Moving brewery to garage

[Ludesbrews]

Hi all,

I have my brewery currently set up downstairs, though most of the actual brewing takes place in my garage because that’s where my burners are.

I’m tired of running in and out / upstairs and downstairs, so I am moving my set up into the garage.

Does anyone brew in the garage? I have an all-grain setup, but mostly do extracts now. I am hoping that with the convenience of having all in one place it will push me to do an all-grain.

Can anyone think of any issues I may run into? I won’t store ingredients or ferment in the garage, probably stick to the basement for that.

Cheers,
151

 

[ITV]

I originally brewed in my garage but it became a pain since my equipment was stored in my basement along with my fermenters. It was a pain to haul the equipment up and down the stairs. The advantage was that I was able to hose down the garage floor when I was done.

Since then I have had a gas line hook-up to my burner in my basement kitchen that has a externally vented hood. I learned after the first brew in my basement that the vent hood needs to be on whenever the burner is lit to keep the heat and humidity down. I prefer to brew in my basement. It saves me time from hauling the equipment up and down the stairs. The disadvantages are that I cannot hose the floor down and I have less head room to gravity feed from my mash tun to my boil kettle. It is also more comfortable brewing in my basement in the winter.

The only issue that you may have is hauling the wort down to your basement to ferment, especially if you do high gravity or 10 gallon plus batches.

 

[Soulshine2]

I brew in my polebarn because thats where I have the most room and the 220 outlet that runs my rig. Since my son got his own place a couple weeks ago and his truck no longer takes up space...I might do more in the regards of a permanent brew space more than it is. Like- my water I bring to the rig via garden hose but now that I have the space set up I may still run the hose but have it connect outside of the polebarn and set up more of a proper countertop with filtered water faucet and sinks....just drain it back outside to the field, its only water.

 

[IslandLizard]

The only issue that you may have is hauling the wort down to your basement to ferment, especially if you do high gravity [...] batches

Such as batches with a gravity above 1000.070?

 

[DocDriza]

I do every thing in my garage with the exception of fermentation. I have had no issues with it. My next investment will be a ferm chamber so the whole operation is in the garage.

 

[Stand]

I do everything in the garage. I've moved as much stuff in there as I possibly can including my fermenter (in an upright freezer). I love it, but it's still somewhat inconvenient because there is so much stuff I don't want to store there.

I think unless you have a dedicated space there's always going to be shuffling, but the garage has worked best for me.

 

[Jtvann]

I do it all, weather dependent, in both locations. Summer temps are nice enough to brew and ferment in the garage. Winter temps, sub zero at times, means I need to brew and ferment in the basement. I use a DIY glycol chiller.

I'm not sure I understand your question. Is there something you're specifically worried about?

 

[Spartan1979]

I brewed in the garage until recently. I just built an electric brewery for basically the same reasons as the OP is moving to the garage.

 

[JB_Brewing2]

All brewing activity occurs in my super-insulated garage. Have 220 and an overhead hoist for lifting my mash colander. No furnace but when it gets down to 40 during the winter I'll turn on a small electric heater. Have a plywood ferm chamber with a small heater and air conditioner for maintaining ferm temps. Stopped brewing in the house when I seriously upgraded my brewing to a BIAC.

 

[Stand]

I do it all, weather dependent, in both locations. Summer temps are nice enough to brew and ferment in the garage. Winter temps, sub zero at times, means I need to brew and ferment in the basement. I use a DIY glycol chiller.

I'm just the opposite of this in NC. Winter is great for brewing, and summer can be murder.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I've always brewed in my garage. The hassle for me was that all my equipment was stored in my basement and I fermented in the basement, so everything was carried up to the garage and back on brewday, including a fermenter full of wort back to the ferm chamber.

I'm in the process of moving (close on Friday) and the new place has a heated garage (important for Iowa winters) and an extra 11x11 wing that will be my dedicated brewery. It has a breaker panel, so I'm hoping to wire in a 240V outlet and switch to electric. One wall has a bathroom on the other side, so I'm hoping I can plumb in a utility sink. It already has a floor drain. I'll set up a condensation rig to handle moisture for winter brewing and I'll be good to go.

Bottom line: No problem brewing in your garage. Even better if you can store everything there too. Weather can be an issue if it's too cold to run water for chilling or no way to vent moisture or carbon monoxide. In the summer, we get really hot and humid, with temps approaching 100 degrees and heat indices around 110. I still brew. It's hot work, but I don't mind the heat. I just need a cool shower when I'm done.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I brew in the garage and ferment in the basement it has been working out quite well for me

 

[balrog]

I also brew BIAB in garage with most things stored in basement.
At other end of house of course. Keeps me svelte.
I only keep propane, burner, kettle and outflow buckets in garage.
Anything else becomes fodder for the inevitable 4 legged walnut gathering scurrying chewing varmits.
Ferm chamber, a simple box built of 2" thick foamboard around dorm fridge, and all other equipment kept in basement.

