All-grain Brewing Alone

[Owly055]

Brewing all grain can be an ordeal that takes many hours, or it can be quick and easy. What is not immediately obvious is that the amount of time you put into brewing has little if anything to do with the quality of the finished product, nor does the sophistication of your "system".

There are a number of ways to cut time down greatly, the main one being brew in a bag, and anybody who claims it produces "inferior beer" is filling you full of BS. Another is to have your water preheated long before you start, and your grain and hops pre-measured. I routinely use my sous vide to set mash temp so when I get home it's exactly what I want, and if I start with a plan, I have grain and hops pre-measured. The single vessel used for BIAB means only one to wash, and very little else to clean up. The brew bag is turned inside out and shaken in the yard, then tossed in the washing machine with no soap at a low water setting, and is clean and hanging before the brew is over. You can cut mash time down as low as 20 minutes, depending on crush, and unless you are using pilsner malt, there is no real reason for an hour boil. Adjust your hop additions and quantities accordingly. A good chiller is important, but extremely simple....just a coil of copper with hoses on each end.

I've beaten 2.5 hours quite a few times...... that's about 1/3 of the time mentioned in the initial post. My last two brews were no boil / no chill, and both were less than ONE HOUR. I did a hop decoction on the side while raising the wort to 170, and holding it there. The brew was poured into the fermenter (preheated glass fermenter) straight from the boil kettle / mash tun. I suspect that it is impossible to do an extract brew in 50 minutes!!!!!!

Unfortunately people make brewing far to complex here, and often tend to imply that it must be. I'm here to say that it does NOT have to be complicated or time consuming. If you are obsessed with traditional process, you CAN spend many hours brewing, but anybody who claims that this necessarily produces "better beer" is full of BS!!




H.W.

 

[piratefan]

I clean all of my pre-boil and boil equipment after each use, and then just depend on the boil to sanitize. I clean all of my post-boil stuff after use, then sanitize before using after the boil.

 

[CGVT]

Sometimes I rinse out my kettle if it looks dusty. Sometimes I don't. Haven't noticed any difference in the beer. I don't scrub my mash tun when I'm done. Just rinse it out and rinse it out and run some water through the valve to make sure there are no bugs in it before I use it. Other stuff I clean when I put it away-maybe rinse it off before I use it. Post boil all gets a shot of Star-san before I use it.

Over cleaning is over rated.

 

[mongoose33]

Brewing all grain can be an ordeal that takes many hours..... There are a number of ways to cut time down greatly.....I've beaten 2.5 hours quite a few times...... that's about 1/3 of the time mentioned in the initial post.

In fairness, you're still spending time, just not all at once. Time spent setting up the day before, time spent crushing grain the day before....this is still time spent. And if your wife cleans up before or for you, you're just transferring that time to someone else. Nice if you can arrange it.

I do think this is a crucial element of reducing the brew day, i.e., transferring some of those times/tasks to other times/days. I just did a brew day (trad. mash tun) in about 4 hours, but I crushed the grain the night before, set things up the night before, transferred water to the boil kettle to get it ready for flame on, and so on.

I could even have cut that 4 hours down a bit because I also had to set up a heater for the garage and set up the exhaust "vent" to clear the steam---probably 15-20 minutes total set up and takedown time. I'll lose that time in the spring when it warms up. (Sudden thought: high temps forecast Sunday of 61--guess I need to brew then!)

You can cut mash time down as low as 20 minutes, depending on crush, and unless you are using pilsner malt, there is no real reason for an hour boil. Adjust your hop additions and quantities accordingly. A good chiller is important, but extremely simple....just a coil of copper with hoses on each end.

Well, you can....though you may lose something depending on the grain bill. I will try to find the link to a long-time brewer who tried to reduce the mash time and post it; he found that shorter times, while converting the starch to suger, weren't sufficient to pull all the flavors out of the malt. YMMV.

I've beaten 2.5 hours quite a few times...... that's about 1/3 of the time mentioned in the initial post. My last two brews were no boil / no chill, and both were less than ONE HOUR. I did a hop decoction on the side while raising the wort to 170, and holding it there. The brew was poured into the fermenter (preheated glass fermenter) straight from the boil kettle / mash tun. I suspect that it is impossible to do an extract brew in 50 minutes!!!!!!

