Brewing on a time constraint

[shoreman]

Short & Shotty mixed with Mosher's lazy guide to mashing http://allaboutbeer.com/article/the-lazy-brewers-guide-to-mashing/

I've been brewing this way for a couple years to stay in the hobby - can crank out a beer in 2 hours if you are good with your time & precrush, prewash.

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes, doing a no-sparge, slightly shortened boil, no-chill batch in two days utilizing dry yeast would break it into more manageable days. And remember to crush your grains and measure some ingredients beforehand. I've noticed that some people do 30min boils with decent results if not quite the brightest beers. You could also cut the mash time. Do a single step infusion at 150F so you would expect to see a drop in attenuation that is only 2-5% compared to a full 1hr mash.

 

[LittleRiver]

...doing a little here and there each day and not spending 8 hrs on new day. I'd like to here your process.

A 5gal all grain brew day for me takes about 3:40. That's everything, from start of pulling out the gear to everything cleaned and put away. That's with no prior prep, other than creating the recipe & checklist. I do a full hour mash and a full hour boil. If I cut 15 min off my mash and boil I could do a 3hr brew day.

I BIAB on a single vessel rig. That's one of the main reasons my times are good. There's just less gear to handle and clean. I don't rush at all, but I'm efficient with my time. While the mash water is heating I grind grains and get organized. I use a thermometer that has a remote probe and an alarm, so I don't have to be at the kettle to monitor temps, it will beep me when the water is ready.

I don't re-circulate during the mash, I just insulate the kettle (it typically stays within 1deg during the entire hour). That way I don't have to be at the kettle to monitor it. During the mash I do other things, including going to buy a 20lb bag of ice for $2 at a local grocery store, and measure my hops.

I don't sparge. I can hit or exceed recipe targets without it. My brewhouse efficiency is consistently in the low 80's. I grind at .025", which causes no problems in my process.

When the mash is complete I hoist the bag and tie it off so it can drain into the kettle. I immediately fire the heat for the boil. The bag is left hanging over the kettle during the boil, so gravity can fully drain it. By the end of the boil the bag is light and cool, easy to handle for disposal. There's no need to squeeze the bag, gravity has fully drained it. During the boil I prep my chilling system.

I use an inexpensive water transfer pump to recirculate water through my immersion chiller. I first recirculate from a 5gal bucket of tap water. The resulting hot water is saved to use as wash water during cleanup. Then I move the hoses over to a cooler that contains the ice and another 5gal of water. That quickly takes the wort down to pitching temp. The resulting warm water is saved for rinse water during cleanup.

Cleanup is a breeze. There's very little to clean, and my wash & rinse water are right there ready to use. I put some oxiclean in the hot water and use it to clean the kettle, etc. The immersion chiller gets cleaned by dunking in the cooler of warm water. The bag is the easiest thing to clean, it gets a dunking in the wash water, the rinse water, then hung up to dry.

Here's a photo of a pale ale, in case you have heard the myth that BIAB makes cloudy beer. The only thing I did to help clarity was a cold crash at the end of fermentation, no fining agents were used.

 

[kh54s10]

'm a terrible OP

Let me see if I can break this down and not bore you.

Night before measure my strike water and have that in pots on the stove ready to go. When I wake up I turn the heat on Brush my teeth and wait some more. Once it gets hot into my cooler it goes. Taskes about 40 mins get hot while I wait I give my mash tun a quick cleaning and set it up.. Add my grains and wait 1 hr. Then I slowly sparge. Add some more sparge water and do it again. Can take about an hr-90 mins. When I get enough wort collected I start to boil and take about 30-40 mins to get to boiling . I boil an hour then shut off the heat cool for an hr our before racking into fermenter. Racking takes about 20 mins for me. . Then time to clean up the pot. About 20 mins. While I wait for my wort to boil I clean my mash tun. My last recipe called for a 2 hour boil when I was making a scotch ale. I however did a rasberry wheat ale and found that it took me about 6 hours start to finish for clean up. I was pretty tired after all of that. This is a basic set up. Of course times are differnt based on the recipes.

