It seems that every few months there has to be a reminder of a few general things to be aware of realted to the brewhouse. The past two weeks while brewing (opening the brewhouse) there have been some issues that need to be made aware of so that we all can enjoy the space. Twice now, gas lines have not been shut off, water has not been shut off, and the general upkeep of the brew equipment this past weekend was unacceptable.
If you brew with leaf or whole hops, you need to clean out the valves of the brew pots. Also, please just clean the brew pots with love and care. This past weekend my dad and I cleaned four pots that were unacceptable for use and had obviously not been taken care of. We also had to remove two valves from the pots and they were clogged with hop leaves and other particulate.
There were also two tuns that still had remaining grain in them that had partially dried to the sides. The pattles in station 1 and 2 were also not acceptably clean.
Plain and simple folks, we pay for the privledge to be able to use this brew house. Clean equipment and preventative maintenance helps keep the cost of the brewhouse down. We need to leave equipment in better condition than what we find it in. If something is broken, please let one if the board members know so we can replace it accordingly. Also if you see someone not taking proper care of equipment, please let them know in a friendly way and let us know as well. So please:
- Clean all equipment thoroughly
- Clean it again
- Clean your station
- Mop the floor when you are done
- Turn off gas and water lines
- Turn off lights and check the brewhouse one last time
- Take pride in YOUR brew house, it is awesome!
Great points conrad. This brewhouse is a privelage we should not be taking it for granted. We are fortunate to have such awesome equipment to use and everyone should treat it and clean it like it was your own. I for one will not hesistate to call someone out if I see them putting away dirty mash tuns, pots that arent scrubbed and not putting away and cleaning siphons, hoses and other accessories at the end of the brewday.
Also, PLEASE do not dump anything in the alley. there is yeasty water in the alley right now in front of the neighbors garage. it smells a bit. if it were hot, it would be worse. but this needs to be extended to plain water as well. in the summer its not an issue, but in winter it creates an ice skating rink. best to get in the habit now.
we do have drains and basins to dump stuff.
...igz...
can we get another sign on the door with these checklist points?
...igz...
Does anyone work in a sign shop or have the ability to make a couple large printings, then laminate them?
Worst case I can do what I did for the "HOT" signs and engrave some acrylic.
Oh... my... god. Why haven't we done this? http://thechive.com/2013/09/17/guys-rig-up-buddies-plumbing-with-beer-wh...
Greetings,
I just joined at the monthly brew member level. First, glad to see care and cleanup is a highlighted area. That said, two questions:
1) What are the number of stations-lack of a better term- that are available? I know that I have to schedule the first three times when others are using, but want to make sure I am not targeting a time when all stations would be booked.
2) Is there a community approach to occassionally buying and donating certain items such as tubing, brushes, etc..
Thanks, look forward to meeting some of you.
Jeff
Lucas, that sounds pretty cool and a bit more permanent than laminating paper. If we can't find anyone to provide some kind of signage, I'd be more than happy to help you with the engraving.
Hi Jeff, welcome to the club! There are a total of four brew stations and room for two people to bottle. When you reserve brew time, there will actually be a diagram of the brew house that allows you to pick a brew station or bottling. It will not allow you to reserve anything that has already been booked. Just go to My Account:Add New: Brew Reservation to reserve a space.
The brew club provides most equipment, which is paid for through membership dues and our member appreciation events. So, everyone does pay for equipment. Of course, a donation of hoses or something else needed would not be refused. (We do have group ingredient buys, so keep an eye out on the website for those.)
Hope that answers your questions. If you have any others, please feel free to ask.
If you want to have smaller signs (8.5" x 11") I have a heat press laminator that I use for labeling. That should work, I would just need to pick up the lamination packets. If you want to write something up similar to what we have I'll be more than happy to format it and print it.
C
I can write something up for either the laminator or engraved acryllic. They both sound cool to me. What does everyone else think?
You write it up and we can engrave it. I just bought a 2W laser on Ebay today, maybe we can give it a try (you bring the sharks). If no laser, the CNC router worked well (for bigger text) so worst case we'll just use that with a small engraving bit.
Oh... my... god. Why haven't we done this? http://thechive.com/2013/09/17/guys-rig-up-buddies-plumbing-with-beer-wh...
Lucas I'm concerned about the amount of lasers you have....
and the lack of invites to play with them.....
Jeff, I'm picking up lamination supplies this weekend so if you have a doc, I can format it, make it a PDF and also forward it to Lucas for laser fun!
Also... pick a color: https://www.inventables.com/categories/materials/acrylic?utf8=%E2%9C%93&...
Oh... my... god. Why haven't we done this? http://thechive.com/2013/09/17/guys-rig-up-buddies-plumbing-with-beer-wh...
What size bed do you have for the laser?
About 8x10 in right now, although I want to scale up to about 10 in x 40 in if I can find some space in my apartment. Right now its connected to a Dewalt DW660 with a 1/4 in collet (I have a 1/8 adapter also) and I'll have to figure out the laser here when it arrives from China.
Also, as long as you bring some sharks we can always play with lasers.
Oh... my... god. Why haven't we done this? http://thechive.com/2013/09/17/guys-rig-up-buddies-plumbing-with-beer-wh...
Cool, I get something in pdf to you tomorrow.
Lucas, I'm assuming the laser is used for engraving, but, if you can also shoot it at stuff and catch it on fire, I want in on that action.
Death Star super laser next baby.
The emperor is not as forgiving as i am