Marty's Basement Brewery

[mprossman]

Hi all,

I have been a member for a few years and never really had anything worthy of sharing. My wife and I bought a house and one of the requirements of the new place was a basement brewery so I didn't need to freeze my ass off outside during a Chicago winter ever again. My wife completely agreed (how awesome is she?), mainly because she enjoys the end product and didn't want me in the kitchen anymore.

I always see people's builds on here and learn a lot, so I wanted to start a thread to track my progress. I will try and post helpful things that I learn along the way, but any helpful feedback you guys/gals may have is always appreciated. I have the plumber coming out on Saturday, but here are a few before shots. The main part of room is about 8'x13' with a smaller area that is about 6'x6'

Thanks for checking in! Wish me luck...

Marty

 

[ruger988]

Looks like it'll be a nice spot!! Planning on going electric?

 

[mprossman]

Actually, no. I had a custom hood built and a vtx600 vortex fan with air return being installed.

 

[mprossman]

Will be natural gas

 

[ruger988]

Nice. Wish I had that kind of space/equipment! Enjoy!!

 

[mprossman]

I hear you. My last house was 1000 sq ft and had no space. It's frustrating. Some day man!

 

[ImNoExpert]

Good luck! I plan to do something similar someday.

 

[pannell77]

I just sold my house and looking for a new one with same requirements. Good luck and subscribed to see the progress and results of this!

 

[inkedfireman]

Marty, welcome to the Chicago Area Indoor Brewing Club!

I know how stoked you are, I just got my hood up and running, and did my first brew where I didn't have to carry everything upstairs and outside before I could start. It totally rocks!

I know you're planning on NG, but you might want to give electric some thought. You'd be shocked (pun intended) at how much faster it brings the wort to a boil, and how much quieter it is.

Anyways, congrats and good luck!

Denny
Woodstock, IL

 

[mprossman]

Sink arrived yesterday! Just in time for the plumber...

 

[mprossman]

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, I thought about it, but decided to stick with NG. Too far along to go back now!

 

[kal]

Actually, no. I had a custom hood built and a vtx600 vortex fan with air return being installed.

Careful with the sizing of the fan and using natural gas. That's a 452 CFM (only) fan - enoug for electric but not really for natural gas / propane.

Due to the extra heat and poisonous gases that must be removed, the ventilation requirements are considerably higher with a gas brewery as compared to electric.

John Blichmann wrote an article for the November 2012 issue of BYO magazine that summarized ventilation requirements as follows:

Electric based brewery: Divide the element size (in watts) by 17.6 to obtain the required CFM (cubic feet per minute). (Example: I use a 5500W element in our boil kettle. 5500 / 17.6 = 312 CFM).

Gas based brewery: Divide the burner’s BTU/hour rating by 30. (Because of the inefficiencies, a 80,000 BTU burner produces approximately the same amount of heat in the kettle as a 5500W element. 80,000 / 30 = 2666 CFM. You would therefore require a fan that can move 2666 CFM in order to ventilate a gas setup properly if you are running a total of 80,000 BTU in burners at once.)

Kal

 

[mprossman]

Sink installed!

 

[BennyHaha]

Jealous of that amazing sink!

 

[Stealthcruiser]

If ya' don't mind me asking, how much did that faucet / pre-rinse setup set you back?

I have a sink that size that was salvaged, and takes the same type faucet setup.

 

[mprossman]

The sprayer with the separate faucet was $169 bucks. Got it at webstaurant.com. I'm hoping it's worth the money.

 

[mprossman]

I got the hood hung today. I would highly recommend the hangers in the photo. Makes hanging the hood a breeze. I had it custom made for $700. I looked everywhere for a used one and couldn't find anything. I'm pretty happy with the end product and it was cheaper than anything else I could find.

Also got all the electrical done over the weekend. Running conduit is code here in the Chicago area. It was my first experience with a pipe bender. A few "f" ups, but it was actually pretty sweet to learn. Definitely not a pro, but I got the job done. Lots of gfi outlets so I don't kill myself.

