The MaxOut Brew Station

[MaxOut]

The secondary is starting to get used now that I have the capacity to keep up with my friend’s appetite for home brew. I realize the benefit of aging beers but they seem to disappear before maturing. I modified the box so I could get 6 cornies in it, added a dedicated CO2 tank and dual regulators for force carbing/carbing. The front doors were attached to the lid so I made new mounts that attached them to the front of the box. I removed the lid and used a piano hinge to mount it to the back and put a beefy seal around the top. Now I can load kegs through the top and allowed me to fit an extra keg inside.

 

[MaxOut]

Here’s a few shot of the brewing area as it sits now.

 

[BrewHobby1]

Okay.....WOW!

Another fine example of a mix of insanity, money, and time.

Da%n! I hope you give tours. I might stop by.

 

[RazzBarlow]

Man! That is thoroughly amazing.

 

[Tinga]

oh my....

 

[user 84304]

Seriously, I hope you got a good deal on that steam kettle cause holy crap those things are expensive. I speak from kitchen experience on that one.

 

[Brew-ta-sauraus]

What do you think in total $ you have into that Brewery?

 

[TrainSafe]

Pure insanity!

...and I am insanely jealous.

 

[jpc]

You suck and I hate you.
You suck and I hate you.
You suck and I hate you.


And I'm not even the slightest bit jealous.

Really.

 

[MaxOut]

Seriously, I hope you got a good deal on that steam kettle cause holy crap those things are expensive. I speak from kitchen experience on that one.

Found it on Craigslist advertised as the ultimate crab cooker. The add said it was 30 gallon and turned out to be 60. Was originally jetted for natural gas but the guy had it re jetted for propane so he could run it on portable tanks. He said it would cut off and needed a thermocouple. I drove two hours and bought it on the spot. I paid $350.00 for the kettle and another $50.00 for the heavy duty stir paddle. Turns out whoever re jetted it did not adjust the air on the eight burners. I adjusted the air and plumbed it in to my existing propane supply and I was good to go. I put steel heavy duty casters on it a new power cord, new dump valve, sight glass, camlocks on lid, mounting plate and a good cleaning. Total I have about $800.00 in it. To buy the kettle new is over $18K. More than I was looking to spend for a larger boil kettle but compared to a 55 gallon Blichman it's a good buy with its own heat source. Win Win

 

[user 84304]

Found it on Craigslist advertised as the ultimate crab cooker. The add said it was 30 gallon and turned out to be 60. Was originally jetted for natural gas but the guy had it re jetted for propane so he could run it on portable tanks. He said it would cut off and needed a thermocouple. I drove two hours and bought it on the spot. I paid $350.00 for the kettle and another $50.00 for the heavy duty stir paddle. Turns out whoever re jetted it did not adjust the air on the eight burners. I adjusted the air and plumbed it in to my existing propane supply and I was good to go. I put steel heavy duty casters on it a new power cord, new dump valve, sight glass, camlocks on lid, mounting plate and a good cleaning. Total I have about $800.00 in it. To buy the kettle new is over $18K. More than I was looking to spend for a larger boil kettle but compared to a 55 gallon Blichman it's a good buy with its own heat source. Win Win

I need more money, lol. That's a GREAT price. Good work, I aspire to have half the setup at home. Of course, when I go pro.....

 

[MaxOut]

What do you think in total $ you have into that Brewery?

Oh boy... I try not to count it up. Maybe 8k with everything. Hobbies never add up. but he joy I get from it is priceless.

 

[MaxOut]

Okay.....WOW!

Another fine example of a mix of insanity, money, and time.

Da%n! I hope you give tours. I might stop by.

"Insanity" may be the key word but I like to say obsession

Thanks!

 

[Beernip]

Wanted to have the kegs private labeled and made a few extra to label the other equipment. Made from stainless on a plasma table and backed with the black FRP board for contrast.

Great logo. Not that you should go over the top on this build but that sign would look sick with flames (real or on an LCD) behind the letters and beer mug. I'll just throw that out.

Unbelievable build man!

 

[MaxOut]

Great logo. Not that you should go over the top on this build but that sign would look sick with flames (real or on an LCD) behind the letters and beer mug. I'll just throw that out.

Unbelievable build man!

Great idea! I might steal that.

 

[chairbornrangerx]

Truly inspirational! Amazing build for sure

I just picked up a Stainless 3 basin 8ft long sink myself on Saturday for part of my home brewery build. So many ideas I could take from this thread!

I raise my glass to you sir

 

[MaxOut]

Truly inspirational! Amazing build for sure

I just picked up a Stainless 3 basin 8ft long sink myself on Saturday for part of my home brewery build. So many ideas I could take from this thread!

I raise my glass to you sir

Thank you, Cheers!

 

[mikelikesit2000]

Man!....I've got a long way to go. Sweet brewery. I like the utility cart you have setup.

 

[MaxOut]

Man!....I've got a long way to go. Sweet brewery. I like the utility cart you have setup.

Funny thing is I gave that cart away to two different friends and neither one came to pick it up. Now I'm glad they didn't.

