Hoppo's E-Brewery Build

[Hoppopotomus]

You're far too kind Jeebas....., but you have some pretty awesome builds going on yourself.

Finally settled on a couple of colors for the basement. For the main brewing room, we decided to go with a darker color to pull the red, earthy tones out of the red cedar knots and darker tones in the knotty pine. The color is called "fresh baked pumpernickel. In the pics. it looks a little darker than it is, but looks really nice with all of the knotty pine components moved back into place. For the rest of my mechanical room, we decided on a contrasting color called warm butterscotch that also goes really well with the decor in the brewery. Here are a few pics of the main brewery room with the darker color. I am trimming the walls out with knotty pine boards both horizontally and vertically to cover the drywall seams and to create a picture frame look on the walls and to also break up the dark color as well. What can I say, I HATE mudding and taping, so this was my next best option. I haven't started painting the rest of the mechanical room in the lighter color, but plan on being done with all painting and trim work by the end of the weekend.

 

[ApothecaryBrewing]

I'm a little worried that there is too much building and not enough brewing happening. I see that coke zero can! Blasphemy, unless of course you are saving the calories for your beer.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Don't worry, my pipeline is full! I'm still brewing the old fashion way in my garage for now with a cooler MT and the 32 quart BK on a propane burner. I store all of my brewing equipment in the basement, so it's a royal pain in the ass to get everything out and carried up to the garage to brew every other weekend. I have resorted to brewing 2-3 batches at a time about every other month now.....about once a month in the summer. I'm the only person in my household that drinks beer and with it being winter, I don't host nearly as many parties as in the summer, so a full pipeline of 20 gallons and a 5 gallon reserve in cold storage goes a long way for me.

As for the Coke Zero.....let me explain! I only worked yesterday in the a.m. and was painting by late morning, so the pics were taken around noonish.....too early for me to start drinkin'. And yes, I do save my calories for beer. I come from a family where the genetics aren't exactly stacked in my favor. Every male across the board is obese....we are talking 3 bills plus. In order for me to maintain my fighting weight, I have to watch what I eat and drink. With the exception of beer, I consume very little other sugar or startches otherwise. I couldn't tell you the last time I had a regular pop, a piece of candy, or any other sugar laced product (cookies/cake/pie/ice cream/etc.). With the exception of beer and wine, I eat and drink like someone would with chronic diabetes......lean proteins and only healthy carbs from grains/nuts/veges, etc. Hell, I rarely eat potatos and I couldn't tell you the last time I had a piece of white bread or anything else with white processed flour for that matter. It's the sacrifice that I have made to continue to enjoy beer and stay somewhat healthy in the process.

 

[ApothecaryBrewing]

Prior to noon is what breakfast stouts are for haha. I am in the same boat though, fighting genetics while trying to love craft beer.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Yeah, I hear ya. It's a b*tch and it gets harder the older I get. I'm a physical therapist, so I have to keep my weight somewhat under control. How much trust would my patients have in me if I was morbidly obese and didn't practice what I preach. Despite my efforts, I am still not exactly the picture of superb health, but it could and would be much, much worse if I didn't keep a handle on it.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Finished most of the trim on the brewing wall in my brewery, but still have the rest of the room to do. The unpainted small triangular surfaces on either side of the ventilation hood will be done in the same T&G knotty pine as I used for all of the components, just didn't have time to finish it today. My next project is to knock out the rest of the trim in the rest of the room, utilizing the same picture frame effect, as to avoid any mudding and taping. I will then clear coat all of the trim and then move onto grouting the backsplash and component tops. Then I can install my HLT filling faucet and finish the flooring. I was going to tile the entire room, but am now considering some kind of epoxy finish on the floor or just staining the concrete. I'll keep plugging away!

 

[Carlscan26]

Nice. Very nice!

