$30 Brew Stand (The Ghetto Stand)

Spend some time on You Tube looking at brew stands and you soon realize if you want one you better be cool with dropping serious cash even if DIY. I went back and forth for weeks trying to part with $1500 so that I could increase functionality and cool factor for the same quality of beer as my folding table set up I have now. High end beer stands don't increase quality but they sure can improve efficiency and to some degree safety. 

I am shooting for a small footprint, gravity fed, three tier system. The fit and finish of this all wood brew stand will be an interior wood structure finished with an old barn look covering all but the burners. After returning from Lowes with one box of screws and 10 2x3's, I was not sure $28.75 in total cost was even possible in terms of building a sturdy stand but what the heck, at that price I could burn it and not care. 

Using a sub frame that sits flush with the ground and adding inserts that became the pedestals was my plan. An upper HLT platform followed by a mash tun tower that was one foot lower than the HLT deck and then a third stand at ground level for either the brew kettle fill location or a bucket station is where I was headed. As usual, design and construction quality were somewhat suspect as this thing took shape. 

Getting the tops level for the burners was a pain in the dick. Constant nudging and set screws finally resulted in a platform that was level for the 15 gallon vessels I would be using. Remember water weighs about 8 lbs per gallon. Phase one was to set everything with 3" galvanized screws followed by lag bolts with washers and nuts for the final strength test. 

This front tab is either going to be a third burner or just a lower tier for brew kettle filling or a bucket stand. It's not entirely necessary to have a third burner but it would eleviate the need to lift and replace vessles during the brew. 

Setting the 14x14 steel burners dealt me my first hiccup as I thought I could drill through the steel to screw down the frames. No such tools in garage. So, I reverted to using 2x2's to pinch the frame to the pedestals. 

This rear view has both propane lines visible and the HLT and mash tun in place. In phase two of this build we will be installing a propane tank deck and most likely a third burner set up. I'm torn between wheels and adding another subframe of treated lumber to make contact with the ground. Untreated white wood will not work in a damp environment. 

So here it is, a $30 brew stand in a horribly backlit picture. It's solid and sturdy. Functionality is going to be tested next weekend when we light the flames and brew another ten gallon batch. Phase two's build in a couple weeks, stay tuned!