Start to finish--how long is your typical brew day?

[Hex]

No better or worse, just like to know your process, and your typical brew hours.

My latest all grain, stove top, step mash, three tier ESB took me 8hrs 15min from start to clean up.

 

[kstater]

5 hours. Started strike water at 7:00 this morning for a barleywine, and finished wiping down the cabinets and stove at 12:00. Just do single infusion, batch sparge though. With a 90 minute boil today.

 

[Veinman]

I'm continually modifying my process but my latest process is to do a double all-grain brewday when I have time. The first brew is boiled on my turkey fryer and the second is split between 2 pots and boiled on the stove.
My last one only took 5 hours total from heating strike water to pitching the second yeast.

 

[Yooper]

About 4.5 hours to 5 hours from running the water into the HLT to clean up.

 

[Sea]

Almost always 5 hours, but I usually get something else done during the downtime. kegging, racking to secondary for dry-hopping etc.

 

[Beerbeque]

4.5-5 hours depending on whether I steep my post boil hops after flameout.

 

[Seven]

5 to 6 hours for me. I think I'll get quicker with more experience but right now I'm going slowly to try to avoid making mistakes.

 

[D0ug]

2-4 hours, extract, partial boil with steeping grains. From the time I start getting stuff together to pitching the yeast.

It's usually in the evenings after the two tykes are in bed. Momma Pajama works second shift, so it's Daddy daycare after 2pm.

Extracts might limit your recipes, but they make for a short brew day. And there's no way I could find the time to commit to an all grain brew session on any regular basis right now.

Maybe someday....

 

[Dunerunner]

6 - 9 hours, depending on whether I have help, break for breakfast and lunch or just a beer after clean-up!

Heat water in HLT
Crush Grains
Move water to Mash Tun
Stir in grains
Mash
Lauter/sparge
Boil
Chill wort and transfer to FV
Pitch yeast

Clean-up

 

[TonyR]

My last couple 2.5G All Grain batches have been about 4.5 hours from pouring the water to finished cleaning up.

 

[step]

Just finished my first time all-grain. I did two 3 gal batches (wound up with 3.25 gal). I did 3 gals because I am limited by my boiling abilities (apartment electric stove). I just finished the second batch and poured myself a nice little IPA 7 hours later. When you look at 7 hrs for 6.5 gals it doesn't seem that good, but it was 2 different batches. I feel pretty good about it.

 

[Kayos]

5-6 hours AG. I think if I can get a better burner I'll cut it by half an hour.

 

[mrk305]

5 to 6 hours from start to cleanup depending on what else I am doing. I keep telling a friend of mine who is always offering shortcuts.. " It's not about how fast I can make it. It's about how good I can make it." I also like to do a 90 minute boil.

 

[coastwx]

It's a full 9 hr day for two 10 gal batches. I could cut that down by 1.5 hours if my propane burner had more BTU's.

 

[ArizonaDB]

With an AG 5 gal batch it takes me between 5 and 6 hours start to finish. I have tried a few batches while home alone watching my 11 month old son and while nothing went wrong it was far from relaxing. I will only brew now when my wifey is home too. It's true tho. It's not about speed but quality and the fun factor. However, a 8 or 9 hr brew day gets to be a little much.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I do all-grain on my two-tier system. It takes me 4 hours to do 1 5g batch, or 6 hours to do 2.

 

[rack04]

My first brew day was last week and it took 5 hours from water treatment to final clean.

 

[howabouttheiris]

Isn't a brew day 24 hours, just like every other day... and that it just feels shorter, because you are having so much fun.

Confused.

 

[superjunior]

from sanitizing to cleanup doing a 30 g. batch with 3 guys, I'd say about 6 hrs, depending on how much we drink, order food, putts around ect..I'm sure we could shave an hour off that time if we really tried..

 

[howabouttheiris]

Extract brewing... about 3.5 hours.

 

[ksbrain]

I can do two AG plus an Apfelwein in six hours all by myself. This includes kegging the last two AG and Apfelwein. When my brew buddy is around it can be done in five.

My equipment is: one mash tun, one HLT, two kettles, two burners. I do a single infusion mashes with a 45 minute rest. I do a sort of batch sparge. I boil for 60 minutes.