 

[pigroaster]

I do it all, weather dependent, in both locations. Summer temps are nice enough to brew and ferment in the garage. Winter temps, sub zero at times, means I need to brew and ferment in the basement. I use a DIY glycol chiller.

I'm not sure I understand your question. Is there something you're specifically worried about?

Any chance on info about your glycol chiller plans?

 

[Soulshine2]

I've always brewed in my garage. The hassle for me was that all my equipment was stored in my basement and I fermented in the basement, so everything was carried up to the garage and back on brewday, including a fermenter full of wort back to the ferm chamber.

I'm in the process of moving (close on Friday) and the new place has a heated garage (important for Iowa winters) and an extra 11x11 wing that will be my dedicated brewery. It has a breaker panel, so I'm hoping to wire in a 240V outlet and switch to electric. One wall has a bathroom on the other side, so I'm hoping I can plumb in a utility sink. It already has a floor drain. I'll set up a condensation rig to handle moisture for winter brewing and I'll be good to go.

Bottom line: No problem brewing in your garage. Even better if you can store everything there too. Weather can be an issue if it's too cold to run water for chilling or no way to vent moisture or carbon monoxide. In the summer, we get really hot and humid, with temps approaching 100 degrees and heat indices around 110. I still brew. It's hot work, but I don't mind the heat. I just need a cool shower when I'm done.

congrats early on the new house. A dedicated 11x11 brewing area. that'll be a nice set up.
I told my wife I was planning on expanding my brewery area out in the polebarn.
Know what she told me?
"You go right ahead ,thats your space. I'm so glad you took up this hobby ...but dont forget to leave room out there for when you retire and build your dream truck"
Happy wife ,happy life gentlemen. Brew her a beer and keep her happy.

 

[Ludesbrews]

Thanks for all the responses and activity. I’m in the middle of moving into the garage. A few questions:

1) am I good to store ALL consumable ingredients in a fridge in the garage? Forgot that I have a full fridge out there.

2) When boiling, am I good to boil with a propane burner with the garage door completely open?

Thanks

 

[Spartan1979]

2) When boiling, am I good to boil with a propane burner with the garage door completely open?

Thanks

When I brewed in the garage in winter I would raise the door about 2 feet while running the burner and never had a problem. I used a CO meter once and it was within acceptable levels.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

congrats early on the new house. A dedicated 11x11 brewing area. that'll be a nice set up.
I told my wife I was planning on expanding my brewery area out in the polebarn.
Know what she told me?
"You go right ahead ,thats your space. I'm so glad you took up this hobby ...but dont forget to leave room out there for when you retire and build your dream truck"
Happy wife ,happy life gentlemen. Brew her a beer and keep her happy.

Yep, every house we looked at, her concern was if I'd have a dedicated brew space. We had an offer on one house that had a dream spot...probably 40' x 16' with running hot/cold water, sink, external door and window for ventilation etc, all dedicated to my hobbies. Unfortunately, it was a short sale and the seller pulled a fast one on us trying to get a bargain for a friend. I contacted the bank to let them know they weren't getting the highest offer and tanked his deal at least. It's in foreclosure now. Don't ever mess with the obnoxious beast.

 

[verboten]

Such as batches with a gravity above 1000.070?

1.060 is 0.5 lb/gal heavier than water!!!

 

[Murphys_Law]

I have most of my small equipment in a Tupperware which I store in the basement. along with grains, my kegerator, ferm chamber, etc.

I keep my burner, kettle, chiller, etc in the garage.

I brew just outside my back garage door.

Taking equipment up and down is easy but hauling 5G of wort down the steps is becoming a PITA! I use a milk crate to haul the fermonster.

 

[balrog]

2) When boiling, am I good to boil with a propane burner with the garage door completely open?

I brew in garage on propane with garage door closed, but side regular sized door open.

 

[JB_Brewing2]

Thanks for all the responses and activity. I’m in the middle of moving into the garage. A few questions:

1) am I good to store ALL consumable ingredients in a fridge in the garage? Forgot that I have a full fridge out there.

2) When boiling, am I good to boil with a propane burner with the garage door completely open?

Thanks

1. You can keep your yeast in the frig section and hops in the freezer section. I don't refrigerate my grains but do keep them in buckets with airtight sealed lids.

2. I have an exhaust fan that handles the moisture from boiling on my electric system but with propane you really need to provide for outside air to avoid hurting yourself or others with the resultant CO2. With the garage door fully open you should be OK as the CO2 should be dispersed. The water vapor from burning and boiling may need a fan to be better dispersed.

 

[grampamark]

I brew in my basement with propane (gasp!). However-

1. My house is passive solar heated. It is designed to promote airflow from the basement to the upper levels, so there is a constant exchange of air.

