Homebrew Basement Storage Design

[mgr_stl]

I've been enlisted to help a friend design his starting-from-scratch basement brewing gear storage / work station set-up. His basement is a walkout, so I envy that he won't need to lug burners and kettles (and everything else) up stairs on brew days.

I'd say looking for more functional than fancy. It sounds like he has a big basement, so space isn't too big of an issue. I'll post the dimensions when I get them.

Here are the main things I think need to be included, but I'd like you hear your ideas as well.

-Chest freezer (fermentation chamber)
-Counter space
-Kegerator (if he wants to make the leap from bottling)
-Beer fridge/hop (and yeast) freezer
-Shelving (but what material/size?)
-Utility sink
--Milling station (or do you guys think milling outside is better?)

I know some of you have awesome basement storage designs, so share some pics!

 

[OzzyBrew]

Is your friend sure he doesn't want to start an e-brewery? Sounds like he has the space to just stay indoors?

I'd add a keezer for all that brew he's gonna make. I'd definitely mill away from the rest of the brewery. And I wanted to comment mostly to see how many awesome ideas I will get from this thread.

 

[mgr_stl]

No interest in an electric setup.

 

[mongoose33]

I'd look at either a refrigerator or upright freezer for a ferm chamber. Unless he's into lifting very heavy fermenters up and into a chest freezer.

What you've listed looks fine. A sink with a drainboard might be better than a utility sink, so there's a place to lay down kegs, fermenters and the like while rinsing or cleaning. Also a place to set things to drain. Also with a spray hose of some sort, like a kitchen sink would normally have.

If he's going to brew outside, I'd have rolling storage that could be moved outside easily so access to whatever is needed is easy.

The same goes with shelving. You can put it on wheels and then move it anywhere you like.

Here's a rolling cabinet I use; note I have my burner, boil kettle, and associated equipment in it. It's 18" deep, which is pretty much a requirement. Bought it from Sam's Club for $209, which I thought was a steal. Speaking of which, it is--the front is stainless.

The rolling shelves are great--I can roll them against other storage to keep them out of the way, but pull them out to access what's behind them. BTW, rather than paying for casters, what I do is buy a furniture dolly w/ the right size casters on it, then use those. Sometimes I build right on the furniture dolly depending on whether it fits correctly, sometimes I scavenge the casters and use them on a new build. Have done this several times.

 

[kh54s10]

Storage = Built in on an entire wall. With a place for 8-10 five gallon bucket of grain storage.
Kegerator or keezer = big enough for at least 3 kegs - the more the better.
Milling = make it contained so grain dust doesn't go everywhere. Many are concerned that it is away from brewing equipment. Mine is right next to my equipment and have never had a problem
Utility sink = have a work counter next to at least one side of it.

 

[SGTSparty]

Great suggestions by PP. I'd add a couple of my wish list items. In addition to a utility sink get a commercial type sprayer somethink like this:

kegs are tall and washing them in a sink, even a utility sink that doesn't have a really high faucet gets tiresome. plus you can get some pressure out of those to blast off trub/kruasen w/o using a brush.

Also re: storage, get some peg board type thing you can use to hang/drip dry tubing, siphons, etc.
re: ferm chamber, try and find or rig something tall enough that you can rack out of it right into the keg. If you're doing temp control'd fridge you'd be able to cold crash and rack w/o moving which is a big bonus for clarity. so pick an upright thats tall enough to ferment on an upper shelf or put it on a platform if possible