Brewing Areas for the Home Beer Brewer

The evolution of the home beer brewer begins with the starter kit. Then, it grows. How far it grows is up to the beer enthusiast. But, there is literally no limit.

I have seen amateurs stay amateurs and are happy with their brew every once in awhile. I have watched beer enthusiasts turn their part time garage brew into a brewing industry shipping cases out nationwide. So, it really is up to you how far you can go. But when you are ready to expand, there are some interesting options to explore.

The Garage

It’s obvious that the garage is the natural next step from the kitchen when you are ready to expand. It can be setup fairly inexpensively. You need a heating unit so that you can bring batches to a boil. You’ll also need a cooling unit where you can let the brew ferment for weeks. Other than that, you can use a brewing starter kit and add to it as you go.

An Extension

There will be a day when you will want to take your home brewing to another level. That’s when it’s time to add an extension to the house. It’s best if it’s just off the patio. That way, if you do it right, you’ll have quick access to your brew when you have company and you take it outside.

A perfect extension could have an entrance from the house and another door that leads to the patio. You would have a sink, stove, cooling unit, cabinet space and counter tops for the entire brewing process. But, I have seen some interesting twists to this idea.

One particularly interesting home brew extension had a bar at one end with a flat screen television and a urinal. That’s right! There was a urinal with a separator for a little privacy. I thought it was a great idea because you don’t have to go anywhere on a particularly heavy drinking evening.

The Shed

This has a ring to it that takes you back a few years, to the turn of the century when people were forced to make their beer at home because of the Prohibition. But, there have been some upgrades since then. You can even have a porch if you want and you can make it as classy as you can imagine.

The shed is a bit more complex than the extension. You can run water and electric from the house when you build an extension. But, you’d have to run lines to the shed for water and electric. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same.

Give yourself enough room for a home bar in your home brewing shed and you’ve got the complete setup that rocks. With a porch, you can run a beer tap through the wall and pour your glass while on the porch. There are so many ways you can go with it that you can have the most unique home brewing environment ever.

I once knew a beer enthusiast who started brewing in his kitchen, moved to the garage and then built an extension on his home. He now has a warehouse beside the huge brewery he built. It started when he offered his beer to his favorite bar. Then, patrons of other bars started requesting his brew. Before long he was supplying every pub in town and it just grew from there. Have fun or go all out, either way it’s in your blood.