Favorite part of brew day?

[IPAMike]

So, what is your favorite part of brew day? Just curious.
For me, it's the smells. The grains being steeped. The sweet smell of the hops right out of the package.
Never gets old.

 

[rburrelli]

When I am done. the rest is work. Fun work, but still work.

 

[MaxStout]

Racking the chilled wort into the fermenter, O2, pitch yeast, button it up. Seeing if I hit my volume and gravity numbers.

Worst part: cleaning up all that stuff afterwards.

 

[davidabcd]

The best part for me is putting in the airlock because the task is completed. Beer making is not like motorcycle riding for me which is the journey.

 

[Deadalus]

I like measuring out and milling the ingredients and I also like getting the hydrometer reading.

Smell of the mash is great too.

Then there's seeing the color of the mash as it's being circulated over to the HERMs coil.

Almost all of cleanup sucks except the final wipe down on the stainless. Always takes me back to closing time in the restaurant biz.

 

[IPAMike]

When I am done. the rest is work. Fun work, but still work.

I get ya. I enjoy the process. But yeah, the finished process is the goal.

 

[IPAMike]

I like measuring out and milling the ingredients and I also like getting the hydrometer reading.

Smell of the mash is great too.

Then there's seeing the color of the mash as it's being circulated over to the HERMs coil.

Almost all of cleanup sucks except the final wipe down on the stainless. Always takes me back to closing time in the restaurant biz.

This is only my 2nd batch. I'm still an extract guy. I certainly agree with the cleanup.

 

[IPAMike]

The best part for me is putting in the airlock because the task is completed. Beer making is not like motorcycle riding for me which is the journey.

Yep! Then it's the waiting game. Just put the plug in 5 gal. of tangerine wheat...we'll see...

 

[IPAMike]

Racking the chilled wort into the fermenter, O2, pitch yeast, button it up. Seeing if I hit my volume and gravity numbers.

Worst part: cleaning up all that stuff afterwards.

You clean??.....kidding.

 

[grampamark]

So, what is your favorite part of brew day? Just curious.
For me, it's the smells. The grains being steeped. The sweet smell of the hops right out of the package.
Never gets old.

I enjoy the entire day. A brew day means I don’t have to, or am not going to, worry about anything but making beer.

I’m self employed and the principal owner of a small business. OK, I’m a farmer, but a farm is just another small business, with the extra, added attraction of being subject to a lot of regulatory requirements. I’m the guy who balances the books, pays the bills, deals with vendors, lenders, buyers and bureaucrats. So, having a half a day, once or twice a month, when all I have to worry about is milling, mashing, boiling, pitching, and cleaning, is a welcome break from the real world. Plus, it takes homebrew to make homebrew. What’s not to like?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Well I’ve often said brewing is my gym, I mill my grain with a hand crank… don’t like that part. Measuring the ingredients smelling the aromas during the mash and boil filling the fermentor and pitching the yeast. Cleaning up afterward is satisfying, but not a fun task, I brew in my kitchen so there isn’t much choice.

 

[bracconiere]

my favorite part is carrying my 10 gallon cooler to the garden, full of 20+ lbs of wet malt, which is like 50lbs!

but i'm not going to lie, nap time durring the boil!


and congrats on brew 2! nothing like that new brew smell!

 

[Knightshade]

Pitching the yeast…

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m okay with the wort being around 80 and pitching into fermenter. I’ll throw that in the chamber, with the yeast starter and wait for the temp to regulate.

Which gives me time to do all the cleaning, so when the yeast is pitched brew day is done!

 

[davidabcd]

Yep! Then it's the waiting game. Just put the plug in 5 gal. of tangerine wheat.

I've gotten a little used to waiting--not wanting to open the fermenter is a good check on my impulse.
A tangerine wheat sounds delicious.

 

[davidabcd]

brewing is my gym

I also think it takes a significant effort from start to finish.

 

[IPAMike]

my favorite part is carrying my 10 gallon cooler to the garden, full of 20+ lbs of wet malt, which is like 50lbs!

but i'm not going to lie, nap time durring the boil!


and congrats on brew 2! nothing like that new brew smell!

No nap for me. I find myself peeking at the boil every 2-3 minutes.

 

[bracconiere]

No nap for me. I find myself peeking at the boil every 2-3 minutes.

 

[hout17]

I think I have a couple favorite parts. I love getting ready to brew on brew day (water, brewing salts, crushing grain, recipe tweaking). I also love checking my mash pH and finally when the wort goes in to the fermenter and gets sealed up.

Nobody likes cleanup but it is well worth it considering I'll have beer to drink before too long!

Edit: One last thing if I have a wyeast pack I love smacking it and showing it who's boss!

 

[bracconiere]

Nobody likes cleanup

what? i love the endorphin rush when i see my kettle, mash tun, IC...all put away after brew day! (i just need a dolly or something to get it dumped..then it'd be a breeze)

 

[hout17]

what? i love the endorphin rush when i see my kettle, mash tun, IC...all put away after brew day! (i just need a dolly or something to get it dumped..then it'd be a breeze)

I agree it's nice to see it put away but that cleaning part that comes first I don't like LMAO.

 

[bracconiere]

I agree it's nice to see it put away but that cleaning part that comes first I don't like LMAO.

all it takes for me, is to fill my boil kettle with water, let it soak for 15 minutes...clean with brush...dump mash tun, which is the PITA..then rinse with the hose? put everything back in the closet?

