Anyone doing multiple brews in a day?

[azazel1024]

It has been quite awhile now, but I am thinking of doing a two brew day in a few weekends. Wife and kids are going to be away for the weekend/week and I have a number of brews I want to get through (basically all of my spring brewing).

I have two mini fridges right now and one I want to use for an ale and I want to also brew a couple of lagers, but smaller batches. A pair of 3-gallon carboys will fit in my larger mini fridge...so I kind of need to brew in a relatively short time frame (ideally within a day or two) so that the lagers can follow roughly the same temp range for fermenting and lagering (okay, I could probably brew them within a week of each other if I needed to).

Since I have 4 recipes I want to try to brew up (hey, coincidence, I have 4 carboys!) and brewing in the evenings after work is "less than ideal", I was thinking of

Brew one Friday night (family is leaving earlier that day) after work. Saturday, brew up both lagers. Sunday brew up the other ale.

So far I think the one time I did two brews in one day, it both took forever (duh) and I did it "stupidly". It was last summer and I started at around 4pm and didn't finish with my 2nd batch until about 1am (UGH!) when everything was finally cleaned up.

This time, I am of course thinking of starting in the morning, but I am also thinkin I might try to overlap my brew sessions.

I have a couple of kettles and do a 2-step batch sparge BiaB. I did have two kettles last summer, but I was also using sink cooling at the time, so I pretty much had to just about wait until I was pitching in to my carboy to start the next one (well, almost). I now have an immersion chiller, so it is MUCH faster to get down to pitching temps.

So I was thinking I might try to get my 2nd batch mashing while I am halfway through the boil, figuring 60 minutes to mash with only 30 minutes left in the boil and maybe 15 minutes to cool and pitch the beer and then ready to start filling and heating the next kettle to save maybe an hour or so.

Or does this just sound like I am setting myself up for needing to do too many things at once? Anyone try it? Results?

Right now I am looking at a Dortmunder and a Schwarzbier for the lagers and a Mild and a Belgian Single for the ales (just going to temp control the Mild I think, basement temps in a few weeks should still be cool enough for the Belgian to be well within optimal fermentation range). I will probably be trying to do a Berlineer Wiess the weekend before all of this (I'll also probably buy another carboy for all of these brews. Shhhhhh, don't tell the wife).

 

[aangel]

My wife and I have begun doing double batch days to save time on assembly, taping, and cleaning.

Don't try to do two things at once if either requires your full attention.

 

[JayDubWill]

I've done this before and if you write down your brew plan it will help you visualize it and find the steps than you can overlap with the equipment you have on hand. For example do you have enough pots to boil wort for the first beer and heat sparge water for the second? How are you going to heat that sparge water with the main burner already in use - a second burner, burner on a barbecue, or stove top? It also helps if the night before you measure out all water additions (if used), crush your grains, measure your hop additions and put them in a labeled zip lock sandwich bag, etc. basically anything you can do the night before, do it. Also don't be afraid to let the mash sit an extra 20-30 minutes if you're not ready for it.

 

[azazel1024]

Thanks!

Will attempt the ambitious project. I am thinking I'll start at 10am (to give me plenty of time to wake up and slowly make sure I am totally prepped...and because drinking before 10am, even if brewing, just seems sad to me and I have a hard time brewing and NOT cracking a couple of beers during a session) and I'll hope to be done by 5pm with both batches.

 

[BHebert]

I made two batches last week. While the first brew was boiling, I started to steep the second. Worked out fine.

 

[PLOVE]

I pretty much always piggy back double batch (10 herms system), and often have a least one 5 gal side batch (old equipment) going as well. Start around 8AM, clean-up by 4PM. Full brew days are tough to come by these days, so I pretty much have to brew 25 gals at a time to keep up with demand. As others have said - just plan out your brew day in advance so you know when to start your second mash, while simultaneously boiling your first batch. I also second the sentiment about not drinking too early, but rarely follow it

 

[schematix]

I used to do this when I brewed with a buddy and we'd split 2 10G batches.