I'd love to do a brew day with you, even perhaps a side-by-side comparison. Perfect opportunity for a brulosophy exbeeriment!

 

[Owly055]

The crushing of grain is a pretty minor time offset.... in my case perhaps 10 minutes, as my crusher is already set up....... Many all grain brewers have their grain crushed at the LHBS....... NOBODY cleans up for me, but clean up involves a single container normally, as I do BIAB, and scrubbing off the immersion chiller. There is virtually no equipment set up and take down in my case.

I too would love to do a side by side with someone else........ I have my doubts about the flavor extraction story by the way. I don't brew the same thing again and again, so it would be interesting to compare two identical recipes done on different systems with different procedures in a truly blind comparison.

Really my point was intended to be that it doesn't need to be a 7 hour ordeal...... It shouldn't be or it will discourage people from brewing. I meet people all the time who "just don't have time". Ironically those same people often have time to watch hours and hours of garbage on TV, and I won't pretend that I don't regard TV with utter contempt..... I'll be 62 this year, and I have NEVER had a TV ever, or lived in a home with one. In any case it's a matter of setting aside a large block of time, or several smaller ones. I often mash at noon, and go to work, finishing in the evening. "But don't you get really dry beer?"...... the truth is that I do not, and that has to do with several variables one can control. Initial mash temp is the main one. There are lots of things that work.
The main thing is to start all grain brewing. It is not necessary to reproduce the exact same thing each time, or even have a "perfect" brew, or exactly replicate someone else's recipe, or have perfect clarity. It is nice if it tastes good and is pleasant to drink. It is nice if it doesn't have off flavors, and if the body is not excessively heavy or excessively dry, but somewhere close to what you want, a good fermentable wort that finishes at a desirable gravity. It's not rocket science........ brewing is easy, and it's hard to make a bad beer if you exercise some care and judgment. It's even easy to make a brew that everybody who drinks it will think is the same as the last brew you made. We aren't making Budweiser, and every bottle needn't be indistinguishable from the previous one, but every bottle should be a joy to open and a pleasure to drink, and leave you wanting more.

H.W.

In fairness, you're still spending time, just not all at once. Time spent setting up the day before, time spent crushing grain the day before....this is still time spent. And if your wife cleans up before or for you, you're just transferring that time to someone else. Nice if you can arrange it.

I do think this is a crucial element of reducing the brew day, i.e., transferring some of those times/tasks to other times/days. I just did a brew day (trad. mash tun) in about 4 hours, but I crushed the grain the night before, set things up the night before, transferred water to the boil kettle to get it ready for flame on, and so on.

I could even have cut that 4 hours down a bit because I also had to set up a heater for the garage and set up the exhaust "vent" to clear the steam---probably 15-20 minutes total set up and takedown time. I'll lose that time in the spring when it warms up. (Sudden thought: high temps forecast Sunday of 61--guess I need to brew then!)



Well, you can....though you may lose something depending on the grain bill. I will try to find the link to a long-time brewer who tried to reduce the mash time and post it; he found that shorter times, while converting the starch to suger, weren't sufficient to pull all the flavors out of the malt. YMMV.



I'd love to do a brew day with you, even perhaps a side-by-side comparison. Perfect opportunity for a brulosophy exbeeriment!

 

[mux11]

gosh so many responses.... My best advice is to read a number of these posts as they have helped me. If you know your process you can lay it out. The more organized I am the better the day goes. Clean as you go is HUGE, I also journal notes on temps and times so I can look back as to how long things take (ie time for strike water to target temp).
Im only doing 5Gal batches and my early batches I would say I was in for a 6hr batch I did have one 10hr day but don't ask I wont tell.
Super excited because my last cook day I knocked out 2 back to back batches in about 8hrs which is all clean and put away.

