Brew day is exhausting!

[Traftas]

I brew outside with a Blichmann Top Tier Stand. The top tier is stored in garage and all other equipment including a 20G Pot, 10G pot, 10G Mash Tun, grain mill, hoses, etc.... ingredients are stored in my basement. Essentially when I brew I am moving a complete brewery outside to my back yard patio and after cleanup moving it back into storage. A complete brew day including prep and cleanup and putting all equipment away can be 7 hours...I got to figure out an easier method.

 

[Coastalbrew]

I'm assuming you are using propane burners on your stand rather than electric? Have you ever considered switching to electric and brewing indoors? Or just keeping everything together in the garage so it's all in one place?

I brew smaller batches than you, 3-5G typically, and brew indoors in an all in one system. The system I use wouldn't work for you probably, but there are electric systems that would still allow you to do your larger batch size without all the hassle and cleanup of your 3 vessel system.

Cheers!

 

[eric19312]

OP just saw your other thread trying to sell this system. This thread might not be so helpful for that sale lol. It's a good system but will be much easier to use if you can manage to store all the gear near where you brew. How about store it all in the garage (as suggested by @Coastalbrew) and brew in your driveway instead of backyard?

 

[bobeer]

Homebrewing is definitely a labor of love.
I brew 5 gallon batches mostly in the kitchen, and all my stuff is in the basement (kettles mlt, mill, tools for brew day, mash paddle, etc..., so I get it. Been doing it for about a decade. I have to lug a few things at a time up and down stairs as I need them and it's a pain. I have gotten a few plastic bins to put the odds and ends in so it makes it a little easier but I'm still hauling stuff up and down. Until I can make a designated brew space its just the way I'm livin'.

 

[twd000]

I got a rolling cart and store it in my garage. Just wheel it on on brew day and store after cleanup. I also simplified to single vessel BIAB. I'm done and dusted in under 3 hours

 

[tracer bullet]

I brew in the garage and store in the garage. Only thing I need from a different location is water since I don't want to pull from a 50' rubber hose.

Is garage an option? Or just not as nice a space?

 

[Harleybrew32]

Got room in the back yard for a Brew Shed??

 

[Jim R]

I agree with you that brew days are too long which adds some burden to the hobby. I have worked hard to figure out ways to shorten my brew days. I started timing everything and then considering ways to shorten each step. I have gotten my brew day down to 4 hours, 20 min. I wish I could shorten it a little more.

I do 5 gal batches with a simple cooler mash tun and boil kettle. I use a fast Blichmann Hellfire burner which really helped me shorten my heating times with a second cheap turkey fryer burner so I can simultaneously heat up sparge water, water to warm my mast tun, etc.. I do take a little time the night before to set up the burners and measure out the water, etc. so I am ready to just start the burners in the morning. I am still looking for more ways to shorten my times.

 

[eric19312]

Here’s one strategy...

(just having fun with you). Not sure if OP is new brewer who inherited a system built by and for someone with different brewing goals or just new to HBT. Welcome to the hobby you are probably onto something looking for smaller easier brew day while you figure out if you really enjoy the hobby. I also do a 7 hour brew day and am physically exhausted by the end but it’s a happy exhausted that I look forward too.

 

[eric19312]

Here is an idea. Just use the 20 gallon pot and one of the hellfire burners. Get a BIAB bag and do full volume (no sparge) BIAB. Get a jaded hydra immersion chiller and the right drill for that grain mill. You have a perfect overhead structure for hooking up a pulley system for lifting the bag.

you can likely turn out 10 gallon batches in 4 hours.

 

[RM-MN]

I am still looking for more ways to shorten my times.

Are you willing to spend some money to shorten your day?

1. Mash time is directly related to the milling of the grain. I bought a Corona style mill (about $30 currently) and a pair of paint strainer bags (5 gallon bags, 2 per pack, about $5). Set the mill tight as it will go. Now you can use the bag in the boil kettle and do a 30 minute mash. Now you have no mash tun to clean up. The downside of this is you will likely have to adjust the recipes to account for higher mash efficiency.
2. Since you have a high output burner, use cool water for sparge (if you do a sparge, not necessary with BIAB but it does increase the brewhouse efficiency). No more using the second burner and kettle, less to put away.
3. Unless you are using mostly Pilsener malt, shorten the boil time. I boil 30 minutes. The downside of this is you have to adjust the amount of water to account for the shorter boil and the hops for the lower extraction. You still get about 90% of the bittering at 30 minutes.

