- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 1,719
- Reaction score
- 759
Hello all from sunny and humid Mobile, Alabama. I may have set a record on HBT as I created my account in 2007 and didn't make my first post until 2013! But I'm making up for that lapse by becoming a premium member this year and I recommend you all do the same if you haven't yet. That lapse of interest was because after about 7 years of not brewing due to my state's failure to legalize homebrewing combined with my paranoia I'm back in the mix after Alabama at long last earlier this year became the last state to decriminalize this wonderful hobby.
I first started brewing in 1991 after going to a lesson at a health food store in Memphis, TN. I brewed one batch of extract before switching to all-grain brewing which I've stuck with ever since. Chuck Skypeck, the guy who did the lesson while working at the store, later became one of the founders of Boscos www.boscosbeer.com where he is still VP of brewing operations. So after my 7 year brewing hiatus I'm now back off the wagon and gearing up again, only bigger and better this time. First up is building a keezer and modifying an old stainless steel natural gas grill into a single tier brewing structure.
I've already got the ok from the boss to convert our dining room to a billiards room complete with a keezer and at the same time I'm also working on envisioning some type of brewing structure. I have to interrupt myself here to say that I did really well in the picking bosses department. In addition to the dining room conversion approval, about four years ago after more than 20 years of marriage, out of the blue she asks me, "Why don't we have a boat?" After regaining consciousness and kissing her, I got started looking right away and we've been boaters ever since.
For my brewing setup previously I just used a propane bayou cooker with a 15 gallon aluminum boiling pot and did my mashing on the kitchen stove using an old aluminum turkey fryer pot with an easymasher installed. I used this even for 10 gallon batches but now I'm shooting for something a little less homespun and less challenging on the back. I have a nice grain mill, the Maltmill, by the same guy who makes the easymasher and a bunch of other miscellaneous brewing paraphernalia I've accumulated such as a counter pressure bottle filler.
First up in my new brewing life is converting an old Sam's Club Grand Hall SS natural gas three burner + side burner grill I'm no longer using to a single tier brewing structure. The grill is very sturdy, it has wheels, and I've got two brand new burners I've never even installed as the three main original ones are pretty much gone. I am considering removing the grill lid and I may also use my grinder to take off the 'lips' which extend upward from the grill area to which the lid is attached in order to expand the surface area where pots can be placed. It has been fun envisioning the setup and implementation of this apparatus.
After that I'm buying a black Kenmore 8.8cf chest freezer to make a dual hinged collared keezer with four Perlicks. I previously kegged and have 6 pin lock kegs and some cobra taps plus a small jockey box to use to take kegs away from the home base but I want a more permanent and presentable fixture and the keezer looks like just the ticket.
All this new brewing stuff is going on at the same time my wife and I are converting a laundry room to a mud room and converting the storage room to a laundry room while also making some major deck renovations so it is a bit of a madhouse here at the moment. Wouldn't have it any other way though.
I first started brewing in 1991 after going to a lesson at a health food store in Memphis, TN. I brewed one batch of extract before switching to all-grain brewing which I've stuck with ever since. Chuck Skypeck, the guy who did the lesson while working at the store, later became one of the founders of Boscos www.boscosbeer.com where he is still VP of brewing operations. So after my 7 year brewing hiatus I'm now back off the wagon and gearing up again, only bigger and better this time. First up is building a keezer and modifying an old stainless steel natural gas grill into a single tier brewing structure.
I've already got the ok from the boss to convert our dining room to a billiards room complete with a keezer and at the same time I'm also working on envisioning some type of brewing structure. I have to interrupt myself here to say that I did really well in the picking bosses department. In addition to the dining room conversion approval, about four years ago after more than 20 years of marriage, out of the blue she asks me, "Why don't we have a boat?" After regaining consciousness and kissing her, I got started looking right away and we've been boaters ever since.
For my brewing setup previously I just used a propane bayou cooker with a 15 gallon aluminum boiling pot and did my mashing on the kitchen stove using an old aluminum turkey fryer pot with an easymasher installed. I used this even for 10 gallon batches but now I'm shooting for something a little less homespun and less challenging on the back. I have a nice grain mill, the Maltmill, by the same guy who makes the easymasher and a bunch of other miscellaneous brewing paraphernalia I've accumulated such as a counter pressure bottle filler.
First up in my new brewing life is converting an old Sam's Club Grand Hall SS natural gas three burner + side burner grill I'm no longer using to a single tier brewing structure. The grill is very sturdy, it has wheels, and I've got two brand new burners I've never even installed as the three main original ones are pretty much gone. I am considering removing the grill lid and I may also use my grinder to take off the 'lips' which extend upward from the grill area to which the lid is attached in order to expand the surface area where pots can be placed. It has been fun envisioning the setup and implementation of this apparatus.
After that I'm buying a black Kenmore 8.8cf chest freezer to make a dual hinged collared keezer with four Perlicks. I previously kegged and have 6 pin lock kegs and some cobra taps plus a small jockey box to use to take kegs away from the home base but I want a more permanent and presentable fixture and the keezer looks like just the ticket.
All this new brewing stuff is going on at the same time my wife and I are converting a laundry room to a mud room and converting the storage room to a laundry room while also making some major deck renovations so it is a bit of a madhouse here at the moment. Wouldn't have it any other way though.