 

[Drk93TT]

Recently Ive been cutting down minutes from my brew day by ..
Steps Day before:
Yeast starter going at least 12hrs before pitching.usually 16-18.
Have all equipment set up and ready to go.
Have salt additions separated/ labeled.. pH meter ready
Grains weighed and milled.
Pump and hoses clean and ready.

Clean Mash tun out once everything transferred to BK.
Fermenter clean and ready / sanitized even sometimes already.

blah blah the list goes on. and on.

Theres no real tips... my best tip is to have patience with the hobby and learn as you go.. always learning something new from another brewer.

 

[mongoose33]

The crushing of grain is a pretty minor time offset.... in my case perhaps 10 minutes, as my crusher is already set up....... Many all grain brewers have their grain crushed at the LHBS....... NOBODY cleans up for me, but clean up involves a single container normally, as I do BIAB, and scrubbing off the immersion chiller. There is virtually no equipment set up and take down in my case.

That's always been somewhat of a time sink for me. I wish I had a dedicated brew space, but alas...I do not. I store most of my equipment in a rolling cabinet, tucked into a corner of the garage. So every time it has to be pulled out, equipment removed and set up, and then of course returned to its location.

I too would love to do a side by side with someone else........ I have my doubts about the flavor extraction story by the way. I don't brew the same thing again and again, so it would be interesting to compare two identical recipes done on different systems with different procedures in a truly blind comparison.

I haven't found the post yet, still looking. I may be able to find it by searching my history....

No idea if it's a common result or not. Just that this guy said he'd done the shorter mash, and returned to the longer mash for flavor reasons. It's something I'd like to test.

Really my point was intended to be that it doesn't need to be a 7 hour ordeal......

No, it doesn't, but it may be that for a first time. I just used that as a number, it may be higher or lower. I know that as I learned more and more, my time efficiency has improved. Some of that is more efficient equipment, some is learning to reduce walking back and forth, some is learning to do SOMETHING during down times...

It shouldn't be or it will discourage people from brewing. I meet people all the time who "just don't have time". Ironically those same people often have time to watch hours and hours of garbage on TV, and I won't pretend that I don't regard TV with utter contempt..... I'll be 62 this year, and I have NEVER had a TV ever, or lived in a home with one. In any case it's a matter of setting aside a large block of time, or several smaller ones. I often mash at noon, and go to work, finishing in the evening. "But don't you get really dry beer?"...... the truth is that I do not, and that has to do with several variables one can control. Initial mash temp is the main one. There are lots of things that work.

I do remember my first time--all that setup, not sure if this is better over here or over there, where'd I put that thing, stopping to read directions....I remember at the end thinking "this is a heckuva lot of work....that beer better be great....."

Then I had to wait a couple weeks to find out it wasn't that great. But for some reason I persevered. I suspect many do not.

The main thing is to start all grain brewing. It is not necessary to reproduce the exact same thing each time, or even have a "perfect" brew, or exactly replicate someone else's recipe, or have perfect clarity. It is nice if it tastes good and is pleasant to drink. It is nice if it doesn't have off flavors, and if the body is not excessively heavy or excessively dry, but somewhere close to what you want, a good fermentable wort that finishes at a desirable gravity. It's not rocket science........ brewing is easy, and it's hard to make a bad beer if you exercise some care and judgment. It's even easy to make a brew that everybody who drinks it will think is the same as the last brew you made. We aren't making Budweiser, and every bottle needn't be indistinguishable from the previous one, but every bottle should be a joy to open and a pleasure to drink, and leave you wanting more.

This is slightly ajar from what you wrote above, but it prompted this. I know a local brewer, 22 years experience, and he is just absolutely stuck on style. He sampled a few of my beers, and he kept trying to put them into styles. All I wanted, really, was to know if they were any good or not.

As in, would you have another?

I've helped a friend learn brewing recently who has been sometimes a nervous nellie about whether it's being done right or not. I keep telling him not to worry, we'll make beer. He's got a Boston Lager clone in the keg, conditioning. I kept telling him that, based on what we did, we may or may not be close to Sam Adams, but I feel very confident we'll get good beer. I'm more interested in having a good, tasty beer than I am in producing a Boston Lager clone.

