Previous brewer returning.

Hey all,

Used to frequent these forums 1 or 2 years ago and I'm now getting back into breweries space permitting.

I need some advice as I have forgotten most things in all grain.

I have 4k to spend on insulating my shed installing an extractor and getting a full all grain setup.

From start to finish in corny kegs.

I have 4 kegs and the bar taps with co2.
Nothing else.

Any got some hands down experience in a setup for AG brewing?

I need a setup to brew enough to fill 1 keg per batch.

I'm based in the UK so any links are welcome.

I know malt miller do Ss stuff but unsure of what to buy.

Help me get back into the swing of it :)

Also I have from previous brewing attempts 2 30l sankey kegs.

Ps. I also have to pay for electricity and water put into my shed.

I would prefer a electric setup due to being in a wooden shed with Kingspan and moisture resistant plasterboard layed over it.

Floor is already waterproofed. And I need to shift everything for there.

Why not go for a 20l Braumeister and 2 or 3 30l Speidel fermenters?

The insulation and plaster boarding shouldn't come to too much, if you do it yourself. I would also be tempted to do all the preparatory work for the water and electrics. Digging a trench and adding a couple of conduits for the water and the electrics, is not (technically) difficult. Leave the electrician and plumber just to complete the connections. Be mindful of any appropriate regs for the laying of the conduit. Not difficult to find out if you ask in the right places.

A reasonably sized cooker hood should cope in a shed. Again, you can feed cables through to the hood, relying on the electrician to make the final connections. Decide where you want all the plug sockets, and any lighting etc, beforehand. Installing these yourself (with later final connection by the electrician) should save a lot of money. Think about installing a sink for convenience, but be mindful of how the drainage is going to run. Again complete this work if you are able to. Just make sure you maintain your fall to the main drains.

Don't forget all the smaller items like jugs, thermometers, hydrometers, chilling coils, pipework, fridges, freezers etc. The list goes on. Keep an eye out for secondhand stuff where possible.

Good luck!

Electrician quoted 150 for electricity. Haven't received a quote from a plumber yet but I have an outside tap I might use.

I'm buying some Ss things from malt miller now.

Also I've put away my 4k towards my ultimate goal of 20k for a brewery.

Going to brew diy for now get some great recipes made and then carry on saving for the goal :) will check out the brew meister.

Thanks looking forward to be a part of the forums again

Steved53 said:

Why not go for a 20l Braumeister and 2 or 3 30l Speidel fermenters?



The insulation and plaster boarding shouldn't come to too much, if you do it yourself. I would also be tempted to do all the preparatory work for the water and electrics. Digging a trench and adding a couple of conduits for the water and the electrics, is not (technically) difficult. Leave the electrician and plumber just to complete the connections. Be mindful of any appropriate regs for the laying of the conduit. Not difficult to find out if you ask in the right places.



A reasonably sized cooker hood should cope in a shed. Again, you can feed cables through to the hood, relying on the electrician to make the final connections. Decide where you want all the plug sockets, and any lighting etc, beforehand. Installing these yourself (with later final connection by the electrician) should save a lot of money. Think about installing a sink for convenience, but be mindful of how the drainage is going to run. Again complete this work if you are able to. Just make sure you maintain your to your main drains.



Don't forget all the smaller items like jugs, thermometers, hydrometers, chilling coils, pipework, fridges, freezers etc. The list goes on. Keep an eye out for secondhand stuff where possible.



Good luck!

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What he said.

gl0ckage said:

Electrician quoted 150 for electricity. Haven't received a quote from a plumber yet but I have an outside tap I might use.

I'm buying some Ss things from malt miller now.

Also I've put away my 4k towards my ultimate goal of 20k for a brewery.

Going to brew diy for now get some great recipes made and then carry on saving for the goal :) will check out the brew meister.

Thanks looking forward to be a part of the forums again

Click to expand...

I'm just about to finish off installing a brewery in my garage. I intend to eventually arrange all the legalities in order to sell my beer.

I have the impression that the legal process and then the marketing of any beer produced is probably going to be more difficult/time consuming than producing tasty, saleable beers.

With the set up I have, if I fail to succeed on the legal or marketing side, I still have one hell of a home brew arrangement.

If I had directly moved to let's say 300l or more brew length, then if the commercial brewing didn't work (for whatever reason), then I would be in the position of sitting on a lot of expensive equipment that doesn't really get used, or selling it at a loss.

