BilboBrewin
Well-Known Member
I have been brewing on my weak apartment stove for 30+ batches and it has made some delicious beer. I have no outdoor access for brewing (live in a city) and have just dealt with it. In the case of 5-gallon all-grain batches, this means a brew day that lasts 6-7 hours.
I figure I can either:
1. keep doing exactly what I have been doing (single infusion mash then batch sparge in a cooler) and just accept the fact that it takes a long time to heat the strike water/reach a boil after sparging or
2. make some changes to my brew process that would save me time but step outside traditional homebrewing techniques, such as:
I'm already happy with the beer I make, so part of me says to just accept the longer brew day that has results I enjoy, but a shorter brew day (that doesn't involve moving or gypsy homebrewing) is quite appealing. What would you do?
I figure I can either:
1. keep doing exactly what I have been doing (single infusion mash then batch sparge in a cooler) and just accept the fact that it takes a long time to heat the strike water/reach a boil after sparging or
2. make some changes to my brew process that would save me time but step outside traditional homebrewing techniques, such as:
- using a heat stick to heat strike water and/or help reach a boil faster
- collect the first runnings in main kettle, collect sparge out into a second pot, then use two burners to reach near boil and combine (I have read pre-boil hot side aeration "isn't really a thing" on the homebrew level, maybe combining just before boil would work?)
- something else? (I am already heating my strike water early when possible)
I'm already happy with the beer I make, so part of me says to just accept the longer brew day that has results I enjoy, but a shorter brew day (that doesn't involve moving or gypsy homebrewing) is quite appealing. What would you do?