Brew eve prep...

[djfriesen]

Right now, I'm a day-of prepper, with the obvious exception of a starter, if I'm using one. I like to run starters a couple days before, chill, and decant, so that takes some planning and proper prep.

I grind my own grain at the LHBS and my hops are weighed out to the individual additions and bagged there. I usually go to the store the day before brewday, and I leave with some of the prep stuff taken care of, so I don't need to do much on brewday. I don't do anything to my water right now, so I can basically measure out my strike water and start it up, then go get something to eat, or write on my hop baggies, or crack a beer, or measure out sparge water to have ready to go at the end of the mash.

 

[Piratwolf]

I feel geeky saying this, but I actually tend to prep over many days in advance. I'll weigh & sort hops as the wife and I watch tv one night, boil my starter wort while making dinner another, grind grains when I get home on a third, then clean & assemble my equipment the night before. Not only am I less harried on brew day (I often do two beers in one session) but prepping makes me happy during the week as I consider my upcoming brews!

 

[TrogdorTheBrewinator]

I started doing eve prep recently, although mine is a bit less involved - I just measure the grains, but don't crush them, measure hops, and get all the relevant equipment from the basement. I've got a question regarding precrushing grains though... Basically, are there any concerns with loss of diastatic power if you crush grains some 12 hours before you start mashing?

 

[Stauffbier]

Hey Stauffbier! Thanks! Did my first water additions. I found some food grade CaCl at a hardware store of places. EZ water says the additions should give me a well balance brew.

It went well except my effciency took a nose dive! Huge nose dive, I was planning 70 (a little lower than my average) but I hit 55%! That's ok though, this will be a nice session brew and is within range for IBUs, color, ABV for the style. Tasted great! Will find out in a few weeks.

EDIT Stauffbier did you get to brew this weekend?

I just found this after I already PM'd you. Interesting that your efficiency dropped so much. Any ideas as to why?
No brewing for me in a while. I have 3 empty primaries, and it's killing me!

 

[Stauffbier]

I feel geeky saying this, but I actually tend to prep over many days in advance. I'll weigh & sort hops as the wife and I watch tv one night, boil my starter wort while making dinner another, grind grains when I get home on a third, then clean & assemble my equipment the night before. Not only am I less harried on brew day (I often do two beers in one session) but prepping makes me happy during the week as I consider my upcoming brews!

This is actually what I do now that I think about it. One night is water filtration and treatment. One evening is going to LHBS to have my friend crush my grain for me or pick up last minute stuff. Then I assemble and prep equipment the night before I brew. I also set-up all of my pots with water on the burners the night before so I can just turn everything on to start heating while I have my coffee the morning of brew day...

 

[tennesseean_87]

This post made me think. For my next brew I will treat 12 gals water with a crushed campden tablet, add my CRS or AMS or dil sulphuric acid, boil for 5 mins and leave to cool overnight. I will also sterilise my igloo and slotted copper tube filter, wash, dry, and add my pale malt and liquor salts. So next morning heat water to 78 deg C and add to grain then have breakfast....

Should I be sanitizing my MT? I thought nothing pre-boil got that treatment.

I have recently been combining my bottling and brewing session. I don't have a grain mill, so I crush my grains at the LHBS. Heat strike water, start siphoning to the bottling bucket, dough in, set up filling wand, sanitize bottles, drain first runnings to an empty fementer, heat sparge water, fill half of bottles, dunk sparge, fill other half of bottles, start boil, move bottles to conditioning closet, back in time for first hops addition. I have found it does not take me any longer than a traditional brew-only day.

I like to do this too--bottle and wash yeast to free up a fermenter for the new brew--it keeps the pipeline full! Since I do half-batches, I figure a spot of washed yeast is enough for going without a starter, though I might re-think that soon.

I feel geeky saying this, but I actually tend to prep over many days in advance. I'll weigh & sort hops as the wife and I watch tv one night, boil my starter wort while making dinner another, grind grains when I get home on a third, then clean & assemble my equipment the night before. Not only am I less harried on brew day (I often do two beers in one session) but prepping makes me happy during the week as I consider my upcoming brews!

I know what you mean--I like having something beer-related to do between brew days. Right now it's check ferm temps. I'll bottle some apfelwein when I get enough time (but not enough for AG brew), and a few days before I'll start gathering ingredients, crush grains, etc. Last brew I treated and measure water the night before.

