How long from strike to cooldown?

[Trubadour]

I'm ready to brew my first AG but have to leave town early afternoon. Approximately how much time do I need to give myself? The guy at the LBHS mentioned something about 8 hours, which I find hard to believe. I have very high-powered burners, 5 g batch, 10 gallon gott cooler, 60 min mash, 15.5 keggle, and CFC

I know the answer varies, but just looking for a guideline. Thanks

 

[McKBrew]

8 hours for your first AG isn't too unreasonable.

However, if you've done your research and have everything set up and ready to go, you can pull it off in about 6.

 

[LooyvilleLarry]

6 is a good number, but have everything ready to go tonight. Cleaning is what kills me, but I am getting better at it. I heat up some water + PBW in the HLT while boiling and clean the MLT. Then when the the beer is in the fermenter, I dump the the MLT into the kettle and recirc some clean water through the herms.

 

[TeufelBrew]

McKBrew is spot on. Plan on the first one taking longer. If you have organized and planned your day well, getting done sooner will really feel great.

However, (and there is ALWAYS a however in life) if Murphy's law smacks you in the face with a fresh tuna, you have set aside the time needed to still make beer and not feel pressured.

Practice helps and you will find what works best for you and the system you build. I went from around 7 hours, to a little under 5 for a five gallon batch.

However long it takes, you get to make BEER!

 

[Trubadour]

That makes sense. I wasn't really accounting for the extra cleanup. I can imagine that's significantly more than extract. And I guess even with extract brewing it ends up taking longer than I think (ie. much longer than 30 min steep plus 60 min boil plus 30 min cooldown/transfer).

Thanks for the input. I'll hold off until I get back. I like drinking while a brew anyway.

 

[Chello]

Most brew days for me (from measuring water to finished cleaning up) take 4.5 hours, but i'v got my routine down.

 

[HillWilliam]

Brewed last Sunday, started at 2:30 and was completly finished with clean-up et all by 6:30.

 

[cjmcfoot]

Last batch took a little over four hours for me.

 

[zanemoseley]

I've done 2 AG's in the kitchen and can get by with 4 1/2 hrs if I don't have to boil off any additional liquid. I even rack my previous batch to a keg in between. Cleaning while you go helps too.

 

[jldc]

I can do an AG in about 4 hours start to finish, and I don't think I was much over 5 on the first one - I've done all of 3 now. This is assuming 60 min mash and 60 min boil. Also I batch sparge, which is quicker (isn't it?).

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

From setup to clean up, 4 to 5 hours is about right.

Most of that is waiting, of course. Waiting for water to boil, waiting for the mash to finish, waiting for the boil to finish, waiting for the wort to cool.

I get a step going, and often go off and get other stuff done, stopping to check from time to time.

 

[HoppyDaze]

It usually takes me just over four hours to do a five gallon batch.


heat strike water ~ 20 mins
mash/adjust temp ~ 65 mins
vorlauf ~ 10 mins
collect 1st runnings ~ 10-20 mins Hope your sparge water is at the right temp now
sparge and vorlauf ~ 30-40 mins
heat to boil ~ 10-20 mins
boil ~ 60 mins
cool to pitch temp ~ 15-30 mins (assume immersion chiller)
transfer and pitch ~ 10-20 mins

Total ~ 230-275 mins

3.8 hours to 4.5 hours and this does not include the walking around...carring suff from place to place. adjust mash and cooling temps..etc

I would be safe and plan for around 5.5-6 hours

 

[TommyBoy]

Here is kinda how my brew day goes:

30 min - getting everything out and ready.
15 min - heating HLT and Mash strike temp, milling grain
60 min - HERMS
15-30 min - Sparge, bringing wort to boil
60 min - Boil
15 min - Racking, dissembling related hardware.
45-60 min - cleaning and putting all that crap back away.

About 4-4.5 hours unless I am really buzzed up. Then add another 30 min to an hour.

 

[Dougan]

I do a pretty good job of cleaning as I go. Makes things a bit quicker.

 

[Denny]

It takes me about 4 1/2 hours from the time I start heating water til I finish the cleanup. But my equipment is always set up and ready to go, so that saves some time. For your first time, 8 hours sounds reasonable.

