Young Frankenstein
New member
The cost of beer due to gasoline prices has finally heat the ceiling. So I am starting a small micro-brewery in my garage. Any ideas on equipment etc ?
DIY micro-brewery
- Thread starter Young Frankenstein
- Start date
ShipOFools
New member
You can pick up the basic starter kit from any homebrew store for around 75$+-. That will set ya up with all equip needed to make it. Your gonna need a ingredient kit around 20$. The bottling is the worst part but theres options, regular bottles which suck to clean/sanitize the grolsch style which suck a little less or keg system which is awsome. I put my homebrew keg set up together for under 200$ including the fridge, I would also reccomend a wort chiller which is as basic as 3/8 copper coiled around the inside of a pot with a hose attachment on one end to hook up to the sink. a glass carboy is nice but deffinalty not needed. the LHBS will walk ya right through everything you need and how to do it. Heres a link with some great info
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/
MinibowMatt
Active member
I posted in your other thread..
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
PM me and I can give you lots of great info. Thats my main hobby!
miatawnt2b
New member
Seems like a lot of us here homebrew.
The Homebrewtalk forums have a wealth of info.
-J
The Homebrewtalk forums have a wealth of info.
-J
RandyStacyE
New member
And I thought I was doing alright whipping up HUGE batches of Margaritas 
The DIY Link
I'm gonna have to look into these home brews!
The DIY Link
I'm gonna have to look into these home brews!
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
I presently have a Nut Brown and Raspberry Wheat on tap, Double Hopped Pale Ale in the fermenter and the ingredients to brew a Sierra Nevada clone tomorrow.
Here is the kegerator. Look realclose and you can see my reef tank above the tap handles, I dn't have to travel far from one hobby to the other!
Here is an inside view. I have now added a 4th keg so I can have 4x5 gallon kegs on tap at a time.
Here is the kegerator. Look realclose and you can see my reef tank above the tap handles, I dn't have to travel far from one hobby to the other!
Here is an inside view. I have now added a 4th keg so I can have 4x5 gallon kegs on tap at a time.
miatawnt2b
New member
I'll bet you use the 3 prefilters before your RO membrane for mash/sparge water. I know I do
-J
-J
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
It beats the heck out of bottling! I did that for the first year or two but only do it now for gifts or travelling. With CO2 beer never goes flat, well I never let it last long enough to go bad anyway:beer:
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
I would suggest that you do go with glass carboys. The potential for contamination (and bad taste) is really just huge in a five gallon bucket.
Other than that, wort chillers are great things!
Good luck!
Other than that, wort chillers are great things!
Good luck!
RandyStacyE
New member
AZDesertRat, that is just AWSOME!
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Yep, glass carboys are the way to go for sure. Its amazing how violent yeast can be, I enjoy watching the fermentation process through the glass! The CO2 really churns the wort and trub up.
AJ, that is exactly what I was looking to do with my Korney kegs. I have to wait for the Air Force to let me get back to my other house first though. Right now I have 2 Korneys (1 Classic American Pilsner and 1 American Honey Wheat) and the 5# Co2 in a dedicated fridge in my basement. I also have about 6-7 bottles left over from a previous wheat "kit" I tried. I have to do it that way with a lock on it because I have a 2 and a 3 year old boys that love to push buttons and pull levers. They'll have a hay day with my taps if they were out in the open.
I have a total of $150 into my setup including a 1/4" diameter 40' long wort chiller (better cooling in my opinion), 2 cases of bottles and tons of lids, 6.5g SS brew pot, burner kit, 5 gallon glass and plastic carboy5 and a 6.5 gallon glass primary. I hate the plastics because they hold the smell of all the past batches I've done and I don't want to scratch the surface to get it out.
I have 2 korney kegs and a new C02 setup and a free fridge that total cost me $200.
I use tap water for my beer still because we have decent water here.
I am in finance classes so I worked the numbers out to find out what I spend on each batch of beer. It comes out to about .35c-.43c a bottle when I do 5 gallon batches. That cost includes ingredients, water for batch and cleaning, propane, C02 and I did a rough number for the fridge my stuff is in but didn't add that. The fridge is going out so I have to get a different one. That's why I got it free.
It's a great hobby and fun to mix up the different batches for what you want. I did a mead for my wife that I split and have two 2.5 gallon batches. One has raspberries and the other has strawberries in it. They are at 11.6 and 12.4 ABV and sweet!!! She loves them but can get tipsy quickly.
The only drawback is the temp control for fermenting lagers and the wife screaming about the hopps smel filling the house from the garage. I absolutely love it. You'll get hooked.
I got my kit and alot of supplies from Homebrew Heaven and I got my software from Beersmith.com. Their forums are slow though. Not as many people frequent them as here. Good luck!!
Dave
I have a total of $150 into my setup including a 1/4" diameter 40' long wort chiller (better cooling in my opinion), 2 cases of bottles and tons of lids, 6.5g SS brew pot, burner kit, 5 gallon glass and plastic carboy5 and a 6.5 gallon glass primary. I hate the plastics because they hold the smell of all the past batches I've done and I don't want to scratch the surface to get it out.
I have 2 korney kegs and a new C02 setup and a free fridge that total cost me $200.
I use tap water for my beer still because we have decent water here.
I am in finance classes so I worked the numbers out to find out what I spend on each batch of beer. It comes out to about .35c-.43c a bottle when I do 5 gallon batches. That cost includes ingredients, water for batch and cleaning, propane, C02 and I did a rough number for the fridge my stuff is in but didn't add that. The fridge is going out so I have to get a different one. That's why I got it free.
It's a great hobby and fun to mix up the different batches for what you want. I did a mead for my wife that I split and have two 2.5 gallon batches. One has raspberries and the other has strawberries in it. They are at 11.6 and 12.4 ABV and sweet!!! She loves them but can get tipsy quickly.
The only drawback is the temp control for fermenting lagers and the wife screaming about the hopps smel filling the house from the garage. I absolutely love it. You'll get hooked.
I got my kit and alot of supplies from Homebrew Heaven and I got my software from Beersmith.com. Their forums are slow though. Not as many people frequent them as here. Good luck!!
Dave
MinibowMatt
Active member
anyone local- Im getting out of the AG Homebrewing...got kegs and stuff available...
ThaNgBOm321
Member
AZ... thats is plain SICK!!! when can i come over??? lol.. this is funny.. lately,i been looking for a kegerator so i can get 1/2 a keg.... ( know where i can get one for cheap??) as i calculated.. for every case worth of beer.. you would get a second one 1/2 price...
i tried the home brew a few times... ( Mr. Beer) i tried to make a few "new" types but non of them tasted that good... but i drank it anyways... cant let the beer go to wast you know..
MAN!! i miss the TUN TAVERN..... pal ale... ohh how i miss yeee....
YzGyz
i tried the home brew a few times... ( Mr. Beer) i tried to make a few "new" types but non of them tasted that good... but i drank it anyways... cant let the beer go to wast you know..
MAN!! i miss the TUN TAVERN..... pal ale... ohh how i miss yeee....
YzGyz
julianp
New member
It's crazy how many homebrewers there are on this forum! I am about 2 1/2 weeks into my first ever batch of home brew (an english pale ale). This weekend I'm turning my shed into a little micro-brewery so I can have an excuse to buy a few more glass carboys and brew a few batches at once.
AZDesertRat: That setup is amazing!
AZDesertRat: That setup is amazing!
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