 

[MaryB]

You left out a vital piece of information! Batch size! I brew 11 gallons at a time, it takes longer to heat things up(no I cannot do it the day before without spending a crap load of money) and to cool the wort to pitching temps!

Brewing all grain can be an ordeal that takes many hours, or it can be quick and easy. What is not immediately obvious is that the amount of time you put into brewing has little if anything to do with the quality of the finished product, nor does the sophistication of your "system".

There are a number of ways to cut time down greatly, the main one being brew in a bag, and anybody who claims it produces "inferior beer" is filling you full of BS. Another is to have your water preheated long before you start, and your grain and hops pre-measured. I routinely use my sous vide to set mash temp so when I get home it's exactly what I want, and if I start with a plan, I have grain and hops pre-measured. The single vessel used for BIAB means only one to wash, and very little else to clean up. The brew bag is turned inside out and shaken in the yard, then tossed in the washing machine with no soap at a low water setting, and is clean and hanging before the brew is over. You can cut mash time down as low as 20 minutes, depending on crush, and unless you are using pilsner malt, there is no real reason for an hour boil. Adjust your hop additions and quantities accordingly. A good chiller is important, but extremely simple....just a coil of copper with hoses on each end.

I've beaten 2.5 hours quite a few times...... that's about 1/3 of the time mentioned in the initial post. My last two brews were no boil / no chill, and both were less than ONE HOUR. I did a hop decoction on the side while raising the wort to 170, and holding it there. The brew was poured into the fermenter (preheated glass fermenter) straight from the boil kettle / mash tun. I suspect that it is impossible to do an extract brew in 50 minutes!!!!!!

Unfortunately people make brewing far to complex here, and often tend to imply that it must be. I'm here to say that it does NOT have to be complicated or time consuming. If you are obsessed with traditional process, you CAN spend many hours brewing, but anybody who claims that this necessarily produces "better beer" is full of BS!!




H.W.

 

[MaryB]

Day before: Measure water additions, weigh hops, weigh grains.
Day of:
Step 1: Close all valves on everything
Step 2: Fill the mash tun with water and turn the burner on
Step 3: crush grains if I didn't get to it the day before. With 11 gallon batches it requires 2 5 gallon buckets to keep sealed over night.
Step 4: Mash in after stirring in water additions
Step 5: Fill HLT and add water additions and stir so they dissolve
Step 6: At 30 minutes into the mash heat the HLT
Step 7: Mash out if desired(heck I skip it and just sparge) or vorlauf and sparge
Step 8: as wort comes to a boil empty mash tun and rinse and dry the inside and put it back on its burner so waste heat from the boil burner dries it completely
Step 9: Boil, during the boil at the 20 minute left mark put the immersion chiller in to sterilize, and sanitize the fermenting buckets(s) and airlocks.
Step 10: cool
Step 11: transfer to fermenter(s)
Step 12: add water to BK and scrub then rinse. I only use cleaning chemicals if it is nasty, immediate cleaning and rinsing prevents this.

I have trimmed that as far as I can and an 11 gallon batch takes 6 1/2 hours minimum. No way to cut it any more. Sure I sit and read a book or BS with friends during a large part of it as I do the sit and wait routine but there is always misc. cleaning to get done, wipe the brew stand down, think of changes I should make... I do as much cleanup prep the next step etc as possible between steps but when dealing with 13 gallons of wort to bring to a boil it takes time even though I start heating it when the HLT is empty. Same for bringing ~ 8 gallons of mash water up to temp. Only step I may save time on is sparging if I go brew in a bag but I am not ready to use more grain to achieve the same brewery efficiency I have now that is 80-84%.

Keep in mind at times I am starting with water that is 36 degrees or so in winter and that adds time!

 

[texasbrewer73]

So many good suggestions here! The main items I see is be organized and prepared.

The project manager in me looked at my process in terms of the "critical path". Those items are heat water (time consuming for 10 Gallon batches with a herms coil), mash, lauter, bring to boil, boil, whirlpool, chill, and rack, and final cleanup (boil kettle, hoses, pump(s), and chiller).