I do not use electric kettles. I use a propane burner outside. I heat my strike water in seperate pots on an electric stove to save on propane. I batch sparge. Idk if going electric is the answer.

Also when I chill i use an immersion copper chiller and hook it up to a pump that has ice inside a cooler. I have been just bringing the temp down to about 120 degrees and racking it over like that. Put an airlock on it and wait til the next day to pitch the yeast. I dont feel like waiting all day.

I can save you at least 1 hour. Add your sparge water, stir, vorlauf and drain = 10 minutes, If you do a second half batch sparge - another 10 minutes. There is no need to let it sit. You are just rinsing sugars out of the grain.
20 minutes to rack? Get a ball valve in your kettle = racking then should take about 5 minutes.
Seems like a long time to cool if you are pumping ice water.
If you are racking at 120 degrees make sure you are not using glass carboys. That temperature into a colder carboy will weaken the glass Each thermal shock will add up until you have a failure. With PET fermenters that is close to the temperature that will deform the plastic.
What do you use for fermentation temperature control? I get the wort temperature as low as I can, put the fermenter in my chest freezer chamber and can pitch a few hours later. I usually finish brewing in the afternoon and pitch later that evening.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Add my grains and wait 1 hr. Then I slowly sparge. Add some more sparge water and do it again. Can take about an hr-90 mins. When I get enough wort collected I start to boil and take about 30-40 mins to get to boiling . I boil an hour then shut off the heat cool for an hr our before racking into fermenter. Racking takes about 20 mins for me. . Then time to clean up the pot. About 20 mins. While I wait for my wort to boil I clean my mash tun. My last recipe called for a 2 hour boil when I was making a scotch ale. I however did a rasberry wheat ale and found that it took me about 6 hours start to finish for clean up. I was pretty tired after all of that. This is a basic set up. Of course times are differnt based on the recipes.

Got it... So 8 hours was hyperbole. Understood. Based on the process you've described, I can see how you're looking at a 5-6 hour brew day. I think you can do better.

I can save you at least 1 hour. Add your sparge water, stir, vorlauf and drain = 10 minutes, If you do a second half batch sparge - another 10 minutes. There is no need to let it sit. You are just rinsing sugars out of the grain.
20 minutes to rack? Get a ball valve in your kettle = racking then should take about 5 minutes.

@kh54s10 has your first time saving tip right here. Batch sparging does NOT need to be done slowly like fly sparging. Drain the tun at full open. Add water, vorlauf, and drain the tun again at full open. No need to go slowly.

I BIAB on a single vessel rig. That's one of the main reasons my times are good. There's just less gear to handle and clean.
<snip>
I don't sparge. I can hit or exceed recipe targets without it. My brewhouse efficiency is consistently in the low 80's. I grind at .025", which causes no problems in my process.

When the mash is complete I hoist the bag and tie it off so it can drain into the kettle. I immediately fire the heat for the boil. The bag is left hanging over the kettle during the boil, so gravity can fully drain it. By the end of the boil the bag is light and cool, easy to handle for disposal. There's no need to squeeze the bag, gravity has fully drained it. During the boil I prep my chilling system.

@LittleRiver has time-saver #2. BIAB. No need for the separate mash tun and sparge step. Basically you don't have to sparge at all, so as soon as the mash is complete, you can start the burner for the boil. As mentioned, if you hoist the bag above the kettle, it will continue to drain as your boil kettle gets to temp.

Do you have recommendations on electric kettles? I was under the assumption that electric sucks for cooking and gas was the way to go. In terms of brewing is electric actually better?

Nah, based on what you've said, I don't think there's a reason to go electric. You mentioned upthread that you were also interested in conserving $$$, so transitioning to an electric brewery doesn't really help accomplish that.

Rather, what I'd do is heat your water right on your propane burner outside in your kettle. Especially if you transition to BIAB, that's where your mash will occur anyway. Those outdoor propane burners are WAY hotter than your stove. If you want to save time [rather than saving propane], use it.

