Hoppo's E-Brewery Build

[TrainSafe]

I'll make the popcorn for this show! I love what I see here. That sink is a thing of beauty. Cleanup will be a snap.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks guys.....I appreciate the compliments. I think that I only paid around $200 for the sink AND the faucet, so I made out really well on that deal. I just need to clean up the sink base and shoot it with some stainless steel spray paint, otherwise the sink itself is in great condition. I'll try to keep plugging away on this thing, but I'm being pulled in 50 different directions right now. I think I am going to build the grain storage bin and the grain weighing/milling cabinet next, so I have all of the component boxes complete. Then I'll build the tops for each, trim them out with cedar logs and finishe them off with travertine tile. Along the way I need to get the rough electrical and plumbing ran in the walls, so I can get the drywall up and travertine tile backsplash going behind the brewing table. I shall do my best to keep the build progressing and the thread up to date. I appreciate the words of encouragement.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Good luck buddy, I'm in the process of trying to figure out if I want to go electric or not. Have plenty of space in the basement as it's unfinished so I can do anything I want with the entire thing. Looking forward to watching your progress.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Good to hear from you BigRed! Did you ever get that keezer built?

I decided to go all electric, simply because I'm sick of brewing outside in the winter and I was running out of projects. I can't wait to get this room build the rest of the way, but I have a long, long way to go. Let me know what you decide and when you plan on launching the project.

 

[TriangleIL]

Subscribed, wow!

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Good to hear from you BigRed! Did you ever get that keezer built?

I decided to go all electric, simply because I'm sick of brewing outside in the winter and I was running out of projects. I can't wait to get this room build the rest of the way, but I have a long, long way to go. Let me know what you decide and when you plan on launching the project.

No, I built a kegarator instead for now. The cost was the issue and the boys were just getting out of the hospital so the hospital got most of my money during that time. I just decided to move on for now and concentrate on some of the other projects I'd like to do. I'll definately let you know when/if I decide to move forward with electric. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to start with the BIAB method, or go to a HERMS set-up, or a RIMS set-up. So many choices...........:cross:

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Sounds good....Hopefully your little ones are doing well. Happy Brewing!

 

[1fast636]

will be watching this one your work is amazing man keep it up

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks man. This project stalled out for a while with all of the spring maintenance crap that I have going on around my house. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I can find some more time to focus on the brewing room. My pipeline is getting pretty weak, so partial mash on the patio is still my only option at this point. At least the weather is finally starting to cooperate.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Almost finished with my fermentation chamber builds that will be situated in the corner of my brewery next to the sink. I went with this design to maximize countertop space in the brewery. Here are a few pics of the chambers trimmed out and in position. Still need to finish sand and do 4 to 5 coats of poly. I will then install cement board and tumbled travertine in the recessed areas on the tops. My entire backsplash behind the e-HERMS system will be in travertine as well. Here's a link to my fermentation builds if interested.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/hoppos-rustic-fermentation-chambers-ale-lager-301274/

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I have been searching high and low for an affordable pot filler faucet to hard plumb into the wall above my HLT. I finally found one on CL for a steal! It retails for $285 with tax and shipping. I found a contractor about 30 minutes from my house that installed this faucet for a client who hated the design and finish after he installed it. He removed the faucet and replaced it with a different model. He procrastinated and forgot to return this one and it has been in his garage for about a year. It is brand frickin' new and I talked him down to $85. It has a 14" reach, which will be plent for filling my HLT. My plan is to run a hard water line off of my existing plumbing prior to the water softening system. I will install a dual canister filtration system with a sediment filter and a carbon filter. This line will feed the pot filler. I also managed to get all of my rough electrical ran, so now it's onto plumbing, then drywall. Slowly making progress.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Nice work out of you hop, that'll look great!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks Big Red....I'm trying to keep the progress rolling on the brewery, but there are only so many hours in the day. How are things from your end? Did you ever get that keezer built?

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Thanks Big Red....I'm trying to keep the progress rolling on the brewery, but there are only so many hours in the day. How are things from your end? Did you ever get that keezer built?

