I have been brewing for about a year and a half, and the last year or so doing all grain. I keep hearing/reading lots of extract and PM folks talk about how much work they think AG is and how much longer it takes than extract. Granted, it IS a little bit more work, and a little more time; but it really doesn't seem all that bad to me. Let me run down my equipment and typical process... times are approximate, but fairly consistent.
5 Gallon economy pot for strike and sparge
8 gallon alumaclad bottom boil kettle
5 Gallon round Igloo mash tun
60 minute single infusion mashe, 2 batch sparges due to equipment restraints. And 60 minute boil.
11:00 AM - Get strike water on the stove to heat, about 2.5-3 gallons depending on grain bill. Fill a bucket with sanitizer and all things to be sanitized for the day. Weigh grain and hops, crush grain.
11:30 AM - Dough in. Add half of required sparge water to 5 G pot. If a fermenter needs to be cleaned this is the time I do it (though it is usually already clean).
12:00 PM - Heat first sparge.
12:30 PM - Vorlauf and collect first runnings. When its done running I sometimes throw it on the stove on medium heat so as to shave boil up time. Dump first batch spage in, stir, cover and wait 15 minutes. Fill 5 G pot with reminder of sparge water and heat on high on stove.
12:45-1:00 PM - vorlauf and collect second runnings. Add second sparge, stir and cover, wait 15 minutes.
1:30ish PM - Vorlauf and collect final runnings. Get kettle on stove heat high heat until it boils, usually takes a half hour or a little more to get there. While waiting for boil I usually empty and clean out the MLT.
2:00-2:15 PM - Add first boil addition, set boil timers and add hops as necessary. Add IC at last 15 minutes.
3:00-3:30 PM - flame out, kick on chiller, usually takes 10-20 minutes to chill depending on season (ONLY reason I like winter is for the cold tap water)
By 4:00 I have cooled wort in the fermenter, pitched and airlocked, equipment cleaned and draining and all peripherals put away. And 4:00 is if I slow heat water to make sure I don't go over temp or have any kind of "issues".
I don't really think 5 hours is a long time for a good AG brew with problems, and I regularly knock it out in 4-4.5 hours. And almost always I am running around doing other things while waiting for strike to heat, waiting for mash to finish, waiting for kettle to boil... I have 3 kids, so there is no such thing as a dedicated brew day. Making lunches, starting dinner, sometimes grilling during the brew. Am I doing something wrong, or is this typical? Or is my kitchen just magic? Seems all too simple to me.
5 Gallon economy pot for strike and sparge
8 gallon alumaclad bottom boil kettle
5 Gallon round Igloo mash tun
60 minute single infusion mashe, 2 batch sparges due to equipment restraints. And 60 minute boil.
11:00 AM - Get strike water on the stove to heat, about 2.5-3 gallons depending on grain bill. Fill a bucket with sanitizer and all things to be sanitized for the day. Weigh grain and hops, crush grain.
11:30 AM - Dough in. Add half of required sparge water to 5 G pot. If a fermenter needs to be cleaned this is the time I do it (though it is usually already clean).
12:00 PM - Heat first sparge.
12:30 PM - Vorlauf and collect first runnings. When its done running I sometimes throw it on the stove on medium heat so as to shave boil up time. Dump first batch spage in, stir, cover and wait 15 minutes. Fill 5 G pot with reminder of sparge water and heat on high on stove.
12:45-1:00 PM - vorlauf and collect second runnings. Add second sparge, stir and cover, wait 15 minutes.
1:30ish PM - Vorlauf and collect final runnings. Get kettle on stove heat high heat until it boils, usually takes a half hour or a little more to get there. While waiting for boil I usually empty and clean out the MLT.
2:00-2:15 PM - Add first boil addition, set boil timers and add hops as necessary. Add IC at last 15 minutes.
3:00-3:30 PM - flame out, kick on chiller, usually takes 10-20 minutes to chill depending on season (ONLY reason I like winter is for the cold tap water)
By 4:00 I have cooled wort in the fermenter, pitched and airlocked, equipment cleaned and draining and all peripherals put away. And 4:00 is if I slow heat water to make sure I don't go over temp or have any kind of "issues".
I don't really think 5 hours is a long time for a good AG brew with problems, and I regularly knock it out in 4-4.5 hours. And almost always I am running around doing other things while waiting for strike to heat, waiting for mash to finish, waiting for kettle to boil... I have 3 kids, so there is no such thing as a dedicated brew day. Making lunches, starting dinner, sometimes grilling during the brew. Am I doing something wrong, or is this typical? Or is my kitchen just magic? Seems all too simple to me.