Owly055
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This is the final "speed brew" blow by blow post. I broke the 2 hour mark by 3 minutes. I won't burden you guys with another "blow by blow" of a brew day start to finish. I have no intention of trying to race to the finish with every brew, just to find ways to cut my time down to a minimum reasonable value. I've shown to my satisfaction that I can probably do a fairly conventional mash within a 2.5 hour time frame with attention to detail and some organization. Fine grind and BIAB are the critical components, as are reducing heating and cooling time. I don't expect fabulous results from a 2 hour cycle. I've learned a great deal from this, and after all that is what this is about.........Making good beer and learning!
Will I try to "better" my time from this AM......... NO.
Brewing involves a lot of choices and options. Contrary to what some people have implied, I love to brew. If not, would I brew once a week in small quantites? There is no reason why I can't set up an 11 gallon system and brew once a month. 5 or 6 hours once a month is more "time economical" than 2 hours once a week by a significant margin. There is no way I can reduce my "time per gallon" to match those guys with my quantities. I have to laugh when I read posts implying that I must not enjoy brewing or I wouldn't be trying to cut my brew day. How many of those guys brew weekly? I suspect the answer is NONE! Just remember. If I can do weekly 2 hour brew sessions... which is unrealistic, my monthly brewing time is 33% more at 8 hours, than your single 6 hour session. More likely I will end up between 2.5 and 3 hours per session.
Time reduction is a game of diminishing returns. Gains are dramatic at first. For example, I went from about 45 minutes to cool to pitch temp, down to 5 minutes for an investment of slightly over $100. What can I gain from here? and what will it cost?? Likewise, I reduced heating time dramatically, though I cannot quantify that accurately as I combined mash and heat. Heating to mash took a mere 10 minutes, as a result of cranking up my hot water heater temp, and increasing burner output..... something most folks can't do. Heat to boil, likewise was reduced to 30 minutes because of higher burner settings. I can probably cut this to 5 minutes or less with my floating electric element (yet to be built). 25 minutes per brew cycle for an investment of an estimated $60, makes sense to me... over 2 hours per year! Convenience improvement, such as my pumping system which I expect to have online next brew cycle (suck start), are good investments as far as I'm concerned. Better process control equals more consistent results and repeatability. I have most of the parts on hand, which equals less upfront cost. Next week, I hope to be writing about using my new RIMS BIAB system the first time.
I enjoy pushing the limits, but I'm not going to do it every time obviously. From here on out it's about practical, real world brewing with time efficiency.
Below is the blow by blow report of the 2 hour speed brew:
This AM, I started my "speed brew" trial with a 2 gallon brew at 5:00 AM
5:00 AM
Go.... Get the brew pot, set it in the sink turn hot water on.
forgot to turn water on to get it hot before grabbing brew pot
Dough in slowly to avoid dough balls
drop in thermocouple, plug in and turn thermometeron
5:10 reached mash range (145 deg)
Stir constantly, watching temp rise, crank flame way down to slow rise as it approaches 150
Decided this time to cap temp at 152, convert, and splash down to 145. One quart water withheld to do this
Testing Conversion with refractometer........... Happened so fast I lost track... probably less than 5 minutes. Refractometer reading climbing, next test stopped, next test stopped. Didn't believe it, waited for a few minutes more, tested again to confirm
Splash cold water into wort to drop temp to 145.
Hold temp down below 150 10 minutes
Crank heat wide open
5:30: Mash complete, temp 165 mashout, squeeze bag, and cover total elapsed time for heating and mashing 30 minutes
Measure first wort hops and put in. Clean colander and put away, dump grain bag and wash, get corn sugar out and measure 1.5 ounces.
Screwed up measurement put 2 ounces in instead of 1.5
5:45 Full Boil
Measure second addition hops, prepare fermenter, get cooler ready, shake yeast again, and in general do all the clean up and put away possible
Begin this document
This is the first break I've had from go... the first time I've had to document the process. 45 minutes of steady action, though not hurried at all, it required attention. Note the several minor screw ups. This sort of thing is expected. For example, I just realized that I had forgotten to put my Irish moss with the second addition hops, but they are not ready to put in yet.
6:25 15 minutes to second addition, I'd better shake some Irish Moss in with the hops.
Noticed clock above stove had decided to stop... the one I was using. replace battery.... feels like a comedy of errors ;-)
Smell bread baking........ Oops, I forgot I was baking bread too! No harm no foul. It's done exactly right. My nose is my timer.
6:40: Toss in second addition hops, grab cooling kettle in put it in the sink, start cold water running, dump in ice, and add salt, get ice tubes out of freezer, start water running in immersion chiller, rinse off wooden spoon to stir with during chill, get heat gun ready to measure temp. Get yeast ready to pitch.
6:45: Lift brew kettle off stove, set it in chill pot, start water running, set immersion chiller in it, and start running, drop 5 ice tubes in, start stirring and monitoring
6:50: Pitch temp.......... lift brew kettle out of chill pot, shut water off, lift chill pot out of sink, set fermenter in sink, pour wort and yeast into fermenter, put lid on fermenter and set on table.