I ended up building a kegorator instead for now. I'll build a keezer later on and sell the kegorator when I'm done with it. Refining my craft with this whole beer making thing and eventually I'll make the jump to all-grain.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Excellent....good luck and keep in touch! I can't wait to get my fully automated AG system going. For me, for now it's partial mashes on the patio, but I would hate to go though another winter brewing in the garage. I store all of my brewing equipment in the basement and it's a royal PITA carrying everything up on brew day.

Brewery side note: I just put the final coat of polyurethane on my fermentation chambers, so I'm going to install the cement board and tumbled travertine on the decorative tops when I get home from the holiday weekend. My plumber is coming out sometime soon to plumb in the copper H2O lines for the sink and the copper + filtration system for the pot filler faucet over my HLT. He was very much against busting up concrete and running a drain over to the existing drain in my mechanical room. Instead, he found a "grey" water commercial ejection sump pump that tucks underneath the SS sink and plumbs into the drain line. It does not require a crock and will be 1/2 of the cost of going the other route. He's going to plumb in the PVC with check valves into the wall behind the sink and run it up and over to an existing drain line from my kitchen sink from above. Hopefully I can get him out in the next couple of weeks, because I'm chomping at the bit to move onto drywall/tile/trim.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

My plumber is coming out tomorrow to install the water filtration system dedicated for the pot filler faucet and to do all of the rough plumbing for the sink water supplies and drain system. I'll post a few pics this weekend. I am completely geeked! Can't wait to button up the walls and move forward with tiling/trim/etc.

On a side note.....I just talked to another homebrewer who has a Barley Crusher mill that is 1 yr. old and was used for five 10 gallon batches only. He doesn't have time to brew anymore and is off loading some of his equipment. I talked him down to $60 for the mill and it's like brand new. I have a patient who is bringing me either a 1/3 or 1/2 hp motor today with a selection of sheaves to get the rpms down to the ideal range for whatever motor I choose. I offered to pay him, but he has a garage full these types of items and will not accept any money for it. I'll be starting a thread for my motorized grain milling station sometime in the very near future. Of course, it will be built to match my bar, keezer, ferm chambers, etc.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

My plumber made it out today to run the copper water supply lines and drain for my commercial ss sink and he installed the dual canister filter housings off of the hard water side of my plumbing with a supply to the pot filler faucet positioned over my HLT. I went with two canister filters, one for sediment and rust, the other is a carbon filter for clarity and odor. Our hard water has a lot of iron and sediment, so this was my only options. I wanted to avoid having to use sofetened water at all costs and am sick of paying for jugs of water when I brew. This should make life much easier. Materials and labor was $310, so well worth the expense! I'm going to have an analysis of my water done once the filters are inserted and the pot filler is plumbed in in the finish.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I also managed to cut the heavy duty ss table down to the finished height of 25 inches, which the 3 converted keggles will sit on for my all electric HERMS system. Last night after work, I sanded the sink base and painted it with stainless steel spray paint. It was pretty rusty and nasty (as you can see from earlier pics.), but now is cleaning up nicely. I also had a patient who made me the start of a mash paddle. He used hard maple and turned the handle on his lathe. I have to finish the paddle itself and add a knob to the end of the handle, but it sure was nice of him!

 

[BeerguyNC61]

looking good!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

A few more pics with what I have done so far. If you haven't seen my fermentation chamber thread, I finished the woodwork and added the cement board and tumbled travertine to the tops. Still need to grout. These pics. show how the layout will be. The space to the left of the actual brewing system will have my motorized grain milling station, grain weighing station, and a humidity controlled grain storage bin. These final components will be built to match the fermentation chambers with cedar logs, knotty pine, and tumbled travertine. The entire wall behind the 3 vessel will be done in tumbled travertine and I'll use green board drywall for the rest, painted to a color of my wifes choosing. I'm looking around to a faux slate porceline tile to tile the floor with. I prefer the density of porceline on the floor in this room as opposed to the natural slate used in my bar, simply because of the potential of dropping items and spillage.

