Smoothest Brew Day So Far...

My smoothest and best attempt thus far.

The keys for me were:

1) I had to break the day into two parts.
Mash and sparge 8a-10:30
Horse riding lesson for my 4yr old.
Boil around 2p

2) I did not drink any brews while brewing.

My moral dilemma at this point is:
Do I forego drinking a couple of beers from now on to have continue having a great day?
OR
Do I drink and have a slightly "less" organized day?

brewkinger said:

My smoothest and best attempt thus far.

The keys for me were:

1) I had to break the day into two parts.
Mash and sparge 8a-10:30
Horse riding lesson for my 4yr old.
Boil around 2p

2) I did not drink any brews while brewing.

My moral dilemma at this point is:
Do I forego drinking a couple of beers from now on to have continue having a great day?
OR
Do I drink and have a slightly "less" organized day?

Click to expand...

I say you can do both as long as you don't overdo it. A couple brews while brewing, provided you are sufficiently familiar with your system and have your process down, shouldn't keep you from having a smooth brew day. But if you're asking for one or the other, then I would say to forgo drinking in favor of the smooth brew day since that will increase the chances of getting the beer you were shooting for.

I usually wait to have a beer until I start the boil. That way I am focused and organized. I'm also usually doing homework in the downtime.

Or.......have a few additional brews, so you don't mind/acknowledge a few things when south.

Well, that works too... When I start at 7pm, that's "probably" what happens... waking up with a hangover and a bubbling fermenter is a bit ominous: )

I usually start my brew days around 9 am which is a bit early to drink in my opinion. So I usually wait until after the boil starts. I get my lunch and drink a cold one.

Amen

Travestian said:

I usually start my brew days around 9 am which is a bit early to drink in my opinion. So I usually wait until after the boil starts. I get my lunch and drink a cold one.

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That is how my day started out at 8am
28 degrees in northern Vermont but the sun shines into the garage so it was bearable.
Too early for a beer and too damn cold!!
Coffee was the beverage of the first half of the brew day.
Had a "necessary" (SWMBO quote) diversion for horse riding.
Came back and during the boil, as I was cleaning up, I realized how smooth it was going and then went back and made notes in BeerSmith.
Took pictures of my setup so that I can replicate it.
Because I was able to split the day, it provided me with an opportunity to REALLY dial in my process.

I am a true believer in fate, and today happened for a reason. I needed to have this kind of day to figure out how I do things best.
The main thing that I dialed in today was cleaning as I go.
I cleaned any items that I could when I had the hot water available and afterwards I had only to scrub the BK and I was done.
Took pics of setup and then went for a stroll in the woods behind the house looking for deer and check out the winter damage to the forest.
It was fate for sure the way that this day played out...
Just awesome!

Cheers to you brother and sister brewers!!

Sorry, but what business does a four year old have on a horse?

Cheers to you

Tupperwolf said:

Sorry, but what business does a four year old have on a horse?

Cheers to you

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I gotta tell ya, as a parent putting a 4 yr old on a horse, it puts you on 100% active duty for the duration of the lesson.
My mind was clear of everything and as a I watched her trotting around the arena alone and slaloming this animal in between orange cones, I realized that she knew what she was doing!!
I was able to enjoy the experience and think of the brew day and focus on the second half.

My little girl is not quite so little anymore.

Fate.........

I know the feeling... It's the kind of thing that'll make you melt, seeing your kid become in control of thier surroundings. Makes you want to turn back time a bit, but also makes you feel proud and confident that you're doing what we, as fathers, should be proud of. Our kids, and our families.

-Cheers!

Lots of good vibes in this thread. I like it in here.

On topic again, I never drink until I'm finished. I usually start at noon and done by 4 which is even still a little early for me. The last couple times I've had a "helper" over and he likes to drink. The first time he came I drank 2 or 3 during the course of brewing and decided I wouldn't do it again. I like to keep my head clear and I absolutely HATED cleaning up with a mild buzz.

And really I'm only sitting around during the mash. During the pre-boil I'm measuring hops and checking gravity. During the boil, I clean out the tun, clean up after mashing, organize and sanitize stuff for post chill, etc... Like the OP said, when I'm done I clean the chiller and pot and strainer and I'm done. Then it's Miller........., I mean Homebrew Time!!!

The other thing that I really dialed in was batch sparging.

I stirred the crap out of it after both sparge additions and brought mash efficiency up to 78.5% according to BS.

I did remember something after the fact when I was entering data into BS.

I mashed 10# grain in 12.5 qts of water @ 168-ish, stirred like hell and then let it rest for a couple of minutes and took temp.
It was around 149 or so and I had to add some hot water a little bit at a time to bring it up to 152. The issue was that in my haste to get it done, I did not measure the additional water. SWAG is around 1 gallon.

