I figured I was due for an update. The weather is turning towards the dramatic today and it looked like a good day to stay in and do some online work. Attached is a picture of the hot side of the brewhouse, currently it’s setup for 15gallon batches but I just swap out those 20 gallon kettles for the 55′s we have and we’re off.
Good news, finally got my questions answered on some of the TTB paperwork thanks to Jim over at Foggy Noggin in Bothell. Was also able to get my access to some previous account information that I need for more fun background check information and installed a half wall and doors dividing the tax beer from non-tax beer as all the storage and potential tasting room is in one building.
I’ve had a few questions about the beer I plan on making. There is a few recipes that are already nailed down. The first is my favorite and first brewed beer, it’s a Belgian Style Wit called “White & Nerdy” it was one of my first homebrew beers and the recipe has changed and perfected over time. There is lots of plans for Flanders/American Wild Sour Beers. I have a bunch of small homebrew batches that were started well over a year ago as the basis for what we will produce, however those will take time to get out the door as they need lots of aging to reach perfection. We also have planned a beer we like to call 13 Questions Pale Ale, it was born during my phase of unemployment and named after how many questions you have to answer every week to get your benefits check. It’s a single hop pale that will change from year to year or even month to month in the style of hops used which should help people really learn what hops they like and don’t like as well. There are some other special beers planned as well as large bodied Stouts, Porters, Dubbels, Tripels, Fruit beers, and strong beers.
Getting closer. The first draft of our TTB paperwork is done, need to get some questions answered by another brewery to figure out what they mean in some of these columns.
Also, I ran across this quote that I wanted to share.
“Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.”-Nikola Tesla
Not that anything we will brew will be as futuring shaping, but heck, we want to help continuing to build a great craft beer community here in Snohomish county.
The remodel of the floors and adding water, sewer, and electricity is completed. We have started filling out the TTB paperwork which looks like it’s going to be more work than actually building the brewery and is the scariest part of the process to me, as if we fail this portion, it’s dead in the water and I don’t know what I’ll be doing for work in a year when I get laid off. It’s a thing of my nightmares honestly. But I’ve got no priors, I’m following all the rules and regulations so we should be fine.
I am going to have to do a little bit more moving around of stuff due to the need for non taxed beer to have a clear line of separation from taxed beer.
All in time. I hope to get everything for the TTB together by the end of the month and submit in July, which in theory may get us up and running by October/November if all goes well.
Here it is, the next chapter in getting this show on the road. It doesn’t look like much now, but we’re gonna spruce it up a bit. Stay tuned for progress.
May 1st is when we start the move. We will be opening the brewery a bit north of where I had originally intended but Lynnwood’s loss is Everett’s gain.
Our new home is in need of a little love, but we hope to get it ship shape (or brewery shape) by summer and hope of all hopes to get all the legal stuff taken care of so we can start selling within the year. The good news is my day job has extended my contract so we’re all safe and financially secure without having to take out any loans! Yay for not paying interest.
The years of hard work are finally leading to the next stage. Filing our annual report with the state and can’t wait to get moved.
UPDATE 3/2/2011 6pm, as of now there is a buyer on the system who has placed a deposit. Better luck next time!
Since completion of the new brewhouse I have made the single tier stand obsolete. It’s on the market. Built from 2x2x.120 Steel Square Tube this is built to last. 3 11″ Banjo Burners that can take LP or Natural Gas(with larger orifice available from Blichmann) Includes one High Temp March pump and a Blichmann Therminator plate chiller. There is mounting spots for a second pump, but I did batch sparging so I never needed it.
Selling with or without the Keggles.
