BRBC Garage Brewery

[BlackRifle]

Good Evening Gents,

I thought I'd share my new venture with you folks, I'm looking forward to being apart of this great community.

Me and two of my good friends are starting a nano brewery out of my garage. The long term goal would be potentially a small brew-pub operation, while our short term goal is to just learn and develop our flavour/brand with minimal overhead out of my garage.

I've been busy transforming my garage over the last month; floors, paint, exhaust, heat, plumbing etc. All of which isn't necessary to the brewery technically, so I'll chalk this part of it up to a good investment made into my home.

Here's the foundation:

1. MoreBeer Digital Low Rider V4 Brew Sculpture
2. Ss Brewtech 1/2 Barrel BrewMaster Conical Fermenter x2
3. Ss Brewtech FTSs Temperature Control System
4. Ss Brewtech Glycol Chiller
5. Monster Mill MM3-Pro

I decided to buy once, cry once, as they say. My hope is that if we do eventually scale up to a micro brewery operation that all of our original equipment will still serve a purpose. In this case, the MoreBeer Sculpture could still be utilized as a small test batch pilot system. I felt that given our goals, this approach would provide the most value for the money.

I still have a lot of setup work to do so I'll post my progress as I go...

Cheers,
Black Rifle Brewing Co.

 

[BlackRifle]

MoreBeer Digital Low Rider Brew Sculpture (Un-Boxing & Setup Only)

Kudos to the MoreBeer shipping crew, everything came palleted and well packed, there was no damage done on this unit's long journey up to me.

Here's my thoughts on this setup. This is the current version, revision #4, lots of features have been improved. Overall I am happy with the craftsmanship, although there are few things that I would've like to see done differently. In my opinion they kind of cheaped out on the handle of the stand. I know it's a handle, but for the money, it would've been nice to see a little more attention to detail. I.E. box the ends of the handle in and install trunnions in the arms for the pivot bolts. Second, I would've liked to have seen splash shield(s) of some sort, over top of both pumps and the HLT burner electronics. Lastly, MoreBeer added extra fittings into the Boil Kettle and the Mash Kettle, (One being the whirlpool feature in the Boil Kettle and the other, a thermowell in the MLT Vessel). However, they only welded these fittings on the inside, so it looks kind of "raw" from the outside. The vessel(s) factory fittings were welded on the inside and outside so I'm not sure why MoreBeer did theirs this way. In my opinion, it feels a little half assed...

But that's it, these are my only gripes after the initial un-boxing and setup. Everything else looks great! Here's some pictures, any questions, fire away. I will be doing a full review once we complete our first brew day on this unit.









The sparge arm assembly is very robust, extremely well built and comes complete with a float switch. If the water level drops too low during sparging, the switch tells pump 1 to turn off until levels can catch up. The MLT vessel also comes complete with a false bottom mesh screen that is easily removed for cleaning. Another cool feature with this vessel is the secondary digital temperature probe. This probe communicates to the computer to help regulate temperature during mash. If the temperature drops during mash, the computer will activate the HERMS feature to bring the temp back up...



The HLT vessel comes complete with a convoluted HERMS coil. Also included, is an all-in-one digital temperature probe/float switch. The float switches in both the MLT and this HLT vessel provide the necessary info to the computer to regular water levels. Another great feature on the HLT side of the stand comes from the electronic burner. This burner is electronically controlled with the use of a pilot light, so if the water temperature drops, the temperature probe sends a signal to the computer to activate the burner. Once the HLT vessel reaches the pre-set temperature, the computer turns off the burner automatically...



The Boil Kettle is fairly straight forward, but it does come with a whirlpool racking arm and a lower secondary valve to support the whirlpool feature. This vessel also comes with a digital temperature probe to help monitor the boil process. All of these vessels come with laser etched measurement markings inside the kettle wall, as well as notched lids to accommodate any feature(s) mounted to the side...



Initially I was a little worried about the mess of wires that might be present after setup. It took some time and planning but I managed to route the wires through the included tri-clamp connection fittings that connect the computer hub to the stand. A couple zip ties and I think it looks pretty clean and tidy...







Overall, I'm hoping she brews as good as she looks, more updates to come...

Cheers,
Black Rifle Brewing Co.