2. It’s a daylight basement. The great outdoors is just a few feet away, accessible through various doors and windows.

3. I have a Big Ass Fan running any time the valve on the propane tank is open.

4. About 40 years ago I experienced CO ( not CO2) poisoning to the point of losing consciousness. To this day I can walk into a space which might be high in CO (a job site heated by a space heater, for example) and, if the CO level is high, will get a metallic taste in the back of my mouth within 20-30 seconds. I’m a walking CO detector (and I use one of those, as well).

5. I spent 40 years as a volunteer firefighter. I respect flaming balls of gas, but I don’t fear them.

YMMV

 

[mongoose33]

I ran into the same issue of hauling gear up from the basement, then back down again. It got old real fast.

Now, all the equipment except for the gain mill is in the garage. All the grain and hops are in the basement (hops in the freezer), and the scale.

The trick was finding a way to effectively store stuff in the garage. Naturally, there was no empty space because as everyone knows, junk expands to fill available space. I bought a rolling cabinet in which most of my stuff was stored, so I could wheel it over to my brew area and have everything handy. (Pic below).

I've since done some storage triage in the garage because I have two 10-gallon kettles and two 20-gallon kettles, and one or the other set is always set up.

Once I got my first ferm chamber, I've always fermented in the garage. I'm in Wisconsin but since the garage is insulated and the cars essentially heat it, it never gets below freezing. I have fermwraps or seedling hat mats wrapped around the fermenters when I use the ferm chambers, no worries about cooling too low.

Now, I have a Spike conical and a glycol chiller, so most beers are fermented in that. But i haven't gotten rid of the ferm chambers--they can hold beer, chill bottles prior to filling, serve as an auxiliary keezer when I have no room in the one in my basement.

 

[eric19312]

I ferment in the garage. Natural Gas piped to my brew stand and I will brew with either door wide open (summer) or partially open (winter). Installed a slop sink out there. It is a huge old farmhouse cast iron sink previous owner left behind after kitchen remodel. I've got my keezer and fermentation fridge out there. All my grains are stored in homer buckets with gamma seal lids. About only thing still in the house is my hop supply which is in the kitchen freezer. Its pretty nice not having to gather up a bunch of equipment from different locations every brew day.

 

[TheMadKing]

I do everything in my garage except ferment, and the only minor issues I have with it are keeping lawn tools/gas cans etc on the opposite side from my brewing equipment, keeping it clean and dust free, and running water onto my garage floor (not a big deal)

 

[TheMadKing]

I brew in my basement with propane (gasp!). However-

1. My house is passive solar heated. It is designed to promote airflow from the basement to the upper levels, so there is a constant exchange of air.

2. It’s a daylight basement. The great outdoors is just a few feet away, accessible through various doors and windows.

3. I have a Big Ass Fan running any time the valve on the propane tank is open.

4. About 40 years ago I experienced CO ( not CO2) poisoning to the point of losing consciousness. To this day I can walk into a space which might be high in CO (a job site heated by a space heater, for example) and, if the CO level is high, will get a metallic taste in the back of my mouth within 20-30 seconds. I’m a walking CO detector (and I use one of those, as well).

5. I spent 40 years as a volunteer firefighter. I respect flaming balls of gas, but I don’t fear them.

YMMV

You have a super power.. that's definitely a super power

 

[Blazinlow86]

I don't currently have a garage or any real covered areas. We get alot of rain and additionally I got tired of setup and take down and then carrying everything up and down the basement stairs. It was either go electric in the basement or give up. I chose electric in the basement and am much happier. Im sure I would have given up years ago otherwise. Eventually when I buy a new house the brewery will be in the garage. Cheers

 

[Soulshine2]

I brew in my basement with propane (gasp!). However-

1. My house is passive solar heated. It is designed to promote airflow from the basement to the upper levels, so there is a constant exchange of air.

2. It’s a daylight basement. The great outdoors is just a few feet away, accessible through various doors and windows.

3. I have a Big Ass Fan running any time the valve on the propane tank is open.

4. About 40 years ago I experienced CO ( not CO2) poisoning to the point of losing consciousness. To this day I can walk into a space which might be high in CO (a job site heated by a space heater, for example) and, if the CO level is high, will get a metallic taste in the back of my mouth within 20-30 seconds. I’m a walking CO detector (and I use one of those, as well).

5. I spent 40 years as a volunteer firefighter. I respect flaming balls of gas, but I don’t fear them.

YMMV

Ive been near hypothermia and heat exhaustion...one couldnt feel my fingers nor make them function. I was out ice-fishing when I knew darn well it was too cold but I went anyway, alone too. The other I was at work and my partner and I had to go into a hot area to remove some planking. We both saw white little things twinkling around and stopped sweating. Lucky we both made it out before either of us passed out. Told the boss, huh uh, not going in there. I'm very aware and sensitive to both now. Some people who have never experienced either think im a wuss...oh its too hot , ohh its too cold...thats ok cupcake, you keep thinking that until it happens to you.

