The pot I bought for brewing is big enough to cook up a cute four-year-old, but it's nothing compared to the garage rig I saw this weekend.
Saturday night’s home brew tasting turned out to be a lot of fun. There were like 50 people there, tons of kids running around, and each beer I tried was well-conceived and expertly crafted. It also taught me that there’s always someone who can outdo you, no matter what you’re into.
Those of you who followed my first foray into home brewing will recall that I loaded up on gear for my inaugural batch. This included blowing $240 on a kettle that is both too large for my brewing needs and too heavy for my poor back. It’ll make sense one day, but for the extract brews I’m doing now, it’s way over the top.
But not as over the top as the rig my new brewing friends put together for their first brew. You see, they didn’t start brewing because they needed a hobby – they started brewing because they want to open a brewery. I like folks who think big out of the gate, and Bill, Elena, Charles and Tomi did just that.
Everything you need in one efficient setup. They even have a spot for the TV during football season!
Their all-grain system consists of a pump-driven beer sculpture that can brew 15 gallons at a time. It’s pretty impressive to behold. They have the system running in the mid-to-upper 80’s in efficiency, and have actually had to adjust their recipes because their system is so stingy with the grains.
Their first batch was a pumpkin beer from an extract kit, but they’ve been doing grain since then, using their own recipes, which they continue to tweak and perfect. I have to say they are making great progress based on the five ales I sampled on Saturday night.
[And speaking of those five ales (and the generously sized serving glasses), I may have some of my facts a little blurry here, depending on what point in the evening they were related to me.]
Charles pulls a glass of beer from one of the six homebrewed selections on tap in the garage.
They mostly keg their beers, and serve them up in a six-spigot “kegerator” (I’m sure this is the wrong word to use – this wasn’t a converted Maytag – it was industrial strength) which actually held eight Corney kegs in its chilly depths. This was another impressive piece of kit that looked like it’d be more at home behind a bar than in a garage, and I think that’s the point.
In the furnace room were two fermentors bubbling away and several more Corney kegs holding beers as they were being clarified. These people are industrious!
In the end, I didn’t come away jealous of their gear or intimidated by their knowledge (which they are very generous with). Rather, I was impressed with the progress these folks have made in such a short time and their passion for my favorite beverage. The fact that they’ve only been at it since October is actually kinda mind-blowing.
Charles, Tomi, Bill and Elena are gracious and friendly beer nerds, and I could have stayed in the garage all night talking beer with them. Unfortunately, my wife eventually found me and reminded me we have small children who needed to go home to sleep. Bummer.
I’m often accused of being a bit obsessive and diving headfirst into a new interest, but these folks have me licked. They’ve decided they want to brew, they want to do it for a living, and they want to do it ASAP. I can totally relate to that; I think many of us can. The next step for them is to decide where to do it. They live in NJ, but NY is a more friendly to brewers and the border is only a few miles away. Once they figure that out, I get the impression that it’ll be full speed ahead.
In the meantime, I’ll have to start hatching my plans to build my own kegerator – after seeing their setup, I’ve decided my garage could use a couple of taps, too!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Very, very cool. Believe it or not, seeing the pics makes me want a garage more than anything…and then all that equipment.
Well I have a garage and a very large pot, so I’m covered there. All I have to do is figure out how to make my fridge magically shoot beer out its door!
I’ll be posting my “kegerator” conversion story soon. It doesn’t compare to these guys’ awesomeness, but it spits out cold frothy beer!
Yay cold frothy beer!! I was just perusing craigslist, but I kinda want to do it myself OTC (on the cheap)…
Jim, that’s really cool! I think it’s helpful to have 4 people all on the same page heading toward the same goal with the same commitment. I hope they will let you report on their progress over time – could be a very interesting success story!
Yeah, they are two couples with young kids who go to school with my daughter (the world famous kettle model). They are super-friendly and all very detail oriented. Their mix of passion for beer, energy and attention to detail bodes well for their futures as brewers. I’ll definitely keep up with their progress here, even if it means I have to drink every one of their beers! 😉
BTW, Elena’s beer of the night was a nut brown ale that had an ABV under 5.5% but was bursting with flavor and complexity. It had only been under CO2 pressure for a week so it needed a little more time, but it was an awesome session beer in the making. I’ll have to beg for a growler-full and post a follow up.
Jim,
Thanks for the kind words.
We had a blast sharing with everyone, I’m sure we’ll do it again in the near future. Beer sure does taste better when shared.
We had a great time, and I’m hoping I can sneak a growler of your nut ale once it’s in full bloom. I think it’s going to be pretty special.
Elena’s beer (Was that NuttyTrail?) was phenomenal! And good meeting you Jim — always a good time to chill out with some tasty brews!
Same here, Justin. Wish we had more time to chat, but those little ones keep your head spinning!
Wow very cool set up. Thanks for sharing Jim.
It’s amazing that this is where they stared, Billy. I’m in the driveway with a fancy pot and a snowbank, and they’re chilling their wert with water in under 8 minutes. I guess it’s good to have a vision from the outset.
Very Cool. I’m lucky to have a garage, but unlucky that it is full of shit and hardly have the room to use it for brewing.
Like the sculpture, have been wanting one for a long time, I have pictures/prices sheets hanging in my office with dreams of one day buying one of those Cadillacs! One Day….
I think they’re in the process of looking for warehouse space to brew in, so I’m sure their Caddy is gonna have lots of miles on it in the near future.
They’ve also been invited to brew a batch of their stuff down at Dogfish Head on either the big system or the little one. Problem is, they have to clean what they use and the big system is, well, big. They’d spend most of their time sanitizing that monster. Still, it’s a coll hookup.