when do you brew?

I was supposed to brew today, but ended up being out of the house for most of the day, and it's my only real day off for the next 3 weeks. When do you guys find the time to brew? At night? weekends? mornings? I've got my grain, hops, pumpkin, and yeast ready to go for my pumpkin stout, but I don't know when to brew. Do you guys find brewing in the evening (i.e. 6 or later) to be doable? I need to get it done before the pumpkin goes bad (no sign of that so far, but I'm paranoid about these things), and I don't have a totally free day until thanksgiving weekend. Any advice?

I like to do some prep (weigh and crush grains, weigh hop, pull out all the equipment I need) the night before a day off then get up early and start brewin'. Makes for a nice relaxing brew day if your not trying to rush to get things done and cleaned up.

I brew when ever I can... like right now. Started about 5PM EDT because that is when I got all chores done and had every thing ready. Going to brew tomorrow as well. I have three empty fermenters and I hate empty fermenters.

BrewerinBR said:

I brew when ever I can... like right now. Started about 5PM EDT because that is when I got all chores done and had every thing ready. Going to brew tomorrow as well. I have three empty fermenters and I hate empty fermenters.

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+1 to that... I've been out there boiling at like 1 am... With 2 kids and a demanding job... I try to brew WHENEVER I can...Plus it's so nice and quiet

I also weigh and crush the grain the night before. On hot days, I get up around 6AM to start. If it is not a hot day, I usually start around 9-10AM.

I normally brew the night before a day off. My days off are normally consumed by a needy fiancé. It's also much easier without her complaining!

I start brewing always on saturday's morning (7-8 a.m.). For me, it's the best....

When my kids were still at home, and Bob still worked (he's retired now), I always had Wednesdays off.

I brewed every other Wednesday, and was all cleaned up by the time the kids got home from school and Bob got home from work. The other Wednesdays were for errands, haircuts, dentist appointments, etc. I loved it!

Now Bob's been retired almost two years, and the kids have been gone for even longer. I brew "whenever" now, but I still miss the days when I had the house all to myself during the brewdays. I could make a huge mess (and sometimes did) but the kitchen was spotless when the family came home!

Being a roadie, I am usually on the road every third month. When Im home, I brew whenever the hell I want to!

I brew weekend evenings. Start heating water around 4:00pm; finish cleaning up by 9:00pm. I measure out ingredients and make the yeast starter the night before, which saves an hour or so on brewday. I brew maybe twice a month, at most.

diegobonatto said:

I start brewing always on saturday's morning (7-8 a.m.). For me, it's the best....

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That is my prefered brewing time... Done early enough to still do thing during the afternoon.

I try to plan it so I will have no interruptions through the entire process - and that can be a challenge sometimes, so I try to split it up...

Starter on Wed evening
Design, or pick recipe..Print out recipe. LHBS Friday afternoon for needed ingredients
Weigh,measure, crush grains Friday night. Fill HLT
Set timerfor heaters so HLT ready to go Sat AM (or Sunday AM) ... then brew starting around 6 .. I try to finish up by noon.,,not always possible..

Makes for a smooth brew day ...

I work third shift every 3rd weekend so I usually sleep in till around 2pm on Sunday and then brew when I get up. I can usually bang out a batch in 4-5 hours.

Mparsons327 said:

I normally brew the night before a day off. My days off are normally consumed by a needy fiancé. It's also much easier without her complaining!

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Beware of "needy" people!

I'm retired. I brew small 1.5-1.75 gallon batchs. Drinking at least two a day means I have to brew almost once a week especially if friends come over after a long day of hiking.

I usually start around 9 a.m. after the wife has breakfast cleaned up. Lots of work, gotta get the ingredients ready, equipment out on the counter, instructions for record keeping printed etc.

Last Thursday I began at 9 a.m. and finished about 2:30 p.m. That includes every thing from prep, to brewing, to clean up.