 

[BlackRifle]

I have a question for you folks. I'm now starting on the plumbing and exhaust portion of my garage build, and I have some concerns with my exhaust ventilation plan....

So I didn't want a fixed position/area for the brew sculpture. I want to be able to keep it somewhat mobile around my garage. My plumber is installing a QD valve with about 10-15 feet of flex hose for the natural gas hook-up (Similar to a BBQ setup). My plan was to basically setup the brew stand in about the middle of the garage on brew day, and then roll it back up against the wall when we are done.

Since I am going to be mobile, I won't be able to install a traditional hood fan. However, we did install a pretty powerful 10" exhaust fan (350 cfm) on the wall in the corner, about 8 feet up the wall. So here's my question, without a hood is this exhaust fan still going to be effective do you think? OR should I maybe figure out a way to get some sort of hood on an adjustable arm? I just don't want to wreck the ceiling with a bunch of moisture...

Thoughts on this? Any insight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

to be honest 350cfm is not going to be enough to exhaust the moisture... Take a look on the forums at the different setups that people have... you can do it relatively cheaply or you can go full Kal Electric brewery and have a really nice SS hood with air intake.

BTW that is one heck of a rig... Looks extremely nice, and pricey.

Oh and off topic but where did you get your garage storage and tool storage system. Thats really nice.

 

[BlackRifle]

to be honest 350cfm is not going to be enough to exhaust the moisture... Take a look on the forums at the different setups that people have... you can do it relatively cheaply or you can go full Kal Electric brewery and have a really nice SS hood with air intake.

BTW that is one heck of a rig... Looks extremely nice, and pricey.

Oh and off topic but where did you get your garage storage and tool storage system. Thats really nice.

Hey, thanks for the reply. I will check out the forum on this subject.

The tool boxes and cabinets are from Canadian Tire, it's a line called Maximum from Mastercraft, and it is really nice stuff that doesn't break the bank either. If you're in the US I'm not sure if you would have Canadian Tire stores, but perhaps a US chain is carrying the line... FWIW I tried the Gladiator Garage products first and it was all garbage, nothing but issues and built extremely cheap. I sent it all back and got the Maximum line, spent the same kind of money and came out way further ahead.

Cheers,

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

We definitely don't have Canadian Tire here in CT, but I did look into Gladiator, and like you was extremely unimpressed with it. I am probably going to wait a few years before I do anything anyway, so the data collection phase will continue!

 

[BlackRifle]

Finally received the next stage of the brewery. Ss Brewtech 1/2 Barrel Conical Fermenters and their all new Glycol Chiller...



Initial thoughts...

After initial unboxing, everything seems as it should. There is some cosmetic stuff that bothers me with regards to the leg extensions, but thats about it. Overall, you get what you pay for and being that these units are manufactured in China, I expected to see a few minor imperfections. I think for a conical fermenter that's under $1000, the value does add up here. To me the benefits of a conical fermenter with temp control, far out-weigh the few cosmetic flaws.











Updates to follow...

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Good God... You have the cleanest garage I've ever seen. And it appears you have a bobcat with a forklift attachment... So yeah you are in a completely different league than I am.

 

[SpahrBrewing]

So are you guys getting your brewer's notice and everything or are you just starting as a proof of concept to yourselves before you dive fully into it?

Beautiful garage and set up by the way.

 

[treacheroustexan]

So are you guys getting your brewer's notice and everything or are you just starting as a proof of concept to yourselves before you dive fully into it?

Beautiful garage and set up by the way.

Going off of this.. is your garage attached to your house? If you are trying to brew professionally out of your garage, the only ones I have seen get approved by the TTB are detached garages. Not sure where you live but just throwing that out there.

Beautiful setup

 

[BlackRifle]

So are you guys getting your brewer's notice and everything or are you just starting as a proof of concept to yourselves before you dive fully into it?

Beautiful garage and set up by the way.

Yeah exactly, proof of concept first. Develop a brand and our flavour out of my garage with no overhead. Then, if it starts to turn into something we scale up into a commercial space. That's the idea anyway...

I went higher end out of the gate with the equipment because I figure if we do scale up, all of this equipment will still be relevant to us down the road. Kind of a, "buy once, cry once" idea...

