Another1

Keep track of the journey from home brewer to a micro brewer.

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Another1 is pleased to purchase grains, yeasts, and brew ingredients from Great Expectations, there range is extensive and it is always a please to shop there.

Brewers on the rise

What more can be said about the Garage Project, these guys are a phenomena that has hit Wellington with a cult following, and setting record times for keg emptying. The philosophy is simple, take a nano brewery and output reinvented beers, make something special, but be quick these beers dont hang around for long.

I was lucky enough to taste ParrotDog's "BitterBitch" at beervana 2011, and it is a very well made APA. Keep your eyes open for any beers by the 3 guys of Parrotdog, they have the enthusiasm and energy to make a big impact on the New Zealand Craft Beer industry.

Another1 is dedicated to my journey to setting up a micro brewery and inspired by New Zealand's unofficial bar anthem -
"Bliss" by Th' Dudes.

Along the way I will be talking about anything craft beer related, and sharing my experiences.

Cabinet back on the work bench21st May 2012

After a 6 week break! (working tirelessly building my wife's beauty salon) I am back to the brewery build. All of the electrical components for the control cabinet are in place now, and the next step is wiring.

Slowly as I work through the wiring diagram in my head, I hit road blocks, so I will tackle each circuit of the wiring individually and test before continuing with the rest. First on the list is a circuit test that runs power through every indicator and switch, to ensure there are no blown bulbs, and that all switches are in the off position. Then it will be the alarm setup of the 4 PIDS, 3 temperature, and 1 timer.

Brew Control Cabinet Panel lasered23rd February 2012

Laser engraving now finished. It is incredibly hard to photograph a reflect black surface, dang.

Next on the agenda is to start cutting and drilling out all of the mounting positions, and infill the laser etching with white ink to enhance the contrast.

All of the holes that require drilling have been carefully positioned so that my drill press can reach them, the square cutouts I will be tackling with a dremel and a very steady hand.

Brew Control Cabinet Panel22nd February 2012

Finally after much deliberation, redesign and measuring, the layout for the brewery control cabinet is complete. The final piece of the puzzle was the heat exchanger, which needed to be designed so that I knew what was required to control it.

The panel includes a schematic of the brewing setup so that controls can be positioned relative to the equipment that it is operating. LED lights on the schematic indicate the pumps, and elements running, with future proofing for solenoid valve controlling also. Each temperature PID is positioned within the pot it is sensing, so a t a quick glade I can see the temp of the HLT vs the MashTun.

All of the components, transformers, switches, pilots lights, PID controllers have all been ordered and have either arrived, or are in transit.

Next step is to take this CAD drawing to the laser engravers, so that all of the layout can be permanently etched into the black powder coated steel door. From there it will be time to start machining the holes for all of the components.

Special thanks goes out to The Electric Brewery.com who have a wealth of information and advice, making this project much less daunting.

Brew Control Cabinet16th February 2012

Finally after a lot of planning the brewery control panel fit out has started, even if its only the heat sinks required for the four Solid State Relays used to control the HTL, Heat Exchanger, and Kettle.

Next step will be to laser engrave the front cabinet door for drilling positions and graphics, but I will have to wait on the components to turn up first so I can do a final measure.