How long does it take you ?

[Old_el_Paseo]

Hi !

I started brewing from extract in febuary 2015. Now i just bought a complete all grain kit (pot/immertion cooler/5gallon carboy/...).

I just did my 3rd all grain brew today. It took me a bit over 5 hours ! Is this normal ? Does it take less time with experience ? With better equipment ?

F.y.i : 5 hours was because i rushed also because i had to go to work after

 

[AndytheBeave]

4.5-5 hours is around normal for me - including cleanup.

 

[Bearsmith]

4-5 here too. Longer if I'm not organized or not paying attention.

 

[MEPNew2Brew]

5 - 5.5 from start to finish on brew day. You can add to this about 45 minutest I spend the night before to draw and treat water, gather and check equipment, etc. I'm kinda slow, I think.

 

[beergolf]

Yeah.. 4-5 hours is about normal for me. But on the good side I usually bottle while my mash is going on. So I kill two birds with one stone.

 

[catdaddy66]

My first couple of AG brew days were around 6 hrs each but I have it down to 4-4.5 hours if I plan well and aren't too lazy leading up to brew day. Your times seem about right. You'll get better with your process to shave some more time off of the day.

 

[brewkinger]

Actual brew day time for me is around 3.5 hours.
Add 30 minutes of prep work to get mash and sparge water treated and ready to go, usually a day or two in advance.

Like above, I usually keg / bottle a batch during mash and boil.
If there is one place to start saving time, it is the cleanup.
During chilling, the hot water coming out of that hose goes right into any dirty buckets, coolers, etc that need cleaning.
A quick wipe and rinse and I'm done in about 15 minutes.

 

[AnOldUR]

Does it take less time with experience ? With better equipment ?

No. It takes longer. With more experience you'll want to do more. Decoctions, extended step mashes, long whirlpool hopping, extended boils, obsessing over water chemistry and recipes.

These guys are really good liars. Don't believe a word of it.

 

[d3track]

From pre-rinse to final clean up is usually a good 6 hours for me

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I do biab inside on my countetop with electric heating elements. After setup, all the way to transferring to fermenter I'm done in 3-3.5 hours.

 

[Old_el_Paseo]

Well... Looks like thats a normal brew time then. All grain reallly is a lot longer than extract. But well worth it. It tastes so much better.

And beergolf... Dont kill birds please . Lol

 

[AndytheBeave]

These guys are really good liars. Don't believe a word of it.

I will take that as a complement

 

[Happywanderer]

yep - 4-5 hours for me start to finish.

To shave time off that you could pre-game...

Prep your water the day before.

Setup your brew site the day before.

Clean everything a day or two in advance.

I clean my mash tun during the boil... super simple with my setup so it only takes 4-5 minutes.

During the mash - I cleanup what I can and prep equipment (sanitize the fermenter, etc...)

I also stir the wort during cooling (yep - lid off, 24" whisk). I find this shaves about 30 minutes off the cooling. Others agitate their immersion chillers to achieve a similar effect.

Basically just good prep, planning, and time management and you should be able to hit 4 hours average.

 

[Natdavis777]

I do AG 10 gal, and my average is 5 hrs. Think about it, you typically have 1 hour mash, 1 hour boil, usually wait around 1 hour to heat up water/wort, 15-45 min for wort cooling depending on methods, hop stands if you do one, then clean up time (system dependent)

I like to look at it as 5 hours of unhassled drinking

 

[mgortel]

typically around 5 hours for me...sounds like the consensus for most part....so you are in the norm!

 

[ibrewmyown]

With the new Brew Boss deluxe I just got. I can do 12 - 15 gallon batches in fast as 4 but no more than 4.5 hours from start to finish including clean up and putting the carboys in their place. I love that system!

My 3 tier keg system with pumps, etc. took at least 6 hours.

 

[wardens355]

From the first water in kettle to finished clean-up, usually 6 hours (two 5-gallon batches staggered by 30 minutes). Then from sober to boozed, about 60 minutes.

 

[normonster]

From pre-rinse to final clean up is usually a good 6 hours for me

Me too.

 

[normonster]

I like to look at it as 5 hours of unhassled drinking

Dude! You nailed it!!!

 

[MagicMatt]

5 hours for me. I made a Gantt chart when I first started all grain brewing to help get the timeline down and so I didn't miss a step. This is for a standard 5.5 gallon, 60 min. mash & 60 min. boil:

 

[jma99]

Couple of things to help speed your output:

1. Step up to 10 gal or more batches
2. I use hot tap water to fill my hot liquor tank, this speeds up the heating!
3. Batch sparge into buckets. You can start heating for the boil while finishing the sparge.
4. Use a plate chiller, mine is gravity fed.
5. Keg, it's way faster!

 

[MattyIce]

Couple of things to help speed your output:

1. Step up to 10 gal or more batches
2. I use hot tap water to fill my hot liquor tank, this speeds up the heating!
3. Batch sparge into buckets. You can start heating for the boil while finishing the sparge.
4. Use a plate chiller, mine is gravity fed.
5. Keg, it's way faster!

Have you ever done a side-by-side comparison of a batch brewed with hot tap vs cold tap water? My water heater is pretty old, and I imagine that it is funky on the inside as far as mineral deposits.

 

[jma99]

I haven't noticed any difference at all.
I also run my hot tap water through a charcoal filter on the way into the pot.
This way I'm starting with water at about 125 deg. and only have to heat up to my strike temp, about 169 deg. Saves a BUNCH of time!

 

[rijnswand]

My first two eBIAB brews have taken five hours each.

- 25-30 minutes to heat the mash water
- 60 minutes mash
- 50-60 minutes sparging/lautering
- 35-50 minutes waiting for boiling to start
- 60 minutes boiling
- 40 minutes cooling

I need to improve my lautering process, that will easily cut at least 30 minutes from the total time.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Or just go full volume with no sparge/lauter.

 

[rijnswand]

Or just go full volume with no sparge/lauter.

My mash tun/kettle isn't big enough for a full volume brew, but I guess I could use the maximum possible amount of water in the mash, skip the sparge, and add water after boiling. My tun is 27 liters, so according to BeerSmith I could comfortably use 16 liters of water for the mash.

 

[catdaddy66]

I don't do BIAB so I can't speak to that, but 50-60 minutes of sparge and lautering seems excessive. I do all grain in a 10 gal cooler for my mash and sparge. I batch sparge because fly sparging is too long IMO. It may be more efficient but time is more important than 5% more efficiency.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Brewed Friday morning and start to finish cleaned up and all it took me 4hrs.

 

[toestothesun]

From pre-rinse to final clean up is usually a good 6 hours for me

This, although I wish I could get it down by at least an hour.

 

[catdaddy66]

Today the mash started at noon and last clean up was at 5 pm. Not too bad if I do say so myself.