Finally, we come to the advice that nobody wants to hear and frankly I don't always follow it myself:
1) Brew alone, or with another brewer WHO IS WILLING TO WORK.
2) Don't drink.
Okay, so that last one is ridiculous but it makes a huge difference. In truth, my drinking limit is "at the first sign of boiling wort." But both of these tips have to do with your concentration and planning. You lose both of these when you drink, and when you have to entertain somebody else.
Get the Jamil whirlpool add on. Trust me. On a 20 gallon batch, I go from boil to 65 degrees in less than 7 minutes.Best thing I did was build a wort chiller. Used to take 6-7 hours just to cool the wort down after boil. Now it takes maybe a half hour.
Great reply.This is exactly how I do it..the last 2 suggestions are SOOO true..kanzimonson said:After you've done it several times, you find ways to be more efficient. Here are some things I do that have really helped me time-wise:
-I start the brew day by getting only the equipment I need to start heating strike water. It takes about 15min for the strike water to heat up, so while this is going I bring out all the equipment I need for mashing (grain, spoon, salts, etc)
-While I'm mashing I bring out my boiling equipment and weigh out my hop additions
-While I'm boiling I clean my mash equipment, sanitize my fermentor, get the chiller and pump ready
-While chilling I start to put things away and clean the last little items.
-Channel your chill water into a bucket so you can use it to clean in place, rather than taking all the time to move equipment to the kitchen for cleaning (SWMBO likes this too)
Finally, we come to the advice that nobody wants to hear and frankly I don't always follow it myself:
1) Brew alone, or with another brewer WHO IS WILLING TO WORK.
2) Don't drink.
Okay, so that last one is ridiculous but it makes a huge difference. In truth, my drinking limit is "at the first sign of boiling wort." But both of these tips have to do with your concentration and planning. You lose both of these when you drink, and when you have to entertain somebody else.
ditto this. it sounds like you already bought equipment, but BIAB is really easy and REALLY cheap. stick with it. good times lie ahead.
FYI, I think doing extract can make fine beer, so that's not the point of my comment. To me it just feels a little more fun to start with grain.
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