I was thinking the other day about how much my process has changed in the last year of brewing and it occurred to me that most might consider how I brew to be fairly unusual. .. or not. I'd love to hear under what unusual circumstances you guys brew, whether it be the norm for you or just a one time crazy thing.
Here's the highlights of how I probably differ from the typical homebrewer:
I started out on all grain.
I brew 2.5 gallon batches.
I do BIAB.
I hit my mash temp and then put the kettle in an oven that's been preheated to 170.
I do an overnight mash. I started doing this six batches ago so that I can keep brewing regularly (every two weeks) and keep SWMBO from feeling like an entire day gets eaten up. I start heating the water at nine pm. After I squeeze the bag, I'll heat the wort to 190, denaturing the enzymes, and put it in the oven (again preheated to 170) usually around 12:30. At 6:30 the next morning, I'm out there ready to go. I'll be done by ten am. The day is saved!
I do a split boil because I brew on an electric stove. I use fermcap and am armed with a spoon and spray bottle so I can fill both two gallon pots to 95% capacity. I pre-divide all ingredients.
Finally, I do all this within an apartment that is in a dormitory of a private high school for girls. SWMBO works as residential faculty, and they give us housing. None of the girls know I brew, although all the telltale signs are there. Sometimes, the girls can even see into our kitchen while I'm mashing in. I keep all my equipment in a hall closet that's located immediately adjacent to several dorm rooms, so I'm always surreptitiously hauling equipment to and fro. My ferm chamber is covered with a tapestry and picture frames.
One big advantage is we live right above the dining hall, so I'll take the elevator down to the kitchen to grab two buckets of ice for wort chilling.
Whatchoo guys got?
Here's the highlights of how I probably differ from the typical homebrewer:
I started out on all grain.
I brew 2.5 gallon batches.
I do BIAB.
I hit my mash temp and then put the kettle in an oven that's been preheated to 170.
I do an overnight mash. I started doing this six batches ago so that I can keep brewing regularly (every two weeks) and keep SWMBO from feeling like an entire day gets eaten up. I start heating the water at nine pm. After I squeeze the bag, I'll heat the wort to 190, denaturing the enzymes, and put it in the oven (again preheated to 170) usually around 12:30. At 6:30 the next morning, I'm out there ready to go. I'll be done by ten am. The day is saved!
I do a split boil because I brew on an electric stove. I use fermcap and am armed with a spoon and spray bottle so I can fill both two gallon pots to 95% capacity. I pre-divide all ingredients.
Finally, I do all this within an apartment that is in a dormitory of a private high school for girls. SWMBO works as residential faculty, and they give us housing. None of the girls know I brew, although all the telltale signs are there. Sometimes, the girls can even see into our kitchen while I'm mashing in. I keep all my equipment in a hall closet that's located immediately adjacent to several dorm rooms, so I'm always surreptitiously hauling equipment to and fro. My ferm chamber is covered with a tapestry and picture frames.
One big advantage is we live right above the dining hall, so I'll take the elevator down to the kitchen to grab two buckets of ice for wort chilling.
Whatchoo guys got?