Bathroom brewery?

[dennisjonesjr]

First, some info:
My back bathroom had some minor plumbing issues that I had been to lazy to fix so the bathroom has not been used for a few months. I finally got around to fixing it an noticed the temp in there was fairly low and we weren't really using it anyway so....... SWMBO gave me permission to use it for brewing :rockin:
My bleach/water ratio was a bit off so I still need to wipe the whole place down one more time to get rid of the chlorine smell.

My questions:
What would you do next?
Any ideas to make this a better place for brewing?
Would you consider this a fermentation chamber or a brewery? I cook it all in the kitchen and do everything else in the bathroom.

My thoughts:
I do plan on stacking beer bottle boxes in the shower and tightening the mead formation probably against the wall. I also plan on getting wine bottles and a floor corker in a few months (for the mead) so I'm quickly running out of room even though this is an upgrade from hiding it all in my closet lol

 

[sarsnik]

Turn the shower into a fermenting chamber. Tack on some insulation and find an old fridge or AC.

You can even leave the drain exposed for easy cleanup.

Also, slowly start removing the toilet and sink, so as to not aggravate the swmbo, and replace it with a brew rig

 

[dennisjonesjr]

Wow, I like that idea. I was think of ways to cool the whole room down but the window is too small for my window ac unit. What kind of insulation where you think of? The walk in shower is really tall so I'm wondering if a large tarp might work.

 

[Phyrst]

Not really big enough to do brewing in there. And probably not much ventilation.

Rip out that toilet and install a utility sink for sanitizing and wort chilling. Turn the other sink into a counter to work on. Turn the shower into a fermentation chamber.

 

[thughes]

I like the idea of a toilet in the brew room.

 

[sarsnik]

I was thinking this kind of insulation:

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...&langId=-1&storeId=10051&superSkuId=202938960


Not very messy like the large fluffy stuff.

 

[mattmcl]

I'd turn the shower into an electric gravity 3 vessel system. Drain is in place for cleaning already, you could easily attach shelving, and you've got a water source at the top.

 

[tre9er]

I agree with shower as 3-tier gravity system. You can go electric to reduce ventilation concerns but you'll still need to vent the steam out. Build a hood lined with FRP and use a Vortex inline fan vented out via PVC where the existing bath fan (or window) exited.

 

[badhabit]

First i would suggest that you need to cover your fermenters with something to keep the light out. Black T-shirt or Black garbage bags work fine.

 

[dennisjonesjr]

I'm not much of a plumber so I'm not sure how easy it would be to turn toilet pipe into a drain or how to close it up right. I think it would bother me more just knowing a toilet use to be there

The bucket in the picture is my first beer ever and I'm not familiar with the 3-tier gravity system so for me right now that would not be an option. I guess I'm looking more at wine and mead making so storing at the right temperature seems to be my biggest concerns right now

sarsnik - My hardware store didn't have the 1 inch so I had to go with the 1.5 inch. the 4x8 is just an inch or so off and I think I smashed one of the corners while putting it in the van. so I will probably jerry-rig it into place for now and check the temp tomorrow to see how it does on it's own. If it's not enough, I will make a hole for the AC unit. Again thanks for the idea, I would not have thought to do that to the shower.

 

[passedpawn]

Look at that porcelain fermenter! Drill a hole in the cover and put a airlock in there. Perfect!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I'll throw in my vote for an electric 3-tiered gravity rig. Just position the HLT under the faucet and there ya go.

And the drain does make for very easy clean-up.

 

[dennisjonesjr]

lol that's terrible "passedpawn" lol

ok does someone have a basic how to build an electric 3-tiered gravity rig I can take a look at?

 

[Spartan1979]

Seriously, if you've only got one batch under your belt, I'd wait before taking out a bath. Make sure you really enjoy brewing before doing something that may hurt your home's value or spend a lot of money. I've seen plenty of people with your enthusiasm after the first batch not stick with it long term.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Here is almost everything you could possibly need to know about building an electric brewery:

The Electric Brewery (catchy name, right?)

 

[Reaver]

You should just build some shelves in the shower to stack supplies/fermenters. I've seen a couple people make a slatted wood base for the shower floor. This way, you don't drop glass fermenters on hard floor. But it leaves the drain open if there is an issue.

Get an over the toilet cabinet. Then you can store supplies in there. If you aren't going to use the toilet for it's purpose, you can get an open cabinet. Otherwise get something closeable. Also if you aren't going to use the toilet... you can shut off the water and drain it. It will keep it from getting moldy, providing moisture to the room, or leaking.

 

[brewingmeister]

Also if you aren't going to use the toilet... you can shut off the water and drain it. It will keep it from getting moldy, providing moisture to the room, or leaking.

Not a good idea. A toilet has to have water in it or sewer gases will come back through it. The toilet is the p trap.

 

[passedpawn]

lol that's terrible "passedpawn" lol

ok does someone have a basic how to build an electric 3-tiered gravity rig I can take a look at?

yea, sorry about that.

I don't think there are many 3-tiered electric brewerys. Once you have power, might as well get a pump or two in there.

 

[copyright1997]

I'd turn the shower into an electric gravity 3 vessel system. Drain is in place for cleaning already, you could easily attach shelving, and you've got a water source at the top.

This had me thinking (a dangerous idea). I've been toying with the idea of doing an electric brewery, most likely in the basement. Your post brings up the possibility of installing of using a shower or bath kit as a pre-fab way of having an area that could easily be sprayed down for cleaning with built in drainage.

 

[HopSong]

Bathroom brewery.. that's what I have. Do the boil outside.. chill in kitchen and fermentation/bottling in bathroom. I have a large plastic bucket with rope handles in the tub and the FV sits inside that.. filled with water to the wort level. Works like a charm. Guests love the smell of the hops when they "do their thing"..