Two Day All Grain Session

[Misfit2209]

I have a small farm and work full time. This leaves me with very few 8 hour days for me to dedicate to brewing. Question: Has anyone tried an all grain batch over a two day period? I'm thinking collecting the wort one day and refrigerating it. Next day, continue with the boil, chill and transfer to a carboy. has anyone ever tried this? Is it a bad idea? Thoughts on this are greatly appreciated.

Cory

 

[mattech]

There are lots of ways to break up a brew day. I'll build a recipe and mill grains up to a week before brewing. That way if you ever get some free time you're already ready to go. I also do no chill and have shorter boils because of it, usually only 30min. Pitching yeast the next day, or much later on the same day, doesn't take very long.

Process is a lot like the beer itself. You gotta do what works for you.

 

[dstockwell]

This past w/e, I milled, mashed, removed the bag, heated wort to just below boil. Then removed from heat, insulated and left it on the stove until the next day to continue with boil, chill, and transfer. I may make this a standard practice unless nothing is going on and I can take more time in one day.

 

[VladOfTrub]

You'll be good. However, rack the wort off the gunk before boiling it. Skim off the hot break as it forms. When hot break ceases to form add the bittering hops and skim off the second break. Always skim off hot break, less bittering hops will be needed and the wort will be a little cleaner.
Maybe, you can lean out the process but, not so lean as to cause a negative impact on the final product.
Due to the brewing method that I use the brewing day can be 12 hours long depending on the style of beer that I am producing or when Mother Nature decides to throw a curve ball. Recently, I increased the size of my brewery from 30 gallons to 55 gallons. Instead of brewing six times a season, this past winter I brewed three times.
I admire your choice of livelihood.

 

[eric19312]

I think the concern about splitting time between mash and boil is spoilage. You mention chilling and storing in a refrigerator. Might be even easier to heat then store in a no-chill cube till next day.

I have a friend that routinely does overnight mashes. Starts it before going to bed, then lauters, boils, chills, pitches in the morning. The mash tun stays sealed overnight. Temps drop but I guess he doesn't run into a sour mash situation as probably most of the bacteria on the grain are killed during the initial heat of the mash.

 

[BillyBeer]

To each their own but here is what I have been doing for the past 8 years:

Mash at night about 9:00pm.

Batch sparge the following morning between 7:00am and 8:00am.

I personally have never had any offer flavors or issues but that doesn't mean you can't.

I started using this system due to a very busy life and kids. It was the best solution for me to cut time out of my brew day and keep the family happy and still brew beer.

 

[theowlman16]

I've mashed late at night, then let the wort covered in the kettle. Start boil early AM. It is usually still warm.

 

[MaryB]

I split chores up and do a lot of cleaning in between steps. 10 gallon batch all grain brew day is 5 1/2 hours. I make sure I have everything ready to go the day before including filling the kettles with water. Next day I heat the mash water, mash in, wait 60min, at 30 min heat sparge water, 45 minutes to sparge, when sparge is half done start bring the boil kettle up to temp so it is almost at a boil when the sparge is done. While it finishes coming to a boil I scoop the spent grains into a bucket and rinse out the mash tun. By cleaning in between things you don't have it all at the end. And I will sometimes let the BK soak overnight then rinse it the next day.

 

[Petaar]

Batch sparge the following morning between 7:00am and 8:00am.

I personally have never had any offer flavors or issues but that doesn't mean you can't.

I started using this system due to a very busy life and kids. It was the best solution for me to cut time out of my brew day and keep the family happy and still brew beer.

Much the same here! Due to family and job schedule I mash late in the evening, around 9 - 10 pm. Insulate the 40 quart cooler with old winter jacket, and sparge early next morning around 7 am.

Beers are the same as in single day brew, maybe yeast eats a point or two more in the FG.

 

[madscientist451]

Your plan of mashing one night and boiling the next sounds like it would work. If the wort does get contaminated, won't the boil kill anything that's in there? I think you can even skip the refrigeration between mash and boil. You'll be able to reach boil quicker if its not cold.

 

[BowAholic]

I switched over to a very simple BIAB setup a couple of years ago and i works out great here on my farm. I start heating the water, then I grind my grain and measure out my hops. By the time I'm finished getting everything ready, the water is usually heated to the 160* that I want. I turn off the heat, add the bag to my kettle, dump in the grain, stir, and then cover the (now) 152* mash. I set the timer for 1 hour and go do chores...when the timer goes off, I heat to 168-170*, pull the bag, squeeze over the kettle as it continues towards boiling. I throw the leftover grain over the fence to my cows... once the boil starts, I set an hour timer and go do chores again while it boils. A few minutes before the timer goes off I drop in my chiller, wait for timer, turn off heat, begin chilling while using hot water that is coming from my chiller to clean my fermentation bucket and stuff that I'm finished using. By the time the wort is cooled and ready for bed, I have almost everything cleaned and put away. It might take an hour of my time away from doing chores... It's very easy and works out well for me.

 

[EarthwormJim]

This past w/e, I milled, mashed, removed the bag, heated wort to just below boil. Then removed from heat, insulated and left it on the stove until the next day to continue with boil, chill, and transfer. I may make this a standard practice unless nothing is going on and I can take more time in one day.

I have done this a few times too. After run off, heat to near boiling to limit anything bad from taking hold. I put the lid on and put some plastic wrap around it to keep it semi air tight, probably doesn't make any difference. I wouldn't bother trying to refigerate. By the time it cools enough to prevent spoiling you will be ready to boil and that will take longer.

 

[Misfit2209]

I need to clarify a little here. I Have a small farm that requires a few hours a day of work AND I work a full time job that requires me to be away from my home 1 pm to 11:30 PM 5 to 6 days a week. This is why I have no time

My plan for brewing would be from 8am to noon one day for the first step and 8 am to noon the next day to finish up.

Is the wait between mash and boil too long?

Also, for the BIAB response, thank you. At the moment, i'm sticking with the method I have of using a mash tun however it doesn't mean that I wont try something else down the road.

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful responses. I do appreciate it.

 

[BowAholic]

You are more than welcome... and I can do a 5 gallon batch in under 4 hours using my method. I have a friends equipment here and actually did two 5 gallon batches yesterday at he same time and was finished in about 4 1/2 hours. Good luck!