6:52: blow out immersion chiller and put away, clean brew kettle and put away, dump chill pot and put away, put ice tubes back in freezer for next brew, put heat gun away, do wipe down and clean up of msc items. take refractometer readings.
6:57: Brew cycle finished
Note: I found that I can only get 5 "ice tubes" in the middle of my immersion chiller which is 20' of 1/2" copper tubing. Ice tubes are restaurant ketchup bottles with several 38 caliber bullets in the bottom embedded in either plaster of paris or silicone to make them float upright, filled with water and frozen.
This was a very fast brew cycle with little leisure, but I managed to crack a beer..... I'm not done with it yet. The only "spare time" was during boil. My target was 2 hours 15 minutes. I beat that target and hit one hour 57 minutes. Volume was slightly short, and I had to add a small amount of water.
Note: Reducing volume to 2 gallons helped with heating and cooling time. Previous brews were 2.5 gallons
Note: Stove burner was adjusted to get about 50% more flame......... Heating times are a real bottle neck. My stove burner jets actually have a needle behind them, and can be turned up with a 1/2" end wrench by simply unscrewing them slightly. I could go higher, but am worried about burning the bag if I end up with flame coming very far up the side of the pot.
Note: Accurate temp control is an issue. Temp varies in different areas, and thermocouple response is not instant. Readings were all over the place, and required some judgment to interpret properly
Next brew cycle I will have a pump system which will eliminate stirring, and will provide a steady flow past the thermocouple. Pump is fairly high volume, and return will be submerged, and designed to distribute return flow well. This is critical to getting good consistent results I think. It also will reduce workload.
Note: I'm not happy with my decision to cut back to 2 gallons from 2.5.......It just doesn't look like much! I've got mixed feelings. With my proposed "suck start" recirculation system, I can see where I can upgrade to a $60 Walmart kettle that will allow me to go back to a 2.5 gallon brew without sparge. My fermenter looks half empty with only 2 gallons in it.
Note: It is NOT my intention to make every brew cycle a "road race" to the finish. This is an exercise to help me develop techniques and organization that will greatly reduce the time involved in brewing. I've demonstrated to my satisfaction that I can do a brew in less than 2 hours. My target was 2 hours 15 minutes, and I beat that by 18 minutes. The ONLY options left to reduce brew time are higher heat rate, and cutting boil time. Last week I did a brew with a 45 minute boil. I can't say yet weather that compromised quality or not, but I reverted to a one hour boil this week. Now that I can break the 2 hour mark easily, the next objective is to reduce work load and look at quality. Next week, I will "duplicate" this brew (more or less), using the full one hour mash and boil. The only time advantages I will have are the "speed chill" and higher burner output (speed heat). That will probably put me back close to 3 hours. I don't intend EVER to spend 4.5 hours brewing again. If I end up at 3 hours, that's a 33.333% time reduction, and that's huge!!
H.W.
Will I try to "better" my time from this AM......... NO.
Brewing involves a lot of choices and options. Contrary to what some people have implied, I love to brew. If not, would I brew once a week in small quantites? There is no reason why I can't set up an 11 gallon system and brew once a month. 5 or 6 hours once a month is more "time economical" than 2 hours once a week by a significant margin. There is no way I can reduce my "time per gallon" to match those guys with my quantities. I have to laugh when I read posts implying that I must not enjoy brewing or I wouldn't be trying to cut my brew day. How many of those guys brew weekly? I suspect the answer is NONE! Just remember. If I can do weekly 2 hour brew sessions... which is unrealistic, my monthly brewing time is 33% more at 8 hours, than your single 6 hour session. More likely I will end up between 2.5 and 3 hours per session.
Time reduction is a game of diminishing returns. Gains are dramatic at first. For example, I went from about 45 minutes to cool to pitch temp, down to 5 minutes for an investment of slightly over $100. What can I gain from here? and what will it cost?? Likewise, I reduced heating time dramatically, though I cannot quantify that accurately as I combined mash and heat. Heating to mash took a mere 10 minutes, as a result of cranking up my hot water heater temp, and increasing burner output..... something most folks can't do. Heat to boil, likewise was reduced to 30 minutes because of higher burner settings. I can probably cut this to 5 minutes or less with my floating electric element (yet to be built). 25 minutes per brew cycle for an investment of an estimated $60, makes sense to me... over 2 hours per year! Convenience improvement, such as my pumping system which I expect to have online next brew cycle (suck start), are good investments as far as I'm concerned. Better process control equals more consistent results and repeatability. I have most of the parts on hand, which equals less upfront cost. Next week, I hope to be writing about using my new RIMS BIAB system the first time.
I enjoy pushing the limits, but I'm not going to do it every time obviously. From here on out it's about practical, real world brewing with time efficiency.
