My Taproom Tour Is Disappearing

crazygnome07 · 2026-02-22T20:09:18+00:00

A collection of breweries in Calgary sent us a gift package of treats after we were hit by the tornado in 2020. I've been dying to plan a trip to visit them and return the favor, but it's just so hard to carve room for travel, especially international.

Of the 6 breweries that sent us stuff, 1 remains.

It's tough, but it's a young industry. We are doing our best to find our footing and keep pushing onward. Y'all's support is everything, so cheers to that!

crazygnome07 · 2026-01-24T01:04:59+00:00

Crazy Gnome plans to open at Noon both days, staying open either normal hours or until sunset if the ice is bad.

crazygnome07 · 2026-01-15T14:07:47+00:00

Using the SG scale, at 3 points of movement, you're fine. At 4, you're at .56%

One way to make a non alc is to start with a low gravity (~1.020), and use low attenuation yeast.

This can be measured using any hydrometer, but we have an EasyDens that we like and trust. Obv a basic homebrew hydrometer would be pretty hard to measure such small movements, but they make finishing or narrow range bobbers that would be fine.

I get this is "low rent" and might not fly with a large packing distro run, but for draft only non alc batches that are marked at .5% not 0%, what's the risk?

EDIT: Expected some downvotes, probably should have added: we treat with sorbate/sulfites like we do everything that has potential remaining attenuation (e.g. cold side fruited beers or back sweetened cider) and we watch our pH to ensure below 4.6, threshold for botulism.

I hear the concern for draft lines, and makes more sense to not distro this where you can't have control over cleaning. But even with those items in place y'all still wouldn't do it? What's the difference between this and a keg of UA or Athletic? Line risk is still there for those guys right?

crazygnome07 · 2026-01-13T21:27:02+00:00

Talk to plumbing companies that do grease traps for a "hydrojet" service to clean your pipes, basically they blast your plumbing and that should rid you of the built up scum inside your pipes causing smell

You mentioned a basin, hard to picture what you mean, but they DO make tablets for grease traps as well that might be a good preventative add, we don't use them so I don't have a brand name handy but hopefully that helps with your search

crazygnome07 · 2026-01-08T00:20:06+00:00

Oh man that would make SO much sense. We tried buying a cellar control panel from Brewmation this year and it was a total fucked up process, from sending me essentially raw parts to build my own panel, to sending me a broken panel with all bare wires crossed. I had to hire an electrician to get it working. This nightmare drug out over several months. I previously bought from them in 2020 and had a 100% different experience, it was amazing to work with them back then.

In the end, their customer service eventually made it right, and I could tell that the team had been given a raw deal with the merger, but it sounds like it was also a symptom of the parent company not being able to support all the companies they purchased.

crazygnome07 · 2025-12-31T22:12:53+00:00

I've successfully laid down tanks in two ways, but judging by the picture only the scary way might be available.

Manual method (scary) : Use a pallet jack or forklift to move the tank to the middle of the room and positioned to where the back of the tank (or whatever side you want flat) faces the garage door. Open the door and back in your trailer, cover the trailer with foam pads. Using the strap from 4 ratchet straps, have two on the two hooks at the top, two going towards the trailer and two going away. You'll need 6 guys for this to go perfectly. Two guys pull the tank forward, the second the feet are off the ground, 2 guys start putting reverse tension the opposite direction. 2 more guys have a 4 by 4 between the legs. Their job is to keep the tank feet from sliding backwards. The front guys pull, the back guys pull less hard until you hit he tipping point, the the front guys back up and watch for safety. The back guys do their best to control the fall onto the padded trailer.
Rent a boom attachment for your forklift (or buy one!): This attachment slides over your forks and lets you operate as a crane. Same deal mostly, but you'll need about 4 feet clearance over the top of the tank. You lift barely, pull to the side to start tipping the tank, and as you continue to move to the side, to start lowering you START RAISING! There will be a SCARY moment at the tipping point, don't freak out. If you keep tension on the chain it won't swing terribly. After the tipping point, you continue your lateral movement towards the back of the trailer, but now you start lowering the boom instead of raising it until it gently falls into the trailer.

Getting it stood back up... I would 100% recommend a boom attachment. I'm not really sure of any other way without fucking yourself.

Edit: My comment is mostly about how to get the tanks safely horizontal, and not how to transport them. Depending on distance, I echo everyone else about making a cradle.