 

[Dan]

I just found this after I already PM'd you. Interesting that your efficiency dropped so much. Any ideas as to why?
No brewing for me in a while. I have 3 empty primaries, and it's killing me!

Saying a prayer for you and your primaries Stauffbier

I don't know why efficiency dropped so much Mike. I was using grains I'd never used before, accidentally ordered pre-crushed grains (I ground them again) added the brewing salt additions.

The original recipe called for a mash of 152, I went 155 for more body. Maybe the higher mash temp?

All I do know is the wort I sampled tasted pretty good! At this point I care but don't care, if you know what I mean. I made good beer! It will probably never compare to a professional brewer's beer.

Replying to this post is like time travel because either ahead of it or another post, or something... a person mentioned time between grinding of grain and the loss of the diastolic power of the grain might be directly proportional. I don't know.



Cheers Stauffbier!

 

[Stauffbier]

Hey Dan! Cheers to you too my friend!

I don't have a mill, and sometimes I get my grain crushed as much as 2 weeks before I brew with it. I still manage 79% efficiency, so I don't know if pre-crushing would have much impact beyond that amount of time. I will say that I think efficiency is highly overrated. If you make good beer, then that's all that matters. Sometimes an easy drinking, low ABV is just what the doctor ordered! Maybe someday we can trade brews via mail/shipping. I would love to sample your handywork!

I'm still not brewing this weekend. I have a grain order placed with some friends, and we're still waiting on delivery. If all goes well it will come in next week, and I'll do a partygyle during the memorial weekend to get my pipeline stocked up again!

 

[Dan]

That's great news Mike! I'd be in for a beer exchange for sure. Have a great weekend my friend. I stopped by HBT long enough this afternoon to get my "fix" and post another bad poem on the HBT poem thread.. I wrote it a week ago and have been debating.. h-e double toothpicks.. Why not?

Edit. Poem won't go up till next week. I worked on the original at work and it's on my computer there.

 

[Csuho]

I have here lately gone to the prep the day before hand and it has made the brewday much smoother than rushin around the day of to get it all around and then go and brew since I do brew 5 miles at the inlaws where all the mash tun and pots and burners are but the fermentation chamber is at my house.

 

[Stauffbier]

Getting ready for tomorrow's Memorial Day Weekend party-gyle!

 

[Dan]

Sounds like a good time Mike! Hope all went well!



Dan

 

[tre9er]

Getting ready for tomorrow's Memorial Day Weekend party-gyle!

Grits! I was going to use them for a blonde! Do you use rice hulls with grits? Never used them but was too lazy to wait for flaked corn.

 

[Stauffbier]

Sounds like a good time Mike! Hope all went well!



Dan

Thanks Dan! It went very well! I think I'll be doing party-gyle more often. It only added about 2.5 hours to my normal 5.5 hour brew day. I got the "Brewing bug" so bad that I ended up doing a 3.5 gal BIAB IPA the next day, too! I now have 3 primaries with beer again!! Such a good feeling!

I hope you had a great weekend with your family my friend!

Grits! I was going to use them for a blonde! Do you use rice hulls with grits? Never used them but was too lazy to wait for flaked corn.

I always use a handful of rice hulls, but I'm not really sure if I even needed to. My lauter flowed really fast. I'm going to give it a try without the hulls someday to see what happens. If it gets stuck, I'll toss some hulls in last minute and stir it all up to hopefully free up the flow again...

 

[joydivision]

I'm doing g my second brew tomorrow. Is it ok to clean and sanitize the night before? I would like to have about 3 gallons of boiled waternd in my fermenting bucket so that I can get straight to brewing.

 

[Stauffbier]

I'm doing g my second brew tomorrow. Is it ok to clean and sanitize the night before? I would like to have about 3 gallons of boiled waternd in my fermenting bucket so that I can get straight to brewing.

Sanitize the bucket before the sterile water goes in, and then put a sanitized lid on. It should be fine till the morning..

 

[Dan]

Hey Mike! Keep sharing that homebrew knowledge! Hope all is well brother. Cheers to you and to many great brew days, and to your family each and every day.

 

[Stauffbier]

Howdy Dan! Thanks buddy! I hope you and your family are doing well also. I'm not brewing for a while until I build my fermentation chamber. I finally got a chest freezer, and now I'm waiting for a temp controller to show up from China!

Take care my friend!