All the other things - grain crush, cleaning, sterilization, etc can be done while other things are happening. When I start my brew day, I rinse out pots, but my cleanup after the last boil is where they get a deep scrub if needed. I spend most of my time waiting for water to heat. Takes me a total of 6-7 hours to put 11 gallons in the fermenter.

 

[mmiddleton]

I've never brewed with someone else participating, and it's never been an issue. In fact, the best batch I've made yet was when I had the house to myself the night before (for prep), and the actual brew day. Other batches have been good, but mistakes happen with distractions...and I can be easy to distract *LOL*

 

[Owly055]

Personally I have no desire to brew 11 gallon batches........ I like to brew more often than that, or perhaps don't drink as much as you do ;-)

Batch size increases heating time and cooling time, as well as run off time if you are using a conventional mash tun system.

Time can be reduced by improved heating and cooling......... larger burner and / or an electric supplemental heat system. I helped a friend modify a brand new water heater so the thermostat could be turned up to 180.... just a matter of clipping off a plastic stop. Commercial water heaters run this hot. He's single so the hot water does not pose any threat to children. The water by the time it is run into the brew kettle is strike water temp. This saves time. He cranks the water heater temp up the night before. The largest propane burner you can get, and a shroud around the pot to force the heat up along the side of the pot, and one or more electric plug in heating elements to accelerate the process. A lid helps. I built a 2500 watt floating heater I use to help speed my brew to boil.

Note that water heaters do NOT pollute the water that runs through them, in fact they remove minerals from the water........ If you've ever cut one apart you know that they will be full of mineral deposits.........this is all stuff that has been removed from the water.

A larger chiller...... immersion or counterflow for fast cooling can make a big difference.

Brew in a bag takes less time........ and makes for fewer pots to clean, and you can be heating your boil while squeezing the bag

You do not need to boil for an hour with modern malts as far as DMS concerns. Long boils concentrate wort, and give a somewhat better efficiency.........but is the time worth it for a pound or so of grain? Do a 30 minute boil

A finer crush will allow a mash of 20-30 minutes. My technique of doughing in at about 130, and heating and stirring to mash temp, rapid heating to 145, and heating from 145 to 155 at about 2 or 3 minutes to the degree results in excellent conversion and I feel good flavor extraction. Mashing and heating times are combined. By the time the mash hits 155, conversion is complete, and it produces a very fermentable wort. It saves time but requires active participation for about 30 minutes. Sometimes It's better to be doing something than to be waiting.

There are always ways to cut time.............. You just have to step outside the box sometimes.


As far as I'm concerned, the simpler your rig the better...... I briefly went to a mash tun and "conventional" brewing methods, and I've played with recirculating and other things, but I come back to the simple BIAB as the best system for me.

Cutting brew size down makes individual brew days shorter, and allows you to brew more often and experiment more. It doesn't leave you with 11 gallons of one thing. large brews are for people who like to drink, small brews are for people who like to brew. Despite my short brew days, I have more time per pint than large brewers do........ But I have far more variety, and far more pure fun (my opinion), because I can wake up with an idea, hammer out a recipe on Brewer's Friend and brew......... virtually any day. I may brew straight through if I'm not working, or I may dough in at noon (or in the morning) and finish in the evening. I love to brew, to design brews, and to experiment. Brewing large doesn't interest me. I don't have fantasies about being a microbrewer....

H.W.

Day before: Measure water additions, weigh hops, weigh grains.
Day of:
Step 1: Close all valves on everything
Step 2: Fill the mash tun with water and turn the burner on
Step 3: crush grains if I didn't get to it the day before. With 11 gallon batches it requires 2 5 gallon buckets to keep sealed over night.
Step 4: Mash in after stirring in water additions
Step 5: Fill HLT and add water additions and stir so they dissolve
Step 6: At 30 minutes into the mash heat the HLT
Step 7: Mash out if desired(heck I skip it and just sparge) or vorlauf and sparge
Step 8: as wort comes to a boil empty mash tun and rinse and dry the inside and put it back on its burner so waste heat from the boil burner dries it completely
Step 9: Boil, during the boil at the 20 minute left mark put the immersion chiller in to sterilize, and sanitize the fermenting buckets(s) and airlocks.
Step 10: cool
Step 11: transfer to fermenter(s)
Step 12: add water to BK and scrub then rinse. I only use cleaning chemicals if it is nasty, immediate cleaning and rinsing prevents this.