The trick was to always keep the HLT (or equivalent) water heated up. Start your 2nd mash-in around 15 minutes prior to BK knock out. This will give you enough time to cool down, transfer, and do just a brief cleaning before starting your lauter.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I did once......once.

 

[Clonefan94]

I've done a couple back to back brews in a day. They've all went pretty well for me, but I definitely took the time to plan everything out before hand. Definitely have all your ingredients ready. It also helps, if you have the buckets, to have all your water measured and ready to go as well. After that, it's just a matter of timing. I've got my system down pretty well, Know how long it's going to take to heat up strike water, sparge, etc. So it was pretty easy to time everything out.

The trickiest part of all of it for me, was timing the mash to coincide with me having the first brew in a fermenter and yeast pitched and equipment I needed already cleaned. On that step, i would say bite the bullet and start the mash a little later than you think you need to. I think it would be better to wait an extra 15 on the mash than it would be to see your mash is done, but your wort just got down under 100 degrees.

All in all, I like doing back to back batches. It only took an extra 2 hours to brew 5 gallons of a completely different beer.

 

[brrman]

I once did a triple AG brew day (3x 10g batches). It was pretty intense and took over 10 hours. I have a eHERMS system and can heat strike water and mash while I boil the previous batch.

It's def not something I would want to do unless I was fully focused.

I do back to back 10g batches all the time tho.

 

[DNKDUKE]

I did (2) 3 gallon batches of (2) different SMaSH recipes as it was way too cold to boil outside and my gas stove won't boil (6) gallon at a time.
It only took me (7) hours......I won't be doing that again.

 

[smAllGrain]

Just did a back to back last Friday, all on the stove top. Mashed in 9lbs of grain, while I was mashing I did an extract batch. Once the extract was in the fermentor, I added 3lbs of DME to the kettle and added my mash\sparge volume and I was off. 10Gal in 5hrs start to finish... BOOM

 

[aprichman]

Awww hell no. One batch is enough to handle

 

[rahines08]

I do this almost every time I brew. I start by doing a full volume ( no sparge mash) when the 1st batch is mashing I start getting water ready for 2nd brew mash. I drain wort from mash of 1st brew into one pot. Once mash is done I start the boil for the 1st brew. Then clean out the mash tun add 2nd brew grains and start mashing the 2nd brew. By the time the 1st brew is finished boiling the 2nd brew is finished mashing. I then cool the 1st brew and start the boil of the 2nd at the same time. You just need to be sure to have all your supplies out and written out plans to follow. You have to be very organized the 1st cpl of times it was a little stressful, now it's 2nd nature and no problems. I do 5 gallon batches

 

[mbbransc]

I do (2) batches simultaneously each brew day; just staggered ~30-minutes or so. If you have room and already have everything out getting dirty, why not?

 

[btbnl]

My standard brew-day is three BIAB batches totaling 20G, using two stoves and three 15G keggles.

The first is 10G of a hoppy pale or IPA, mashed in 11G, sparged in 4G, and cooled using an immersion chiller.

The second is 5G of something not hop-dominated, with 12G water heated to reach strike temperature just as the first mash finishes so I can draw off 4G to sparge that with, and no-chilled.

The third is also 5G of something not hop-dominated, mashed using the first 8G water from immersion-chilling the first batch (which typically only needs to be raised another 10F or so), and also no-chilled.

The whole thing takes about 6 hours end-to-end and keeps the pipeline running pretty much uninterrupted.

 

[SteelManCM]

I just did two 10 Gallon AG Batches in a day. It only added about an hour and a half to the brew day.

Like others have stated, start the second Mash when the first is boiling. If the First boil is a 60 min boil, then don't start the Mash when the first wort begins to boil. Give it 30 minutes. During that time, clean your Mash Tun. My immersion chiller cools 10 Gallons of wort to 70 degrees in 10 minutes. Transfer to Fermenters, pitch the yeast and clean the BK. By the time you're done with this, the Mash is either done or close to it.

I have double batch days planned in the future, especially for High Gravity brews and a partigyle. These should be even easier (no need to clean Mash Tun!).