Knocked about 1 hour off time since I bought the turkey fryer. Heating strike water and wort boil is so much faster now than on the 1500 watt hot plate.

How long does it take you?

sunday mornings is when i brew or bottle. i've gotten into the habit of brewing on the first sunday of the month and then bottle on a sunday 2 or 3 weeks later. and i usually try to start by 8:00-9:00. of course it sometimes varies depending on whether or not i'm out of town or have company in town on that particular weekend.

Weekends for me.

I start around 0800 and have 10 gal of ag in the fermenters around 1300.

I work 80 hrs in 7 days, and then I'm off for 7 days. I get off on wednesday mornings. Go to brew store on thursday or friday depending on when the pay is deposited, and brew on friday or saturday morning.

P.S. The only reason for an empty fermenter is to have a secondary for that cider/mead/oaked beer...etc.

I decided to get up early this morning and brew my pumpkin stout today. I only brew every few months as it is, so I had no idea when I'd have another chance to get it done. I've got an 8lb pie pumpkin roasting right now with cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger. The house smells amazing.

I get up at 5am on either a Saturday or Sunday to brew. I have an 11 month old baby, and she will get up during mashing (typically), and will take a nap when it's time to start boiling the wort.

Saying that, I've brewed in the evenings before without problems (before my daughter was born). I like to get to bed around 10pm, so I prefer to start by 5:30pm just in case something goes wrong and it takes a little longer than usual. For me, brewing is peaceful and a great way to spend an evening.

Usually Friday or Saturday evenings. I'm bound to be drinking a couple anyway, so it's as good a time as any to brew more to replace them!

sunday is my favorite day to brew, but i sometimes get one in on a friday if i get off early. for some reason, i don't really like to brew at night.

Weekends mainly. Typically Sunday mornings and try to be done before football or other sports are showing. Sometimes Saturday afternoons as well after all chores are done. It was quite difficult over the summer down here as the days were around 105F - 110F and I brew in my garage -- good times...

Now the weather's turning cooler, I can stretch out brewing easily into the afternoon hours. Brewing a mint chocolate stout today with real mint straight from the Jack Daniels brewery!

I have the advantage over many in being retired, so my time goes way beyond "flexible." My brew sessions tend to start about 0500 and run until around 1130, unless I have a 90 min mash or boil. This is broken up of course, by periods in the mash & boil where I do other things.

I get started early on Sat or Sun, usually around 6am. I won't start after 9am, ever.

I have never not brewed on the weekend. Typically Saturday starting about noon but it depends on other plans. I have brewed starting at 11pm on Friday. Sometimes Sunday. Getting up early to brew sounds good until the morning comes and I can't get up.

I'm a freelance photographer, so on an average week, I'm only shooting 2 or 3 days which means I'm free to brew pretty much whenever I want.

In the summer when it was really hot, I'd measure the grains the night before and get started at around 6 am. Now, I actually try not to start before 8 or 9 because it's so cold in the morning.

Borrowing against a classic: "They mostly [brew] at night. Mostly."

Being a firefighter I usually brew during the week days. I get off of shift head home for some breakfast and get started. The kids are at school and wife at work. No interruptions and I'm done by the time the kids get off the bus!!

Saturday or Sunday mornings. Usually in the driveway by 9-10ish

on a weekend day off usually start heating strike water around 7am finishing up at 11 or so leaving the rest of the day to ride the harley.

Working the third shift and have three little kids at home, I brew whenever I get a chance. After the kids go to sleep on a day off (8pm), during the afternoon before work, but I would love to do it early on a day off and get two or more brews in.

I typically brew on weekends, unless I brew after work during the week.

I do like to prepare better for a weeknight brewing: Beersmithing, measuring and crushing grains, measuring water, etc. the day before.

If I do that, then I spend the "downtime" of mashing and boiling cleaning equipment, instead of doing the stuff I should have done ahead.