I have trimmed that as far as I can and an 11 gallon batch takes 6 1/2 hours minimum. No way to cut it any more. Sure I sit and read a book or BS with friends during a large part of it as I do the sit and wait routine but there is always misc. cleaning to get done, wipe the brew stand down, think of changes I should make... I do as much cleanup prep the next step etc as possible between steps but when dealing with 13 gallons of wort to bring to a boil it takes time even though I start heating it when the HLT is empty. Same for bringing ~ 8 gallons of mash water up to temp. Only step I may save time on is sparging if I go brew in a bag but I am not ready to use more grain to achieve the same brewery efficiency I have now that is 80-84%.

Keep in mind at times I am starting with water that is 36 degrees or so in winter and that adds time!

 

[mongoose33]

Brew in a bag takes less time........ and makes for fewer pots to clean, and you can be heating your boil while squeezing the bag

You do not need to boil for an hour with modern malts as far as DMS concerns. Long boils concentrate wort, and give a somewhat better efficiency.........but is the time worth it for a pound or so of grain? Do a 30 minute boil

A finer crush will allow a mash of 20-30 minutes. My technique of doughing in at about 130, and heating and stirring to mash temp, rapid heating to 145, and heating from 145 to 155 at about 2 or 3 minutes to the degree results in excellent conversion and I feel good flavor extraction. Mashing and heating times are combined. By the time the mash hits 155, conversion is complete, and it produces a very fermentable wort. It saves time but requires active participation for about 30 minutes. Sometimes It's better to be doing something than to be waiting.

I upgraded my brew equipment over the holidays, including moving up from an 8-gallon kettle with a thermometer sticking well into the kettle, to a 10-gallon Spike kettle w/ the thermometer at the bottom.

This was in anticipation of, at some point, doing BIAB. I don't have a bag yet, but that's not hard to remedy.

So I may try some of these approaches to compare. Cutting the mash to 30 minutes, cutting the boil to 30 minutes, no sparging, ability to directly control the temp of the mash--all of those would be advantages if the process produces beer just as good as my current arrangement.

As a rough rule of thumb--if I have a grain bill of, say, 12# for a traditional mash, what would I need to up that to for a no-sparge BIAB approach? 15# more or less? And I'd need to add a bit more water to make up for the additional absorption of the extra grain.

 

[Owly055]

I upgraded my brew equipment over the holidays, including moving up from an 8-gallon kettle with a thermometer sticking well into the kettle, to a 10-gallon Spike kettle w/ the thermometer at the bottom.

This was in anticipation of, at some point, doing BIAB. I don't have a bag yet, but that's not hard to remedy.

So I may try some of these approaches to compare. Cutting the mash to 30 minutes, cutting the boil to 30 minutes, no sparging, ability to directly control the temp of the mash--all of those would be advantages if the process produces beer just as good as my current arrangement.

As a rough rule of thumb--if I have a grain bill of, say, 12# for a traditional mash, what would I need to up that to for a no-sparge BIAB approach? 15# more or less? And I'd need to add a bit more water to make up for the additional absorption of the extra grain.

As a rule, I've hit 80% or better efficiency using BIAB based on numbers from Brewer's Friend designed for "conventional" brew, so I would say try it with no additional grain to start with. Don't forget a fine crush if you are going to do the short mash time. I set my rollers at .025 using a feeler gauge when doing this, and I double crush.
I also strongly recommend the "inline mash" I described, douging in at 130 or so, fast heat to 145, and heat to 155 at 1 deg every 3 minutes approximately. This seems to produce a better conversion and more flavor extraction than simply pouring into strike water at strike temp. Stirring is more important in a short mash also. This is based entirely on my own results and experiments, your mileage may vary.

