would like to get into AG

[Wheels]

Can anyone tell me the smallest amout of space needed for a good (Newbie) AG set up. I thought i had a shed but forgot i had a son into motorbikes.
thanks.

 

[dps]

as i would also like to get into ag brewing i been thinking the same
I'm look at under the stairs as mine as a out side wall for a extractor fan
also it it cold in there

 

[pittsy]

depends how your going to boil your water, have you an electric boiler a gas burner for a pot (outside best for this or somewhere like shed or garage) or will you be using the hob?. you need poss 3 main items for AG ,mash tun(converted cooler box) boiler (or pot) and your fermenting vessel . you could have cheaper plastic of the above or nice shiny metal ones whether 33L boilers (or larger 50L etc) or 22L stock pots you could go crazy and fill your garage but to get by on the smallest while still doing 23L at the end you just need 6 to 8 hrs of time and the kitchen or garage etc ,the more you do the more space for fermenting etc you'll need . I use my kitchen and have taken up quarter of our small spare bedroom other than that kitchen is back to normal, a good mrs is also required(thats a must) so no headaches on brew day

 

[BigYin]

I store all my fermenters, boiler etc up high in what was unused dead space in the garage. On a brew day it comes out as and when it's needed into the utility room, and then all put away again afterwards.

A bigger issue is what to do with the results... all in bottles? Where will they all go?

Kegs? A king keg takes up a fair bit of space... I've pretty much taken over our garden shed, much to the disgust of the mrs, with a tall fridge containing up to 4 cornies, and outside that a big CO2 tank and a gas management board... keggerator taps through the fridge wall... er... :lol:

 

[pittsy]

also brew something for the mrs now and again that will help with over all grief to space ratio

 

[StrangeBrew]

Can anyone tell me the smallest amout of space needed for a good (Newbie) AG set up. I thought i had a shed but forgot i had a son into motorbikes.
thanks.

The smallest (and cheapest) way into all grain is the BIAB "Brew in a Bag" method... All you need is either a stove top pot or a boiler plus a grain bag and a fermenter. You can use the sink or bath to cool the wort in the pot rather than an elaborate wort chiller...

:

 

[Baz Chaz]

You don't really need much room as such, you need a small amount of room for a fair bit of time and somewhere that can cope with an amount of steam :!:

You could manage in the kitchen if the Mrs doesn't mind and you've an extractor that can get the steam outside, personally I brew in the garage/workshop, my brewday usually takes from about 8am and finished by 1pm or 2pm, depends how much buggering about I do thats an AG brew start to finish including setting up, brewing, clearing up, putting everything away etc etc :!:

 

[artiums_enteri]

I think the real question is how creative and motivated to go to AG are you? Where there's a will there's a way.

My wife and I were in a small town home with even a smaller back yard when we made the switch. The patio was an 8 foot x 10 foot concrete slab. we had a camp chef 100,000 BTU burner with a converted keg as the boil kettle, an igloo cooler on a milk crate as the mashtun, and a 6 gallon stock pot on a 60,000 BTU burner as the hot liquor tank. It was tight, but we made it work. In the dining room we had an extra upright fridge that was used for fermentation. All of our gear was stored in an upstairs closet when we weren't using it.

While I think it's fantastic you want to make the plunge to all grain, I'd suggest making sure you have your fermentation process down first as well as a place to regulate fermentation temps. Whether it be an old fridge or a chest freezer, you really should control that yeast temp and behavior become starting to spend money on more equipment you will have to spend more time learning. I have seen too many times brewers jump to all grain without a way to control fermentation temp. The result is usually unhappy results from a 5 hour long brew day.

 

[Good Ed]

My wife and I were in a small town home with even a smaller back yard when we made the switch. The patio was an 8 foot x 10 foot concrete slab. we had a camp chef 100,000 BTU burner with a converted keg as the boil kettle, an igloo cooler on a milk crate as the mashtun, and a 6 gallon stock pot on a 60,000 BTU burner as the hot liquor tank. It was tight, but we made it work. In the dining room we had an extra upright fridge that was used for fermentation. All of our gear was stored in an upstairs closet when we weren't using it.

You've got a great missus to go along with that.

You can always brew outside; I do the mash in the kitchen and the boil outside, although no reason not to mash outside. You will need somewhere to leave your FV at the right temperature and somewhere to store the finished beer. The biggest thing is liaising with SWMBO regarding taking over the kitchen. :!:

 

[artiums_enteri]

Yeah my wife was ecstatic when we moved out of her kitchen and into the back yard.

She is a bigger beer geek than I am, so she's more than willing to do whatever it takes. When we were shopping to buy a home she finally found one she loved, and said, "yes! We can build a brewery here!"

 

[Wheels]

Thanks for all the info.
Will have to re think a few things. The wife isn't very happy with the FV in the house and on bottling day she goes crazy with the amount of bottles around the kitchen.
Should think about getting my shed back.
Thanks again guys.

 

[shearclass]

Or you could think again about getting a new wife?

 

[keith1664]

Or you could think again about getting a new wife?

I would think a new shed would be cheaper.

 

[rich27500]

I think we all start with intentions of 'not taking up too much space.' That's like an angler thinking he'll be happy with just one rod. BIAB is the way to go in reducing equipment. Here's how I do it

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=21655

although I'm very far from an expert and a good place to find out more on BIAB is:

http://www.biabrewer.info/

If you want to go with 3 vessel brewing obviously you'll have 3 times the kit but it does appear to be a more popular method.