back to back batches

[RobboMC]

Up until now I've always done one brewing activity at a time,
so I'll bottle say one weekend, and then start the next brew a week or two later,
wait for that to ferment, bottle it, wait another few weeks, etc etc. It often ends up over a month between brews.

But the thought occurs to me that while all of the brew gear is unpacked and in the kitchen I could probably
be making the next batch of brew while I am bottling, sort of having one big brew day instead of two small ones.

What do you guys do?

 

[Crouch]

I don't bottle my beer anymore, so when kegging day comes around I usually brew another beer. I've only been doing extracts at the moment (until I finish building our AG brewery) so that does make it easier to 'multi-task'.

 

[Not For Horses]

I've done a couple of mid-week-after-work brews where I had to bottle to free up the fermenter. Would not recommend that.
On a Saturday sure. I'll regularly churn out a batch while I'm bottling another one or two.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I've recently done a double brew day using my 2 pot stovetop method (look at the last posts in the thread for pics and description if you'd like).

Basically in short it went - same base malt, with 2 different spec malts steeped separately. Mashed base, lautered it out and divided it into 2 and then added in the steeped spec malt juice.

Boiled both on the stove at the same time and hopped accorded to each one's schedule.

Not sure I saved time at all, but I did get two done at once and I made a couple of mistakes that probably lengthened the brew day unnecessarily.

That was AG, so I'm sure an extract version is possible.

 

[nathan_madness]

I have created a great production line:

Keg (bottle in your case) one batch, secondary another batch and brew another batch all in one day. Keeps the fermenters and kegs full.

It is simple and works well.

 

[menoetes]

It depends on my work roster, but generally I'll be bottling on Friday after work, clean my gear and leave it overnight to dry then get my next brew going on Saturday. Less than 24 hours of empty fermenter time. With 2 fermenters going at once it means I plug out 2 batches every 3 weeks.

 

[jkhlt1210]

Up until now I've always done one brewing activity at a time,
so I'll bottle say one weekend, and then start the next brew a week or two later,
wait for that to ferment, bottle it, wait another few weeks, etc etc. It often ends up over a month between brews.

But the thought occurs to me that while all of the brew gear is unpacked and in the kitchen I could probably
be making the next batch of brew while I am bottling, sort of having one big brew day instead of two small ones.

What do you guys do?

I've always done two or even three at once! One in temp controlled fridge and one or two in my esky with a lid. Esky stays around 18 degrees

 

[oddsulli]

I tend to try and do a brew one weekend and keg it the following. Then, if possible brew something else which I can use the same yeast on the day that I keg. This way I go straight back on top of the yeast cake from the previous ferment.
Saves yeast and the ferment kicks off in a big hurry! Win, Win!
Wouldn't want to do this more than a couple times though or the yeast might not like it but for 2 consecutive brews it works great!

 

[gsouth82]

I ferment for 2 weeks and cold crash for 1 week so every 3rd week I'll keg 2 batches and brew 2 batches. I'll some times do it on the same day or usually i'll keg on the Saturday and then soak the fermenters overnight and brew on the Sunday. If I don't keep churning them out I run into major supply and demand issues.

 

[LiquidGold]

I also ferment for 2 weeks and cold crash for 4 days minimum or up to a week and for a little while I had 3 fermenters on the go at once. 2 in ferment fridge one week apart and 1 in cold crash fridge. This meant that after bottling I could move a fermenter into the cc fridge and brew another to take its place. Ran pretty smooth whilst doing kits since they can be quick to setup but I haven't managed to get the same rhythm with all grain since my brewdays are too far apart.

 

[shacked]

I've got two fermenters going full time plus a mini for small batch and a third one for bulk priming. Brews are spaced a week apart, so 2 weeks in primary then bottle while the other one is a week in.

I've been bottling and putting another brew on the same day. Figure whilst all the kit is out and the kitchen is clean, why not! I've done 15 K&K and extract brews in a row like that and have a garage full of beer.

 

[Vini2ton]

I've got two fermenters going full time plus a mini for small batch and a third one for bulk priming. Brews are spaced a week apart, so 2 weeks in primary then bottle while the other one is a week in.

I've been bottling and putting another brew on the same day. Figure whilst all the kit is out and the kitchen is clean, why not! I've done 15 K&K and extract brews in a row like that and have a garage full of beer.

You've really got to drink faster and more shacked, garage full of beer is no good.

 

[shacked]

Hahaha can't quite put 30 tallies a week away. Working on it though!

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Well I think it's better for me to get stuck into a new brew straight away.If I wait I usually get lazy and it takes a while to get a new brew up and running again.And at the rate at which I drink I should have 2 brews on the go at all times.

 

[Grott]

I'm with shacked and so should you GrumpOldMan. Two fermenters on the go, 1 week apart therefore bottle and brew every week (each in primary for 14 days). This way always have a selection of beers for those who pop-in and if I'm doing a brew for aging purposes eg a special stout, then down goes a third fermenter.
Drink well, cheers

 

[Vini2ton]

Often now I find the "starter factor" can become an issue. I feel sometimes as if I've become the yeast's bitch and it"s really their show. Too much sci-fi.

 

[i-a-n]

I've got 3 fermenters and I bottle into 1.25 litre Aldi lemonade bottles..... About 150 of them. I might have all 3 fermenters going.... I sure will have when this cold Qld weather is over, normally when 10 bottles are empty I start the next brew. Makes for a nice supply and time for maturation in the bottle.

 

[Bribie G]

When I was doing kits, I used to do the same as Ian, at least that's one good thing about kits, you can whack three brews down before you go to work and this time of year you can just leave the fermenters out on the garage floor and they stay below 20.

Nothing wrong with Aldi bottles but it was a sad day when they stopped doing the 2L bottles of Regal Cola. :unsure:

Haven't posted this for a while

 

[i-a-n]

Hahaha, I'd need a fair old drop of Bourbon to help shift that lot!

 

[Foxfire]

The wife and I recently changed our tactics, we used to both brew on the same day and then we'd be bottling two weeks later and brewing again, but way too much work on the bottling, cleaning, brewing weekend. Plus long lag time between batches. Having to bottle 2 x 23 Litre batches of beer and a 23 Litre batch of mead on the same day, while moving, put a stop to that.

We've just swapped to what a couple of others in the thread are doing, putting 1 brew on and bottling the brew from two weeks ago. So we'll have two fermentors going, with a different brew coming off each week. Should be fairly easy for us to bottle and brew on the same day. But we'll let you know how it goes this weekend. It helps that's there is two of us.