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fullstop22

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I was thinking on my next brew day of brewing two beers back to back. I would have every thing set up . Take one out of mash tun put in the next etc. It seems like this may add an hour or two but would have two brews done and only one major clean up. One would be a blue moon the other a blueberry wheat. Has anyone done this and how did the day turn out.
 
i can tell you that 4 consecutive batches is a day - no matter how dedicated you are it's definetly something to do on saturday and crash sunday
 
I frequently brew two batches at the same time and it adds about 90 minutes to my total time. I have two mash tuns and use the stove for sparge water, which cuts down on the time.

The only drawback is that it requires a lot more focus, since you have to add hops to the first batch while you are sparging the second. The first time I did it, I was late on a couple hop additions. I would not suggest doing it while drinking.

There was also the 24 hour brew day, which put me off of brewing for a few months.
 
As long as you're ready...I mean mentally ready...go for it.

Like any endeavor, if you're psyched for the occasion, it's easier.

You will be tired afterward though.
 
If you're the type (like me) that spends an hour or so just finding all your stuff in the cluttered garage, it's not going to work. Make sure you have everything ready to go and laid out, get your grain milled the night before. You can also measure out your first batch of water and fill the kettle/HLT the night before. Make sure you have two different timers.
 
I may have to re-think this as I work the overnight on weekends and would be brewing on a sunday. I would be sleep deprived & the the old body clock way out of wack not a good combo for good focus. Thanks for the imput I will let you know what happens. Will not be brewing till it gets warmer, temp. now 48 high tomorrow 16. got to love MICHIGAN.
 
I have done 2. It was an 8 hour shift, and I was durn tired.
I did get 11 gallons of beer out of the deal...

It really depends on how efficient your setup is. Not efficient in terms of extraction, but in terms of work done by you!

If you have to walk up 2 floors from where you brew to get your equipment, you may not want to attempt two, but if you use a basement where you store equipment, ferment, bottle/keg, clean then there may not be a big issue...
 
When I brew I normally do 2-3 5 gallon batches at once. I figure I have everything rolling I might as well brew more. I usually start the mash when I go into work on Saturday morning (my first one is always a big beer), then when I come home 3-4 hours later I sparge then get that batch boiling as the next batch is in the MT. I can do 1 batch in 4 hours, or 3 batches in 6 hours, it is a no brainer for me and my set up. And by the end of the afternoon I am fine to go out.
 
biggenious has a good point. You can mash for hours while you are away/busy and then pick up at the sparge when you get back. Just don't expect a big jump in effeciency vs. 90 min mash. That was my expectation which didn't pan out.
90 min seems to be the point of diminishing return on most of my mashes. Longer doesn't get any more sugar out, but it sure doesn't hurt.

I have mashed as long as 7 hours with no ill effects like lacto bacteria/ off flavors. Granted I use a cooler MLT (wrapped in a blanked for the long mashes).

My next step is to mash early in the morning till I get off work at 5 and see how a 9 hour mash works out...
 
We regularly do two 20's, back to back. One of us brewers takes charge of the goings on and the other mans the BBQ while the minions do the cleaning and such. 40 G's of beer isn't so bad for a day's work. :)
 
It can be done, even without ultimate focus. The real trick is to accurately plan out the entire day, then follow the plan. Label the first step as time= 00:00. Then map out the times at which you will do each step. Then on brew day, as soon as you get started, write down the time and amend each step's time to the corresponding value. That way, you can keep on track and minimize mistakes. Plus it won't take you 12 hours if you are ready for "the next step" before it's time to do it.
 
I'm rollin' with two PM batches on Sunday. I"m in the process of laying out the day, including time for multiple beer tastings, pizza/wings ordering, and cheering/jeering/watching commercials during the Super Bowl. I usually do two extract batches in a day, and this'll be the first attempt at two PMs in a day. I'm thinking 7 hours. We'll see what happens.

Cheers,
 
Bobby_M said:
If you're the type (like me) that spends an hour or so just finding all your stuff in the cluttered garage, it's not going to work. Make sure you have everything ready to go and laid out, get your grain milled the night before. You can also measure out your first batch of water and fill the kettle/HLT the night before. Make sure you have two different timers.

This is excellent advice even if you're not going to do multiple batches in a day. With my AG setup I'd do this very thing, essentially making my own 'pre-made kit' the night before. Also gotta remember to portion out and label your hop additions as well!
 
If you don't mind 10 gals of the same beer, why not do a split batch ? I know it won't be a full boil, but you cld still boil 7-8 gals of concentrated wort, then pitch to 5 buckets ... takes the same time as a single g gal batch ...

I have done it before, using 2 diff yeasts ...

I think I will do that for a big batch of EdWorts Haus ale.
 
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