 

[Sacdan]

5 hours for one 10 gallon batch. About 7-8 for two ten gallon batches.

 

[EricCSU]

5 hours if I do one all-grain batch, 6.5 hours if I do two (clean up and set up is the same, I mash number two while number one boils). I usually do two AG batches, but I also do a 15 minute extract APA sometimes if I have a 90 minute mash, and that doesn't add any extra time.

I have two burners, a 6 gallon brewpot that I use as a HLT, a 15 gallon brewpot that is the boil kettle, a 17 gallon MLT, a 50' copper (1/2") immersion chiller plus two 30' pre chillers (it is Texas), and a 4 foot folding table.

1. Heat MLT preheat water while setting up equipment
2. Pour in boiling water to preheat MLT
3. Heat strike water
4. Slowly run off MLT preheat water
5. Add strike water to MLT
6a. Add grain and stir
6b.During a 90 minute mash, I sometimes add a 15-minute extract batch that takes about an hour flame to filled carboy.
6c. Heat Mash out water
7. Add mash out water
8. start heating sparge water
9. vorlauf
10. first runnings
11. add sparge water
12. start heating first runnings in brewpot
13. vorlauf
14. sparge and add into brewpot
15a. boil per recipe
15b. if I'm doing back to back AG recipes, this is where I heat up strike water for the second batch and take the grain out of the MLT, dough-in for the second recipe, then get back to the boil
16a. add immersion chiller with 15 minutes left
16b. start heating mash out water for second batch
17. chill batch 1
18. rack into carboy while adding mash out to MLT
19. start heating sparge water
20. dump cold break out of brewpot
21. vorlauf
22. first runnings
23. heat first runnings
24. add sparge water
25. vorlauf
26. second runnings into brewpot
27. boil per recipe
28. during boil, clean MLT, start cleaning as much as I can.
29. chill
30. rack into carboy
31. clean up

 

[blue77]

About 5 hours for a 5.5 gallon recipe and ~6 hours for 11 gallons.

 

[mrk305]

...... I have tried a few batches while home alone watching my 11 month old son and while nothing went wrong it was far from relaxing. ........

It doesn't get any easier as they get older....... a post from 2008

no time for brewing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Got home from work today about 3:20
put water on the stove for mash and made a few phone calls
got everything ready.. propane, cooler with idophor, tv tray with hops & yeast & irish moss, matches, oven mit, scissors, etc
added water to cooler and grains, then started to rack last weeks batch to secondary
stirred a few times and checked temp, then had to take my daughter to drivers ed by 5:00
got home and batch sparged three times, drained cooler and went to daycare to pick up 4 year old by 6:00
started burner on low heat, made some cornbread, then cranked up the burner to get the boil started
my wife got home around 6:45 and I was just adding hops and getting boil stabalized. We had dinner, and my wife said she wanted to work out... no problem.
7:35 I was adding my chiller, irish moss and hops
7:45 more hops for 5 minutes
7:50 hooked up the hose for the chiller
7:55 left to pick up daughter at drivers ed with the 4 year old... water running through chiller
8:15 stirred for a few minutes to reach 72
8:35 I was done... cleaned up, and done
5 hours and 15 minutes, but in the car for over an hour counting the three trips I made

time to SBRDAHB

 

[a10t2]

Just under five hours for a typical 60 minute single infusion mash, and 75 minute boil.

I did a partial boil AG on the stove yesterday and it was under 3.5 hours on brewday. Around four including making the ice a few days ahead of time.

 

[brentt03]

Takes me about 4-5 hours, this is doing all grain with single batch sparging...i try to clean up and stuff as I go, saves a little bit on time

 

[yummybeer]

on average, it takes me about 3 1/2-4 hours.

 

[superjunior]

5 hours if I do one all-grain batch, 6.5 hours if I do two (clean up and set up is the same, I mash number two while number one boils). I usually do two AG batches, but I also do a 15 minute extract APA sometimes if I have a 90 minute mash, and that doesn't add any extra time.

I have two burners, a 6 gallon brewpot that I use as a HLT, a 15 gallon brewpot that is the boil kettle, a 17 gallon MLT, a 50' copper (1/2") immersion chiller plus two 30' pre chillers (it is Texas), and a 4 foot folding table.

