Saturday, December 15, 2007

Just a Few More Weeks...

Sorry for not posting lately, but seeing that Rachel and Tyler have been doing a great job with their posts in my absence, why change a good thing? Well, because Rachel might not be posting for a few weeks. On Wednesday, she underwent emergency surgery due to an infected cyst on her tailbone that flared up in the past week. She is doing much better now, but it'll take some time before everything is back to normal. Her Mom and Barley have been taking very good care of her, and I'm trying to do my part and make sure everything at The Bruery is still getting accomplished.

Construction has been coming along nicely, and we're thinking completion should be in the next few weeks. The gas line, water lines, water heaters, etc. have been installed, power will finally be turned on this Tuesday, everything has been painted, and most of the equipment has been set in place. The few key things that remain are to have the glycol chiller placed on the roof, the glycol plumbing installed, Gas Company installation of a new meter and gas manifold, sealing the floors, some electrical work, welding, and the kettle flame system. Most of these items will be completed before New Years. I still need to order malt and yeast for the first few batches as well. Mid-January for the first batch seems like my best guess at this point.

I'm very happy I hired Tyler when I did-- he's been a huge asset in getting things to where they need to be so we can start brewing. My guess is it would have taken an extra month if I was doing all of this by myself.

On Monday I'll post some pictures of the progress.

4 comments:

Nick said...

Where did you find out about all the requirement equipment, gas lines, water lines, etc. Can you point me to any books, articles, etc.? Thanks!

Patrick Rue said...

Nicholas,

I found out what I needed through my plumber, electrician, health department, fire department, brewery consultants, and what I've found by looking at other breweries and talking with brewery owners. The Brewers Association publishes "Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery", which contains some useful info about what you need, but it's not too specific.

Let me know what info you want, and I'll tell you what I know.

Patrick

Nick said...

Right now I'm looking for info on prices for new/used equipment so I can price out potential setups. I can find books upon books about beer, but nothing on equipment.

Also, I'm a little spotty on what equipment/tanks do what and how many are necessary as a bare minimum, but I can't find any such reference.

Unknown said...

Been through pilonidal cyst surgery. My sympathies and well wishes are with your wife.