What do you hate most about brew day?

[Jayhem]

Wort chilling. If I just let the IC go it takes 30 minutes so I carefully stir with sanitized paddle every 3 minutes. I'm worried about contamination the entire time, hoping a bug doesn't fall in the wort since I brew outside on the deck.

Other than that it's not so bad. As for cleaning: If you clean as you go it's MUCH less tedious at the end of the brew day. When my wort goes into fermenters the only thing I have left to clean is the kettle.

 

[geoffm33]

This is like trying to figure out what the worst part of a nice day at the beach is. I guess packing up your beach stuff and cleaning up. Everything else is just groovy, it's still a day at the beach.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Wort chilling. If I just let the IC go it takes 30 minutes so I carefully stir with sanitized paddle every 3 minutes. I'm worried about contamination the entire time, hoping a bug doesn't fall in the wort since I brew outside on the deck.

Other than that it's not so bad. As for cleaning: If you clean as you go it's MUCH less tedious at the end of the brew day. When my wort goes into fermenters the only thing I have left to clean is the kettle.

So long as you pitch appropriate amounts of yeast quickly they should elbow out most nasties that can get into your beer. I brew outdoors/in my garage which is not a clean room by any stretch and have even left the wort overnight (up to 24 hours) in the fermenter in my ferm chamber to come to temp after cooling down to 90 because I forgot to pitch the yeast with no issues.

Using an IC, if you send the warm/hot exit water and fill your emptied MLT or HLT with it, you get warm cleanup water. Use the MLT water for a prewash (there usually is leftover grain material in there, even after dumping) of everything to remove gross debris, then use the HLT water for final rinses. Makes things far easier and much more comfortable to clean up with and far less wasted water.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

This winter it was not feeling my hands after 10 minutes...

 

[Zepth]

I'm going to go with the cleaning AFTER brewing. You'd think that when it's in the carboy/bucket you're ready to go and relax, but no. You don't want that wort to harden all over everything.

I'm also plagued by the crappy glass stovetop. Thinking of switching to an induction stove when I get around to (and can afford) the kitchen renovation. Condo rules won't let me have a BBQ, I can't see an open flame propane ring on the balcony being any more permitted. Presumably when I start really getting into yeast harvesting or using liquids I'll hate having to plan a brew a few days in advance. I like the idea of "What do I feel like today?" as compared to "What did I do 3 days ago to prepare for today?"

 

[sdrockstar]

Cleaning for sure!

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

A hangover from the night before and there being no good sports on TV to watch while brewing....

 

[501irishred]

did that really happen?

Happened to me twice - once from a passerby that thought I was making moonshine, and a second time when a new neighbor thought I was cooking meth!


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[dobe12]

Condo rules won't let me have a BBQ, I can't see an open flame propane ring on the balcony being any more permitted.

Same here, but rules are meant to be broken.... or at the very least, tested. I've been grilling for 8yrs and brewing for 4yrs at my condo. It's somewhat of a private area and my neighbors are all cool. Make friends with your neighbors. Invite them over for a nice grilled steak and a homebrew. They'll keep their mouths shut if you keep them full

 

[Riot]

Carrying the wort downstairs to the fermentation area.

And Zepth, growing yeast isn't that time sensitive if youre ok with about a quart of starter in the beer, and have a stirplate. You can go from 40 billion to pitching numbers that day if you start the yeast early.

 

[tsl346]

Getting my brewing equipment up from the basement into bathroom for cleaning. 3-4 trips up the stairs with full arms gets old.

 

[GrumpySquirrel]

Definitely hate all the waiting. Except when you fill the waiting with drinking beer. Then it's all good.


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[plath]

I don't mind the cleaning and the waiting lets me multitask (nurse the baby, change a diaper, etc), but I hate sanitizing.


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[MaxStout]

I don't mind the cleanup, either. It's nice to have everything cleaned and put away, and time to crack open another brew and look back on a satisfying brew day.

But my back does get stiff from the lifting of everything. Only real complaint.

 

[jekeane]

Waiting till the next brew day...

 

[teckmaster0179]

I actually just did a kit where it told me to pour the wort right into the cold water that I had in my fermenter.

The winter time was great, i would just put my wort outside.


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[Roondy888]

Cleaning. God damn cleaning.

Amen, and sometimes it seems like a good idea to leave it till tomorrow........worst idea ever.

 

[reeberom]

I hate cleaning afterward. Especially after drinking all brew day.


Primary: House stout
Secondary: zombie dust clone
Bottled: moose drool clone

 

[L1truckie]

I brew to relax, among other things. But brewing is supposed to be a stress free day for me. I hate it when my OCD and anal retentiveness starts to kick in during all the processes of brewing. It sometimes is a challenge for me to say its ok that I missed a gravity point by .001 or got an extra quarter gallon for the boil. It is, in the long run, very therapeutic for me, cleaning and all

 

[Leukass]

another vote for the after cleaning...
I am good up to the chilling then i start thinking about all the cleaning of BK, MT, HLT - ugh....

 

[beersk]

I would have to say cleaning and a very close second is chilling/getting the wort in the fermenter.

 

[Roadie]

I don't mind waiting as some have said but I'm with the majority in saying I hate cleaning!!


Almost Famous Brewing Company

 

[atoughram]

Definitely the hangover.... You must sample past brews whilst creating the future..

 

[Hulud]

Happened to me twice - once from a passerby that thought I was making moonshine, and a second time when a new neighbor thought I was cooking meth!


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Hahaha that's annoying!

 

[Clonefan94]

Why all the hate for cleaning? Cleaning my MLT keeps me busy while the wort is boiling for 60-90 minutes.

My MLT cleaning is as difficult as walking back to the compost pile and dumping it out. As I said in my post, it's not really "cleaning" as much as the whole process of cleaning up. Only so much I can get cleaned and picked up before the actual end of the boil.

 

[Jay-Brew]

Ensuring everything is sanitized.

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

The cleaning and countless trips up and down the basement stairs.

Which since I've started brewing I've gained a few pounds, so I hustle up the stairs for a little exercise. Then reward myself for a good hustle with a sip of homebrew.

 

[donovanmaxwell]

Thinking about bottling day for me. As soon as I get the $$ saved up for kegging I'll be very happy! Cleaning is very close behind..

 

[DrunkleJon]

The smell of the spent grains the next day. I know the topic is on brew day, but unless you spread them out well or have a healthy compost pile they really do smell like a dead animal. And I definitely do not have a good compost pile going.

 

[brewbama]

I don't like hauling the equip up from the basement and then back down. Like someone earlier said, the waiting gives me time to think.


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