How long is your brew day?

[WarmBeer]

I won't start drinking until after I've filled the MLT.

I fill the MLT the night before I brew.

 

[peter.brandon]

Can be done in 3 hrs .... if:

1. Crack grain the night before and clean fermenter and leave starsan in it
2. HLT & Mash tun have premeasured water, heating elements running through temp controllers have been plugged into timers to switch on before i wake up
3. Base malt is ale
4. Is a single batch (23L) - double adds time from sparge and reaching boil
5. I have made ice to dump into esky i.e. submersable pump is in running water from esky through imersion chiller
6. Other pump is whirlpooling
7. Clean as i go - HLT while mash is on, mash while boil is happening

 

[Salt]

It normally takes me around 5 - 5.5hrs for a brew...im not normally one to be prepared in the morning, so take a bit of time setting up etc...

However, I did my first double brew day last weekend and managed to do back to back 23Lt brews in just under 8hrs. Cleaned up and Yeast Pitched. So that averaged 4hrs, but obviously there is some over lap.

It was amazing how much smoother and faster it went with a plan and some prep!
Plus I borrowed my mates burner, which prob saved me 30mins per boil (getting up to boil).

I start early, so I dont normally have a brew until we have pitched the yeast...makes it all the more worthwhile, once all done, to sit down, put my feet up and have a brew.

 

[donburke]

Clean as i go - HLT while mash is on, mash while boil is happening

why do you clean your hlt ?

 

[WarmBeer]

why do you clean your hlt ?

OCD?

 

[NickB]

5-6 hours depending. The Back Death generally takes 10-12 hours, but that's basically 2 brews. Normally, it's 6 hours to 'brew', but split into 1.5 hrs 'brewery input' and 4.5 hrs 'QC of brews'. Damn those (my) semi-automated breweries




Cheers!

EDIT: 90min Mash and 90min Boil for me.....

 

[Tilt]

5 hours all up for a no frills straightforward brewday.
Complexities like decoctions, step mashes, partigyles etc add an hour or two.
I'm finding fly sparging is the biggest time draw, especially with larger grain bills, at the moment (up to an hour 20)
The biggest timesaver for me recently has been using a heat stick to quickly adjust HLT and mash temps as well as bring the kettle up to a boil pronto.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

3.5-4hours from the time I turn on the tap/stove to start measuring/heating strike water, if grain is already cracked, no-one wants to be driven anywhere in between the stages, if I no-chill and the sparge isn't a sticky type (full of rye, that sort of thing).

Add half an hour if I chill. Obviously an hour if 90 minute Mash/Boil.

Add time if I do an oversized batch that requires staggered sparging (38L bitters, that sort of thing).

 

[Camo6]

To add another question. How many times during a brewday does your respective partner ask if you've finished making your beer yet?

For me every time I pop into the house, hence why I try to stay outside. And then I still get the odd text.

 

[Nodrog]

5 1/2 hours today, from deciding to do the brew ( grain was bought at weekend, and crushed at hbs), to cleaned up and packed away again. Tables, trestles, burners etc all need setting up outside, no permanent brew stand, yet...!
. Was first time moving from biab to mash tun with manifold recirc via pump, new hoses and cam locks etc, so a bit of faffing around, need a more reliable way to prime the pump.

Plantoget the herms set up with control so can do other things whilst mash etc but no real saving in time there. Biggest saving for me would be to have a permanent brew stand, or close too it, available.

 

[Rocker1986]

To add another question. How many times during a brewday does your respective partner ask if you've finished making your beer yet?

For me every time I pop into the house, hence why I try to stay outside. And then I still get the odd text.

I don't have one at the moment, so my answer to that question is no times. :lol:

 

[Helles]

7hrs when mash and sparge water is heated on a timer before i get out of bed
Ready to mash in when i get up
Grain milled night before

 

[Dan Pratt]

After reading these I'm thinking my 7-8hrs is way too long...hmmmm. And that's just for a single batch 22lts.

I could do a single infusion, batch sparge and 60min boil and that would take it back to 5hrs I guess.

However I multi step with the BM and sparging takes close to an hour or more and with most styles a 90min boil.

 

[Fat Bastard]

I don't know how anyone can possibly do an AG brew day in under 8 hours, including clean up.

I will mash in around 8am, and have beer in fermenter in the fridge by 1:30pm, but to clean up, I'm lucky if it's over by 4pm. I'll normally have the MLT and HLT packed up by the time the kettle boils too. In my defence, cleaning the kettle involves hosing and scrubbing it out, filling it back up with the water from the chiller and recirculating 80degree sodium perc through it and the chiller for minimum half an hour with the march pump, rinsing and running starsan through the lot. I reckon if I didn't do this, I could shave a couple of hours off, but then I'd worry bout infections.

Seems to clean everything nicely too, I pulled apart the tap once, and it was spotless inside!

 

[Yob]

5 to 6 generally speaking.. Can do 5 if HLT is on a timer and I've milled the night before which to be fair next to never happens.. So average 6 I guess. Time is at a premium so I should think about honing in on efficient running

 

[labels]

5 on a single batch day, plus 1 hour cleanup. 9 on a double batch (consecutive with some overlap) plus cleanup.This is providing I have crushed the night before.

Same as others, lay off the piss when brewing you will only end up making mistakes.

 

[Yob]

Same as others, lay off the piss when brewing you will only end up making mistakes.

:blink: tried it once... though there were no errors or frantic running around I enjoyed it much less

 

[Muscovy_333]

4.5 -5hrs for a single batch from start to finish. I use hot tap water to get the process started, bump up temp with herms while I crush, salts, ph, mash, start drinking, do a few jobs until my timer goes off, step temp, drink, clean as i go...
Sometimes I'm done in 4hours on single infusion brews.

 

[pk.sax]

As long as it takes. I don't quit till it is in the fermenter. Time flies. I've also noticed that the cold weather makes you clean faster

PS: re drinking, I believe in drinking the stronger stuff first so I'm sober by the time the boil starts, that's when I'm needed around the kettle!

 

[Midnight Brew]

Double batch BIAB

Usually takes 4.5/5 hours with step mash, a 75 minute boil and no chill. Usually crack the grains the night before while having a beer which saves time. Don't have to stand around the kettle unless Im running low on gas because my late additions are all added just before I pitch. I usually spend this time drinking, cleaning or on AHB. For some reason it always seems to feel that the whirlpool takes the longest even though its only 20 mins. I really enjoy mashing the most, standing around the kettle ramping up my temps, tunes in the background. I just need to drink more during brew days to deplete the stocks faster.