 

[TeamAshBrewing]

I just did 2x5 gallon batches 2 weekends ago. No problems, except that my LHBS swapped the labels on my grain and i didnt notice until the bittering hops went in. Now I have a full body, malty apa, and not very bitter (first batch). The porter on the second batch turned out ok. I had to scramble to recalculate the hops for both batches.
I kind of noticed during the mash and wish I had second guessed myself. But... I was trying to hurry.
I have kids and weekends are always busy. That, and I was completely out of homebrew, so I figured I would try it out. I enjoy brew day, but would do it again.
I took a SG reading on both, and they did taste ok.

 

[Doctor_M]

I've done three batches in a day both as a home brewer and as a professional brewer. Homebrew triple batch brew day was a lot more strenuous/long since I don't have a tankless hot water heater that puts out 170 degree water like I do at work.

As someone else said as soon as your mash tun is empty start the next mash (assuming you have the ability to heat up strike water separately)

Most importantly have fun!

Also while it may be pretty much impossible to do biab if you were using a cooler mash tun, herms, or rims you could do an overnight mash. Matter of fact I have a batch going right now at work. One of these days I will knock the quad brew day off the bucket list thanks in part to an overnight mash (saves me about an hour and forty five minutes)

 

[andrewmaixner]

I have kids and weekends are always busy. That, and I was completely out of homebrew, so I figured I would try it out. I enjoy brew day, but would do it again.

I hear you. Don't have time for more than one batch without buying/borrowing more equipment.
I have, though, switched from 5gal batches to 11-13gal batches in a 15gal pot, 70qt mash cooler.
Then I usually vary an element or two (hopstand, yeast, temperature, invert syrup and darkness, dry hop, etc), and freeze the excess 2nd runnings for starters later.
Can end up with two fairly different beers with very minimal extra time on brew day. I could also do 5gal parti-gyle batches if I chilled and saved one of the runnings to cook later.

This has solved the "out of homebrew" issue. Haven't had fewer than 2 beers and a cider in the keezer since I started 10+gal batches.

 

[jgers]

mashed using the first 8G water from immersion-chilling the first batch (which typically only needs to be raised another 10F or so)

Love this idea. Big time and energy saver, very creative.

 

[JLeuck64]

Hey I've just branched out into the world of double batch brewing recently and think it is pretty cool! Honestly though, I doubt I ever would have considered it without the suggestion from my brewing buddy. Having a helper is the only way I would want to do two batches in one day! We always brew the same batch twice which I thinks helps keep it simple. We start the second batch as soon as the first one is on the burner to boil. My experience goes likes this: The first batch goes pretty smoothly. I get it going early in the morning before my buddy shows up. Then as the second one is under way it can get pretty busy! It is so helpful to have someone who knows the process as well as you do help out during the overlap! I can be tending the boil while my buddy is draining the mash and sparging etc... Then after the first batch is finished the second one feels much more relaxed. The second batch is the one to start enjoying some home brew with ( ;

 

[Braufessor]

I brew double batches quite often. I have multiple burners/pots so I can overlap a second mash during the second half of my boil and that helps a lot.

One thought with your plan - I would consider doing the 2 ales as the double and the lagers separate. Lagers take a longer boil, longer to cool, etc....... Generally 2 lagers would take me 1-1.5 hours more than 2 ales.... That would keep your "big" brew day more manageable.

Also - have a written plan, have everything out, measured, weighed, clean, ready to go - makes a HUGE difference.

 

[kombat]

I do it sometimes in the summer, but I wouldn't try it in the winter. I brew in my garage, and in the winter, I take my equipment indoors, to the basement to clean it. In the summer, I can just hose out the mash tun and get it ready for the second batch. Same with the boil kettle.

Also, I mash indoors in the winter, whereas in the summer I can have my mash tun on the table next to my boil kettle, so I can be keeping an eye on the boil (and doing hop additions, etc.) while vorlaufing/sparging/whatever the second batch. In the winter, that's too much running back and forth, indoors and outdoors.