I am picking up a Barley Crusher grain mill tomorrow and will have a 1/3 hp electric motor on Monday, so my next projects are the grain mill and storage cabinets, drywall, tile, etc. I also plan on purchasing the remaining fittings for my HERMS system keggle conversions from Bobby at Brew Hardware this week, so that I can start tackling that project as well. Slowly, but surely it's getting there.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here are a few better pics of the fermentation chambers in their almost done state. I have a seperate thread for that build if anyone's interested.

Thanks BeerGuy!

My wife and I are leaving in 2 weeks for a week in the Carribean for our 15 year anniversary, so I'm going to try to get the cabinets built for the grain mill and storage bin before we go.

 

[jEld]

Looking good neighbor!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks Jason.....it's coming together slowly, but surely. Have you started kegging yet?

 

[DamageCT]

Hoppo, if you don't mind me asking, where did you buy the table that the kegs are on?
I have been looking into building one similar to Kal's but if a metal table is cheaper than time/supplies for a wooden one (and can hold as much weight) I'd much prefer a setup similar to yours.

Thanks!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I purchased the stainless steel table from a local deli that went out of business. I actually purchased two tables from the deli for around $200 for both, but she included a box full of ss utensils, a couple of pendant lights, and a stainless bar storage bin used in bars for storing lemon wedges, lime wedges, cherries, etc. The table you are referring to is a heavy duty table that has built in trusses on the undersurface of top itself and can hold a ton of weight. The second table is a cheaper model that does not have a truss system in place and I would not trust holding the weight of the brewing system while in use. The second table will be used as an island work station in the brewery. I also purchased the stainless steel sink/drip pan from another failing restaurant for I think $125. Keep an eye out of craigs list for restaurant liquidation equipment, because with the economy there is a lot of this stuff out there. There is another website called www.repocast.net that is an on-line auction site that reposses equipment from bankrupt businesses and auctions it on line. It's a Michigan based business, but I think they can ship anywhere. Look around and you should be able to find something, but make sure that the table is heavy duty with the built in trusses.

 

[jEld]

Thanks Jason.....it's coming together slowly, but surely. Have you started kegging yet?

Yup, I have a porter and a pumpkin ale kegged and delicious! Now I just need time to fill my other 4 kegs!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Nice! Let's get together sometime soon and have a few beers.

I just finished framing the cabinet for my motorized grain mill. I'll be starting a thread in the DIY section for that build as well. Check out my latest creation when you get a chance.

 

[rockinmarty]

Great as usual. Happy 15th and enjoy the Caribbean

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks man....I appreciate it. My wife and I are long overdue for a vacation for just the two of us. We used to travel all of the time, but the damn kids put an end to that. :cross:

I made a little more progress in the brewery last night by building the cabinet for my grain mill. Tomorrow after work, I'm going to build the cabinet for the grain storage bin and start trimming them out. This weekend I am finally going to place my order with Bobby at brewhardware for all of the fittings required for my keggle conversions. I'll probably tackle that project as soon as I get back from vacation. Have a good day.

 

[ThePell]

I purchased the stainless steel table from a local deli that went out of business. I actually purchased two tables from the deli for around $200 for both, but she included a box full of ss utensils, a couple of pendant lights, and a stainless bar storage bin used in bars for storing lemon wedges, lime wedges, cherries, etc. The table you are referring to is a heavy duty table that has built in trusses on the undersurface of top itself and can hold a ton of weight. The second table is a cheaper model that does not have a truss system in place and I would not trust holding the weight of the brewing system while in use. The second table will be used as an island work station in the brewery. I also purchased the stainless steel sink/drip pan from another failing restaurant for I think $125. Keep an eye out of craigs list for restaurant liquidation equipment, because with the economy there is a lot of this stuff out there. There is another website called www.repocast.net that is an on-line auction site that reposses equipment from bankrupt businesses and auctions it on line. It's a Michigan based business, but I think they can ship anywhere. Look around and you should be able to find something, but make sure that the table is heavy duty with the built in trusses.

I work a few miles from the Grand Rapids offices for Repocast. If anyone ever wants me to check something out for them or get some better pictures of an item just send me a PM.