How long does it take you ?

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Old_el_Paseo

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Hi !

I started brewing from extract in febuary 2015. Now i just bought a complete all grain kit (pot/immertion cooler/5gallon carboy/...).

I just did my 3rd all grain brew today. It took me a bit over 5 hours ! Is this normal ? Does it take less time with experience ? With better equipment ?

F.y.i : 5 hours was because i rushed also because i had to go to work after
 
5 - 5.5 from start to finish on brew day. You can add to this about 45 minutest I spend the night before to draw and treat water, gather and check equipment, etc. I'm kinda slow, I think.
 
Yeah.. 4-5 hours is about normal for me. But on the good side I usually bottle while my mash is going on. So I kill two birds with one stone.
 
My first couple of AG brew days were around 6 hrs each but I have it down to 4-4.5 hours if I plan well and aren't too lazy leading up to brew day. Your times seem about right. You'll get better with your process to shave some more time off of the day.
 
Actual brew day time for me is around 3.5 hours.
Add 30 minutes of prep work to get mash and sparge water treated and ready to go, usually a day or two in advance.

Like above, I usually keg / bottle a batch during mash and boil.
If there is one place to start saving time, it is the cleanup.
During chilling, the hot water coming out of that hose goes right into any dirty buckets, coolers, etc that need cleaning.
A quick wipe and rinse and I'm done in about 15 minutes.
 
Does it take less time with experience ? With better equipment ?
No. It takes longer. With more experience you'll want to do more. Decoctions, extended step mashes, long whirlpool hopping, extended boils, obsessing over water chemistry and recipes.

These guys are really good liars. Don't believe a word of it. :drunk:
 
I do biab inside on my countetop with electric heating elements. After setup, all the way to transferring to fermenter I'm done in 3-3.5 hours.
 
Well... Looks like thats a normal brew time then. All grain reallly is a lot longer than extract. But well worth it. It tastes so much better.

And beergolf... Dont kill birds please :p. Lol
 
yep - 4-5 hours for me start to finish.

To shave time off that you could pre-game...

Prep your water the day before.

Setup your brew site the day before.

Clean everything a day or two in advance.

I clean my mash tun during the boil... super simple with my setup so it only takes 4-5 minutes.

During the mash - I cleanup what I can and prep equipment (sanitize the fermenter, etc...)

I also stir the wort during cooling (yep - lid off, 24" whisk). I find this shaves about 30 minutes off the cooling. Others agitate their immersion chillers to achieve a similar effect.

Basically just good prep, planning, and time management and you should be able to hit 4 hours average.
 
I do AG 10 gal, and my average is 5 hrs. Think about it, you typically have 1 hour mash, 1 hour boil, usually wait around 1 hour to heat up water/wort, 15-45 min for wort cooling depending on methods, hop stands if you do one, then clean up time (system dependent)

I like to look at it as 5 hours of unhassled drinking :drunk:
 
With the new Brew Boss deluxe I just got. I can do 12 - 15 gallon batches in fast as 4 but no more than 4.5 hours from start to finish including clean up and putting the carboys in their place. I love that system!

My 3 tier keg system with pumps, etc. took at least 6 hours.
 
From the first water in kettle to finished clean-up, usually 6 hours (two 5-gallon batches staggered by 30 minutes). Then from sober to boozed, about 60 minutes.
 
5 hours for me. I made a Gantt chart when I first started all grain brewing to help get the timeline down and so I didn't miss a step. This is for a standard 5.5 gallon, 60 min. mash & 60 min. boil:

attachment.php
 
Couple of things to help speed your output:

  1. Step up to 10 gal or more batches
  2. I use hot tap water to fill my hot liquor tank, this speeds up the heating!
  3. Batch sparge into buckets. You can start heating for the boil while finishing the sparge.
  4. Use a plate chiller, mine is gravity fed.
  5. Keg, it's way faster!
 
Couple of things to help speed your output:

  1. Step up to 10 gal or more batches
  2. I use hot tap water to fill my hot liquor tank, this speeds up the heating!
  3. Batch sparge into buckets. You can start heating for the boil while finishing the sparge.
  4. Use a plate chiller, mine is gravity fed.
  5. Keg, it's way faster!

Have you ever done a side-by-side comparison of a batch brewed with hot tap vs cold tap water? My water heater is pretty old, and I imagine that it is funky on the inside as far as mineral deposits.
 
I haven't noticed any difference at all.
I also run my hot tap water through a charcoal filter on the way into the pot.
This way I'm starting with water at about 125 deg. and only have to heat up to my strike temp, about 169 deg. Saves a BUNCH of time!
 
My first two eBIAB brews have taken five hours each.

- 25-30 minutes to heat the mash water
- 60 minutes mash
- 50-60 minutes sparging/lautering
- 35-50 minutes waiting for boiling to start
- 60 minutes boiling
- 40 minutes cooling

I need to improve my lautering process, that will easily cut at least 30 minutes from the total time.
 
Or just go full volume with no sparge/lauter.

My mash tun/kettle isn't big enough for a full volume brew, but I guess I could use the maximum possible amount of water in the mash, skip the sparge, and add water after boiling. My tun is 27 liters, so according to BeerSmith I could comfortably use 16 liters of water for the mash.
 
