together. Do you have enough venting for steam? I have to brew with the door open, and because of kettle placement, that means no brewing when it's raining or windy.

Thank you!

I'm using a DIY steam condenser, so there are no issues with steam thankfully. Before that I had a similar dilemma--either turn the garage into a massive cloud, or brew with the garage doors open.

It was the absolute best upgrade to my brewery. If you have a sink or water source nearby and don't mind punching your kettle, I highly recommend it. Worth every penny (and not too costly, either).

The stainless sink came today. Still sooooo much work, tidying, cleaning, painting, trimming etc to do, but the garage brewery is taking shape. I'm happy with it so far and can't wait to brew again. Here are some pics of where it's currently at:

After the sink is all plumbed and connected, I'll get to work on the control panel for the glycol chiller--I had to swap out the cooler for a smaller one and remake its enclosure so that the entire thing can fit beneath the fermenters on the shelf. I decided to standardize my temperature controllers at the same time to make a nice, compact and convenient control box that fits the 3 controllers in charge of the glycol reservoir and both fermenters.

You're spending lots of time designing and moving stuff around, have you given any thought on what you're going to brew?

Oh yes! I start each year with a 12 month brew schedule--it serves more as a guide than anything--I sometimes pull out beers or brew additional ones, depending on what equipment frees up, which batches I am unhappy with or decide to dump, or if the club is hosting a competition around a style. In the case of that last one, there's a Belgian-only competition in September that I'm going to try and get a few beers going for--probably a BGS and a Quad (in the fermenter on the right there is a Tripel Karmeliet-inspired beer that I hope to submit).

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Impressive brewing schedule!