I spent months honing my techniques to reduce my brew day, pursuing ideas and experiments. My 20-30 minute mash was not my original idea at all. RM-MN suggested to me that conversion could take place in as little as 10 minutes based on reading he had done. I did a 10 minute proof of concept brew, and found that full conversion took place but attenuation was not quite up to snuff. The inline mash can produce very fermentable wort in as little as 15 minutes, though 20 is safer and crush is important. Most folks who adopted the short mash do 30 minutes.
You will have to experiment to see what works for you. It's always best to experiment in smaller batches as you hone in on a process or recipe that works well for you, and develop your system.

H.W.

 

[mongoose33]

As a rule, I've hit 80% or better efficiency using BIAB based on numbers from Brewer's Friend designed for "conventional" brew, so I would say try it with no additional grain to start with. Don't forget a fine crush if you are going to do the short mash time. I set my rollers at .025 using a feeler gauge when doing this, and I double crush.
I also strongly recommend the "inline mash" I described, douging in at 130 or so, fast heat to 145, and heat to 155 at 1 deg every 3 minutes approximately. This seems to produce a better conversion and more flavor extraction than simply pouring into strike water at strike temp. Stirring is more important in a short mash also. This is based entirely on my own results and experiments, your mileage may vary.

I spent months honing my techniques to reduce my brew day, pursuing ideas and experiments. My 20-30 minute mash was not my original idea at all. RM-MN suggested to me that conversion could take place in as little as 10 minutes based on reading he had done. I did a 10 minute proof of concept brew, and found that full conversion took place but attenuation was not quite up to snuff. The inline mash can produce very fermentable wort in as little as 15 minutes, though 20 is safer and crush is important. Most folks who adopted the short mash do 30 minutes.
You will have to experiment to see what works for you. It's always best to experiment in smaller batches as you hone in on a process or recipe that works well for you, and develop your system.

H.W.

I appreciate the info. Bag is now ordered, so we'll see how it goes. I do have one question--my mill came already adjusted and I'm getting 80+ % efficiency, so I never adjusted the gap.

One thing I could never figure out is when you use a credit card or a feeler gauge or whatever, is the gap between the teeth of the rollers or between the rollers (sans teeth)?

Never had a need to ask that question before now.

 

[skraeling]

Stirring is more important in a short mash also.

Ill be trying this my next grainfather brew even though its a recirc setup. Going to stir 30mins into mash see if I cant eek out a few % better. If not for any particular reason other than I like tinkering.

 

[madscientist451]

I don't worry about how much time it takes to brew, mostly because I'm doing other things while brewing. While the mash is going on, I clean up around the house and kitchen, siphon a previous brew from the carboy to a keg or relax and surf the internet; the same with the boil. Sometimes I have something cooking in the oven while boiling beer on the top of the stove. I actually prefer not to have anyone around. I always have a lot of chores and work to do around the property, a brew day is more of a day off for me than anything. I suppose its all how you think about your time and things you HAVE to do versus things you WANT to do.

 

[Owly055]

I appreciate the info. Bag is now ordered, so we'll see how it goes. I do have one question--my mill came already adjusted and I'm getting 80+ % efficiency, so I never adjusted the gap.

One thing I could never figure out is when you use a credit card or a feeler gauge or whatever, is the gap between the teeth of the rollers or between the rollers (sans teeth)?

Never had a need to ask that question before now.

I measure between the teeth. As I said before, your mileage may vary. What works for me may not work as well for you. Finer crush releases starches more quickly, but also tends to give you a bit more trub in the fermenter...... There's a trade off to everything. I'd start where you are, and watch your conversion progress. An iodine test can tell you, but I prefer to use a refractometer, which you can buy on Ebay for about $20. An occasional drop of wort on the hydrometer tells you how conversion is progressing. little or nothing will be apparent at first, but then everything will seem to go all at once. Remember that conversion isn't the whole picture. Nothing will tell you weather your gravity is simple sugars or complex sugars.


H.W.

 

[balrog]

+1 what @madscientist451 said -- other things go on. I saw somewhere that brewing is a few hrs of boredom punctuated by a couple moments of sheer panic. During the slow times is when you rack prior fermentations to kegs/bottling bucket, or do your tax return. Just not while the wort is coming to a boil the first time.