 

[BrewZer]

Homebrewing is definitely a labor of love.
I brew 5 gallon batches mostly in the kitchen, and all my stuff is in the basement (kettles mlt, mill, tools for brew day, mash paddle, etc..., so I get it. Been doing it for about a decade. I have to lug a few things at a time up and down stairs as I need them and it's a pain. I have gotten a few plastic bins to put the odds and ends in so it makes it a little easier but I'm still hauling stuff up and down. Until I can make a designated brew space its just the way I'm livin'.

google "stair lift"

 

[day_trippr]

lol!

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I Biab with a King cooker jet stand from HD.
It all stays outside under a tarp when not used and can brew 10g batches.
You could build a lean- to off the side of the house to store it outside.

 

[bracconiere]

i figure it takes all day, wether it's 3-4 hours or 7-8...so i take naps....

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Having a dedicated spot to brew certainly does make brew day a little easier than hauling everything out then packing it away again. I have a spot in the basement to brew but I still do some tasks a day or two ahead to shorten the actual brew day. My recipe is printed out, grain is milled into the mash tun, the HLT (electric) is filled and the temp is dialed in, hops are measured out and the boil equipment is ready. I also check over all the tubing, clamps, pumps and all that to make sure they are secure and not damage or cracked. Everything that touches the wort/beer is sanitized beforehand too.

Just a few suggestions to do some things before the brew day.

 

[Jtvann]

I brew outside with a Blichmann Top Tier Stand. The top tier is stored in garage and all other equipment including a 20G Pot, 10G pot, 10G Mash Tun, grain mill, hoses, etc.... ingredients are stored in my basement. Essentially when I brew I am moving a complete brewery outside to my back yard patio and after cleanup moving it back into storage. A complete brew day including prep and cleanup and putting all equipment away can be 7 hours...I got to figure out an easier method.

I’m going to reply without reading any other posts just to see how many people have said the same thing.

Get an electric biab all in 1 system. One pot and you can brew inside. You’ll be done brewing in 4ish hours including cleanup.

 

[jrgtr42]

I wonder why he has to move everything around the house? I mean, there may be reasons like a severely sloped driveway or something, but why not brew in the garage or just outside? Keeping most items near the brew area keeps lugging down. I store in my basement, and I used to brew just outside that door, so it wasn't too bad. My burner lives near the door, kettles and equipment weren;'t far - it was just a case of bringing the propane tank down. Now that |I went electric - induction burner - Most everything is in arms reach, with a few exceptions that are shared with the kitchen, so I try to bring them down at once, usually while strike water is heating.

 

[WesBrew]

Set up an electric brewery in the basement.

 

[Spartan1979]

I was in a similar situation as the OP, everything except my burner was stored in the basement. I even hauled the brewing water from my RO system up the stairs. A brew day consisted of many, many trips up and down the stairs. I built an electric system in my basement and brewing is so much easier.

 

[eric19312]

No sign of OP since Wednesday. Maybe he is still resting.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I used to break my 3 vessel rig down every time. I ended up making my own waterproof cover and left it there. I put casters on my rig and roll it out of the way. Find a person that makes custom boat covers. Made my life easier since I don’t have a garage. During the winter I blow out my cfc and HERMS coil.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Simple Homebrewing: Great Beer, Less Work, More Fun

 

[bobeer]

google "stair lift"

Would crowd the staircase too much and make it harder to bring the gear up and down.

 

[Broothru]

Here’s one strategy...

View attachment 702828
(just having fun with you). Not sure if OP is new brewer who inherited a system built by and for someone with different brewing goals or just new to HBT. Welcome to the hobby you are probably onto something looking for smaller easier brew day while you figure out if you really enjoy the hobby. I also do a 7 hour brew day and am physically exhausted by the end but it’s a happy exhausted that I look forward too.