For $1500 The base unit gets you, 3 Banjor Burners, LP regulators to run off two tanks (3 regulators, a single and a double), these burners use quite a bit of propane so on the smaller tanks on cold days it would freeze up the tanks, this is to help alleviate that issue, you can plumb it to run off a single tank for about $50 in supplies at Home Depot. Blichmann Therminator Plate Chiller (quick disconnects are NOT included, you will have to supply your own hose and connectors.) 1 March Pump, the pictures are missing the head but I assure you I have it, has 1/2″ MPT connectors on it and has a plug, I would suggest getting a GFCI outlet. Also 5″ heavy duty casters from McMaster-Carr, front two are locking. The paint on the top got completely wiped out, I have found some paint that will work but it only comes in flat black, if you want the top rail painted flat high temp black, I can have it done. My suggestion would just be to have the whole stand sandblasted ($50 to $200) and then paint the whole thing with VHT 1200F or higher paint.
An additonal $700 for the keggles gets you 3 converted kegs, Mash Tun has stainless steel false bottom, Zymico Weldless bulkhead, 1/2″ Ball Valve and Blichmann Weldless Brewmometer. Boil Kettle has Blichmann Weldless Brewmometer, Welded 1/2″ fitting with Stainless Ball Valve, welded fitting for Glass sight, calibrated to 1/2 gallon marks. Hot Liquor Tank has welded 1/2″ bulkhead and 1/2″ threaded thermometer, will accept thermowells or anything else you want to put in a 1/2″ fitting, Welded bulkhead and 1/2″ ball valve, welded glass sight that has been calibrated for 1/2 gallon increments. All stainless welding was done by Larry at Larry’s Brew Supply in Kent. Keggles do not include the pictured quick disconnects, if you really really want them it’s an extra $100 for 3 sets of stainless quick disconnects. You can buy them cheaper online for about $25/set.
I will not sell the keggles without the stand, but I will sell the stand without the Keggles as I can still use them.
I’m actually further along than this picture suggests, the gas lines are all completed and I’m now just tweaking the electrical. Looks like we might brew a test batch this weekend or on President’s Day since I will have a unpaid day off work.
What was a pile of cut steel is now a stand. We went with flat black 2000F resistant paint on the top bars and 1200F resistant paint for the rest. Burners are mounted via screws directly to the frame. Tomorrow the casters will arrive from McMaster-Carr, the next step is plumbing everything so it will be easy to convert over to natural gas in the future. The best thing about this design is we can brew 5 to 55 gallon batches on this system by just swapping out pots. Which means I can use it for my small homebrew stuff until we get up and running in our new place.
The pump and heat exchanger will mount separately on a cart or something else to be figured out later, it may all end up getting mounted to the HLT stand part depending on my mood.
Plans are finished for the hot side brewstand. My trusty assistant and all around awesome girlfriend took over and wrangled Everett Steel in to get the materials ordered. I currently work 7 to 4 job and never get home before anyone closes so 99% of my business is conducted via email throughout the day and placed like Everett Steel close super early as no one does business with them after 4:30 when I am still sitting on I-405 or I-5 in traffic. This would never get off the ground without my partner in crime working part time so she can make the calls I can’t.
We’ve checked with the city planner in Everett and it sounds like they have no issues with us opening a brewery in the location we are looking at but we might have to scale back on days we could have the brewery open to the public as it’s in a residential neighborhood. It could be maybe once a week, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or not at all, depends on the neighbors. I am going to try my hardest to find a tavern that will want to carry growlers and have beer to go. We will be able to deliver kegs, potentially growlers if you’re in an area I frequent. But that is way down the line.
Back to the brewstand, materials will be ready to pick up this Saturday, I’ll start the prep work on it and then February 5th if all goes as scheduled my welding partner in crime and I will get it all done solid and transported back to my place where I will plumb it. I was looking at powder coating instead of high temp paint but powdercoat only goes to about 1300F and the high temp stuff only comes in black. We can go with VHT paint that can handle 2000F and comes in obnoxious orange which some reason I like to use on my brewing gear. Both will require outside help, the paint has to be cured in a specific way to be heat resistant to those temps. I previously tried engine block paint but it’s tolerance is too low at 500F.
I figured I was due for an update. The weather is turning towards the dramatic today and it looked like a good day to stay in and do some online work. Attached is a picture of the hot side of the brewhouse, currently it’s setup for 15gallon batches but I just swap out those 20 gallon kettles for the 55′s we have and we’re off. 
