Showing off my new indoor brewery

[drgonzo2k2]

Doing my second brew day tomorrow (Munich Helles) and 3rd on Sunday (NEPA). I'll post some pics of what I rigged up to handle the moisture/condensation, as it did become a bit of an issue last time with the 75 minute boil. I think it should work though and was was less than $60 in parts.

 

[ITV]

I'm not sure about your local electrical codes but the surface mount wire way and the lack of a GFCI breaker near a water source would not be allowed where I live. Something to consider moving forward.

 

[drgonzo2k2]

I'm not sure about your local electrical codes but the surface mount wire way and the lack of a GFCI breaker near a water source would not be allowed where I live. Something to consider moving forward.

Thanks for the advice! FWIW I had my electrician that did a bunch of work when we first bought the place come out to do the work originally. It was actually his idea to go the surface mount route. He was going to do the job but then got busy with other stuff, and it looked so simple that I did it myself. It ties in to a spa panel which already has the GFCI in my workshop. The previous owners were going to put a sauna in there. I'm glad they didn't go through with it for whatever reason and left me with a workshop and 220V electrical for my brewery.

So there is GFCI just about 40' away. Not sure if that's up to code or not.

 

[drgonzo2k2]

Second brew day went awesome today. Hit all my volumes dead on and got 80% efficiency this time, when I was shooting for 75% so I'll adjust my profile again before brew #3.

Here's what I rigged up to deal with the moisture/condensation, and it worked like a champ:

It's a bilge fan with aluminum dryer duct on both sides. The 4" fits perfectly on the Braumeister dome. I mounted it to a little project box with the power supply and a speed controller inside. It only needed about 25% speed or so to pull all the steam and vent it out the small opening in the window.

 

[ITV]

Thanks for the advice! FWIW I had my electrician that did a bunch of work when we first bought the place come out to do the work originally. It was actually his idea to go the surface mount route. He was going to do the job but then got busy with other stuff, and it looked so simple that I did it myself. It ties in to a spa panel which already has the GFCI in my workshop. The previous owners were going to put a sauna in there. I'm glad they didn't go through with it for whatever reason and left me with a workshop and 220V electrical for my brewery.

So there is GFCI just about 40' away. Not sure if that's up to code or not.

Glad to know that you have a GFCI breaker which will prevent against electric shock.

I do not have an electric brew system but I like the looks of the Braumeister, with the copper hood it looks like a still.

 

[drgonzo2k2]

Just realized I hadn't updated this thread in a bit. So far I've finished 4 brew days in my new brewery and will be doing the 5th on Sunday.

So far I've done a simple pale ale, Munich Helles, NEPA, and a west coast IPA. This weekend I'll be doing a no boil dry hop golden sour made with probiotics (previously won 1st place American Sour Ale + Best of Show with this one).

I've also done 20 gallons of cider thus far.

I'm averaging 77% efficiency (brew house) on brew day and have dialed in all my numbers and volumes perfectly. My brew days are averaging about 4 hours end-to-end (including cleanup), and I'm using just a little less than 10 gallons of water to chill down to pitching, which then gets re-purposed for cleaning.

I just last night tapped the first beer I made in my new brewery, and it was excellent. Currently this is the most pleased I've been with any brewing setup I've had.

 

[movet22]

First of all, looks amazing!

I'm just getting back into the hobby after a few years off, and am trying to make sure i have all of my ducks in a row-- I also run eBIAB and steam is my nemesis.

I love the idea of the copper top with the vent fan, but for the sake of budget, do you think I could get similar results by using the same ducting set up and cutting a hole centrally in the kettle lid? Or is the funnel-aspect a necessity?

Also, does this negatively impact boil-off?

Thanks!

 

[drgonzo2k2]

First of all, looks amazing!

I'm just getting back into the hobby after a few years off, and am trying to make sure i have all of my ducks in a row-- I also run eBIAB and steam is my nemesis.

I love the idea of the copper top with the vent fan, but for the sake of budget, do you think I could get similar results by using the same ducting set up and cutting a hole centrally in the kettle lid? Or is the funnel-aspect a necessity?

Also, does this negatively impact boil-off?

Thanks!

Thanks for the kind words! The copper top is actually a Speidel accessory for the Braumeister. They make a cheaper stainless steel version as well, but it doesn't look as classy as the copper one.

It is supposed to be used to help keep a more rigorous boil with the electric heating element vs. boiling with the lid off.

I don't really know about cutting a hole in the kettle lid, but I suppose that could work. Seems to more or less be equivalent.

You might also look into the Steam Slayer. It's another way of dealing with the problem. I didn't see it until after I rigged up my fan, and to me it seems to be a brew day complication (which was one of the things I was looking to avoid with my setup).

This setup does not negatively impact boil-off. In fact, it's the opposite - I get more boil off now. I suspect this might be because previously some of the steam would condense on the inside of the copper top and then fall back down into the kettle, while more of it is being sucked up and out now. That's just my hunch.