Below is the blow by blow report of the 2 hour speed brew:
This AM, I started my "speed brew" trial with a 2 gallon brew at 5:00 AM
5:00 AM
Go.... Get the brew pot, set it in the sink turn hot water on.
forgot to turn water on to get it hot before grabbing brew pot
Dough in slowly to avoid dough balls
drop in thermocouple, plug in and turn thermometeron
5:10 reached mash range (145 deg)
Stir constantly, watching temp rise, crank flame way down to slow rise as it approaches 150
Decided this time to cap temp at 152, convert, and splash down to 145. One quart water withheld to do this
Testing Conversion with refractometer........... Happened so fast I lost track... probably less than 5 minutes. Refractometer reading climbing, next test stopped, next test stopped. Didn't believe it, waited for a few minutes more, tested again to confirm
Splash cold water into wort to drop temp to 145.
Hold temp down below 150 10 minutes
Crank heat wide open
5:30: Mash complete, temp 165 mashout, squeeze bag, and cover total elapsed time for heating and mashing 30 minutes
Measure first wort hops and put in. Clean colander and put away, dump grain bag and wash, get corn sugar out and measure 1.5 ounces.
Screwed up measurement put 2 ounces in instead of 1.5
5:45 Full Boil
Measure second addition hops, prepare fermenter, get cooler ready, shake yeast again, and in general do all the clean up and put away possible
Begin this document
This is the first break I've had from go... the first time I've had to document the process. 45 minutes of steady action, though not hurried at all, it required attention. Note the several minor screw ups. This sort of thing is expected. For example, I just realized that I had forgotten to put my Irish moss with the second addition hops, but they are not ready to put in yet.
6:25 15 minutes to second addition, I'd better shake some Irish Moss in with the hops.
Noticed clock above stove had decided to stop... the one I was using. replace battery.... feels like a comedy of errors ;-)
Smell bread baking........ Oops, I forgot I was baking bread too! No harm no foul. It's done exactly right. My nose is my timer.
6:40: Toss in second addition hops, grab cooling kettle in put it in the sink, start cold water running, dump in ice, and add salt, get ice tubes out of freezer, start water running in immersion chiller, rinse off wooden spoon to stir with during chill, get heat gun ready to measure temp. Get yeast ready to pitch.
6:45: Lift brew kettle off stove, set it in chill pot, start water running, set immersion chiller in it, and start running, drop 5 ice tubes in, start stirring and monitoring
6:50: Pitch temp.......... lift brew kettle out of chill pot, shut water off, lift chill pot out of sink, set fermenter in sink, pour wort and yeast into fermenter, put lid on fermenter and set on table.
6:52: blow out immersion chiller and put away, clean brew kettle and put away, dump chill pot and put away, put ice tubes back in freezer for next brew, put heat gun away, do wipe down and clean up of msc items. take refractometer readings.
6:57: Brew cycle finished
Note: I found that I can only get 5 "ice tubes" in the middle of my immersion chiller which is 20' of 1/2" copper tubing. Ice tubes are restaurant ketchup bottles with several 38 caliber bullets in the bottom embedded in either plaster of paris or silicone to make them float upright, filled with water and frozen.
This was a very fast brew cycle with little leisure, but I managed to crack a beer..... I'm not done with it yet. The only "spare time" was during boil. My target was 2 hours 15 minutes. I beat that target and hit one hour 57 minutes. Volume was slightly short, and I had to add a small amount of water.
Note: Reducing volume to 2 gallons helped with heating and cooling time. Previous brews were 2.5 gallons
Note: Stove burner was adjusted to get about 50% more flame......... Heating times are a real bottle neck. My stove burner jets actually have a needle behind them, and can be turned up with a 1/2" end wrench by simply unscrewing them slightly. I could go higher, but am worried about burning the bag if I end up with flame coming very far up the side of the pot.
Note: Accurate temp control is an issue. Temp varies in different areas, and thermocouple response is not instant. Readings were all over the place, and required some judgment to interpret properly
Next brew cycle I will have a pump system which will eliminate stirring, and will provide a steady flow past the thermocouple. Pump is fairly high volume, and return will be submerged, and designed to distribute return flow well. This is critical to getting good consistent results I think. It also will reduce workload.
Note: I'm not happy with my decision to cut back to 2 gallons from 2.5.......It just doesn't look like much! I've got mixed feelings. With my proposed "suck start" recirculation system, I can see where I can upgrade to a $60 Walmart kettle that will allow me to go back to a 2.5 gallon brew without sparge. My fermenter looks half empty with only 2 gallons in it.
Note: It is NOT my intention to make every brew cycle a "road race" to the finish. This is an exercise to help me develop techniques and organization that will greatly reduce the time involved in brewing. I've demonstrated to my satisfaction that I can do a brew in less than 2 hours. My target was 2 hours 15 minutes, and I beat that by 18 minutes. The ONLY options left to reduce brew time are higher heat rate, and cutting boil time. Last week I did a brew with a 45 minute boil. I can't say yet weather that compromised quality or not, but I reverted to a one hour boil this week. Now that I can break the 2 hour mark easily, the next objective is to reduce work load and look at quality. Next week, I will "duplicate" this brew (more or less), using the full one hour mash and boil. The only time advantages I will have are the "speed chill" and higher burner output (speed heat). That will probably put me back close to 3 hours. I don't intend EVER to spend 4.5 hours brewing again. If I end up at 3 hours, that's a 33.333% time reduction, and that's huge!!
H.W.
