4hr Brewday?

[sam]

Okay, so I'm sick of brewing taking 6+ hours. So I'm planning to give up my HERMS habit, and return to the simple, elegant world of single step infusion mashing.

Major time saving points are:
- Short mash (30min at saccharification and 5min mashout)
- Batch sparging (already did this)
- 1 hour boil (Bittering hops in at 45min)
- Using a counterflow chiller

I'm currently sourcing a 36L KeepCold (thanks Stoodoo) and will test it out next weekend.

Anyone doing superfast brewdays? And no, I don't want to use the "nochill" method.

Cheers,

Sam

 

[razz]

I don't know that my 5 hours would be considered superfast sam, but if I apply your idea to my herms system I would be done in three and a half hours. That would be quick !

 

[berazafi]

My brew day averages a bit over 4 hours, i do no chill heres my steps and approximtate times

1. heat mash water in HLT and crush grain 20mins
2. mash and heat sparge water 65mins
3. add water to mash (my esky fits all the sparge and mash water and stir) 6mins or so
4. allow rest time of 15mins
5.drain as fast as possible i ussully get a stuck sparge so i have to restir and resurculate, while im draining im starting the boil 30mins
6.wait to come to boil and clean mash tun 10mins
7 boil for 60mins clean everything else
8. settle for 15mins
9. pour into cube 3mins
10. clean boiler 5mins

Finish in approx 4hours allowing a little extra for cleaning setting up packing up

im pretty sure with a couter flow you could achive all in the same time

i end up with around 75% eff with the realy quick sparge, if i slow it down to around 1 hour i get 85 to 90%, i get sick of watching it for 1 hour though so end up rushing it

 

[AndrewQLD]

My brewday starts at 7.00 am and finishes no later than 11.00am including clean up.
BUT I do crush grains the day before AND my HLT is pre heated to mash in temp by 7.00 am.
1 hour mash
batch sparge all up takes 1/2 hour
1 hour boil
1/2 hour chill
and 1/2 hour clean up and incidentals
BUT you have to be organised.
Brew day runs prety smooothly here and the more brews you do on the SAME system the quicker it can become.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Batz]

BUT you have to be organised.


Cheers
Andrew

Where did I put those hops?

organised chaos at the cave...and loving it !

Batz

 

[dreamboat]

I am brewing right now, and looking to go around the four hour mark... maybe a bit over.
Organise strike water to be ready as soon as you are - having already done the calcs to ensure it will be dead right when the grain (craked the day before) goes in. Single step in four hours looks to be about right.


dreamboat

 

[sam]

Good. Excellent. Looking forward to a zippy brewday.

And as for organisation, well.....

But I really think I can make the same quality beer in a much shorter time.

Cheers,

Sam

 

[sintax69]

My Brew day takes as long as i want its the only time I get piece (kids not allowed outside when daddy is playing all the hot stuff )
I enjoy the hole proccess drink a brew potter around the shed make some new gadget WHY would I want that to go any faster? If i wanted fast brew I would still be using k&k

 

[stephen]

I do a 7-8 hour brew day. I don't realy care how long it takes, just as so long as I have a wort fermenting at the end.

I'm always in a rush to go nowhere.

Steve

PS Took me almost three minutes to type this!

 

[warrenlw63]

Good. Excellent. Looking forward to a zippy brewday.

And as for organisation, well.....

But I really think I can make the same quality beer in a much shorter time.

Cheers,

Sam

Sam

Get up earlier! :beerbang: You then scale your brewday back in that direction.

Hope the boss isn't giving you any flak ?!?

FWIW and probably preaching to the converted. I've found that iodophor/no rinse sanitisers shave around 30 mins or so off the day.

Ditto to overnight grain cracking and HLT setting up too.

Did I mention getting up earlier? :unsure:

Just for the record I do 40 litre batches and don't get much change from 6 hours.

Warren -

 

[T.D.]

The cleaning bit is what always blows out a potentially short brewday for me. Time and time again I look at my watch and think I'll be done in 4-4.5hrs but it always ends up being 5.5-6hrs after the cleanup...