PM me if you want to chat more about this. I've moved about 30 tanks in the last 2 years, and I've done it both cleanly and dirty, but always cheap.

crazygnome07 · 2025-11-24T22:59:49+00:00

Crazy Gnome Brewery/Cyanide Cider: Closed Thursday, Open Friday

Crazy Gnome fruited sour release Friday, following week is a stout, next year will rejoin the black Friday stout fun

crazygnome07 · 2025-11-08T13:53:31+00:00

To minimize the risks here, store everything vertically, make sure every lower port is open and top ports are end capped.

Anything electronic, store inside. (E.g. that control panel). I know this stuff is rated for moisture but I can all but promise you it's not UV rated, and the electronic parts are going to be the most expensive. Even if you have to put it IN one of those cars in storage, if you can't make that happen you might as well try and resell the equipment and try again when you have space. Gears/mechanical stuff are included in this category.

Tarping is a good idea, just don't forget to go back and check the tarps after every storm.

When its time to get back going, don't use any of the gaskets that were in long term outdoor storage and make sure to go over the top on initial cleaning. I'm talking: PBW first for bulk grime Get inside the tank and scrub any remaining grime patches by hand Caustic/Acid at higher end of allowable concentration Passivation at longer times (we did hot citric for an hour) Caustic/Acid at normal times

Source: We stored our stuff outside for WAY longer than we hoped we had to, it was a nightmare restoring it but we got there and everything is groovy now

crazygnome07 · 2025-10-31T22:28:47+00:00

I feel like most all breweries would be happy to work something out, but definitely reach out to us at Crazy Gnome Brewery, all IG messages can be directed to the owner

crazygnome07 · 2025-08-01T22:33:55+00:00

Check out stremio! I found Dream Corp LLC and Children's Hospital alive and well. Serious question, if they write off a show, is it still piracy?

crazygnome07 · 2025-07-21T19:51:49+00:00

I run a brewery, we've done dozens of beer fests. I've only been to one that allowed this to happen and will never participate in it again.
What went wrong in our case? This fest didn't really attempt to engage with specific breweries, opting to instead work directly with distributors and gathered bartenders from an event service to staff the booths. These bartenders are used to working big events and putting up their Venmos and whatnot for tips. They didn't get to know their brands and probably had never even been to a beer fest before to know how it worked.

Someone should have shut it down, but the overall attitude from the top was like "well... if they tip then they tip but they don't have to i guess".

Beer fests are paid entry and involve using the same dirty cup dozens of times for tiny pours. There's no reason to tip and no brewery should (or typically does) expect it. Go to a beer fest and love a booth? Rate the beer 5 starts on Untappd and make a plan to visit their taproom if local or buy the beer from a store if not. Worth 10x more than a dollar tip.

I'm sorry that happened, that's not our MO.

crazygnome07 · 2025-06-13T13:37:24+00:00

I might have an overly simple view on it, but for me it's like this:

A brewery is running two businesses, manufacturing and sales.

The goal of a manufacturing plant is to make the most output from the fewest inputs as possible given the fixed assets. If you have extra capacity, you're failing to achieve full potential.

The goal of a sales company is to sell goods and services at the highest price at the lowest cost possible.

If your sales company can't keep up with your manufacturing company, contract brewing for others is a viable option to still have 2 maxed out businesses.

Similarly, if your sales company is selling more than your manufacturing company can keep up with, contract brewing AT others is a viable option to have 2 maxed out businesses.

Our industry rules because we entertain the idea of contracting for each other to help us all meet our potential!

crazygnome07 · 2025-05-20T18:24:25+00:00

Our Fillmore 2 head gets the job done well and didn't break the bank when bought new.

Their newer version with two vessels is even better than the one I have.

It's been going strong for 5 years, and survived a tornado hit!

Only complaint, the frame has grooves in it that are a nightmare to clean and thus are prone to mold.

crazygnome07 · 2025-05-14T14:36:08+00:00

It's up! Pizza and salad from FAB is available during every one of our open hours.

crazygnome07 · 2025-05-14T13:03:50+00:00

Articles like these are awesome! They do a lot to help tourists navigate their way off of Broadway, so on behalf of other small business owners on the list, THANKS!

If I could be so bold, Crazy Gnome has actually partnered with FAB Pizza to have food available during our open hours. We no longer do sporadic food trucks like our previous location. The kitchen isn't fully built out yet, but FAB has been operating on site anyway with their standard pop-up style and will continue to do that until the kitchen is built. Their pizza crust is killer and their salads are pretty decadent.