 

[ITV]

Thanks for all the responses and activity. I’m in the middle of moving into the garage. A few questions:

1) am I good to store ALL consumable ingredients in a fridge in the garage? Forgot that I have a full fridge out there.

2) When boiling, am I good to boil with a propane burner with the garage door completely open?

Thanks

1. Store grain in an airtight container.
2. In the winter I have the garage door open about 2 feet. Don't chance it, install a CO monitor. In my opinion CO monitors should be installed in all garages. I also have a 30KBTU inferred natural gas garage heater.

 

[awoitte]

1. Store grain in an airtight container.

I've read/heard people talk about not allowing (something along the lines of different yeast, beers -ales/lagers-, etc. near each other due to the possibility of cross contamination. Is this something to worry about / keep in mind while storing?

 

[day_trippr]

For unmilled grains - even specialty grains?
No. That's really not something to waste a second on.
I store full sacks together above one of my cabinets and keep all of my (bagged) unmilled specialty grains in a 50 gallon rolling trash bin.
Together.
Like dogs and cats
No issues...

Cheers!

 

[seatazzz]

I brew in my garage, and have a ferment fridge out here too so don't have to lug things too far. I don't prop the garage door open during brewing but I do have the door to the house open, with a fan going to keep the air moving. Can't keep the door closed because the critters I live with (2 dogs and 3 cats) raise holy hell if they can't come out and be part of the brewday, to the point that every brewday a "brewcat" is selected by whichever one decides my lap is the place to be. Never had an issue with CO since I keep the air circulating. Hops are in their own freezer, and grain in a closed container; also learned a while ago to mill grain the night before to keep the dust out of everything.

My garage is my woman cave; got my laptop out here, with nice speakers, and the kegerator is only a step away. Husband can get squiffy if he sees me drinking before 9am so I have a nice selection of glassware in the freezer side of the kegerator, and a bag of red solo cups for sampling. And did I mention my super cushy recliner? Oh yes I could live out here.

 

[mongoose33]

I brew in my garage, and have a ferment fridge out here too so don't have to lug things too far. I don't prop the garage door open during brewing but I do have the door to the house open, with a fan going to keep the air moving. Can't keep the door closed because the critters I live with (2 dogs and 3 cats) raise holy hell if they can't come out and be part of the brewday, to the point that every brewday a "brewcat" is selected by whichever one decides my lap is the place to be. Never had an issue with CO since I keep the air circulating. Hops are in their own freezer, and grain in a closed container; also learned a while ago to mill grain the night before to keep the dust out of everything.

My garage is my woman cave; got my laptop out here, with nice speakers, and the kegerator is only a step away. Husband can get squiffy if he sees me drinking before 9am so I have a nice selection of glassware in the freezer side of the kegerator, and a bag of red solo cups for sampling. And did I mention my super cushy recliner? Oh yes I could live out here.

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

[seatazzz]

Pics or it didn't happen.

next time I clean...it's a sh*tshow right now

 

[balrog]

Envious, am I.

 

[mongoose33]

next time I clean...it's a sh*tshow right now

Well, OK.

I'm having the LHBC at my house in early May for the monthly meeting. I've already started cleaning up my garage brew area in anticipation.

 

[ITV]

next time I clean...it's a sh*tshow right now

Pics of the speakers & stereo please. Klipsch fan here

 

[sleev-les]

I brew in the garage and ferment. Using spikes and their temp control I have zero issue maintaining ferm temps. In the winter, I leave the door to the house open to get a bit warmer while I'm in there and summer use a fan to circulate air. Garage is insulated so it isn't bad regardless. Kegerator is out there as well.

 

[mattdee1]

I think the best answer is, just brew wherever the process is the most painless. I have always brewed in the garage, but for a while I was strongly considering moving down into the basement because that is where I was storing all of the gear. With everything that you need to do on a brew day, it's just a monumental drag to have to lug a hundred pieces of equipment and gadgets and buckets up and down stairs.

I have plenty of space in the basement but I wasn't ready to spend the money to install the provisions in the basement for brewing so as a compromise I spent a weekend building a bunch of shelves in my garage to move all kinds of crap out of the way, which then freed up room along a wall to store my brewing gear out there. I also built a simple cart that I can just wheel out and wheel back when I'm done (see picture - on nice summer afternoons, I wheel it out into the backyard for nicer surroundings). I find that every little inconvenience that you can eliminate - no matter how small - makes a big impact on the enjoyment of brewing. When you're 5-6 hours into a brew day, eliminating a single trip down into the basement is money.