 

[IPAMike]

I think I have a couple favorite parts. I love getting ready to brew on brew day (water, brewing salts, crushing grain, recipe tweaking). I also love checking my mash pH and finally when the wort goes in to the fermenter and gets sealed up.

Nobody likes cleanup but it is well worth it considering I'll have beer to drink before too long!

Edit: One last thing if I have a wyeast pack I love smacking it and showing it who's boss!

Yeah. I gave my Imperial A07 Flagship a real thrashing today.

 

[bracconiere]

One last thing if I have a wyeast pack I love smacking it and showing it who's boss!

you should use your mash paddle, if you really want it to know you're the boss!

Yeah. I gave my Imperial A07 Flagship a real thrashing today.

 

[beerfactory]

my favorite part is tasting the OG sample

 

[PCABrewing]

you should use your mash paddle, if you really want it to know you're the boss!

The smells!
The hops! The mash, I love being able to smell the grain in the mash and in the wort before the hops are added. A freshly opened liquid yeast package, Ill keep it on the bench and just periodically sniff it.
I love that feeling when its all cleaned up and put away and I have already hauled that heavy fermenter to the basement to do its thing.
And last, if I can see that first bubble of life in the airlock before I turn-in for the night.
That's satisfaction.

 

[bracconiere]

And last, if I can see that first bubble of life in the airlock before I turn-in for the night.
That's satisfaction.

 

[GoodTruble]

Watching the liquid in the sight glass change from clear to whatever color of beer.

And then the yeast dump, and checking back for early fermentation activity.

 

[BrewChem]

One of my favorite parts is the trip to the LHBS… looking around at all the stuff, flipping through the books and magazines, tasting a pinch of various malts in the grain room and the anticipation of the actual brew day

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

but i'm not going to lie, nap time durring the boil!

Last time I tried that my 7.5 gallons wort turned into 3.5gallons I had to rehydrate….

 

[BrewChem]

7.5 gallons wort turned into 3.5gallons

bet you got some great tasting melanoidins tho..!

 

[Jaybird]

So, what is your favorite part of brew day? Just curious.
For me, it's the smells. The grains being steeped. The sweet smell of the hops right out of the package.
Never gets old.

For me it's the beer design work leading up to dough in. This process for me can take as little as an hour and as much as several weeks to complete. From there then it's the putting all of the grains and hops together measuring everything out etc... Then the evening before dough in setting up the system with the proper volumes and temperatures etc. But once the HLT gets drained at dough in it's all work from there... Ha ha ha...

Cheers
Jay

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

bet you got some great tasting melanoidins tho..!

I’ll let you know. It’s carbing and settling as we speak. I was shooting for a marzen so it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

 

[bracconiere]

One of my favorite parts is the trip to the LHBS…

lol

 

[BrewMan13]

Probably the mash. I know there's so many complex reactions and such happening in there, and it's so satisfying when it comes out the other end. I remember being almost giddy at this step when I did my first all grain brew.
Second would be fermentation. Yeast seems to only recently been getting the credit it deserves for it's role in creating unique flavors, not just a tool to turn sugar into alcohol.

 

[JRHDBrew]

I did my first all grain batch on Saturday. My favorite part was mashing in and a close second was the boil the boil. The very malty smell mixed with a bit of Cascade right out of the gate. The apex was with about 25 min left the cinnamon and orange peel went in. The garage smelled amazing. Cleanup is a… I hope the Holiday Amber Ale that now has a 2.5 inch krausen will be worth the cleanup. The tad of wort I pulled from the kettle and tasted was of course a bit sweet but shows great promises.

 

[Spartan1979]

MY favorite point is after the first hops addition and everything that can be cleaned has been. That's when I have a homebrew from a prvious batch!

 

[Coastalbrew]

I enjoy the entire day. A brew day means I don’t have to, or am not going to, worry about anything but making beer.

I’m self employed and the principal owner of a small business. OK, I’m a farmer, but a farm is just another small business, with the extra, added attraction of being subject to a lot of regulatory requirements. I’m the guy who balances the books, pays the bills, deals with vendors, lenders, buyers and bureaucrats. So, having a half a day, once or twice a month, when all I have to worry about is milling, mashing, boiling, pitching, and cleaning, is a welcome break from the real world. Plus, it takes homebrew to make homebrew. What’s not to like?

This. I to own a small business and the opportunity to get to step away for an afternoon and brew is a wonderful thing.

I love the whole process, except the cleaning. Especially like the smells of the grain, wort and hops and that feeling of satisfaction when the airlock starts bubbling happily.

Cheers!

 

[InspectorJon]

Hot break, particularly with a thick dark stout.

 

[beersk]

No nap for me. I find myself peeking at the boil every 2-3 minutes.

Oh I look at the boil like sitting around a fire, just get lost staring into it. It's great.

My favorite parts of the brew day are mashing in, love the smell and closing up the fermenter after pitching the yeast and aerating. Clean up sucks, but I've got it down pretty efficiently. Most stuff is cleaned as I go, but kettle and chiller clean up pretty quick.

 

[seatazzz]

I love everything about a brewday. Not one thing comes out as best, although sitting back in my chair, sweaty, stinky, covered in grain bits, and knowing everything is clean and put away for the next day, is pretty nice. If I had to say one thing, it would be being able to start a brewday on the fly; since I buy grain and hops in bulk, and now have natural gas, I almost never have to worry about having enough ingredients/fuel to brew something.