Workspace of the Week: Homemade brew
This week’s Workspace of the Week is Eric’s Brewing Workspace submitted by Ladydemona:
Most every hobby comes with very specific stuff. If you play golf, you need clubs, golf balls, a golf bag, and a glove just to step onto a course. If you bike, at the bare minimum you need a bicycle and helmet. Home brewers need exponentially more equipment and supplies. This week’s workspace of the week shows that just because you need a lot of things to make beer at home doesn’t mean it has to be a mess. I know very little about making beer, and even I’m impressed by this well-organized space. I bet Eric’s beer tastes really good.
Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.
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Posted by Erin on Jun 19, 2009 |
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11 comments posted
Posted by brewer - 06/19/2009
Looks great, but having 3 separate propane burners that are explicitly sold for outdoor use only, in such a confined space is very worrying.
I would hope that Eric either has a set of wheels on the shelves to move the rig outside to brew, or a very good combined CO/gas monitor wot warn him.
Since they share one tank of propane, this seems to indicate that he changes the gas tank at least twice during the brew process – indoors. Hope Eric does not smoke at the same time.
Posted by Workspace of the Week: Homemade brew | Unclutterer - 06/19/2009
[...] by admin on June 19, 2009 Home brewers need exponentially more equipment and supplies. This week’s workspace of the week shows that just because you need a lot of things to make beer at home doesn’t mean it has to be a mess. I know very little about making beer , … Go here to see the original: Workspace of the Week: Homemade brew | Unclutterer [...]
Posted by Erin Doland - 06/19/2009
@brewer — I’m pretty sure this is a garage, not a basement.
Posted by EngineerMom - 06/19/2009
Looking closely at the picture, it doesn’t look like the burners are actually connected to the propane tank. My gues is that this is a storage area, not the place where he does the actual brewing. Even if he does use the burners, it looks like the space is a garage or open-out basement (given all the gardening implements also stored there), so he could also just open up the doors and plug in a fan or two.
I’m guessing Eric is intelligent enough not to endanger his family and home by being stupid with propane.
Posted by honestb - 06/19/2009
@Brewer: Seeing as there’s 3 brew pots in the picture, and no fermenters, I’m guessing this is how he stores stuff, not how he actually does his brewing.
I’m pretty sure he must have some stuff not pictured since there’s a grain mill over to the left but nothing that looks like a Lauter Tun.
Posted by Linda - 06/19/2009
I’m still looking for #2 and 3 propane tanks…I only see one!
What about the space? Isn’t that what the pic of the week is about?
Posted by Anita - 06/19/2009
Very organized, but I agree with others who noted this is a storage area, and not so much a functional setup. Personally I would’ve been more impressed if he had designed his setup in such a way that it would take minimal time/effort to take his equipment from storage to active use and back again.
Also: I’m always dumbfounded at the assumption that just because someone keeps their stuff organized, they must also be brilliant at using it (i.e. “I bet Eric’s beer tastes really good.”). That’s a bit like seeing a journalist’s clean desk and going “wow, your desk is so orderly, I bet your articles are thoroughly researched and brilliantly written” without ever having read one, or looking at a painter’s storage cabinet and praising his talent, without having seen a single one of his canvasses.
Don’t get me wrong, I love having my things in order as much as anyone on this site, but I think we’re overstepping our mark by claiming there’s a definite correlation between one’s skill as an organizer and the quality of one’s work.
Posted by Erin Doland - 06/19/2009
@Anita — Fair point. My comment was really more about how I wanted a beer writing about his beer brewing equipment.
Mmmmmmmmm … beer …
Posted by Sean - 06/19/2009
As a homebrewer, I’ll take the time to dispel the idea that this is just a storage place. The three tiered system is common in the hobby as a (starting from the top) hot water tank for rinsing grain, a lautering tun for the conversion of grain starch to sugar, and a boil kettle for the sterilization and combination of ingredients. All three pots sit in this formation for the easy, gravity-based transfer of liquid from one stage in the process to the next. As for there being no fermenters in the picture, a fermentation carboy or bucket is typically kept in a temperature controlled area (mine is the tub in a spare bathroom). I doubt that he’d keep them in a garage, where this looks like it is. Any good homebrewer doesn’t have spare carboys laying around
.
It’s a very nice set-up, which probably cost him a fair amount. As for propane concerns, brewing in a garage still has its potential pitfalls, so I’d still be concerned. Those burners are awfully close to a drywall covered wall and, potentially, ceiling.
And @Anita, if he’s spent this much money on this setup, I’d bet he’s a pretty fair brewer, or at least he thinks he is.
Posted by Lady Demona - 06/20/2009
Three things to note:
The ceiling of the garage is cathedral ceilings (2 story house tall) however my camera couldn’t take a picture of the whole thing (couldn’t back up anymore) and what you cannot tell by the picture here is that there is cement blocking keeping the rig about 2 feet away from the back wall and the latter gets pulled out to reach the top pot.
Sean is correct about the carboys and the fact that this is the garage. When empty, Eric has a separate organized area for them, however they are all in a controlled temperature settings, be it a 12 cube feet refrigerator (for lagers) or a cellar.
The biggest thing i wanted to get across is all the specialty grains and their organization and proximity to the grain mill for ease of use.
Posted by Nick - 06/25/2009
I have been in this garage many many times and have brewed a few beers myself with Eric,or was it 2. I can say most of the brewing is done in the spring, summer and Fall time frame so the garage door is open. I have seen the disorganization of the all his grains before. He would go through a box and find grains that he just bought the day before. Also he has thrown grains away because of mold and mice. Now that his grain is labeled and in had containers the grain stays fresh and easy to find.
Fresh grains=good beer!!
Also with this set up it takes less than 5 hours to brew and little lifting.
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