 

[azazel1024]

I pretty much always piggy back double batch (10 herms system), and often have a least one 5 gal side batch (old equipment) going as well. Start around 8AM, clean-up by 4PM. Full brew days are tough to come by these days, so I pretty much have to brew 25 gals at a time to keep up with demand. As others have said - just plan out your brew day in advance so you know when to start your second mash, while simultaneously boiling your first batch. I also second the sentiment about not drinking too early, but rarely follow it

Maybe I need to brew up a breakfast beer?

Though I am mostly brewing session/light beers now. Well, light for me. I've generally been brewing in the 6-7% ABV range, because those tend to be my favorite (okay, a Quad, English Barleywine or RIS are truely my favorite, but its not like I can drunk much of those often).

However, with the warming weather and a general desire to feel a little less alcoholicy I want to try out some lighter brewing. So far I've done a 5.2% Rye APA and a 5.4% Steam beer. I also have a 5.3% Pilsner lagering right now. Other than my first two beer kits (and then switched to making my own extract recipes and then 2 beers later went AG BiaB and haven't looked back) I haven't brewed anything less than 5.8% until 3 of my last 4 beers (I also have a 6.5% IPA dry hopping right now).

I generally like to brew smaller batches so that I can brew more often to try new things, especially as I am learning (only been brewing ~2yrs and only have maybe 30-35 different brews under my belt) and I LOVE to brew.

Its just with 3 small kids and a wife and a job, spare time is hard to come by sometimes. I am starting a new position at work soon that I know is going to sap my time for at least 6 months...so I want to try to get all of my spring brewing in while the fam is gone for a week.

I also want to go lighter.

3.5% ABV Berliner Wiess, 4% Mild, 5.2% Dortmunder, 5.5% Schwarzbier, 5% Belgian Single are my next brew plans. Something where, especially the mild and BW, I have no qualms about kicking back a couple of them at a time with a nice dinner (or mowing the lawn or something). I may swap out either the Belgian or the Mild for a Quad or RIS as I don't have anything really strong bottled right now (closest I have other than the ONE Bomber of Coffee Oatmean RIS I brewed a year ago is a 7.2% ABV Dopplebock I bottled about a month ago). I need at least one heavy beer when the hankering takes me.

So I may try to brew up a 3-4G batch of Quad or RIS along with the Dortmunder (2.75G), Schwarzbier (2.75G), Berliner Wiess (5.5G) and either the Mild (4-5G) or Belgian Single (4G) and save the other one for sometime in April or May if I happen to be able to carve out a few hours on some weekend.

I figure right now I've got the empties to bottle close to half of that and by the time it is fermented and ready for bottling I can maybe bottle most of it. Worst comes to worse it sits in the fermenter a few extra weeks.

 

[azazel1024]

Love this idea. Big time and energy saver, very creative.

Now that is an awesome idea! I may have to give that a try at some point.

 

[btbnl]

Love this idea. Big time and energy saver, very creative.

And water, which was the original driver.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I rarely do 1 batch a brew day anymore. I usually do 2 ales or 2 lagers, and the time I save in setup and cleanup means 2 beers in an 8 hour day. Usually Im mashing the second while Im boiling the first..

 

[Qhrumphf]

I've do double AG brew days pretty regularly. I'm on a gas stove that takes its time heating strike water and heating to boil, so if I'm good about multi tasking (mashing while boiling and the like) set up to clean up for a double header is about 7-8 hours.

 

[FatDragon]

My standard brew-day is three BIAB batches totaling 20G, using two stoves and three 15G keggles.

The first is 10G of a hoppy pale or IPA, mashed in 11G, sparged in 4G, and cooled using an immersion chiller.

The second is 5G of something not hop-dominated, with 12G water heated to reach strike temperature just as the first mash finishes so I can draw off 4G to sparge that with, and no-chilled.

The third is also 5G of something not hop-dominated, mashed using the first 8G water from immersion-chilling the first batch (which typically only needs to be raised another 10F or so), and also no-chilled.

The whole thing takes about 6 hours end-to-end and keeps the pipeline running pretty much uninterrupted.

Great technique - especially using the chiller runoff for strike water for the third brew.