I'm ready to brew my first AG but have to leave town early afternoon. Approximately how much time do I need to give myself? The guy at the LBHS mentioned something about 8 hours, which I find hard to believe. I have very high-powered burners, 5 g batch, 10 gallon gott cooler, 60 min mash, 15.5 keggle, and CFC

I know the answer varies, but just looking for a guideline. Thanks

 

[zman]

I am down to 5 hrs. for an AG brew these days and that includes clean up. My first few...well they took much longer

 

[humann_brewing]

Last weekends brew was 4 hours but that was a 60m mash and 60m boil. If I had a lower mash temp and mashed for 90 and then boiled for 90..... well that would obviously add an hour. Also this was with a single infusion mash. I did a protein rest then sacrification rest on my lager and it took like 6 -6.5 hours.

 

[schristian619]

My first took about 6-6.5 hours if I'm remembering correctly. I fly sparge though. Now it no more than 5 hours from crush to clean up assuming 60 min mash/60 min boil.

 

[ChrisKennedy]

Cleanup takes no more time for AG than it does for extract. You should very easily be able to clean out the mashtun during the boil. This puts you equal with extract at this point.

 

[WorryWort]

I plan for 6 hours, so there is no rushing. From heating stike water to pitching yeast I can be done in 5 hours most days. But I tend to dick around. I also tend to drink like 10 beers. So that takes me more time.

I do 10 gallons batches with 75 -90 minute boils. 10 gallons takes longer to heat up - for strike and sparge water and for the boil.

Also, add 10 minutes for every beer you drink.

It would suck balls to run out of time, IMO!! So plan carefully!

 

[Araxi]

I do all grain in about 4 to 4.5 hrs

 

[zanemoseley]

One thing that does help me is to type up a brew day sheet that includes the following:

-Grain type and amounts
-Hop additons
-Calculations for water volumes and temps
-Miscellaneous additions such as Whilfloc tablet
-Estimated efficiency and OG

The stuff that takes me the longest is figuring out the volumes needed so I don't under/over shoot.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

One thing that does help me is to type up a brew day sheet that includes the following:

-Grain type and amounts
-Hop additons
-Calculations for water volumes and temps
-Miscellaneous additions such as Whilfloc tablet
-Estimated efficiency and OG

The stuff that takes me the longest is figuring out the volumes needed so I don't under/over shoot.

A worksheet is virtually a requirement if you are drinking while brewing. It sucks to forget say, HOPS.

 

[HoppyDaze]

Time savers:

Have hops wieghed out and ready to go

Clean fermenter, kettle, tubing ...etc before hand

Even measure your strike water and have that in the kettle so when you wake up all you have to do is start the fire.

You will find once you get your mash temp right that you will have some time to kill. This when I usually do the above things, but this being your first go I would just have everything ready in case something else comes up that needs your attention

 

[Saccharomyces]

My typical brew days are between 6 and 7 hours. If I prepare everything the night before (water, hops, grain crushed) I might get down to 5.5 but my typical boil is 90 minutes so it's tough to get much under 6 hours.

 

[thisjrp4]

The first AG will take 6 - 8 hours, but once you go through the motions a few times 4 - 5 hours is do-able. I brew after work, I'm home by 5:30 and in bed at about 10 with the brew in the fermenter and the yeast pitched.

 

[cladinshadows]

When I do just one batch it takes me 6-7 hours prep to clean up and I have a pretty slow stove (I brew inside with my pot spanning two burners).

Today I decided it might save time to just make two batches at once and it only took 8 hours...

 

[Trubadour]

Well, I'm back from my trip and brewing my Harpoon IPA clone AG as we speak, and I realize now why it takes so long. For one thing, collecting my first runoff is going on close to 50 minutes. It got stuck at first so I had to stir like mad, and then it started coming out slowly but steadily (very slowly). After 50 minutes or so, I've collected about 10q of 1.07 wort.

Edit: Update: Sparge water is coming out much quicker than first runnings. I'm glad to know it shouldn't take as long as my first runnings did. Not sure what happened.

 

[MN_Jay]

Yesterday it took me 5 hours start to finish cleanup. I could shave some time off that if I had a better burner, it seems to take forever to heat water to boiling.

 

[Whut]

I remember well my first AG batch. It took me 11 hours or so. But I was just learning then. Saturday was a 10gal. AG batch and it took me right at 5.5 hours from prep to clean-up. If I have everything ready to go so that I just get up and start the burner I could do it in probably 4.5 to 5.