Multibrew brew days

[Joewalla88]

Does anyone else brew like this? Due to kids, work, and life in general, I typically only get to brew once every couple months. So I've started brewin 3 beers at once to keep the keg lines full. Anyone else do this, and if so, any tips? I've gotten pretty good at it, but I'm always looking for new ways to make brew days more efficient (on the cheap).

 

[Jag75]

Oh dang , gotta do what ya gotta do . Theres no doubt I'd mix something up lol. Guess you gotta be on top of it , and probably no drinking during the brewing .

 

[Joewalla88]

Oh dang , gotta do what ya gotta do . Theres no doubt I'd mix something up lol. Guess you gotta be on top of it , and probably no drinking during the brewing .

I won't pretend that mix ups and f ups dont happen.

 

[Joewalla88]

Oh dang , gotta do what ya gotta do . Theres no doubt I'd mix something up lol. Guess you gotta be on top of it , and probably no drinking during the brewing .

I've worked out a system to cut back on mix ups though. The toughest part is timing, so that I can get one chilled and in the fermenter in time for the next one. Can't have them all finishing up at the same time.

 

[ravhawk2000]

That's going to be a loong day, lol. You need a fellow brewer with you and do a mega brew or two. Then you guys have more help and can split the rewards.

 

[AzOr]

Have you considered mashing enough wort for 10 or 15 gallons and then splitting the boils by diff hops and yeast etc?

 

[AzOr]

I have small monsters at home. I'm a huge fan of mashing and lautering at night, then boiling-cooling-pitching the next morning.

On the first night I mill grains, heat water and mash. I usually do it while preparing dinner or cleaning. Very little impact to family time.

Then I wake up early next morning and start my burner while I make coffee. I'm usually done by 9am. I'm usually cleaning and sanitizing during the boil. If I'm running behind, I'll do my post brew clean up throughout the day.

The time away from family is very minimal this way.

 

[isomerization]

+1 to splitting off a mega mash and doing different things with it.

You can go with different yeast strains, dry hops, steeping grains, co-sour, etc.

I can handle two different mash/boils by staggering the second by an hour, so everything lines up properly. Three sounds like no fun!

 

[mattdee1]

Man, back in my bottling days I used to think I was a rockstar if I could mix up bottling a batch with brewing another without screwing anything up. But 3 batches - from 3 separate mashes -is utter lunacy!

I offer no suggestions or tips, haha.

 

[Joewalla88]

That's going to be a loong day, lol. You need a fellow brewer with you and do a mega brew or two. Then you guys have more help and can split the rewards.

I've gotten it down to about 5-6 hours. Not bad. I kinda enjoy the alone time though. I plan brewday with my other brewer friends when I feel like making a party out of it.

 

[Joewalla88]

+1 to splitting off a mega mash and doing different things with it.

You can go with different yeast strains, dry hops, steeping grains, co-sour, etc.

I can handle two different mash/boils by staggering the second by an hour, so everything lines up properly. Three sounds like no fun!

I actually enjoy it, it's only staggered by about 15-30 mins. Getting a bigger mash tun to a mega mash and split it, might be a good idea though. I think one of the reasons I do it this way is because of how I've just sorta accumulated gear but by bit over time. Especially the old coolers.

 

[fendersrule]

If i start at 10am I finish like clockwork at 3pm. I've done 2-in-a-row before and it wasn't bad. Doing three would be stretching things and would be a complete chore/job!

Consider adding fruits or co souring. That allows you to make more gallons, and split them off to create more flavors.

 

[Joewalla88]

If i start at 10am I finish like clockwork at 3pm. I've done 2-in-a-row before and it wasn't bad. Doing three would be stretching things and would be a complete chore/job!

Consider adding fruits or co souring. That allows you to make more gallons, and split them off to create more flavors.

That's about the same time frame as what I'm at. I also run my chiller water into the empty kettles for cleaning which helps a little with clean up. Try to clean as I go. Idk, theres something almost zen about getting absorbed in my brew day, so it doesnt feel much like a chore, but it does get a little intense sometimes.

 

[Ultryx]

I certainly have more time than you do (no kids). I did a back-to-back Saturday/Sunday brew day this weekend in preparation for some competitions. Had to be done this weekend and I don't think I'll want to do double brews so quick again like that. Takes up a lot of time! I'm going to have lots of beer though!

 

[Joewalla88]

I certainly have more time than you do (no kids). I did a back-to-back Saturday/Sunday brew day this weekend in preparation for some competitions. Had to be done this weekend and I don't think I'll want to do double brews so quick again like that. Takes up a lot of time! I'm going to have lots of beer though!

I have 3 set ups so it's not bad. I also have to go somewhere to brew right now, so it's better to do them all at once.

 

[sleev-les]

I did a double brew, brew day once. It was with a mash and boil so no parallel activities possible. It was the first and last time I do multiple without multiple systems or a pilot where I can prep another mash while I'm boiling. I was so tired after 10 plus hours of getting both done that I'd start hating the hobby if I did it all the time.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I don’t have a garage so I have to brew on my deck. Which means every brew day I have to lug all my gear up from my basement to the deck and carry it all back down when I’m done.
So I have found it more efficient (if exhausting) to brew two batches while I have all my gear out.

I do have a lot of redundant equipment, but I do Low Oxygen Brewing (aka LODO) and step mashes, so my process takes longer than traditional home brew.

I can do one batch in about 6hours or two in 8hours (I stagger them to avoid overlap of the components where I don’t have redundancy like my recirculation system and my chiller setup).
So one 8 hour brew day a month to get 2 batches is better than two 6 hour days.

 

[Jag75]

I've done back to back brews once . It was a long day . I would definitely rather do it like that then 2 days in a row .

 

[cmac62]

I have done three in a day, but what I would usually do is make a big beer, barley wine or dubble something like that, then do a smaller beer like a PA. Then I would put all of the grain together and make a partygyle/small beer by sparging all of the grain. Occasionally the small was the best one of the bunch. I don't have any redundancy but an extra burner, so I would get the second mash going once the first beer was in the BK. By the end I would have the last beer starting to boil when as I was chilling the 2nd. It worked out okay, it is a really long brew day, but 5 gals of free beer.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I usually brew double 10 gallon batches, with one a bit ahead of the other.

 

[brewcat]

I'd probably go back to back but I'm just in the way... It might be easier brewing on back to back days. I like to finish brewing around noon.

 

[Joewalla88]

I'd probably go back to back but I'm just in the way... It might be easier brewing on back to back days. I like to finish brewing around noon.

I kinda like the all day thing. It's a bit of a break from life for me.

 

[JLeuck64]

Ya Bud, hats off to you for working through 3 batches in a day! I have done back to back recipes with a friend helping. It takes knowledge of your system, the brewing process and of course really good timing to avoid a roadblock. I've done this with just one cooler... jealous thinking of the time saver(s) if I would have had 2 or more coolers ( ;

 

[Joewalla88]

Ya Bud, hats off to you for working through 3 batches in a day! I have done back to back recipes with a friend helping. It takes knowledge of your system, the brewing process and of course really good timing to avoid a roadblock. I've done this with just one cooler... jealous thinking of the time saver(s) if I would have had 2 or more coolers ( ;

It's a planning thing, mostly with beer style. Usually something with a normal hop addition, some with mostly late additions, and something based around hop stand whirlpool additions. Two hazies is out of the question. I just cant manage the clock for the late whirlpool additions properly unless it's only whirlpool. Y know what I mean?