 

[SpahrBrewing]

Awesome. Well good luck man. Oh and unfortunately, when it comes to pro-brewing. There is no such thing as "buy once, cry once" lol.

 

[BlackRifle]

Good God... You have the cleanest garage I've ever seen. And it appears you have a bobcat with a forklift attachment... So yeah you are in a completely different league than I am.

Thanks for the kind words. The bobcat is at my shop, RDSC. I own an indoor shooting range and custom gun shop, hence the name Black Rifle Brewing Co.

Going off of this.. is your garage attached to your house? If you are trying to brew professionally out of your garage, the only ones I have seen get approved by the TTB are detached garages. Not sure where you live but just throwing that out there.

Beautiful setup

You are correct sir, no way in hell I'd get approved in my garage. At this point all the beer we make will be for friends and family. My local laws are kind of on my side right now too. Right now to brew commercially, you need to be in an area zoned for industrial. One of the major cities down the road an hour just passed a law saying that now commercial brewers can setup in commercial zoned areas, hence this new "brew-pub" outbreak thats happening. I think it will only be matter of time before our city follows suit. I'm just hoping that when that happens we will be ready to scale up. We could be the first micro brewery in our city located in a commercial area...

This is a big reason why we decided to take a run at this... Life's too short right...

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Thanks for the kind words. The bobcat is at my shop, RDSC. I own an indoor shooting range and custom gun shop, hence the name Black Rifle Brewing Co.

Very cool. I'm a proud gun owner. I mostly shoot Skeet as thats where a majority of my expendable income is devoted to. Have not gotten much into hunting, although if you are out West, I'd be willing to bet you get a lot of requests for big game modifications to some large caliber rifles. I'm going to be outfitting my O/U with a fully adjustable precision stock next year. Cheaper than getting a wood stock that costs twice as much and I'll scratch.

 

[Biscuits]

Any association with Black Rifle Coffee?

 

[BlackRifle]

Any association with Black Rifle Coffee?

No affiliation, I noticed those guys long after... I'm in Canada though, those guys are US based I believe...

 

[Proboskus]

Thanks for the kind words. The bobcat is at my shop, RDSC. I own an indoor shooting range and custom gun shop, hence the name Black Rifle Brewing Co.



You are correct sir, no way in hell I'd get approved in my garage. At this point all the beer we make will be for friends and family. My local laws are kind of on my side right now too. Right now to brew commercially, you need to be in an area zoned for industrial. One of the major cities down the road an hour just passed a law saying that now commercial brewers can setup in commercial zoned areas, hence this new "brew-pub" outbreak thats happening. I think it will only be matter of time before our city follows suit. I'm just hoping that when that happens we will be ready to scale up. We could be the first micro brewery in our city located in a commercial area...

This is a big reason why we decided to take a run at this... Life's too short right...

Could it be that you're close to Calgary?

 

[BlackRifle]

Could it be that you're close to Calgary?

Yes sir, located in Red Deer.

 

[Proboskus]

Yes sir, located in Red Deer.

Very cool. Well good luck to you! I'll definitely give you a try if one day you decide to go commercial.

 

[akroessler]

seriously impressive setup my friend. Looks good and im quite jealous!

 

[Edbeenbreto]

Wow I think you should hire employees like me. Yeah me. That's it I'm hired.

 

[BlackRifle]

Well summer was a write-off, man where did the summer go anyway? With Fall underway, it's time to get back at this! The shop kept me crazy busy all summer so unfortunately brewing had to take a back seat. That, and summer holidays between me and my crew took its toll on free time...

So the boyz are knee deep right now in recipes, while I'm busy putting the final touches on the brewery. Gas and plumbing finish up this week, and lastnight I finished putting together our grain mill. All I gotta do is assemble the hopper and mount the switch. So far it turned out great! (Thanks to the help of this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=159950)

Here are some pic's of my progress;



















Some finished pictures of the mill and the rest of the brewery to come...

 

[BlackRifle]

We got the plumbing and gas installed today. Everything works great! It's really nice having these big sinks for cleaning...

 

[BlackRifle]

Spent a long time tearing down, cleaning and sanitizing everything last night. Also did a dry run with brew sculpture...

 

[BlackRifle]

This morning we finished up the last bit of cleaning and we got the fermenter system all setup and ready to go... Brew Day NEXT WEEK!!!