So here would be my proposed process for you:

1. Set everything up, fill your BK on the propane burner with the appropriate amount of water and turn on the flame. Given that the heating the water is the slowest part, I'd do the burner first and then set up things like your BIAB hoist, etc.
2. While waiting for the mash to heat up, grind your grain, get it into the bag for BIAB.
3. BIAB mash for 1 hr. Hoist the bag hanging above the BK.
4. Start the burner for the boil. Assume 20-30 minutes to get to boil.
5. 60 minute boil.
6. Try to improve your chill speed. One tip is to move the chiller around in the kettle constantly to agitate the water. Another is that your pump pushing the ice water may not be very strong. It might actually be better to just use the hose if your house has good water pressure (ice in the chiller is most important for that last bit of chilling to pitching temps--not the early stuff to bring it from boil to 120).
7. As mentioned above, if you can modify your boil kettle to have an outlet on the bottom and a ball valve, you can get the wort into the fermenter much more quickly rather than taking that time to rack it.
8. Get it into the fermentation chamber and let the chamber bring it from 120ish down to pitching temps.

That's basically 3 hours, plus chill time [and hopefully you can get that improved to be better than 1 hour].

I think @LittleRiver had his target at 3:40 completely from start to finish. I think that's a valid target for you to shoot for. And to the extent that you can get some setup/grinding grain/etc done the night before, you might squeeze a bit more time out of it.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

FYI if you stick with batch sparging, it still won't entirely slow you down that much. I'd estimate an extra 20 minutes or so.

Once the first batch sparge is in the boil kettle, you can turn on the flame so that it's heating while you do your second batch sparge.

 

[Gunshowgreg]

I can save you at least 1 hour. Add your sparge water, stir, vorlauf and drain = 10 minutes, If you do a second half batch sparge - another 10 minutes. There is no need to let it sit. You are just rinsing sugars out of the grain.
20 minutes to rack? Get a ball valve in your kettle = racking then should take about 5 minutes.
Seems like a long time to cool if you are pumping ice water.
If you are racking at 120 degrees make sure you are not using glass carboys. That temperature into a colder carboy will weaken the glass Each thermal shock will add up until you have a failure. With PET fermenters that is close to the temperature that will deform the plastic.
What do you use for fermentation temperature control? I get the wort temperature as low as I can, put the fermenter in my chest freezer chamber and can pitch a few hours later. I usually finish brewing in the afternoon and pitch later that evening.

Yeah I may get a ball valve soon to aid in the faster process if I'm using glass I will wait til about 80 degrees. I think my chiller might be too small. I got it on amazon for about 60$ I dont have any fancy means to control temp. I keep my house around 67-63 degrees. So far my beers are good.

 

[Gunshowgreg]

Got it... So 8 hours was hyperbole. Understood. Based on the process you've described, I can see how you're looking at a 5-6 hour brew day. I think you can do better.



@kh54s10 has your first time saving tip right here. Batch sparging does NOT need to be done slowly like fly sparging. Drain the tun at full open. Add water, vorlauf, and drain the tun again at full open. No need to go slowly.



@LittleRiver has time-saver #2. BIAB. No need for the separate mash tun and sparge step. Basically you don't have to sparge at all, so as soon as the mash is complete, you can start the burner for the boil. As mentioned, if you hoist the bag above the kettle, it will continue to drain as your boil kettle gets to temp.



Nah, based on what you've said, I don't think there's a reason to go electric. You mentioned upthread that you were also interested in conserving $$$, so transitioning to an electric brewery doesn't really help accomplish that.

Rather, what I'd do is heat your water right on your propane burner outside in your kettle. Especially if you transition to BIAB, that's where your mash will occur anyway. Those outdoor propane burners are WAY hotter than your stove. If you want to save time [rather than saving propane], use it.