My expenditure to date is probably in the order of 10k (to also include the renovation), and I hope that most of what I have purchased will have a role to play in any development of the brewery - bearing in mind that I would not be contemplating anything greater than a 500l brew length.

Steved53 said:

I'm just about to finish off installing a brewery in my garage. I intend to eventually arrange all the legalities in order to sell my beer.

I have the impression that the legal process and then the marketing of any beer produced is probably going to be more difficult/time consuming than producing tasty, saleable beers.

With the set up I have, if I fail to succeed on the legal or marketing side, I still have one hell of a home brew arrangement.

If I had directly moved to let's say 300l or more brew length, then if the commercial brewing didn't work (for whatever reason), then you are in the position of sitting on a lot of expensive equipment that doesn't really get used, or selling it at a loss.

My expenditure to date is probably in the order of 10k (to also include the renovation), and I hope that most of what I have purchased will have a role to play in any development of the brewery - bearing in mind that I would not be contemplating anything greater than a 500l brew length.

Click to expand...

That looks awesome. Trying to get hold of a local unit so I can start turning into a health and safety dream.

Yep beer making is the easy part it's the legalities.

Luckily I have mallinsons and magic rock brewery near me who have been amazing to help me with some of the legalities.

Also offered to host a keg for a guest beer when I'm setup.

gl0ckage said:

Luckily I have mallinsons and magic rock brewery near me who have been amazing to help me with some of the legalities.

Also offered to host a keg for a guest beer when I'm setup.

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That's what I could do with. The French are noted for their bureaucracy anyway, and as it is not my mother tongue, that just adds to the problems.

I have a lot of interested parties, but nothing can really be done until the legalities are sorted. That gives me a little time to hone my skills and really get used to producing repeatable results.

Once your up and running might have to make a trip past on the yearly motorbike travel and have a taste.

gl0ckage said:

Once your up and running might have to make a trip past on the yearly motorbike travel and have a taste.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan!

Can anyone explain how you can brew using just 1 vessel without biab?

False bottom have something to do with it? Or is that just for hops?

I'm pricing up equipment and wondering whether I should go for the option with 1 brew vessel or the one with 3 but I need to pay for the extra 2 and then pumps to move it.

gl0ckage said:

Electrician quoted 150 for electricity. Haven't received a quote from a plumber yet but I have an outside tap I might use.

I'm buying some Ss things from malt miller now.

Also I've put away my 4k towards my ultimate goal of 20k for a brewery.

Going to brew diy for now get some great recipes made and then carry on saving for the goal :) will check out the brew meister.

Thanks looking forward to be a part of the forums again

Click to expand...

That's cheap, does he know how much current you will be using? I am assuming you are going to use a fridge or freezer, and likely not a new one, although the new inverter drive types are not too worried about volt drop and don't use many amps, the older types will burn out the current overload with too much volt drop and use around 10A to start.

I have been careful not to call it power, with heaters volt drop is not a problem, but if the heaters are running at same time as refrigeration unit then they can cause a problem for the refrigeration unit.

As an electrician if asked to wire a shed I would normally take a supply from the ring final using a fused connection unit (FCU) and ensure it had LED lights not fluorescent, and used 1.5mm sq cable and that is ample to run lawn mower from shed and work lights.
However if asked to wire up a special shed for brewing or radio ham work the job is very different. Likely I would need to take supply from consumer unit not the ring final, also I would need to use a consumer unit in the shed a switched FCU for light switch would not be good enough. Depending on distance I may need to use 6mm sq cable.
I would use my calculator to work out volt drop before doing the job, and would ask client for a list of what would be used together, most refrigeration units need 16°C minimum so in winter you will have heating in the shed.
That quote seems very cheap does he know what the shed will be used for?

I told him I'd be running 2 x 2kw elements for upto 2 hours and a temperature controller for keeping the shed a stable temp. He said he would put something adjacent to my sockets in the kitchen near the wall.
Drill through the wall, put armoured cable running across my fence and then into my shed.

It's either use my shed or use my loft. It's boarded over and has been plastered over to make a separate room up there that I use for a gaming room.

Bean bags and a TV mounted on the wall with an xbox I spurred a socket from the non used socket in the cavity wall that just powers my xbox and TV at the moment.