Brew Out Front or Out Back?

[jlinz]

So if I put my burner right at the front of the garage (towards garage door) but still a bit inside and have it opened all the way, I should be fine as far as CO goes, right? Ill probably get a CO detector and hang it on the ceiling, too.

 

[jlinz]

Here is my current garage "Extract" setup... even when I make the move to all grain I still have what I need as far as water, gas, and electricity for my chugger pump for whirlpooling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjm1Q7Sdy0w

Sophisticated setup!

 

[beernutz]

Backyard for me. I like keeping everything outside and out of the house/kitchen which makes the boss happy. I have a nice setup where I can roll my structure out from under a protected deck or if it is raining I can brew under the deck.

My natural gas hookup is even more reliable than electricity. I know because years ago I brewed there when the power was out and I had to run my pump off a 12v battery.

For about half the year the garage would be too hot here anyway.

 

[Sailingeric]

Back of house on my deck. I have a gravity stand so the burner is off the deck so no worries there. My water faucet is just to the side of the deck and I keep my stand, tun cooler, and ferm chamber in the the shed so it keeps moving stuff around to a minimum.

 

[shallywag]

Backyard!

 

[shallywag]

I brew in my backyard as well and would like to store my equipment outside but I am concerned about humidity, dirt and critters. Do you have any of these issues keeping everything outside? Do you keep carboys, bottling buckets etc outside as well? How do you store everything?

Backyard for me. I like keeping everything outside and out of the house/kitchen which makes the boss happy. I have a nice setup where I can roll my structure out from under a protected deck or if it is raining I can brew under the deck.

My natural gas hookup is even more reliable than electricity. I know because years ago I brewed there when the power was out and I had to run my pump off a 12v battery.

For about half the year the garage would be too hot here anyway.

 

[beernutz]

I brew in my backyard as well and would like to store my equipment outside but I am concerned about humidity, dirt and critters. Do you have any of these issues keeping everything outside? Do you keep carboys, bottling buckets etc outside as well? How do you store everything?

I keep my brew structure outside under my deck but it's really too big to keep anywhere else. I keep a big grill cover it when I'm not using it. It stays pretty dry but it's not indoors so humidity is an issue but in the 3 years I've used it I've seen little evidence of rust.

I keep everything else brewing-related in a storage room off my garage because of the same concerns you have.

 

[MilkStout]

I brew out-front. Open the garage door and move my brew stand to just outside the garage. We put a banner up that shows we are brewing today and set up a table with snacks. Neighbors usually stop by. Kind of gives the brew day a party atmosphere. That is until clean-up and everyone magically disappears.

 

[user 30639]

Question for garage brewers. Right now I'm just using the standard propane burner. If I have all the doors open, should I still be worried about carbon monoxide? I would like to move into the garage for brewing because, well, being out in the sun in the Texas summer can be brutal.

I was doing a club brewday over at a friends and we were brewing in his driveway. The police rolled by and gave us a loooooooooong look, until they decided we weren't making meth and moved on.

 

[MilkStout]

If you have all the doors open, you should be fine. I always open the garage door and have never had a problem. If you are still concerned turn on a fan to circulate the air. You could also get a CO monitor. They are fairly cheap for peace of mind.

 

[jlinz]

Setup and tried out the garage today. Went very well! The neighbors sort of stayed away. Maybe they thought I was cooking meth, don't know. My main concern was run off from the chiller, but as you can see in the pic, figured that one out.

 

[jlinz]

Question for garage brewers. Right now I'm just using the standard propane burner. If I have all the doors open, should I still be worried about carbon monoxide? I would like to move into the garage for brewing because, well, being out in the sun in the Texas summer can be brutal.

I was doing a club brewday over at a friends and we were brewing in his driveway. The police rolled by and gave us a loooooooooong look, until they decided we weren't making meth and moved on.

I set up right in front of the garage today, and my co monitor read 0 ppm. I have a back door and a side window, so good airflow. Think I'll move inside the garage a bit next time. Shouldn't be a big deal if no co registered with the burner just a foot outside the garage.

 

[user 30639]

I set up right in front of the garage today, and my co monitor read 0 ppm. I have a back door and a side window, so good airflow. Think I'll move inside the garage a bit next time. Shouldn't be a big deal if no co registered with the burner just a foot outside the garage.

I should be fine then. Mine is a detached garage so I can open both the garage doors and the door that leads to the backyard. I have a vent on the roof as well. I suppose now my only issue is getting a hose long enough to reach the garage. But that's a whole other problem.

 

[Dixon9717]

I brew outside my garage which is on the side of my house facing west. Mostly for the view but also have hot and cold water in the garage makes for easy clean up

View attachment 1502637104782.jpg

View attachment 1502637126194.jpg

 

[Gonefishing]

I suppose now my only issue is getting a hose long enough to reach the garage. But that's a whole other problem.

Shouldn't be much of a problem. You can buy RV hoses at Walmart and other places. Amazon has several if you search for "drinking water hose".