So here would be my proposed process for you:

1. Set everything up, fill your BK on the propane burner with the appropriate amount of water and turn on the flame. Given that the heating the water is the slowest part, I'd do the burner first and then set up things like your BIAB hoist, etc.
2. While waiting for the mash to heat up, grind your grain, get it into the bag for BIAB.
3. BIAB mash for 1 hr. Hoist the bag hanging above the BK.
4. Start the burner for the boil. Assume 20-30 minutes to get to boil.
5. 60 minute boil.
6. Try to improve your chill speed. One tip is to move the chiller around in the kettle constantly to agitate the water. Another is that your pump pushing the ice water may not be very strong. It might actually be better to just use the hose if your house has good water pressure (ice in the chiller is most important for that last bit of chilling to pitching temps--not the early stuff to bring it from boil to 120).
7. As mentioned above, if you can modify your boil kettle to have an outlet on the bottom and a ball valve, you can get the wort into the fermenter much more quickly rather than taking that time to rack it.
8. Get it into the fermentation chamber and let the chamber bring it from 120ish down to pitching temps.

That's basically 3 hours, plus chill time [and hopefully you can get that improved to be better than 1 hour].

I think @LittleRiver had his target at 3:40 completely from start to finish. I think that's a valid target for you to shoot for. And to the extent that you can get some setup/grinding grain/etc done the night before, you might squeeze a bit more time out of it.

Brew in a bag sounds very attractive and would probably be about 30$ with a bag and pulley system to upgrade? It's just an idea to entertain. Yeah my pump is kinda weak. I'm no tree hugger but I liked the idea of being environmentally friendly and not wasting water. I do use garden hose water first before using the ice bath method. I save the hot water to clean with. I may continue stiring with the cooler as opposed to doing it intermentently. As far as the slow sparge i read that it was a good way to increase efficiency. So that where that started.

Got a really dumb question for the BIAB guys. Can you damage the bag if the burner is on and scorch the bottom of the bag because it is making contact? Or are they pretty heat resistant? I'm just curious.

 

[LittleRiver]

...for the BIAB guys. Can you damage the bag if the burner is on ....

There's no need to have the heat on when the bag is in the kettle. Heat to strike temp, add bag & grains, stir, cover, insulate the kettle, then leave it alone for an hour.

To answer your question, if you turn on the heat full blast with the bag and grains in the kettle you will destroy your bag. If you come across a situation where you need to add some heat, you can turn your flame on very low, constantly stirring, without damaging your bag. If you have an overhead hoist, you can also temporarily raise your bag. But none of that should be needed.

With BIAB you can crush your grains very fine (to flour) without causing any problems. That allows conversion to happen very quickly, 10-15min. If you insulate your kettle, even outdoors in the winter your temps are going to be fine for the first 10-15min (but do mash longer than that for flavor).

 

[Gunshowgreg]

There's no need to have the heat on when the bag is in the kettle. Heat to strike temp, add bag & grains, stir, cover, insulate the kettle, then leave it alone for an hour.

To answer your question, if you turn on the heat full blast with the bag and grains in the kettle you will destroy your bag. If you come across a situation where you need to add some heat, you can turn your flame on very low, constantly stirring, without damaging your bag. If you have an overhead hoist, you can also temporarily raise your bag. But none of that should be needed.

With BIAB you can crush your grains very fine (to flour) without causing any problems. That allows conversion to happen very quickly, 10-15min. If you insulate your kettle, even outdoors in the winter your temps are going to be fine for the first 10-15min (but do mash longer than that for flavor).

Thanks for answering my rookie question

The finner crush will also aid in efficiency correct? No worries of a stuck sparge I'm sure (obviously) . Is there a bunch of grain matter left in the kettle?

 

[LittleRiver]

...The finer crush will also aid in efficiency correct?

Yep. Great efficiency with a no sparge process is a beautiful thing.

No worries of a stuck sparge I'm sure (obviously)

Correct. Chances of a stuck sparge in a simple BIAB rig are zero.

Some people recirculate during the mash on their BIAB rigs, but personally I don't see the point. It's just more expense, more time, more cleaning. It brings the potential of stuck sparges, especially if you grind your grains very fine.

Is there a bunch of grain matter left in the kettle?

No.

Use a bag made of swiss voile fabric, it has a tight weave that is just right. I use a Wilser bag and highly recommend it.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Do BIAB
You can do other stuff while brewing and kill 2 birds with one stone. You dont need to babysit the brew all day.
Mill grain while water is heating up
Mash with heat off and run around doing whatever for an hour.
Boil for 30 minutes not 60 will save time. Do whatever around the house while its boiling.
Chill to around 110 which goes quick and "no chill" from there, Pitch the next day

Even if the brew day takes 5 hours start to finish your really only working on brewing for half the time.