 

[Lambo3]

That's a chore I always need to handle... Clearing dishes or of the sink, clearing space, etc... And demanding I have the kitchen to myself.

 

[Owly055]

Here's today's brew day

Decided on the spur of the moment to brew today instead of later in the week, grabbed my brew kettle and put it under the tap, filling with hot tap water

While it was filling, sat down and worked out a grain bill and hop bill

Put kettle on to heat to strike temp, went out to the shed and measured and crushed grain

Came back and it was almost to strike temp...... waited.

Dropped bag in kettle poured grain in, stirred good, wrapped with insulation, made and ate lunch, then left for the afternoon.

Total elapsed time involved in brewing at that point 21 minutes

Returned at 4:00, lifted the bag and set a colander under it and cranked up the heat full bore, measured hop additions, washed colander, dumped spent grain shook out bag and tossed it in my little washing machine. Boiling by 4:15

put in first hop addition, cleaned my floating heater and put it away, put insulation away, got out immersion cooler, funnel, and large enamel water bath canner I set the brew kettle in during cooling so it cools from the outside as well as the immersion chiller that dumps water into the big kettle where it runs over and down the sink..... trap removed from sink, metal block to tilt the big kettle in place.

As I sit here writing, I have 10 minutes to the final 5 minute addition of hops, and 15 to end of boil. End of boil will be 4:45. Everything is in place for the final phase. This brew is going into my "continuous fermenter", so the only sanitizing is the big funnel. Oops, I forgot to grab the step ladder......... but it's right outside, I'll grab it during chilling.

I really need a check list if I want to do things efficiently, but I've done it so many times and so often that I rarely get crossed up.

Final addition added, I'll drop the chiller into the kettle as I shut off the boil in 5 minutes, lift the whole works into position, hook up the cooling water, and go......Takes about 6 minutes to chill to pitch temp..... pull out the chiller, and lift raise the wort up the ladder, pour it in the fermenter pull out the funnel and grab the top for the fermenter and screw it down, and begin clean up and put away........ very little to clean up. Just the brew kettle, chiller and funnel, and of course dump the water out of the big kettle. I use the bath tub for clean up as it's right down the hall, and I have a quick connect on the shower head for a hose and spray gun so I can spray a large volume of very hot water.
Put clean things away, take ladder back, etc.
Finished 4:58 Elapsed afternoon time: 58 minutes, morning time 21 minutes for a total actual brew time of an hour and 19 minutes. I don't count the time while I was off doing other things as "brew time". If I'd done an hour mash and stayed there, it wouild have been 2 hours and 19 minutes, or an hour and 49 minutes with a 30 minute mash.

........... The point is that it's possible to make brewing really painless. I'm brewing only 2.5 gallons, but I have a much smaller burner than the big boys.....just the one on the stove top plus my 2500 watt floating heater, and a much smaller chiller. Everything takes a bit longer if you brew larger batches, but you can scale your equipment to virtually eliminate that time difference.

Larger scale usually means moving out of the kitchen.....but I've done 5 gallons in the kitchen with the equipment I have. A laundry room with concrete floor and floor drain is about ideal for brewing. If I lived in such a place, I'd probably tap right into the natural gas line to run the burner, and use a lockable gas valve, but most folks are not as comfortable with gas as I am.

For me it was a brew day and a work around the place day, working on vehicles and machinery (my own), a few welding projects, and various other things. Brewing took a very small bite out of my day. In the summer I can mow the lawn while mashing, do garden work, etc............ The key for me is PLAN my brew day. I either star the day with a plan, or formulate a plan as I go along. Some beers do fine with the many hour mash, others I want to control more tightly, but in the end it doesn't matter much because temp loss gives you roughly an hour mash even if you leave it all day.

H.W.

 

[CGVT]

TL;DR

Condensed version?

 

[McKnuckle]

Condensed version?

He brewed beer and it was no big whoop.

 

[CGVT]

He brewed beer and it was no big whoop.

Thanks.