I don't do BIAB so I can't speak to that, but 50-60 minutes of sparge and lautering seems excessive. I do all grain in a 10 gal cooler for my mash and sparge. I batch sparge because fly sparging is too long IMO. It may be more efficient but time is more important than 5% more efficiency.
 
Today the mash started at noon and last clean up was at 5 pm. Not too bad if I do say so myself.
 
Hmm, anywhere from 4-5.5 hours for me depending on the brew. The Centennial Blonde that is popular around here I can knock out in 4 hours, maybe less if I tried. Though to be honest it is less than an hour of actual work, then a lot of waiting :D
 
It feels weird that it seems so important for people to get it over with fast. On my ghetto-biab-stovetop-system I'm guessing it takes me 7-8 hours (and only 10L batches!). But it's my zen-time and I don't get to brew very often. It doesn't matter how long it takes, I take my time and I enjoy it.

Just an observation. It's all cool ;)
 
It feels weird that it seems so important for people to get it over with fast. On my ghetto-biab-stovetop-system I'm guessing it takes me 7-8 hours (and only 10L batches!). But it's my zen-time and I don't get to brew very often. It doesn't matter how long it takes, I take my time and I enjoy it.

Just an observation. It's all cool ;)

Yea, I don't rush things but I usually wind up with a small-ish window to brew in due to the SWMBO not liking the smells emanating from the kettle; so I've gotten somewhat quick by necessity for the latter half. The mash doesn't bother her luckily so I just need to scoot her out the door for a couple hours for the boil. Once I get a dedicated brew-area I forsee full day brew sessions with friends whom I will try to convert to the homebrew passion :p
 
I'm pretty quick, typically it takes me 20-30 minutes to get strike water ready and grains milled, last session I did about a 40 minute mash and a 45-50 minute boil, so only about 2 1/2 hours to flame out. I then add some hops and let them steep for about an hour, then make my last hop stand addition at 160 degrees, then I lid the kettle an no chill in the kettle for 10-12 hours prior to pitching.

So the brew session is 2 1/2 hours, but then I need to tend to the beer either later that day, or first thing the following morning. My brewing style is more passive than active.
 
Whether I do one batch or three concurrently, its always 5 to 6 hours for me. I highly suggest buying another MT and kettle, and simply doing two batches as the same time, or at least slightly staggered if you need to share a burner.
 
Depends if I am drinking or not.
sober
15 minutes set up
25 minutes heating strike water
65 minutes mash
40 minutes sparge
30 minutes bring to boil
60 minutes boil
10 minute immersion cooler
10 minute drain into fermenter
10 minute clean boil kettle
265 total elapsed minutes
4.41 hours
Drinking
40 minute setup
40 minute heating strike water. Foget about temperature and then have to use chiller to drop temperature to get it right.
50 minute mash - ahh close enough
20 minute sparge - crank it up a little lets get this over with.
10 minute sit, while i try to get a drunk friend to help me move the pot to the main burner
45 minutes to bring to a boil - friend will walk by and say - wasn't i supposed to tell you when this thing started boiling? I rush and put hops in.
60 minute boil - o crap forgot to sanitize chiller make it a 70 minute boil.
20 minute chill - just let it go man.
10 minute to find friend sober enough to help me lift pot so i can drain into fermenter.
20 minute drain into fermenter 10 to actually drain and lets face it I need a bathroom break.
60 minute clean-up really not a real time because I will come back the next day and realize there are still grains and spots everywhere.
20 minute reflection that all my friends do is steal my beer and don't help
405 minute total
6.75 hours (not included the butt chewing from my wife later that night for getting drunk with friends making a huge mess or cleanup the next day)
 
3 1/2 from start to clean up using the brew-boss. Think I could have been more efficient with time and been even quicker as was a strike temp in 15 minutes.
 
No. It takes longer. With more experience you'll want to do more. Decoctions, extended step mashes, long whirlpool hopping, extended boils, obsessing over water chemistry and recipes.

These guys are really good liars. Don't believe a word of it. :drunk:

I agree. At first many years ago when brewing "simple" beers, it took me maybe 5 hrs tops.

Fast forward to now and its elaborate, more than one batch, many people and usually a barbecue along with it.

I'd say my brew days are around 11-13hrs now.
 
I have a smaller stove and a wort chiller that could be a bit bigger that slows the process down but 6.5 hours is about my average. If you have good equipment, a good burner and know what you're doing, 4.5 hours should be about right. I've gotten to the point where my extraction is down to about 35 mins on the dot. The first time I did that it took over an hour. Depending on your sparging method, it will take some timing practice.
 
I agree. At first many years ago when brewing "simple" beers, it took me maybe 5 hrs tops.

Fast forward to now and its elaborate, more than one batch, many people and usually a barbecue along with it.

I'd say my brew days are around 11-13hrs now.

This. Now that I have a family, my friends and I typically double batch and bbq... make a day of it. Last sunday we brewed 2, bottled 2, and cooked some burgers over 8 hrs but it got pretty hectic.

Id much rather relax, brew a batch over 6 hours and enjoy a couple beers :)
 

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