BrewStation

Concept

This is the page about the Nottingham hackspace home-brew station. Its all about free as in beer. We are building a unit which can be used to quickly and easily brew batches of ale and lager. This is called the BrewStation. We plan on running home-brewing skills share days and at the same time produce some fine bathes of ale for general consumption.

The concept of the brew station is to have an integrated unit which includes a temperature controlled fermentation section, a cupboard for the equipment and levels on which we can perform the Mashing and the Boiling processes with ease.

Brewing basics

The three main steps in making home brew are:

Mashing

Where the malted barley is warmed to release the protein and sugars for the fermentation process

Boiling

Where the liquor is boiled with hops to give flavour

Fermenting

Turn the sugar into alcohol

Useful links

• Some useful videos on the three stages

Wish list

Item	Info	Quantity	Obtained?
Large pieces of thin wood	To cover the back and sides of the unit 2/3/4mm ply or fibre board	Around 4m2
Insulation	'kingspan' type	Around 4m2
Insulation	flexible tank insulation
Fermentation bins	Large plastic buckets	At least 4 (2 same type)	2
Plastic tank fittings
Taps	Various kinds - plastic probably best	At least 2
Home-brew boiling bin (the one with a heater in)
Large plastic picnic cooler	Can be used in place of an insulated fermentation bin as the mash tun
Long handled spoons	Preferably plastic	3
Thermometers	Non-break type - maybe electronic	1
Hydrometer	Plastic type with cylinder	1	1
Measuring jugs	Various sizes	3
Scales	for around 5kg - weigh the malt	1
Scales	for around 100g - weigh the hops	1
Books and info on home-brew beer	Various	Many	Few
Sterilising solution
Malt (various)
Hops (various)
Yeast

Progress

The brew station taking shape:

photos of the system are needed here

This project is mainly being worked on by Matt Little and Andy. Please join in.