 

[applescrap]

Sorry I'm so late to the party. I don't always check new threads.

Brewing quick is my thing, always has been and always probably will. Lately have been considering dme because heck it doesn't even need boiled. I have two different threads titled brewing quick. I average 2.5 hours for 5g and 3hr for 10 with 45 min mash and boil. I am now closer to 2.5 for 10g with no chill. I will tell you more later when I have time but for now check my threads.
If I went 30 mash and 15 boil that would put me under 2 hours for 5g.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

If I went 30 mash and 15 boil that would put me under 2 hours for 5g.

Have you noticed any difference with a 30 minute mash vs 60?

Is 15 minute boil really enough? Boil is my main concern with steam indoor. I would like to cut the boil down as much as possible without any ill effect

 

[Gunshowgreg]

Have you noticed any difference with a 30 minute mash vs 60?

Is 15 minute boil really enough? Boil is my main concern with steam indoor. I would like to cut the boil down as much as possible without any ill effect

I second this question.

 

[Gunshowgreg]

No.

Use a bag made of swiss voile fabric, it has a tight weave that is just right. I use a Wilser bag and highly recommend it.

I dont think I saw this on northern brewer where may I find it?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I dont think I saw this on northern brewer where may I find it?

Wilserbrewer is a member on the site...get his bag. I've had a few. Quality bags and hes a good guy

 

[Gunshowgreg]

Wilserbrewer is a member on the site...get his bag. I've had a few. Quality bags and hes a good guy

How much? I guess I can PM him

 

[LittleRiver]

I dont think I saw this on northern brewer where may I find it?

Here's a link to Wilser's web site.

You should follow the BIAB Forum on this site, and post any BIAB questions you have there. Lots of helpful folks there.

 

[Gunshowgreg]

Here's a link to Wilser's web site.

You should follow the BIAB Forum on this site, and post any BIAB questions you have there. Lots of helpful folks there.

Thank you very much. He is reasonably priced. I can get a nice kit with a pulley and all for about $37!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Brewing quick is my thing, always has been and always probably will. Lately have been considering dme because heck it doesn't even need boiled. I have two different threads titled brewing quick.

Links to threads?

I average 2.5 hours for 5g and 3hr for 10 with 45 min mash and boil. I am now closer to 2.5 for 10g with no chill. I am now closer to 2.5 for 10g with no chill. I

At the moment, I'm skeptical (but curious) about shorter "all-grain" boils. One of the reasons is the lack of recipes. At the moment, I get better results with longer mashes / boils. I am definitely interesting in seeing complete recipes for shorter "all-grain" boils.

 

[kh54s10]

IMO. As far as short mash times it depends.. You really need to check that you truly have complete conversion. You can do an Iodine test. I have never done one so you would have to look that up.

For short boils you will have to adjust your hop schedule accordingly so most kits would have to be altered or added to.

I enjoy brewing and time is not much of a concern for me so I have never looked into this.

 

[applescrap]

Links to threads?



At the moment, I'm skeptical (but curious) about shorter "all-grain" boils. One of the reasons is the lack of recipes. At the moment, I get better results with longer mashes / boils. I am definitely interesting in seeing complete recipes for shorter "all-grain" boils.

Yeah, I should post some links, guess I figured they are easier to find, Haha, more worthy, than they probably are.

Just listening today to brulosophy podcast 37, I think it was. Marshall is so cool, anyways in 2015 he tested 60 v 30 min boil. Totally expecting cream corn. Nope. Insignificant. He couldn't believe it. Next he tested 30 min v 90 min boil. 93 percent weyerman pilsner. Couldn't believe it insignificant again! Sent the beer to a lab. No dms in either. Matt del fiacco comes along, does a 60 v 180 minute boil. I know everyone seems to think these guys are a bunch 9f hacks and all but he friggin nails the og on both. Insignificant again!!!! So take what you will, for me I'm not to worried about 30 minute boils and will drop down to them from 45 from now on, for sure.