 

[Murphys_Law]

I brew in the back yard. I have a nice patio area where I set-up my BIAB rig, access to water, and plenty of trees that like the water when it's time to break out the IC, and plenty of privacy. My only issue is that I keep my gear in the basement and my patio is down 10 steps from the deck so I go up and down and up and down a lot! I just consider that my days exercise!

 

[Derp]

Question for garage brewers. Right now I'm just using the standard propane burner. If I have all the doors open, should I still be worried about carbon monoxide? I would like to move into the garage for brewing because, well, being out in the sun in the Texas summer can be brutal.

I live in San Antonio and brew in the garage with the door wide open. I have a carbon monoxide alarm and haven't heard a peep. But it sure gets hot in the garage when it's already 100 degrees outside. I probably lost 10 pounds when I brewed Friday.

I collect the first 5 gallons of hot chiller output and use if for cleanup. The rest I use to water the lawn. Sometimes I hook up a sprinkler if I'm feeling fancy.

I know all of my neighbors, so when I'm brewing I usually have a visitor or two. Sometimes I can talk them into helping out with the cleaning.

 

[spittybug]

Question for garage brewers. Right now I'm just using the standard propane burner. If I have all the doors open, should I still be worried about carbon monoxide? I would like to move into the garage for brewing because, well, being out in the sun in the Texas summer can be brutal.

I was doing a club brewday over at a friends and we were brewing in his driveway. The police rolled by and gave us a loooooooooong look, until they decided we weren't making meth and moved on.

Houston here...just as hot and tons more humid! I have a rolling rig that we move just outside the garage so that it can be hosed down and so that the boil off doesn't go into the garage. I set up a cheap Harbor Freight canopy to sit under or to protect the rig if rain is imminent. I'm full electric, so I just have a long enough cord for the element to the Raspberry Pi controller on the wall. Ditto for temp sensor line. The keezer is in the garage, so we usually sit around the garage. Good for making friends that walk buy. Local constable has learned that we're brewing, not cooking meth!

 

[user 30639]

I live in San Antonio and brew in the garage with the door wide open. I have a carbon monoxide alarm and haven't heard a peep. But it sure gets hot in the garage when it's already 100 degrees outside. I probably lost 10 pounds when I brewed Friday.

No kidding. I'm pretty sure the heat in the garage killed the first fridge I out there. I put a whirly bird vent on the roof and that helps, but it still gets hot. But, if all the doors are open, it's not awful. And I'm at least out of the sun.

 

[shoengine]

Is that the spinning chef-hat vent thing?

 

[Roycebarrow]

Out back!!!! I don't need no stinkin pulley system

 

[Rhaop]

Out back on the patio which is covered by the deck above and a nice roof above that so other then driving winds i'm pretty well protected, my wife ordered me the top grand slam package from wilserbrewer for Father's Day i have yet to try it since I haven't brewed but if i get my pulley system set up and brew i'll post an update pic

 

[smurfjuice]

In the garage, rain or shine. keeps the chit falling out of the trees out of the kettle.

 

[MaryB]

I have never had the CO monitor go off(I never check the readout). Brewed yesterday in the garage with the people door and 2 windows open for a cross flow. Got a wee bit warm in there but it beat fighting the wind outside.

 

[shoengine]

The wife and kids tired of the hops smell fairly quickly, and with the upgrade to a 15g kettle the back patio worked perfectly. Should be able to brew year round out here.

 

[Razael_the_Brewer]

I keep most of my equipment in the garage. In nice weather (no rain, light/no wind) I brew on my deck, even if it's cold. Otherwise, I brew in the garage. I have hose access in both places, and runoff hasn't been a big issue.

The kegs live in the basement. I have a bar area down there. I also tend to store things on longer fermentations/secondary on there to get them out of the way upstairs. It means carrying full carboys up and down stairs, but it's not that bad.

 

[RedlegEd]

Question for garage brewers. Right now I'm just using the standard propane burner. If I have all the doors open, should I still be worried about carbon monoxide? I would like to move into the garage for brewing because, well, being out in the sun in the Texas summer can be brutal.

I was doing a club brewday over at a friends and we were brewing in his driveway. The police rolled by and gave us a loooooooooong look, until they decided we weren't making meth and moved on.

Hi. A box or pedestal fan in the back of the garage blowing out doesn't hurt either, and it'll help keep the condensation of the boil from your ceiling and/or garage door(s). Ed

 

[RedlegEd]

Hi, again. Garage for me. Get to speak with the neighbors and enjoy a little of the outdoors. Ed

 

[Rhaop]

Hi, again. Garage for me. Get to speak with the neighbors and enjoy a little of the outdoors. Ed

Nice set up!

 

[GHBWNY]

Blessed to have a walk-out basement in the back of my house. In good weather, I brew just outside the door in a corner of the house out of sight, near a hose bib, and out of the wind and just few steps inside to the brew room. In more inclement conditions, I can come indoors. And while most of the boil fumes exit through the vent hood over the cooktop, some end up wafting upstairs and throughout the house. And you know what that means...