24 replies to this topic

[HVB]

I don't think I could ever do better than about 4.5 hours but I'd have to really stay on top of things.  3 hours would be near impossible at the rates I can heat and cool liquid.

Like I mentioned, the time I am closer to 3 hours is when my wife turns everything on for me and the water is at temperature when I get home.  I also will only stay at my sac temp for about 30-40 minutes and then raise up to a mash out so my mash time is a bit compressed too.  I tend to start the boil kettle as soon as the element is submerged.

[Big Nake]

On my brewdays, my water is already filtered and adjusted with salts and acid and my grains are already measured out. The recipe is set. I might crush the grains during the heating of the mash or I might have already done it. I mash for 60 minutes pretty much all the time. I chill with an IC but also in the sink with ice afterwards and that might go for 20-30 minutes as well. All said & done, 4½ hours from the time I start heating mash water until I'm cleaning up and putting gear back in the basement. If I'm moving a batch from primary to secondary on the same day, the action is pretty much non-stop. I used to brew early in the morning when no one would bug me. I now occasionally brew on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons and it never fails... right at the time I'm sending a beer to secondary in the kitchen or I'm going to rack wort from brewpot to primary (critical moments), someone wants to come into the kitchen and make food, play with the dog, sneeze, cough up ebola microbes, etc. I prefer solitary brew sessions for that reason.

[Poptop]

The week leading up to brew day I perform different phases of mis en place; set water, crush grain, weigh hops etc..  I mash in the night before typically.  Actual brew day = 3.5 to 4 hours total and much time is wasted cooling. 

[Poptop]

With that, I am leaning toward getting my batch into the low 90's and then getting it into the swamp cooler to drop temp to pitch.  While the fermenter is chilling, I will perform clean up duties, which will also save me some time.   

[denny]

12 gallons, about 7 hours with an hour rest at pitch temp prior to moving to the fermenters to drop clear. Mad a helles today that was about 8 given the longer boil and additional chilling. I don't mind the longer brew days, it does become a problem on double batch days though. Total time includes set up and cleaning.take down.

 

5.5 gal., around 4-4 1/2 hours including clean up after.