(1/27/2010)

Well this is the brewery installed the garage. The system seems to work pretty well. When testing the sytem, the only leak was from a compression fitting on the wort chiller. The only thing left to do is to install the march pump and aquire an oxygenation system. I think I am also going to buy some insulation to put around the mash tun and maybe the hot liquor tank if there is enough left over. After that, all I have left to do is brew the first batch. Tenatively, the first brew is planned to take place on 2/7!

(1/26/2010)

Just to let anyone out there know, I have been trying to get a pic of the new brewery to upload. Unfortunately, the wife's camera is dead, so it might be a while before I get a good pic up.

(1/13/2010)

Well, today has been a pretty long day. The good news is the 3-tier stand is in the garage and it fits like a charm. Yesterday, my wort chiller, March pump, and 2 6.5 gal carboys arrived at my door step. So, needless to say things are comming together very quickly. According to my chicken scratch notes, I only need two parts and some propane and the new system will be opperational. If I get it all together tomorrow, this will mean that I beat my deadline by 7 days.

I am very pleased with the progress I made. Over the course of 20 days (1/4/2010 to 1/24/2010) I turned 11 2x4's, 15' of copper tubing, 5 ball valves, 2 coolers, 1 propane burner, and 1 15 gallon kettle into an opperational brewery.

Once I finish with the 2 remaining pieces tomorrow, I will begin to test all of the plumbing (I say begin because there may be some repairs needed). My friend Scott and his wife will be over tomorrow, so hopefully he will be willing to help me out. I will keep you updated.

Being this close to completion, I guess this blog will switch from detailing my construction to following my brewing escapades. I have begun to think about the first few beers I plan on brewing with the new system. I think I am going to begin with 10 gallons of ordinary bitter to build up a little yeast. I have had great success building up and re pitching yeast, so I plan to use 10 gallons of very low gravity beers and two tubes of yeast to start each series I brew. So after the bitter, I plan to brew an American IPA , and a spiced old ale with pumpkin all using White Labs WLP 007. After that, I am not quite sure. I figure by then it might be time to start thinking about spring seasonals. Does any out there have any experience making lager like beer with an ale yeast at cooler temps because I would sure like a maibock for the spring?

Well that it for now. I will post a pic or two of tomorrows testing when I get a chance.

Initial Assembly

(1/18/2010)

Well, I'm sitting here at the computer winding down for the night drinking a Berliner Weiss.

This morning before work, I finished with the polyurethane. All that I have left on the stand is the final assembly. It would be finished right now if the wife weren't sleeping. (I'm told that I'm loud when I use the power tools in the basement)

I hope to have the plumbing assemblies mounted to the frame sometime tomorrow. After mounting, there are only a few things left. I think I am going to buy a March Pump from Midwest Homebrew Supplies. I have devised a way to have the hot water transferred from the kettle to the hot liquor tank as well as being able to recirculate ice water through the wort chiller using a series of quick disconnects. I hope to be completely done construction by the 31st of this month.

Well, that's it for now. I will try to have a pic posted as soon as I mount the external plumbing

(1/17/2010)

Well today has been an eventful day. The morning started by meeting Van Delhotal, a fellow home brewer here in Goddard, KS for the first time. He was more than generous inviting me to his house to see his home brew setup. It was really great to see another 3-tier system as I'm in the process of building my own. From an outside observer stand point, his brass quick disconnect setup s quite impressive.

Shortly there-after my good buddy Jon, and Mike from OK stopped by with another delivery of bottles. Thanks so much to Mike. He not only has saved several hundred bottles, but has even taken it upon himself to both clean and de-label all the bottles.

After that, I polyurethaned the new system I am in the process of building. Hopefully i will get one more coat on tonight. As it stands now, I am done soldering all except for one connection. the frame has been stained, and one coat of polyurethane has been applied. With just a few more pieces of equipment, the 10 gallon gallon system will be ready for its inaugural brew.

Stained frame with plumbing

(1/13/2010)

Well it has been a very long day. I made a ton of progress on my 3 tier system. The day started with me completing the wooden frame. I went to Lowe's and bought stain to make it a little more eye catching. I also found braces meant for conduit to use as supports for the plumbing. After finishing the wood structure, I also managed to finish 90% of the plumbing. And, to top it all off, I stained the entire frame. Needless to say, this day off has been very long but productive. Tomorrow my plan is to polish the plumbing, but I guess we will see what time I get up.

I have been thinking alot about what to brew for the first couple of beers on the new system. I have quite a bit of Amarillo hops laying around and a good bit of 2-row still. I was thinking my first brew might be either an American pale ale or an IPA. Not really sure yet, but I might also have to consider making something pretty low gravity just to build up some yeast. Maybe an ordinary bitter followed by the APA or IPA...

Well that's it for now. After today I may be ahead of schedule to have the system completed by the end of the month. Once I re-assemble everything, I will try to post some pictures just in case any one is actually reading this.

(1/10/2010)

Well, after a few days off from working on my project, I am back on task. This morning I started laying out the plumbing for my new system. I decided to use a comination of compression fittings and soldered fittings that will allow for easy disassembly while remaing compact in my limited space. Hopefully in the next day or two, I will have all of the plumbing installed.


Initial plumbing layout

Pictures (1/7/2010)

3 tier frame



Burner, brew pot, and mash tun



12.5 gallon mash tun



Plumbing for the 3 tier system

First Post (1/7/2010)

Well this is the first post of my blog. Before I talk about what I am doing right now, lets go back in time for just a second.

After graduating from college in West Virginia, I moved to Wichita, KS in August 2008 to work at Cessna Aircraft. Soon after the move, I found out there was a home brew shop here in Wichita. I had been interested in the idea of brewing my own beer since college, but I never had the money to get into the hobby. I went down to the shop and I bought the basic kit which included a "Kit and Kilo". After brewing the included recipe, I was less than satisfied. I guess that first beer was the beginning of it all. Soon after I began to purchase all malt extract kits from online homebrew shops and saw a definitive increase in quality.

Well, at about that time the economy went south and I was layed off 2/24/2009. After the lay off, I used my vacation pay out to make the jump into all grain brewing. I decided to start small so that the cost per batch would be very affordable. The mash tun I built was made from a 7 dollar cooler, and the rest of the pieces to finish the mash tun cost another $7. My $14 mash only held a total of 2 gallons, but it was enough to get started. Soon after my first few all-grain batches, I realized that the water in Wichita was not the best for brewing, so I began to tackle the issue of water chemistry.

After changing jobs twice, my wife and I bought a house just west of Wichita in Goddard KS. With more room and a new house, I decided to expand my brewery.

...Jumping into the present...

I am currently building a 3 tier all-grain system. I have bought a 15 gallon brew pot, and a 185,000 btu propane burner. I have also built the structure for the 3 tier system. Tonight I finished welding the tubing for my mash tun. I still have alot of work ahead of me, but my goal is to have the system ready to brew by the end of this month.

Well that's it for now...if there is anyone one out there interested, I'll keep you posted!