1. Heat MLT preheat water while setting up equipment
2. Pour in boiling water to preheat MLT
3. Heat strike water
4. Slowly run off MLT preheat water
5. Add strike water to MLT
6a. Add grain and stir
6b.During a 90 minute mash, I sometimes add a 15-minute extract batch that takes about an hour flame to filled carboy.
6c. Heat Mash out water
7. Add mash out water
8. start heating sparge water
9. vorlauf
10. first runnings
11. add sparge water
12. start heating first runnings in brewpot
13. vorlauf
14. sparge and add into brewpot
15a. boil per recipe
15b. if I'm doing back to back AG recipes, this is where I heat up strike water for the second batch and take the grain out of the MLT, dough-in for the second recipe, then get back to the boil
16a. add immersion chiller with 15 minutes left
16b. start heating mash out water for second batch
17. chill batch 1
18. rack into carboy while adding mash out to MLT
19. start heating sparge water
20. dump cold break out of brewpot
21. vorlauf
22. first runnings
23. heat first runnings
24. add sparge water
25. vorlauf
26. second runnings into brewpot
27. boil per recipe
28. during boil, clean MLT, start cleaning as much as I can.
29. chill
30. rack into carboy
31. clean up

this is why I don't waste my time with all grain

 

[EricCSU]

this is why I don't waste my time with all grain

I can brew any style of beer I want. I can easily change the fermentability of my beer with the mash temp.

I still enjoy a quick extract batch, but I love the all grain process. To each their own.

Eric

 

[earwig]

About 6 hours for me. Cleaning and sanitizing take up more time than brewing I think! I hate the cleaning/sanitizing.

 

[blue77]

With an AG 5 gal batch it takes me between 5 and 6 hours start to finish. I have tried a few batches while home alone watching my 11 month old son and while nothing went wrong it was far from relaxing. I will only brew now when my wifey is home too. It's true tho. It's not about speed but quality and the fun factor. However, a 8 or 9 hr brew day gets to be a little much.

I here ya...with a wife who usually works nights and two young kids, I have been mostly brewing late at night (Start at 9pm after bed time) or early in the morning, starting around 4am.

 

[superjunior]

I can brew any style of beer I want. I can easily change the fermentability of my beer with the mash temp.

I still enjoy a quick extract batch, but I love the all grain process. To each their own.

Eric

your right brother and I probably shouldn't of said that. to each their own

 

[EricCSU]

your right brother and I probably shouldn't of said that. to each their own

No worries. I really love Rye and Marris Otter, so I need all grain to get those flavors. I also love session beers, so if I need to be able to mash high to get the right mouthfeel.

Have you seen the latest BrewingTV episode? Makes me want to brew an extract batch!

Eric

 

[curlyfat]

I started at noon today, had all sorts of troubles, did a 75m mash, 90m boil, ended just before 5. So about 5 hours on a "bad" day.

I'm guessing around 4 for a "normal" day. I don't normally keep track because brew-day is always a my-day.

 

[rgontasz]

Usually around 4.5 to 5 hours. Of course this depends on how celebratory homebrews I ingest in the process! It tends to lengthen the process sometimes ha!

 

[LakewoodBrew]

I just built a new rig and in doing so mapped out my brew day process.

Based on 90min mash, 45min sparge, 60 min boil and all the other goodness a single 10 gal batch is 6 hrs. 9 hrs if I do a back to back 20 gal brew day.

 

[DrunkbobSanspants]

My first brew day was 4 hours soup-to-nuts. (Extract w/steeping grains)

 

[Fantastical]

5-6 hours.

 

[Hex]

Thanks for all the great replies, keep 'em coming!

I've done many 3-4 hr extract batches, I did one two weeks ago after having learned all grain. That was fun.

I'm still honing my all grain process, and I did count the rest times in the oven, but did take an hour break for the sac. rest, so my best, actual work time is 7 hrs 15 min, and that was my 4th AG batch.

I did a 20 minute rest at 122, 75 min rest at 155, and 10 min at 170.
I probably could save a half hour if I did single infusion.

Sparge is another hour.

I'd like to get step mashing down to 7 hours.

Stove top is nice because not too much heat to scorch grain, but it's not very quick.