Mash tonight, brew tomorrow??? Bad Idea???

[BierMuncher]

I have little to do on Friday evenings and lots to do on Saturday afternoon.

You see my dilemma.

Is it a bad idea to get my (AG) mash done "tonight", set the pot off to the side and start my boil "tomorrow"?

Has anyone else split up their brewing routine like that?

 

[brewman !]

Can't you brew all in one evening session ? I do.

I get my stuff out beforehand. Sometimes I mash in before diner, othertimes I mash in after diner. Watch a movie, play with my son while mashing. Do dishes, etc. My brewing doesn't take any time until I start sparging. 30 minutes for sparging, 2 hours for boiling, chilling, pitching and cleaning up. I'm done by 11PM and I usually have time to watch some TV.

Even if I doddle, I'm done by midnight.

 

[BierMuncher]

Can't you brew all in one evening session ? I do.

I get my stuff out beforehand. Sometimes I mash in before diner, othertimes I mash in after diner. Watch a movie, play with my son while mashing. Do dishes, etc. My brewing doesn't take any time until I start sparging. 30 minutes for sparging, 2 hours for boiling, chilling, pitching and cleaning up. I'm done by 11PM and I usually have time to watch some TV.

Even if I doddle, I'm done by midnight.

I could, but I'd rather take everything at a liesurely pace. A little tonight...a little tomorrow.

Plus, us old timers get to bed too early.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Well, you'll have to mash out to stop conversion, get up to 170 degrees or so, IIRC. Then I guess it's ok to wait, but I wouldn't wait too long. Or maybe I would.

Random thought... after mashout, could you use campden tablets to keep bacteria at bay for a few days? Does boiling break down campden tablet stuff?

 

[Willsellout]

I don't see why you couldn't..and FWIW I'm like you..I don't like to be rushed. I like to brew one day, quick clean and then clean up the next.


Dan

 

[BierMuncher]

Random thought... after mashout, could you use campden tablets to keep bacteria at bay for a few days? Does boiling break down campden tablet stuff?

At most, I would wait until the following morning. Having a fresh brew "pending" is too much to resist.

 

[brewman !]

I hardly call what I do rushed. But I understand what you are saying.

 

[david_42]

If you are mashing in a cooler or have some way of keeping the mash warm, just mash-out before going to bed. As long as the temperature stays over 120F, you shouldn't have problems. If you don't mash-out, you will have a very fermentable wort.

 

[BierMuncher]

If you are mashing in a cooler or have some way of keeping the mash warm, just mash-out before going to bed. As long as the temperature stays over 120F, you shouldn't have problems. If you don't mash-out, you will have a very fermentable wort.

I would definitely mash out to the pot. Leaving the mash sitting in "mash state" overnight would make me nervous.

I'm just talking about leaving the pot of wort sitting over night (covered and in a generally clean area of course).

 

[joshpooh]

I tried this method on a batch that is currently in secondary. Obviously I can't be sure of the effect on the final product yet, but it didn't seem to have an effect. Others in the forum told me it could possibly create a sour beer b/c of contamination. The wort wasn't sour so I'm doubting the beer will be. If the beer tastes the same the last batch of this type, I will probably use this method more often.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Well, let's just assume you get some wild yeast in the pot. Let's assume you've got 12 hours before you boil the wort. How quickly can the yeast strain take over? You know everything in the kettle is going to be killed when you boil, so it's got 12 hours to do its thing.......

How many of us have had fermentations that took more than 12 hours to kick off? And that's with us pitching 5 gallons' worth of yeast! I can't imagine whatever's in the air being anywhere close to that amount.

I really don't like the idea of letting wort sit out overnight, but I really can't say it's likely to be a problem. seems to me it should be just fine. So please, go ahead and prove me to be a nervous-nelly. Intellectually, I think you'll be fine.

 

[uglygoat]

i don't know how long a cooler would keep the mash temp constant. i've left grains in the mt after the brew session with the lid on, too lazy to dump them that night. the next morning it was pretty sour smelling... it might be good for a berlin style wheat or an old ale...

 

[FlyingHorse]

I do this all the time. In fact, I have a boil going right now (Steel Cut Oatmeal Stout) that I mashed last night. I generally can't start brewing until the 2-yr-old hits the sack, which often isn't until 10:00 pm. So rather than be up until 3-4 am, I'll mash and sparge, collecting the wort in a sanitized plastic bucket with a tight-sealing lid.

Next day, I transfer the wort to the kettle, and away I go. Very often (if I'm boiling in the morning), the wort doesn't get cool enough for wild fermentation to be an issue, but I've gone as long as 36 hours (wort obviously room temp at that point) without a problem.

Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.

 

[Lochboy]

I do it quite often. I sparge at 170 around 8-9pm then close my cooler and next morning around 7-8 am the temp is between 130-145. I just wrap a blanket and it tastes great.

Have not had any problems with it

Late