Next week is finishing the hood, putting up backer board and tiling. I plan on putting some epoxy on the floor, but honestly, not being able to brew is killing me. It may have to wait a while.

Cheers!

 

[mprossman]

Kal,

Thanks! I will talk to my hvac guy when he comes back. He didn't seem to think it was going to be a problem. It's a really short run between the fan and outside, so I should be okay. I will try and remember to post his response.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

The sprayer with the separate faucet was $169 bucks. Got it at webstaurant.com. I'm hoping it's worth the money.

Thanks for the info!
Does it look like a decent piece of work?

Good heavy casting on the faucet, etc....?

I'm kinda' torn between a new one, and rebuilding an old, heavy duty one.

 

[mprossman]

Stealthcruiser,

Sorry, I got busy last weekend. Was on vacation and thought I had responded to you. Obviously too many beers and too many brain cells destroyed. It's pretty solid, but the handle on the sprayer is plastic. They don't make anything like they used to, so I would try and rehab the one you have if you can find the parts you need. When I talked to the plumber about the one I got, he said parts can be hard to find for the new versions unless you can keep the model number. He said most of the old ones were built really well and you can still find parts for them today because they haven't changed the design. I'm sure it depends on brand, but he seemed more impressed by the old ones than the version I purchased.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Thanks for the follow up!

 

[mprossman]

Got the hood all finished up today. Just some quick pictures of the setup. Spoke to the hvac guy and he thought the fan would be plenty for what I'm using it for. He said if I ran into problems we could put some mesh on the under side of the hood to create more suction. The plan tomorrow is to get the backer board and drywall installed on the wall by the sink.

 

[FoamFollower]

This is GREAT! Thanks for sharing, the pics really drive it home. Wish we were neighbors...

 

[mprossman]

Ok, on a positive note, I finished up the backer board and drywall today. My ADD kicked in after that and I decided to work on the burners of my stand. When I bought it, it was set up for propane and I'm trying to switch it to natural gas. I have run into a bit of a problem with the flame.

I was hoping that someone much smarter than me could help me out. I have a 1 inch gas line leading to the stand. Since the stand was set up for propane originally, it has a 1/4 inch welded in connection that that I had to expand for the gas line. Not sure if this is the problem, but does anyone have any suggestions? See photos below. This is the flame with the valve wide open. So sad...

 

[mprossman]

Problem solved. It was the valve.

 

[RickS]

Isn't there a "jet" in your propane regulator? There should be one some place, to change frrom propane to natural gas you need to change the "jet".

 

[JaeCee]

Nice setup

 

[mprossman]

I've been pretty busy lately, but have finally made some additional progress. Got all the wall tile done. Just need to grout and then I can put the sink back and I can start putting the room together. Im getting pretty excited. It's been WAY to long since I have had a brew day!

 

[madscientist451]

Looks great. Wish I could come over and brew.

 

[bobeer]

what an awesome space! Looks great, can't wait to see the finalized brewery.

 

[Rivenin]

amazing!

 

[Thursday]

Congrats on your new home and new home brewery. I'm guessing that you are in one of the burbs, based on the [newer] foundation walls and the ceiling height.

I would second Kal's advice on a larger exhaust fan. Having substantial experience with CO poisoning and the ease at which it can kill you and everyone in the house, I would highly recommend that you get a CO meter for your brewing area (but not too close to your kettles) as well as one for every floor of your house.

I don't want to be be the guy raining on your parade, but carbon monoxide is tasteless and odorless and extremely deadly. There is no warning until you start feeling the symptoms or displaying signs. In very severe cases, the best treatment for CO poisoning is in a hyperbaric chamber, which most hospitals have discontinued due to infrequent use and expensive upkeep.

Also, when you have your burners on, you vent fan should also be running [obviously]. If you forget to turn your vent fan on while you are brewing, the amount of CO that will fill your basement will rise rapidly. Refer to Brewing TV Episode 40 - Bad Ass Brewery for the testimonial of how Bryan Adams filled his basement with CO.


