I bottled with an apprentice on Sunday afternoon, we were the first ones there, and the brewhouse was in an unacceptable state. Here is a partial list of what we took care of before starting our session:
- half finished beer bottles
- big bucket of starsan with equipment at the bottom
- various blowoff equipment and siphoning equipment in the sink (which hadn't been rinsed and debris caked on)
- brewpots which had been rinsed, but not scrubbed (see: Nancy's "dirty pictures" post from back in the day)
- water in the prechiller bucket, solution in the carboy washer
- filthy brewstation tables and stovetop
- bar area: unwashed glasses, an open bottle of whiskey, assorted trash
- cigarette butts in several places and the bathroom reeking of smoke
As I understand it, the last person leaving the brewhouse is responsible for leaving a clean slate for the next crew that comes in. If that's not the norm, I propose that it should be. (it's possible that the last crew in there didn't actually make the mess, and it was left from earlier in the day) At the very least, leave a note outlining when you're returning to clean it up. If I'm overstepping my bounds, please call me out, but I think most of us have the expectation of a clean space when we're the first to arrive.
There was also a phone in the bathroom, it's on the bar now. All the apps are in French if that helps. I would've tried harder to find the owner, but honestly, I was so irritated about having to clean up the shit, I didn't want to.
Not sure what is going on. According to the calendar, I was the last brewer to leave the brewhouse on Saturday afternoon. I dumped the carboy washers and my starsan, no whiskey or cigarettes were consumed, pots were scrubbed, and the trash was taken out. The place was in good shape when I left around 4:30.
Looks like there was a private event Saturday night at 10 p.m.
Who has access to book private events? I don't care who it is, if they are having parties and leaving the place like that, they should have their access taken away immediately In my opinion.
I will add that I stopped by when Rob and others were finishing up and I didn't see any of that.
Just an FYI, anyone on the board has the access to close the brewhouse for whatever reason, the intent being work days, meetings, parties, etc. We have also allowed it to be used for private events in the past, but it has to go through a board member first.
Oh... my... god. Why haven't we done this? http://thechive.com/2013/09/17/guys-rig-up-buddies-plumbing-with-beer-wh...
Regardless of the reason or who it is, leaving it in such a state is not OK.
I believe I may have left that bottle of bourbon out Friday. My apologies, should of put it away.
Hi Zack, I brewed Saturday morning, left by 1:30 pm. The brewhouse was in good shape when we arrived. I think we left it in good shape, scrubbed our mash tun and brew kettle, cleaned and dried all the equipment we used and the #3 brew bay table. There were still others brewing so we didn't empty the Star San or PBW buckets or clean the floor. Sorry that you walked into a mess, that sounds discouraging.
www.singingboysbrewing.com
Thanks for the thoughts, all. It wasn't that big of a deal, mostly just frustrating.
Reviewing the comments, it seems like it was probably a combination of things that all converged. I'm certainly guilty of forgetting about stuff here and there, I'd bet we all are. It's unavoidable to have this happen in a community, so maybe this is just a good reminder so that it doesn't happen again for a good long while!
I take responabilty for the bar area as for the rest of the brewhouse, all I used was 3 pots to boil water for heat. No starsans or other equipment was used.
The person smoking in the bathroom was asked to leave. I did come back last night to clean the bar area.
I had a medical situation develop and the end of my private event and had to run a person to the E.R., hence why I didn't get to clean up the bar area till later in the evening.
Sorry guys.
Sorry to hear about the emergency, Chuck. Were you and the person rushed to the e.r. the last people to leave?
Perhaps both for cleanliness sake and for liability reasons we take a stricter look at closing the brewhouse for personal parties?
In addition to this being a reminder about brewhouse cleanliness, it's most definitely a reminder about communication: I'd bet Zach and others would have been less frustrated if they knew the circumstances under which the brewhouse was left in shambles *before* they found in such disarray.
Thanks for doing all that, Zach!