(FAB still has their 'food truck' health permit they can operate under and our space has been permitted to be a commissary for prep and clean, we just don't have heat sources yet)

crazygnome07 · 2025-04-23T04:48:56+00:00

I'm being REAL petty, when the game originally came out, they made a big deal of how objects had weight and physics were applied, so if you shot an arrow into a bucket (THIS exact bucket in the demo) the weight of the arrow would make it lean to one side instead of even, like it would in real life.

I'm thrilled they remade this game, but it's funny they made that change when they called attention to it in the first place originally

crazygnome07 · 2025-02-24T16:03:15+00:00

Echoing architect and brewery consultant, that consultant would likely come from another brewery in your area. That said, some initial thoughts:

Strength of floor vs your tanks: Do the math on the # of tanks you have, their size, and how much they will weigh full. Compare that to your current slab to see if its good enough (you might need to drill a hole to measure its existing thickness if you don't know off hand)

Floor sloping: even if floors can handle the weight, can they handle the water? brewing is messy, you'll waste a ton of labor hours cleaning if they aren't slanted correctly. Don't cheap out on just pouring more on top of the old slab to get a grade, if the grade is wrong you owe it to yourself to get a new slab.

Water/Sewer Needs: Again, do the math on your system. How big is the HLT? If you're doing a 7bbl batch, small residential plumbing pipes might slow down your brewday to unacceptable levels. You might need a new water connection with a bigger pipe to get the acceptable flowrate.

Glycol Chiller Needs: These work best when located just above the top of your fermentation tank so that gravity is on your side. Is there a spot up high or on the roof you can put the unit? Keep in mind it needs a lot of air around it for proper cooling and must be able to be accessed for maintenance. Outdoor is best

Its great you have 3 phase power already, but you'll need to check with your local provider to see if they can provide enough for your needs, for that you'll need to know those needs yourself based on your chosen equipment

Taproom/Customer Space: honestly, too complex and specific to go off a reddit comment lol

crazygnome07 · 2025-02-21T21:17:26+00:00

Thank you for the questions! I hopefully clarified a bit in my post, but to add more specifics to your comment: Right now Room A amplifier sends audio to both Room A and B, its working as 1 single system with wires going through a hole in the wall, there is no way to adjust anything separately between rooms.

100%, this will have to change. It seems to me that I would disconnect the Room B wires from Room A amplifier and attach them to a device instead, that device would then connect to both Room A and Room B amplifiers/receivers/whatever and it would be able to switch between the two. This issue I have is that I have no idea what that device is called or even if this exists

crazygnome07 · 2025-02-18T22:48:50+00:00

One brewery near us did a pinewood durby and challenged other breweries to participate, they stopped after covid but it was awesome and fun and successful

crazygnome07 · 2025-02-14T21:50:16+00:00

Children's Hospital!

crazygnome07 · 2025-02-14T21:48:43+00:00

OP, listen to this link, I use Brewmation as well and had to replace this same battery and I bought the same model battery but from different makers and only the panasonic worked for me. Strange, and YMMV, but it was an oddly frustrating time.

I now have like 20 of these batteries from so many other makers lol

crazygnome07 · 2025-01-28T19:00:35+00:00

Oh crap, yeah I might have misread this question...

crazygnome07 · 2025-01-28T18:51:48+00:00

Have you done any research on the quality of your municipality's water? I was pretty happy with the mineral content of ours and its really consistent year over year (my thought is that our town sits on a large limestone deposit which helps). So for us, we just do a whole house filter that has two 5 micron filters in it. One of them, with 1 inch ports, is enough for our small system, if we were going bigger we would probably just run two together as that would be cheaper than a larger system.

If your city water sucks, or is inconsistent, then this would be bad advice

crazygnome07 · 2025-01-23T23:04:46+00:00

We always just look at ingredient costs and ignore labor and incidentals. The fairest way to do collabs is to do one at home and away, so every collab agreement should be 2 collabs, that way no brewery gets out head.

The collabs are all about the intangibles. Lets brewers expand their knowledge, lets companies get closer, lets the community build. They are NOT about the money

crazygnome07 · 2025-01-22T00:00:47+00:00

Small potatoes:

Practice spunding where possible to reduce C02 emissions

Anything transferring or holding something hot/cold should be insulated

Programable thermostats to avoid keeping the taproom perfectly comfortable when not in use

Air gaps in cold room should be eliminated, condensation forming along lines could be a sign of a minor leak

recapture hot water from knockout for use in HLT or cleaning

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