What is the the favorite part of your brew day?

For me it is a good cold break. If I achieve that everything just falls into place.

once all the wort is in the pot and the mash tun is clean, waiting for the wort to boil and that ever so satisfying homebrew to go along with it

Watching my mash temp hit the temp that I wanted and hold for 60 minutes.

The brew day itself, I always look forward to brewing.

Smelling the hops.

Anytime I get to add something to the kettle.

I love the various smells, the grain, the hops, the boil; they're all good individually, but then a certain magic happens & they combine to make an aroma that is truly great & fills the house. Then there are the brews consumed during the boil.
I think the greatest sense of satisfaction for me is when the wort is in the fermentor, the equipment & kitchen are cleaned up & I'm sitting in a comfy chair & enjoying one of my previous brews.
Regards, GF.

gratus fermentatio said:

I think the greatest sense of satisfaction for me is when the wort is in the fermentor, the equipment & kitchen are cleaned up & I'm sitting in a comfy chair & enjoying one of my previous brews.

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This. Combline that with the satisfaction of hitting all the right numbers, and it's awesome.

Opening my first beer of the day.

Brew day is an accumulation of a week long journey through stress in which I get to crack open a fresh brew, let the sun shine on my face and smell the grains and hops coming together in a bubbling symphony of joy.

Opening the first beer on brew day mean the stress of the week is behind me.

My favorite part is crushing the grains. That's when I look at the raw ingredients and I'm amazed at what they can make.

bassmaster911 said:

Smelling the hops.

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This. The unique smell of the hops, and the grains and wort as well. My first batch, I was shocked at how something that smells like horse feed could smell so good after fermenting out...

At the beginning of the boil. That's when we start drinking.

I just brewed my 3rd all grain batch yesterday and when i checked the temp of my mash at 30 min. and it was right on and it held the temp for an hour , thats when i opened my first brew.I love every step but getting the right temp made my day!

I love doughing in, and hitting all my numbers..

Somewhere between boil end and gravity reading and hitting the fermentor is where it comes together for me. It then goes slightly down hill as I look at the cleanup!

Starting the boil is where it's at for me, that is when I open the first beer and just get excited over what is going to happen over the next few weeks.

I love pitching the yeast. I get kind of sentimental about it, because I made this nice home for them and they're going to live out their lives and die there because I chose them.

Of course they don't give a damn about me as long as I feed them. So it's just like having a cat. A lot of cats. Tiny, tiny cats who pee all over the place and you don't mind.

Sticking my face over the brew pot after my first hop addition. That malty, hoppy steam is excellent for the skin!!!

Hitting numbers, BAM!


_

The start, where I turn on whatever music I feel like, and get everything in place and ready. Crack a beer and it's all good!

febbrewro said:

Sticking my face over the brew pot after my first hop addition. That malty, hoppy steam is excellent for the skin!!!

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What he said. Also, although not part of brew day, After bottling is finished, I see all those delicious beers packaged up nicely, its such a sense of accomplishment, I don't get that after kegging. That just happens to be the only part I like about bottling.

is ANYBODY gonna say cleaning? come on people!!!!!! you're missing the best part!

huge1s said:

is ANYBODY gonna say cleaning? come on people!!!!!! you're missing the best part!

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Come over and I'll give show you the time of your life!

Not technically brewday, but I love running downstairs the next morning look at the fermenter and seeing the first wisps of krauesen forming and the first little blips coming through the airlock.

When I'm done. I love brewing and all, but I don't drink and brew anymore, so that first beer after everything is put away is awesome. I also try to coordinate my brew days so there's football or hockey when I'm finished, which makes it even greater.

jfr1111 said:

When I'm done. I love brewing and all, but I don't drink and brew anymore, so that first beer after everything is put away is awesome. I also try to coordinate my brew days so there's football or hockey when I'm finished, which makes it even greater.

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Right on! I like it when everything is cleaned up, fermenter is loaded to the gills and the yeasties are starting to munch on sugars. It's the perfect time to light up a cigar, sit back in the nicely re-organized garage and drink a nice dark ale in peace. Best part of the session!

Taking that gravity measurement right before the beer goes into the fermenter (or right after, it doesn't matter which)

JonM said:

This. Combline that with the satisfaction of hitting all the right numbers, and it's awesome.

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+1 one this one and the completed brew day per GF for sure...

The smell created by taking that bucket of freshly ground grain and mixing it with the strike water.

The smell as the first runnings mix with the first wort hops.

Lately, simply finding time for myself to brew is my favorite. Kids are great but I appreciate them more when I have time to myself.

My vote goes to the sudden burst of hop aroma when you toss them in the boil.

Thank you for all the responses. I'm the OP and said everything will be fine if i achieve a good cold break. It was the first thought in my head, at the time. You have all reminded me brew days are full of favorite events. Doughing in, the sweet smell of the grain mashing, the smell of propane burning as it brings the HLT and wort up to temps, hop additions mmm.. hitting the numbers predicted is always a great feeling of accomplishment. I guess I like everything about the brew day. Cleaning, I rinse stuff good after the brew day but deep clean and sanitize the next day or two.

When I'm all "pau". (Hawaiian for finished) All the mess cleaned and stuff put away. Then I can relax and have a home brew!

Of course they don't give a damn about me as long as I feed them. So it's just like having a cat. A lot of cats. Tiny, tiny cats who pee all over the place and you don't mind.[/QUOTE]

Nice analogy....

jkaylor, When I saw your dolphins, I thought of making a swamp cooler like a reactor vessel. Using "control rods" of different temp water to heat or cool the water. Sorry, I'm working mids....

i have a 3 tier, gravity fed, all grain rack. my favorite part is fly sparging ...filling the boil pot with the first runnings of mash while is simultaneously filling the mash tun with hot sparge water.

My two favorite parts of the brewday:

doughing in - that warm bready aroma that rises up as you stir your mash and the first moment when you get a sense of the beer you are about to create

after aeration - seeing the wort with that huge foamy head and knowing that my part is done and that I've given the yeast a great environment to start their job

The Whole Day!!! SWMBO and the 3 Princesses are out of the house, and, I'm building a new batch and enjoying the labors of past batches. The Man is in his element!