Anyways, congrats on all of the progress that you've made and good luck with the upcoming brew days. I cant wait to get out of my condo and into a house with a basement, hopefully as nice as yours.

 

[mprossman]

Thanks! I'm going to give this a shot and see how it goes. I picked up a CO2 meter a while back. Have not tried it out yet, but here is the one I got. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PDGFR8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Thursday]

Thanks! I'm going to give this a shot and see how it goes. I picked up a CO2 meter a while back. Have not tried it out yet, but here is the one I got. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PDGFR8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Mprossman, please don't think that I'm trying to be a jerk. There is a difference between CO and CO2.

CO2 is carbon dioxide and naturally forming in the atmosphere. It is a large part of our own exhalation. It doesn't hurt you to breathe it in or out (as long as you have enough oxygen in the environment that you are breathing in).

CO is carbon monoxide, a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Typical human levels are usually near zero ppm unless you are a smoker, which can cause then to rise up to an average of 10 ppm.

If you use a burner powered by ng or lp or anything, you will be pumping huge amounts of carbon monoxide into the room. If you don't have adequate ventilation, more CO will be produced that ejected by the vent fan. This can cause a dangerous environment of toxic gases, which can cause a whole range of symptoms starting with nausea, headache, vomiting, blurred vision, confusion and can lead to death.

The meter that you linked to doesn't monitor carbon monoxide, it monitors carbon dioxide. You really need to be certain that you have the right meter prior to any usage of burners.

Good luck.

 

[mprossman]

Ha, you are correct. I'm a *******. I got this to measure my co2 in my tap system. I already have 5 CO meters in the house. I do need another for the brew room though. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[f_stepanski]

Thanks for the update/progress picks. Great setup so far...

 

[mprossman]

SLOW progress, but I got the sink all set up and most of the drywall mudding done. Here is a picture of the sink in place. I'm really happy with how it looks.

Now that I have it all set up and been using it to clean up stuff, don't get the cheap version of a sprayer. I posted earlier that it seemed pretty solid, but we had some issues installing it. we had to put a ton of tape on a couple of the joints to keep it from leaking. It just doesn't fit together like it should. My buddy got a similar sprayer and his had a pin leak in it and had to deal with sending it back for a replacement. Spend the extra $100 and get a high quality sprayer. If you are trying to save some cash (which I was), the cheaper ones are definitely functional, just not the greatest quality.

My kick a$$ wife got me a 20 gallon Blichmann pot as a gift. Solid quality boys and girls. As you will see from the picture below, I'm working on getting the system all set up. I need to put another hole in the Blichmann for a whirlpool arm, but honestly I'm terrified to start drilling, so I'm keeping if for last. Really not one of those things I want to mess up. I also need to install a thermometer in the HLT (far right). I know I'm missing a few hoses (ran out) and the hose going from the HLT to the boil kettle (far left) is not right (just test for leaks). Besides beer (sigh), is there anything else you can see that I'm missing? Any and all feedback is welcome.


Cheers,
Marty

 

[RocketBrewer]

The sink looks amazing! I wish I had room for something like that.

 

[kal]

The sink looks amazing! I wish I had room for something like that.

+1

People always ask me what the most important piece is in my brewery or what equipment I like the best / can't live without, and I always point to the sink (which usually surprises them). It's key. Everything revolves around the sink.

Kal

 

[mprossman]

Thanks guys. I'm not a huge fan of tiling, but I'm really glad I did it. I hear you on the sink. I fought cleaning a keggle in my kitchen sink for a couple years. Not fun. I actually got the sink before the brew stand, so I had my priorities straight.

I really wanted a 3 compartment sink, but it just wouldn't fit in the space I had. Cleaning, Rinsing, Sanitizing would have been nice. No complaints though. The great thing about the sink is that the keggles will fit down in so you can clean it easily. Bad part is that the Blichmann kettle won't fit down into it. Keep that in mind if you are ever getting one.