So I was thinking today that we might start looking into getting together some joint equipment? What are your feelings?
I was mainly reminded of it because of the corny buy that is happening at the moment and I was thinking it would be great if the capital brewers had our own corny setup, that could be borrowed or just used for our get togethers in Tog etc.
But a brewery might be a better place to start?
Thoughts? Feelings?
I haven't been able to make it to TOG yet so I don't really know how things are organised, but if we were to get some equipment I would recommend portability. For example:
- plastic buckets converted to boilers are much easier to lug around than converted kegs and the like (but we'd have to use large thick-walled buckets like the ones Hop & Grape used to sell for durability and flexibility in terms of batch sizes)
- copper chillers should be fitted with hose disconnects to make it easy to plug in and out at different locations etc.
- a 2kg Co2 tank is much easier to carry around than a 5 or 6 kg monster.
- some form of portable temp control would be great if fermentation was to occur in a shared space (e.g. a heating belt hooked up to an STC 1000 temp controller)
- we could also create a tea cosy style cover for the fermentation vessel (possibly from lagging jackets sewn together)
- cornies would make things much handier, especially if the unfermented wort needed to be re-located to somebody's house or apartment for fermentation. I like the look of the jolly kegs being sourced in the group buy that's going on at the moment.
- if we were ambitious and wanted to ferment in cornies we could also get spunding bleed valves so that the beer could be left to ferment without supervision. Then we could pump it under pressure (and away from oxygen) into serving cornies or beergun it into bottles for distribution.
Can equipment be stored in TOG? Would it be risky to even try? Lots of stuff to think about!
If we bought a 100l brew magic system what would you think?
Quote from: Rossa on June 28, 2013, 10:01:09 AM
If we bought a 100l brew magic system what would you think?
I would rather give TOG €2000 (Instead of €6000) and get them to build it!
Quote from: shiny on June 28, 2013, 10:14:35 AM
Quote from: Rossa on June 28, 2013, 10:01:09 AM
If we bought a 100l brew magic system what would you think?
I would rather give TOG €2000 (Instead of €6000) and get them to build it!
What if we bought one for €1500?
Go on...
It has been offered to me a couple of times now but I need to get a proper price. Could be a great club purchase.
That would be a pretty impressive asset.
We really would be the Capital Brewers then ;)
We should also buy a rake of wine barrels and start a sour programme 8)
Surely the next logical step following on from the barrel projects!
The big storage unit beside TOG (that they are dying to rent but don't have the numbers) would be perfect for this.
Quote from: Dr Jacoby on June 28, 2013, 11:27:51 AM
We really would be the Capital Brewers then ;)
We should also buy a rake of wine barrels and start a sour programme 8)
Surely the next logical step following on from the barrel projects!
I might have an in for wine barrels too. A friends brother in law owns a wine shop in Dublin and they bottle there own I believe. It is a bit hazy though as I got talking to him late on at a wedding.
Quote from: shiny on June 28, 2013, 11:30:56 AM
The big storage unit beside TOG (that they are dying to rent but don't have the numbers) would be perfect for this.
Really? Any prices?
What sort of equipment is offered to you Rossa.
I haven't seen it but I believe a brewmagic 100l system, stand, pots pumps etc. Would need to clarify though.
Yeah I was talking to one of the TOG guys about it a few months ago when I was there for a brew day. AFAIK it is empty at the moment and it has a full height shutter thingy so you could nearly reverse a lorry (or large fermenters) in there.
I never asked them about the price but I'm sure Jules would be able to tell us. I reckon some sort of partnership could be arranged as I'm sure they want to use it too for certain applications.
Soak your contact in isinglass
Quote from: shiny on June 28, 2013, 11:49:09 AM
Yeah I was talking to one of the TOG guys about it a few months ago when I was there for a brew day. AFAIK it is empty at the moment and it has a full height shutter thingy so you could nearly reverse a lorry (or large fermenters) in there.
I never asked them about the price but I'm sure Jules would be able to tell us. I reckon some sort of partnership could be arranged as I'm sure they want to use it too for certain applications.
Just thinking out loud here, but there might be all kind's of uses for a shared brew space that had some storage capacity (some of these ideas were suggested to me by Rossa).
1. Group brew sessions
2. Individual brew slots
3. A landing area for group buys
4. Festivals
5. Demos of various kinds
6. A place for brewing beer for weddings and other big events
7. Barrels for a sour programme
8. An equipment building workshop
9. A place for tasting commercial beers not available in the pubs.
10. A quiet place to be alone with your yeast ;)
Lads
Careful now
I'm reminded of Marge and her little cottage industry
(http://deadhomersociety.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/thepretzelbusiness_thumb.png?w=640&h=480)
Best of Luck lads ...
Quote from: Rossa on June 28, 2013, 11:41:45 AMI might have an in for wine barrels too. A friends brother in law owns a wine shop in Dublin and they bottle there own I believe. It is a bit hazy though as I got talking to him late on at a wedding.
That would be amazing! I've been researching lambics a lot recently. We could innoculate some barrels with Cantillon beers and see what the local yeast add to the mix.
Quote from: Rossa on June 28, 2013, 11:41:45 AM
I might have an in for wine barrels too. A friends brother in law owns a wine shop in Dublin and they bottle there own I believe. It is a bit hazy though as I got talking to him late on at a wedding.
As far as I am aware, no wine shop in Dublin bottles their own wine. Some off-licences sell "draught wine" where you bring along a container and they fill it from a polypin. Mitchell's mature their Green (and Yellow) Spot whiskies in barrels, but I don't think they sell them. A typical wine barrel contains 225 litres, and costs around €500 new, so it's unlikely that we could buy any cheaply. Saying that, I have no idea how the barrel project started in the first place. Must do some reading ... :)
Whiskey barrels are usually sourced straight from a distillery after being emptied. They are bunged up right away and will stay moist for quite a while.
Wine barrels are a different story altogether, especially in this country. Another option might be to take a ferry or the channel tunnel in a large van to France and stock up on barrels there. A detour to some of the massive off licences on the French/Belgium border could be in order too 8)
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I might have an in for wine barrels too. A friends brother in law owns a wine shop in Dublin and they bottle there own I believe. It is a bit hazy though as I got talking to him late on at a wedding.
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I would love a wine barrel!
Delighted this idea is growing legs so quickly!
I would be all for a shared brewing space! It would give us a good base as a club!
It would definitely be worth discussing with the TOG guys to see what sort of arrangement could be reached on sharing a space, if there is one next door still available!
As the group buy is filling up now, do we want to look into some cornies? I could store them until we have arranged a space, or we can sell them on for our money back if it comes to it? Thoughts?
Should I just open a seperate thread about a group corny buy? How many do we need? How many of our club are serious about this idea?
Yes I am all questions!
I'm just getting the detail of what the system has before I make any offer. They paid 2k for it. Not 100% sure of what they got for that but I will soon.
I'd be very supportive of club owned equipment. Padraic I'd say get the club name down for some cronies-how many though?
Quote from: CARA on July 04, 2013, 05:46:21 PM
I'd be very supportive of club owned equipment. Padraic I'd say get the club name down for some cronies-how many though?
I think we should get a few, even if the club ownership doesn't work out we can sell them on easily enough. So I'm thinking if we are brewing 40l batches we'll need 8 kegs at least? Possibly 12?
As for buying club equipment,would this be what you are thinking of,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/micro-brewery-microbrewery-brewing-equipment-brewery-/221242695711?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Food_SM&hash=item338317a01f
If I win the EU lotto I will buy that for the club.
Dempsey stop posting Brew Porn on the forum, I think I've just come ???