 

[therackman]

This is a gorgeous setup. Please keep posting pics and updates.

 

[helterscelter]

if you're running those Gas burners in your garage, are you also keeping your garage door open during brewing? or do you have some other ventilation plan so you don't suffocate? I noticed you mentioned a 350cfm vent fan, and were wondering about it's efficacy in dealing with boil-off moisture, but didn't see anything about running gas burners.. I dunno if 350cfm will exchange enough air to keep the CO levels down while brewing (I'm no expert.. just wondering)

Beautiful setup.. I am jealous.

 

[Vandulus]

Please excuse me while I wipe the drool off my mouth! Hope your first brew day with the new setup goes well.

 

[BlackRifle]

if you're running those Gas burners in your garage, are you also keeping your garage door open during brewing? or do you have some other ventilation plan so you don't suffocate? I noticed you mentioned a 350cfm vent fan, and were wondering about it's efficacy in dealing with boil-off moisture, but didn't see anything about running gas burners.. I dunno if 350cfm will exchange enough air to keep the CO levels down while brewing (I'm no expert.. just wondering)

Beautiful setup.. I am jealous.

Yeah as a fail safe we will have the garage door open about 12" to help keep the air circulating.

 

[woo_pig]

I want to be your neighbor .

 

[jcav]

That's a sweet brewery! Really one of the nicer ones I have seen here. Best of luck brewing!

John

 

[BlackRifle]

Seriously! WTF is wrong with MoreBeer/MoreFlavor???

I went to do a top-up order for some more supplies; fittings, hoses, etc. The total order amounted to $535, then they quoted me $333 in shipping!!! What??? Are you serious? So after some back and forth with the sales consultant, they just kept saying; "it is what it is, that's the rate" "there's nothing we can do"

So, I do a quick rate check from FedEx and I get a rate for $90! AND I can schedule the pickup and email the shipping label, so literally all these guys would have to do is make sure the package is ready at the back door... All this back and forth for what? I guess MoreBeer is making too much money...

 

[FourSwitch]

Can you get the parts through Ontariobeerkegs.com? I'm in Calgary and they've been awesome for me

 

[jeneliz]

Hey there - wondering how the brews have been going? Also, wanted to make one recommendation (if you haven't had a problem thus far, please disregard) on your conical - you have the sight glass attached between the open valve and the fermentor and I would recommend switching the two. The height will cause more strain on the incoming wort and may cause o2 issues and will also force you to pump at a higher rate, potentially causing o2 issues. Just a thought!

An otherwise incredibly impressive setup!

 

[therackman]

The experience with morebeer sounds frustrating. I'm surprised they didn't provide better customer service. Did you get this resolved and get your parts from them? Or find another source?

 

[BlackRifle]

Hey there - wondering how the brews have been going? Also, wanted to make one recommendation (if you haven't had a problem thus far, please disregard) on your conical - you have the sight glass attached between the open valve and the fermentor and I would recommend switching the two. The height will cause more strain on the incoming wort and may cause o2 issues and will also force you to pump at a higher rate, potentially causing o2 issues. Just a thought!

An otherwise incredibly impressive setup!

I honestly never thought of this... I just installed how Ss Brewtech had theirs setup... See here;

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/accessories/products/sight-glass-1-5-tc-in-line

 

[BlackRifle]

The experience with morebeer sounds frustrating. I'm surprised they didn't provide better customer service. Did you get this resolved and get your parts from them? Or find another source?

It was frustrating. I called back the next day and got them to reduce shipping to $150 USD. I still think I overpaid but I needed the order ASAP, so I had no choice. Going forward they told me that this will be the only time they discount shipping. SO, I guess I wont be ordering from them any more... They won't ship with my own FedEx or UPS account(s) either... I guess I'll just take my business elsewhere. I'm absolutely disappointed in their after the sale support. They sell me the equipment but then have no way of offering small order support afterwards.

 

[BlackRifle]

Citra IPA

Was a great day, still lots to learn but we are having fun and enjoying this process...

 

[woo_pig]

Nice .It looks like y'all had a good brew day.

 

[jojacques]

And here you can observe a true Canadian, watching Hockey while brewing.
Amazing, I am jealous.