 

[flananuts]

You just made my train trip into NYC a true pleasure and joy. That is really a remarkable setup. After reading through 20 pages of this thread, not one person asked this question, so I will throw it out there. What the heck are you doing with plastic buckets? Why not move up to a brewhemoth conical or something similar. With a 1 barrel brewhouse why not? With all that extra refrigeration, what about plumbing in a glycol chiller to the internal coil in the brewhemoth, and if you really want high quality beer faster and fully carbonated in the conical, rig up a pressure control with spunding valve to natually carbonate the beer while fermenting. You could then transfer under pressure to your serving corny kegs and keep your beautiful beer free and clear of air contact until you're pouring it.

It just seems that using plastic buckets for your beer is like serving champagne in a solo cup.

 

[MaxOut]

You just made my train trip into NYC a true pleasure and joy. That is really a remarkable setup. After reading through 20 pages of this thread, not one person asked this question, so I will throw it out there. What the heck are you doing with plastic buckets? Why not move up to a brewhemoth conical or something similar. With a 1 barrel brewhouse why not? With all that extra refrigeration, what about plumbing in a glycol chiller to the internal coil in the brewhemoth, and if you really want high quality beer faster and fully carbonated in the conical, rig up a pressure control with spunding valve to natually carbonate the beer while fermenting. You could then transfer under pressure to your serving corny kegs and keep your beautiful beer free and clear of air contact until you're pouring it.

It just seems that using plastic buckets for your beer is like serving champagne in a solo cup.

Thanks for your compliments. There are definitely advantages to using conical fermenters especially ones designed to hold pressure as you pointed out. I plan on going to SS conical eventually. I am running out of room in the space I have and I do not air condition it in the summer time. For now the buckets are working well and I can do a bunch of smaller brews for some variation. The recent addition of the large steam kettle has me rethinking my options allot. I like the idea of a 1 BBl conical inside a refrigerator or even using my existing refrigeration to house a glycol chiller. As I’m sure you are aware a jacketed 1 BBL conical is big $$$ so for now will have to wait a while. The way I am set up now I have 1 BBL in primary, 1 BBL in secondary and 1 BBL in serving. Total 90 gallons in pipeline. I’m going to try this out for the summer and may do some changes in the fall. I like the Glacier tanks 50 gallon conical and is probably the one I would get “Here” somewhere down the road.

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

That is one pathetic looking conical. If your friends ridicule you, I will take it off your hands to save you embarrassment. I'm just thinking of you...

 

[MaxOut]

That is one pathetic looking conical. If your friends ridicule you, I will take it off your hands to save you embarrassment. I'm just thinking of you...

Why don't you buy it for me and when they ridicule me I can tell them it was a gift so I'm stuck with it. glad to know you got my back.

 

[DWright]

MaxOut your setup brought a tear to my eye. I've known for some time the stainless table was the way I was going. Your setup confirms that. Well done sir.

 

[MaxOut]

MaxOut your setup brought a tear to my eye. I've known for some time the stainless table was the way I was going. Your setup confirms that. Well done sir.

I started looking at the Brutis style setups but wanted something different that incorporated a work surface as well. I have plenty of work space between the brew station and the bar behind it and this make the brew day much more organized. Check local kitchen equipment auctions and Craigslist as they have these style chefs’ tables on their all the time for a fraction of what they would cost to build or buy new. Thank you and good luck on your brew table!

 

[Kristan]

I'm in the process of building my brewery right now. What is the covering on your cables called and where would I go about finding some of it? Thanks

 

[MaxOut]

I'm in the process of building my brewery right now. What is the covering on your cables called and where would I go about finding some of it? Thanks

You can find it here.

 

[MaxOut]

I wanted to update this thread with my latest additions to the MaxOut Brewstation. After a few 1 BBL brews with the current configuration I decided it was time to upgrade my mash tun. I tried using two keggles and doing dual mashes and also back to back mashes all of which were very cumbersome and time consuming. My mash tun volume was becoming the systems greatest weakness. Doing a large beer was really a pain to get the full 1 BBL volumes with good consistency and efficiency. I found a 40 gallon jacketed direct steam kettle a friend of mine was planning to convert into a large direct fire crab steamer. After some convincing him he decided to part with it. It’s a Market Forge 40 gallon, jacketed, direct steam tilt kettle.

Here is what it looked like after I got it and stripped all the plumbing I didn’t need off it. (Not to pretty)

 

[MaxOut]

Here is a shot of the back and the original connections. The bottom 1/2" one is for the jacket and the larger one is the dump. The other jacket tap in on the front and not viewable in this shot.

 

[MaxOut]

This is the plan –
• Make a false bottom out of 14 gage perforated stainless sheet with approx 2-2.5 gallon dead space.
• Tap the lid with camlocks top and bottom for recirculation and sparge (Same As Boil Kettle)
• Tig weld 1.5” Tri-Clamp ferrule to kettle dump and add 45* 1.5” Tri-Clamp, 1.5” Tri-Clamp butterfy valve with 1.5” Tri-Clamp to ½”camlock.
• Add ½” 3 piece ball valve and camlock to jacket bottom
• Add ½” camlock to jacket top
During mash use existing keggle HLT with HERMS and recirculate wort through HERMS from bottom of MT and return to lid. Recirculate water from keggle BK to bottom of MT jacket through to top and back to BK. With this set up I can BCS control the temperature of the wort and kettle jacket as needed.