+1

I'm reluctant to weigh in since my brewdays are getting longer rather than shorter. Seven hours is pretty much the norm anymore, counting cleanup. Used to be 3-4, especially when I was doing BIAB and plastic fermenters.

Now it's planning, prepping, setting up the day before brewing. Brew Day starts 6:30-7:00 am with heating the strike water and crushing the grain. It ends when the last of the pumps, transfer lines and TC fittings are on the drying rack and the yeast is pitched into the conical, usually 3:30-4:00 pm.

The good news? I enjoy doing it. It's my hobby, I'm retired, and I'm improving my craft and learning every time by taking the time. I get to share. I get to show off. What could be better?

Plus, I save alot of money. (Yeah...not so much). But it does tend to keep me outta' bars, so there's that.

Brooo Brother

 

[WesBrew]

You can also split your brew day mash-boil to make it seem shorter. If you are electric inside you could even do late night mash, collect wort. Set controller to turn on early am, knock out the boil and cleaning in the morning.

 

[tracer bullet]

It definitely adds up, but breaking it down is super important for me.

2 nights ahead - yeast starter. Probably 15 - 20 minutes because it includes getting some equipment unloaded. It helps that I store it all nearby.

Night before - getting the water ready and hauled to the garage. Weigh and add additives. Pull the burner and pots off the shelf. Set up the electric heater in the mash tun and associated temp controller and timer. This is an hour and a half.

Morning of - 15 minutes right after getting out of bed to check the strike water temp, add and stir grains, sanity check temps before walking away.

Finally after breakfast the brew day starts in earnest. From here it's about 4 hours start to finish including the chilling and yeast pitching, cleaning up, and so on. Much cleanup happens while things are boiling. More during chilling. I can start at 8Am and be done by noon (just barely), but repeatably.

My point being... I'm definitely 6 to 6.5 hours spent, but breaking it up helps a lot.

 

[amber-ale]

If brew-day is exhausting then you are doing something wrong. this hobby is supposed to be fun, not a drag

my brew day is 4 hours, start to finish, including set up and clean up. You need to simplify (as suggested above) or go smaller. Bring back the fun and remember the KISS principle

You don't have to do 5 gallon batches every time. try smaller batches brewed more often. I used to do 5 gallon batches too, but found myself stressed, dripping wort all over the floor and not having fun...at all.

Now I do 2.5 gallon (BIAB, all grain) batches, brew more often, enjoy brew day, don't need a yeast starter (small enough that a dry packet works just fine), can lift the heavy equipment, can brew inside the house on my stove with equipment I already have, all my brewing equipment (including empty bottles) fits into a cupboard and a tiny closet, no more wort spills and my brew day is 4 hours including set up/clean up and a movie/shopping trip while it mashes. Grains cost me less than $25 and I can brew on a whim and still have a life. True, I produce fewer bottles each time, but more batches means more flavor choices.

 

[Shaika-Dzari]

Small batch / BIAB on the stove is not so bad. Kitchen sink is right behind me so I'm doing the cleaning at the same time and usually end the brew day nearly as soon as I pitch the yeast.

 

[Broothru]

You can also split your brew day mash-boil to make it seem shorter. If you are electric inside you could even do late night mash, collect wort. Set controller to turn on early am, knock out the boil and cleaning in the morning.

I only wish I could brew inside. That was the primary reason I went all-electric and single vessel seven years ago. Used a 220V outlet where the dryer plugs in, easy access to my work space, deep laundry sink nearby, it was a brewer's Valhalla. I could even brew in the winter without freezing my wort off. But, Nooooo! SWMBO'd, who's not a beer drinker, said the smell of hops (imagine that) gave her a headache. I think she was just getting back at me for complaining when she'd steam kale or sauté cauliflower. Now that crap smells like death, amirite?

Anyhoo, I got banished to the great outdoors to mash and boil, and had to pay an electrician a couple of bill$ to wire me a 220V box near the patio. Not much brewing gets done after late October 'til April or May, so right now is my busy season squirreling brews away for the long winter months. The upside is that inadvertent spills are no longer a major catastrophe, and the remedy is only a hose spray away. That, plus the 'cigar bar' is always open while the boil is occurring.