Stain the concrete

 

[Jeebas]

Don't worry, my pipeline is full! I'm still brewing the old fashion way in my garage for now with a cooler MT and the 32 quart BK on a propane burner. I store all of my brewing equipment in the basement, so it's a royal pain in the ass to get everything out and carried up to the garage to brew every other weekend. I have resorted to brewing 2-3 batches at a time about every other month now.....about once a month in the summer. I'm the only person in my household that drinks beer and with it being winter, I don't host nearly as many parties as in the summer, so a full pipeline of 20 gallons and a 5 gallon reserve in cold storage goes a long way for me.

As for the Coke Zero.....let me explain! I only worked yesterday in the a.m. and was painting by late morning, so the pics were taken around noonish.....too early for me to start drinkin'. And yes, I do save my calories for beer. I come from a family where the genetics aren't exactly stacked in my favor. Every male across the board is obese....we are talking 3 bills plus. In order for me to maintain my fighting weight, I have to watch what I eat and drink. With the exception of beer, I consume very little other sugar or startches otherwise. I couldn't tell you the last time I had a regular pop, a piece of candy, or any other sugar laced product (cookies/cake/pie/ice cream/etc.). With the exception of beer and wine, I eat and drink like someone would with chronic diabetes......lean proteins and only healthy carbs from grains/nuts/veges, etc. Hell, I rarely eat potatos and I couldn't tell you the last time I had a piece of white bread or anything else with white processed flour for that matter. It's the sacrifice that I have made to continue to enjoy beer and stay somewhat healthy in the process.

I can relate to the trying to eat healthy and still enjoy good beer - and also the pipeline staying full until I have parties - Though I am currently down to three kegs of hard cider and thats it, and they'll prob kick after Sunday. I normally refrain from the brew Monday - Thursday at the very least. Fighting against genetics also and the lethargic occupation of being a software engineer. Protein bars, greek yogurt, wheat bagel thins, tuna wraps, carrots and fresh fruit for me most days!

 

[ameliabrewery]

Agreed! I have lost 22 pounds and am hoping to drop another 26. But...I will not and have not given up beer!!!! Working with a nutritionist and eating right. You do not have to give up the beer, instead, give up the sodas, fast food, and just eat right.

 

[Gridlocked]

Looking AWESOME!!!

 

[Epimetheus]

Really nice room. I agree with staining the concrete floor. Good idea not seal it until you know how much water vapor is percolating through it.

Trimming out with pine instead of plastering the joints was a good idea. The pine will mellow down to a warm pumpkin color.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Sorry the thread turned into a Jenny Craig commercial for a minute there. DAMN YOU homebrew calories!

Thanks for the compliments guys. I am in the process of opening another PT practice, so what little free time that I had to work on this project has been a little occupied. I did manage to find 1 1/2 hrs today to work on the trim, but still have about 30% more of the room to do. Hopefully this weekend I can find some time to finish off the trim, then onto flooring.

 

[Darwin18]

Very nice build so far!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks man!

I did manage to get about 90% of the trim done and should be able to finish it off tomorrow. Slowly, but surely it's coming together.

 

[ilikeguns]

awesome build man! wish i had the space,talent and money for something like this!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks man, I appreciate it!

All trim is complete in the brewery, just need to clean up the space and apply the clear coat. Just have flooring, keg polishing, and controls left. I'll post some pics when I get a chance, but am getting my a$$ kicked at work.....not enough hours in the day.

 

[MuddyCreek]

Wow...

 

[bubeckdj]

Fantastic build. Very jealous.

I do have one concern. I don't like have the milling station so close to the brewing station. Grain dust is very bad for cooled wort. And even though the dust will probably be minimized with your design, it's still going to get into the air. If you are extremely careful during the transfer of the cooled wort, you will probably be OK but I personally do all of my milling as far as possible from where the brewing and fermenting is taking place. You might want to relocate the milling station to another part of your house.

 

[rockinmarty]

Fantastic build. Very jealous.

I do have one concern. I don't like have the milling station so close to the brewing station. Grain dust is very bad for cooled wort. And even though the dust will probably be minimized with your design, it's still going to get into the air. If you are extremely careful during the transfer of the cooled wort, you will probably be OK but I personally do all of my milling as far as possible from where the brewing and fermenting is taking place. You might want to relocate the milling station to another part of your house.