No chiller helps though - that has taken at least half an hour off my brewday.

I have a temp controlled urn now too so I could technically have my mash water ready when I get up in the morning and mash in straight away. I haven't done that yet though - I don't really feel the need to reduce the length of my brewday much.

 

[Zwickel]

hmmm.... I almost cant believe it, some of you can do it in that short time.

For me it takes around 11hours.

I start mostly ~ 8:00 oclock in the morning, mashout at noon, lautering, boiling the hops, whirlpool, chilling... it will be done around ~15:00 or 16:00 oclock. Put it into the fermenter, aerating, pitching the yeast, it will be around 17:00 oclock.

Cleaning all the equipment and store it away will be done around 19:00.

poooooh, time for a beer :beer:

 

[Weizguy]

hmmm.... I almost cant believe it, some of you can do it in that short time.

For me it takes around 11hours.

I start mostly ~ 8:00 oclock in the morning, mashout at noon, lautering, boiling the hops, whirlpool, chilling... it will be done around ~15:00 or 16:00 oclock. Put it into the fermenter, aerating, pitching the yeast, it will be around 17:00 oclock.

Cleaning all the equipment and store it away will be done around 19:00.

poooooh, time for a beer :beer:

I hear that people in Europe are quite slow with sex, too...not like us Aussies :lol: :lol:

I'm planning a long brew-day right now, with multiple decoctions, the second of which I'll be starting in about 7 minutes, as I'm doing the protein rest at the moment.

When you have German malt, I think that a decoction should be carried out, to maximise the flavour potential.

Seth

 

[Zwickel]

I hear that people in Europe are quite slow with sex, too...not like us Aussies :lol: :lol:

It strongly depends, whether youre at home or not.

 

[vlbaby]

Sam,
you might find the "NO BREW" method highly successful in your situation. I sometimes use it and my brew days have never been so quick. Give it a try sometime.

vl.


edit: offensive content removed.

 

[wee stu]

OK, consider this a work in progress.

Trying to complete a brew day before the wife and child are up and about, well fully up and functioning, on a Sunday morning.

Grain weighed and cracked, and brury assembled Saturday arvo, around 4pm.

6.00 am Get up bleary eyed, make a cup of tea.
Curse the cold and the fact that I forgot sunrise is not until 7.30. Rig up some temporary outdoor floodlights. Put a heavy jacket on. On me that is, not the mash tun

Fill electric urn HLT from the hot water service. Adjust some calcs becauase the mash tun is weighing in at 6.9c and the grain a much warmer 10.6c. Not quite the balmy 22c that Beersmith suggests .

6.30 am temp hit. Mash is under way. Aiming for 65.5c single step infusion mash for an alt. Hit 65.4c. Decide I can live with this. Make a cup of tea, type this and head around the corner to buy the Sunday papers.

7.00 am fill and set the HLT for the sparge. Empty fermenter of week bleach soak it has had, and rinse. Dosh in some phos and slosh it around. Make a cup of tea, with intentions to drink this one

 

[dreamboat]

You are multi-tasking there Wee-Stu... brewing and buying a paper at the same time!



dreamboat

 

[MVZOOM]

Crickey Stu, almost makes me want to get the HLT out right now!!

 

[wee stu]

Updating

7.15 am Mop up laundry floor after minor flood caused by over zealous fermenter rinising .

7.20 am Celebrate the early dawn.

7.30 am Give the mash a stir. Will be batch sparging, but my last alt came over a little bit too full bodied. Giving this one a slightly longer mash in the hope this might reduce the body a bit. Mash temp held for the entire hour. These 35L Keep Cold eskies are the duck's nuts :super:

7.35 am decide this tea business is far too hard .
Have a go at making coffee instead. And toast! There's a first for me, actually eating during a brew day.

 

[wee stu]

7.42 am PANIC! First run off doesn't - run off that is. Mash is stuck like bostik!!

7.43 am Headlesss choock impersonation.

7.44 am The old blow back through the tubing to clear it trick.

7.45 am Wort runnning clear and recirculating.

7.46 am let run off commence!