Yeah recipe for shorter boil could require some mods, sure. 45 is easier to adjust potentially.

 

[applescrap]

IMO. As far as short mash times it depends.. You really need to check that you truly have complete conversion. You can do an Iodine test. I have never done one so you would have to look that up.

For short boils you will have to adjust your hop schedule accordingly so most kits would have to be altered or added to.

I enjoy brewing and time is not much of a concern for me so I have never looked into this.

Everyone knows I don't like brewing, never have. Don't mind one bit that others like it. Hell, I like golfing. Seems most love it, if not deeply enjoy it. I wonder if the effort to brew quick makes it less enjoyable. Also I don't have a set spot because I don't have an 80 foot sjoo cord. When I get home from work on a Tuesday at 5, I am looking to start by 6 and finish by 9. Just another chore.

 

[applescrap]

I tried to quickly just outline how I do it. Apologies it's a little choppy. Biggest downfall as I get older is its physical.

Heres how I do it. I use a 5500 watt element that I refused to compromise on in the spirit of speed. Even quicker, start with hot water. The warmer the water to start the faster. New idea, buy my water in 1g jugs and leave in sun?!
So power, full volume water, biab brewing. Start mash water. Heat to strike, doc time. Be quick with water gathering. Document water volume. Doc strike temp and time. Put bag in. Dump grain, whip the fuq out of it. Doc temp, time. Cover, and I put jacket over kettle. Losing very very little heat. Set time for 45 minutes. 40 minutes later uncover and doc temp. Stir the beejeebies out of it. Wait a few and stir again. Pull bag and strain in collander over bucket. Start heat right away. Add squeezed juice. Add fwh doing everything to mitigate shorter boil. Bring to boil. Doc boil start time, set timer for 45 minutes. Get cheap ic ready. Sanitized, hooked up, leak proof and ready. End of boil chill. Agitating the chiller up and down like you were getting paid to dig a hole with it. I can chill 6 g of wort to 70 degrees in well under 10 minutes. Lift kettle and dump in clean sanitized fermenter. Pitch yeast, put fermenter where it goes. Clean kettle and equipment in lawn with oxy or not. Done, doc time. Review times, and work on, consider, and plan for future brews.

Lately I have been no chilling. I am brewing a light lager with very little hops so no worries there. So next time 45 min mash and 30 min boil is 1 hr 15 minutes. Powerful heating and gathering etc no more than 1 hr so with no chill I am going to shoot for 2hr 15 min next time on 10g. I can go on with tips ideas in any and each phase, feel free to ask. I started on stove with cheap kettle so I can help there to. I saw another thread about a kettle, haven't looked but I am a good candidate for some of your questions.

 

[jtratcliff]

Crush grains the night before, Short mash, short boil, BIAB, no sparge, no chill, heat-stick on a timer to heat strike water while you sleep...

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Yeah, I should post some links, guess I figured they are easier to find, Haha, more worthy, than they probably are.

I'll ask for links (one last time). Links?

Crush grains the night before, Short mash, short boil, BIAB, no sparge, no chill, heat-stick on a timer to heat strike water while you sleep...

Still looking for some complete recipes (full ingredients list, bonus "likes" for worked out examples of converting 60/60 mash/boil into 20/20 or 30/30, ...).

IMO. As far as short mash times it depends.. You really need to check that you truly have complete conversion. You can do an Iodine test. I have never done one so you would have to look that up.

For short boils you will have to adjust your hop schedule accordingly so most kits would have to be altered or added to.

Good point on the iodine test.

With hops and the boil, it seems like boiling hops both 1) creates bitterness and 2) removes "aromas" / "flavors".

So for those who do shorter (20 minutes or less) boils, do find you need to adjust the type of hop used to account for this? Or are you finding that 15 minute boils are sufficient to remove the "flavors" / "aroma"? Again, I'm looking for your experiences with all-grain brewing, so please don't cite brulosophy, 15 minute pale ale (DME/LME), BBR's hop sampler (DME/LME), or the "no boil" thread (DME/LME and/or sours) here at HBT.

