Utility cost?

[bndooley]

Can anyone give me an idea of how much their monthly utility costs are? I'm particularly interested in places with between 50 to 80 seats. I've called around to the utilities themselves to get some numbers, but the numbers seem a little low, and I want to make sure I'm in the right range.

Thanks.

Best,
Ben Dooley
www.oldcrankybrewers.com

[MickDuffs]

Were a steam 7bbl system with pub seating for around 80 and our utilities are around $1,500 a month. Keep in mind kitchens make up a large part of this number. Heating in the winter is expensive and cooling in the summer is expensive. So I guess they get you going both ways. Hope this helps.
Duffy Mahoney
MickDuff's Brewing Co.
312 N. First Ave.
Sandpoint ID 83864
duffy@mickduffs.com





Can anyone give me an idea of how much their monthly utility costs are? I'm particularly interested in places with between 50 to 80 seats. I've called around to the utilities themselves to get some numbers, but the numbers seem a little low, and I want to make sure I'm in the right range.

Thanks.

Best,
Ben Dooley
www.oldcrankybrewers.com

[Butcher Scott]

Thanks MickDuffs, this is something I've been trying to figure out as well!

Do you guys use glycol chilled serving tanks, or are they in a cold room, served from kegs?

[MickDuffs]

We have a tall narrow cold room with stacked 7bbl serving tanks. We draft straight from the serving tanks. Utilitie cost would vary from area to area, but I would expect costs to be high just to be safe. Cheers and be merry
Duffy



Thanks MickDuffs, this is something I've been trying to figure out as well!

Do you guys use glycol chilled serving tanks, or are they in a cold room, served from kegs?

[bndooley]

An enormous help, thanks very much! Those numbers are more or less in line with what I'd heard.

I have a question about your cold room. Do you have some kind of positive pressure ventilation to deal with carbon dioxide build up? Is this a problem?

Thanks for your help.

Best,
Ben Dooley
www.oldcrankybrewers.com

[bndooley]

Just to clarify, do you have a cold storage fermentation room as well? If so, do you have positive pressure ventilation?

Thanks,
Ben
www.oldcrankybrewers.com

[MickDuffs]

Are fermenters are all glycol chilled and our cold room does not have any postive pressure ventilation. Our cold room in right next to our fermentation area. We do have ventilation for our fermentation room just to be safe. If you like I can send you some pics. We are the smallest 7bbl setup I have ever seen. Roughly twelve feet wide and 40 feet long. This area includes our brewhouse, 4 fermenters, pumps, sinks and chemical storage as well as our cold room. Thus why we had to stack our serving tanks. Let me know if you need anything else.
Duffy


Just to clarify, do you have a cold storage fermentation room as well? If so, do you have positive pressure ventilation?

Thanks,
Ben
www.oldcrankybrewers.com

[bndooley]

My brother and I have inherited four enormous walk-in coolers, so we thought instead of getting jacketed tanks, we'd just go with a cold storage fermentation room. But it occured to me that setting up a ventilation system inside the room might drastically increase our energy usage. I wonder if anyone else has this setup, or has any thoughts.

Thanks again for the advice. Your brewery sounds like a great setup. In our case, though, space is definitely not a problem. Our building is HUGE. Our biggest concern right now is $$$. :)

Best,
Ben Dooley
www.oldcrankybrewers.com

[jason.koehler]

Are fermenters are all glycol chilled and our cold room does not have any postive pressure ventilation. Our cold room in right next to our fermentation area. We do have ventilation for our fermentation room just to be safe. If you like I can send you some pics. We are the smallest 7bbl setup I have ever seen. Roughly twelve feet wide and 40 feet long. This area includes our brewhouse, 4 fermenters, pumps, sinks and chemical storage as well as our cold room. Thus why we had to stack our serving tanks. Let me know if you need anything else.
Duffy

Wow MickDuffs, 12x40 is indeed a small space for a 7 bbl system! How many serving tanks are you using with that?

This is of great interest to me trying to find suitable real-estate in Japan. I am wanting just a 4 bbl system, but am having trouble finding something suitable for even that! I am even considering just kegging and skipping serving tanks in order to save room. Can you send me some pics as well? I would be very interested in seeing your setup.

My e-mail is jason_k1@yahoo.com

[MickDuffs]

We have 5-7bbl serving tanks plus two 90 gallon rootbeer tanks. The serving tanks are stacked so we actually have room for 1 or 2 more when we have the $. We also have room for kegs. It actually worked out really well. Everything is a bit cramped but it works! We used our height and built everything tall and my brother got used to working on ladders. Go for the biggest size you can fit. Its nice not to be brewing everyday. I will take some detailed pics today or tomorrow. Can you send me your email? Cheers
Duffy


Wow MickDuffs, 12x40 is indeed a small space for a 7 bbl system! How many serving tanks are you using with that?

This is of great interest to me trying to find suitable real-estate in Japan. I am wanting just a 4 bbl system, but am having trouble finding something suitable for even that! I am even considering just kegging and skipping serving tanks in order to save room. Can you send me some pics as well? I would be very interested in seeing your setup.

My e-mail is jason_k1@yahoo.com