It's the first time I hear anything like that about grain dust. and after a couple hours of mashing and boiling and the exhaust fan running I wouldn't worry that much.

 

[jeffmeh]

It's the first time I hear anything like that about grain dust. and after a couple hours of mashing and boiling and the exhaust fan running I wouldn't worry that much.

That is the basic hot side / cold side separation issue, given that there are all sorts of wild yeasts and bacteria that can be on the grain. It's not a problem until you end up with an unanticipated sour, lol.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Sorry guys.....it has been a long while since I have been on HBT. I am opening up another private practice PT clinic and have been elbows deep in that project. I haven't made any progress on the brewery and I haven't brewed at all in months.

To answer your questions about my system. I am taking the necessary precautions to prevent any rouge yeast or baterial from contaminating my wort after the boil. I typically mill and bag my grains the night before my brewing sessions. As indicated, the grain drops down a chute and into a bucket in a completely closed and sealed compartment build within the cabinet of the milling station. To this point, I have experience minimal dust from the top end of the mill. I keep a shop vac in an adjacent utility room and vacuum out the cabinet and wipe down the hopper and cabinet top after each use.

I have designed my system such that after the boil, the wort is pumped through a plate chiller and directly into carboys already sitting down inside of my fermentation chambers. My fermentation chambers have 2 lids each, one insulated lid that creates an air tight seal and a decorative tiled lid over that. My chambers are never left open or exposed to any particulate that could be floating in the air. The only time they are opened is to insert or remove carboys. I have been milling grains down there and using my chambers for quite some time without incident. Once I'm doing the entire brewing process down there, I honestly feel that with the precautions that I have taken, the risk of contamination will be minimal. Thoughts?

 

[jeffmeh]

Sorry guys.....it has been a long while since I have been on HBT. I am opening up another private practice PT clinic and have been elbows deep in that project. I haven't made any progress on the brewery and I haven't brewed at all in months.

To answer your questions about my system. I am taking the necessary precautions to prevent any rouge yeast or baterial from contaminating my wort after the boil. I typically mill and bag my grains the night before my brewing sessions. As indicated, the grain drops down a chute and into a bucket in a completely closed and sealed compartment build within the cabinet of the milling station. To this point, I have experience minimal dust from the top end of the mill. I keep a shop vac in an adjacent utility room and vacuum out the cabinet and wipe down the hopper and cabinet top after each use.

I have designed my system such that after the boil, the wort is pumped through a plate chiller and directly into carboys already sitting down inside of my fermentation chambers. My fermentation chambers have 2 lids each, one insulated lid that creates an air tight seal and a decorative tiled lid over that. My chambers are never left open or exposed to any particulate that could be floating in the air. The only time they are opened is to insert or remove carboys. I have been milling grains down there and using my chambers for quite some time without incident. Once I'm doing the entire brewing process down there, I honestly feel that with the precautions that I have taken, the risk of contamination will be minimal. Thoughts?

It sounds like you take fairly good precautions, and it is working for you, so don't fix what is not broken. If you ever have an issue, then take it from there.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Can anybody see any of the pictures on this thread at this point. I have received several PM's indicating that ALL of the pics on ALL of my threads are absent. I left a message for the HBT administrators to see what the deal is. I just combed through several of my more popular threads and cannot find any of my uploaded pics.

 

[BigHefty]

Sorry Hoppo.... I don't see any pictures either.

 

[MrSaLTy]

There is an issues with pictures not showing. It is being looked at.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/i-cant-see-photos-here-405911/

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here are a few updated pics with the last little bit of the remaining trim complete. Please let me know if you can or cannot see these pics. Obviously all of the other pics are missing throughout all of my threads, but I wanted to see if freshly posted pics show up. Let me know!

Thanks for for the info BigHefty and MrSaLTy. Glad to see I'm not the only one experiencing issues.

 

[jeffmeh]

I see them.

 

[Inkleg]

Oh yeah, I see them and got wood.

 

[NathPowe]

Yup, I can see them and damn man... that's marvelous.

 

[MuddyCreek]

Jealousy. She's a bitter mistress!