I enjoy brewing and time is not much of a concern for me so I have never looked into this.

I also have the time to BIAB with a 60/60 mash/boil. Absent any well written complete recipes along with solid guidance on how to convert recipes, it's really hard to justify investing the time figuring out how to "dial it in" for shorter boils.

I also get good (for me) results with shorter DME/LME boils. And there are plenty of people sharing recipes on 15 minute pale ale (DME/LME), BBR's hop sampler (DME/LME), or the "no boil" thread (DME/LME and/or sours) here at HBT.

 

[Gunshowgreg]

Everyone knows I don't like brewing, never have. Don't mind one bit that others like it. Hell, I like golfing. Seems most love it, if not deeply enjoy it. I wonder if the effort to brew quick makes it less enjoyable. Also I don't have a set spot because I don't have an 80 foot sjoo cord. When I get home from work on a Tuesday at 5, I am looking to start by 6 and finish by 9. Just another chore.

I actually like to brew. However like you I dont like for it to take all day. I have other things to do. Study, fly, fix stuff round the house cut grass, do dad stuff and cook dinner. I hate investing all my time into one thing

 

[Gunshowgreg]

I tried to quickly just outline how I do it. Apologies it's a little choppy. Biggest downfall as I get older is its physical.

Heres how I do it. I use a 5500 watt element that I refused to compromise on in the spirit of speed. Even quicker, start with hot water. The warmer the water to start the faster. New idea, buy my water in 1g jugs and leave in sun?!
So power, full volume water, biab brewing. Start mash water. Heat to strike, doc time. Be quick with water gathering. Document water volume. Doc strike temp and time. Put bag in. Dump grain, whip the fuq out of it. Doc temp, time. Cover, and I put jacket over kettle. Losing very very little heat. Set time for 45 minutes. 40 minutes later uncover and doc temp. Stir the beejeebies out of it. Wait a few and stir again. Pull bag and strain in collander over bucket. Start heat right away. Add squeezed juice. Add fwh doing everything to mitigate shorter boil. Bring to boil. Doc boil start time, set timer for 45 minutes. Get cheap ic ready. Sanitized, hooked up, leak proof and ready. End of boil chill. Agitating the chiller up and down like you were getting paid to dig a hole with it. I can chill 6 g of wort to 70 degrees in well under 10 minutes. Lift kettle and dump in clean sanitized fermenter. Pitch yeast, put fermenter where it goes. Clean kettle and equipment in lawn with oxy or not. Done, doc time. Review times, and work on, consider, and plan for future brews.

Lately I have been no chilling. I am brewing a light lager with very little hops so no worries there. So next time 45 min mash and 30 min boil is 1 hr 15 minutes. Powerful heating and gathering etc no more than 1 hr so with no chill I am going to shoot for 2hr 15 min next time on 10g. I can go on with tips ideas in any and each phase, feel free to ask. I started on stove with cheap kettle so I can help there to. I saw another thread about a kettle, haven't looked but I am a good candidate for some of your questions.

What vessel do you use for no chilling?

 

[CarolinaMatt]

Brew in a bag sounds very attractive and would probably be about 30$ with a bag and pulley system to upgrade? It's just an idea to entertain. Yeah my pump is kinda weak. I'm no tree hugger but I liked the idea of being environmentally friendly and not wasting water. I do use garden hose water first before using the ice bath method. I save the hot water to clean with. I may continue stiring with the cooler as opposed to doing it intermentently. As far as the slow sparge i read that it was a good way to increase efficiency. So that where that started.

Got a really dumb question for the BIAB guys. Can you damage the bag if the burner is on and scorch the bottom of the bag because it is making contact? Or are they pretty heat resistant? I'm just curious.

I do BIAB and it was a game changer for me in terms of time as well as quality getting my efficiency up. I rigged together a simple little hoist system with just a ladder and a ratchet strap/tie down -- check the picture out. I simply lift the grain bag out when needed and hang it on the hooks of the strap via it's handles. Works like a charm and costed me nothing since I already had everything!