So my grist ratio went from 1.25 qt/#
(which seem to be the default in BeerSmith for single infusion/medium body/batch sparge)
to somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.65 qt/# (I figured that this was OK)

I have done some reading on the forum and I am wondering if my setup is more in tune with bringing the ratio up closer to the 1.5 qt/#.
My first AG was very similar and I had to add hot water to bring it up and I also had great effic. then too. On subsequent batches I kept with the 1.25 to 1.33 ratio and got high 60's efficiency.

So.... is my increased efficiency caused by:
1) Higher ratio?
2) Stirring like mad at mash in, again prior to first runnings, and yet again after each sparge?
3) A combination of both?

I will attach a copy of my water profile (if I can manage) since that is most likely going to be the first thing that someone asks for.

View attachment WaterProfile.pdf

The extra water probably helped the stirring a little bit. Most of the efficiency gain was probably due to the combination of the two.

Travestian said:

The extra water probably helped the stirring a little bit. Most of the efficiency gain was probably due to the combination of the two.

Click to expand...

Understood. Now that I have gotten some extra info, let me pick your brains a little more.

Assuming that my process continues to bring 75% efficiency consistently, what increase might I see from getting a quality mill and getting the crush dialed in?

I have noticed that my efficiency has been very stable at 75%, according to brewsmith. I was all over the place until I got my own mill. I go with 1:1.25 ratio and have experienced really good results with my system. I think a mill is a good investment, as you will buy bulk grain and save some $$ on brew day. I like in the sticks, so it was really worth the investment. If you live a few blocks away from the LHBS, then buy your grains that you need and crush them there. It would take a lot if batches for a good mill to.pay for itself if you have a convenient location. I will say that I love cruahing my grain as I heat the strike water... it just adds fun to the brew day

Travestian said:

I usually start my brew days around 9 am which is a bit early to drink in my opinion. So I usually wait until after the boil starts. I get my lunch and drink a cold one.

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+1, one time my brother and I split a growler of Palo Santalo Morron (12%) during an evening brew session, bad idea. Turned out well, but no notes, threw out beer sheet, accidentally erased recipe while trying to put og in Beersmith. I now stay under 6%, or have no more than 1 bottle of a stronger beer.

brewkinger said:

Assuming that my process continues to bring 75% efficiency consistently, what increase might I see from getting a quality mill and getting the crush dialed in?

Click to expand...

Honestly I don't think you could get more than about another 5% from dialing in your crush. If you are getting your grains milled from a place that ships then they usually have a pretty good crush already so your increase wouldn't be too much from them. However if you are getting grains from a LHBS and they have a poor crush then your gain would be higher.

I'm with Komocabo about bulk grains and the enjoyment of crushing your own more than the pure efficiency of it.

And I agree, I get so much enjoyment from brewing. SWMBO is cool with it on a scheduled basis which keeps me from spending a lot more!!!!
I want to add the milling to my day.

And I will definitely start my day at 7am like I did for my last batch. Cup of coffee, heating mash water and milling; sounds like a great start to a day to me!

But back OT

As far as where I get my grains, same place for all my AG batches and I have gotten from high 50s on one batch (I know why)
3 in the 60s and 2 in the high 70s

I can honestly say that the two highest efficiencies were my first ever batch, when a friend and I did everything by the letter.
And my last batch Sunday, again when I took my sober focused time and did it right by the letter.

So as far as the grains are concerned, I would say my LHBS (which is 90 miles away) is giving me a pretty decent crush. Agree??

So if I follow your sage advice then if it ain't broke.......

Guess I will ask for a mill for birthday.
Anyone feel generous????
..;.…
Ok! SWMBO it is then.

Slainte

Good luck! Look on craigslist too. They are rare, but do come up once in a while. I got mine used off of CL for 60 bucks. Its a JSP Maltmill, and non adjustable, so it aint the best, but has been well worth the $$ IMO

I tried out my new barley crusher maltmill last weekend and got 79.8% efficiency, my best yet!
I am still stoked!

I would like to quote Lil John... "Yeeeayaah!"

Komocabo said:

I know the feeling... It's the kind of thing that'll make you melt, seeing your kid become in control of thier surroundings. Makes you want to turn back time a bit, but also makes you feel proud and confident that you're doing what we, as fathers, should be proud of. Our kids, and our families.

-Cheers!

Click to expand...

Here, here!! Well said...

Any efficiency better than 75% is all bonus. Most recipes shoot for an average of 75% efficiency. I'll take whatever I get but it's usually around 75%.