What is your cutoff time of day to start brewing?

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Man...seems like some long brew days listed here!

When brewing a 5-gallon batch, I try to get my brew day going around 9:00 AM, sometimes I might get out of bed at 8:00. I usually have my breakfast during the mash, and usually plan to have lunch after I am done. Propane Burner + BIAB and I can usually be done in 4 to 4.5 hours (with a 60 min mash, 60 min boil, no whirlpool). I used to meet up with a group at 3:00 PM on most Saturdays (pre-covid era), and I planed for time to clean up and head out to that event.

One of the things that I love about 2.5 gallon stovetop BIAB is that I can fit in a brew day just about any day of the week. Since I am working from home, I can get started at 5:00 PM. Even if I don't get started by 6:00 PM, I am still done is about 3.5 hours. I usually fix dinner during the mash.
 
Man...seems like some long brew days listed here!


i have easy days too! for example i took a break and dumped 10 gallons of apple juice in the fermenter today! ;) think i started at ~12pm, got done around 12:15 or so...(they only had 64oz jugs at the store, lol)
 
I’m a newb.. didn’t realize there was supposed to be a cutoff time for brew day! 😆 By complete mishap, or what I consider a blessing from the Brew Gods.. I actually started a brew day New Years Eve and ended it in the New Year ‘22! 😎

I work crazy hours at work, so what’s considered “normal hours“ for most folks aren‘t always in line with my schedule. Given that, I highly doubt I’ll ever start a brew day early enough in the morning that I can’t enjoy a cold one while brewing! 🍺
 
I'm an early bird; during the week I'm up by 4:30am and out the door for work at 5:20 or thereabouts. I usually brew on Saturdays, and even 5 years in I get super excited for a brewday, so I'm usually up and mashed in by 5:30am, and all done including cleaning by about 9:30. Now that it's winter I can start later if I want to, so if I hadn't planned to brew on a particular Saturday and I suddenly decide to, it's not a problem. In summer/fall I try to get going by 4am so the water is still cool enough to chill.
 
No cut off time for us, but a normal brew day starts at 0600 to 0900. We like to get things all wrapped up in time for Happy Hour.
 
I get home from work about 530, so If I'm brewing I start right away. I usually get the grain sorted out and crushed the day before.
I completed a brewing science certificate program (Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT. Go Pioneers!). We brewed after work at the local brewery. Brewing class was scheduled 5:30-10:30 pm, but we usually didn't get out until close to midnight. On a weeknight...
 
My kids are grown, so no set schedule, but I try to start no later than 9AM and usually done by 2, so that still have rest of day to do something. Having the Anvil Foundry helps since I can fill it up the night before and set the delayed timer and then wake the next morning to mash in temps. Cleaning as you go really helps speed up the day also.
 
No kids here, so can brew more or less when I want. I also plan my brew schedule WAY in advance, but my prep/brewday stuff is along the lines of: yeast starter a day or 2 before; measure out the salts, crush the grains, and calibrate the pH meter the day before; brewday usually starts ~10am on (every other) Sunday; and lasts ~4 hours.
Did have a brewday in which I had to go somewhere after mashing in, then didn't finish everything until about 9pm. Doing that stuff so late is not my thing.
 
That is a lot of beer. You nap during your boil?
Not on purpose. It gets late and after a day brewing with some beers the occasional dose off happens. The timers set up for additions usually wake a guy up if you dose off. But I've had a few occasions where I've had to add water back to compensate for too long a boil. It jacks up the IBU calculations and adds a mallard effect to the wort which basically changes the beer you were planning on making into something different.
 
My wife was out of town and my last brew day was 7:30 am to 11:00 pm with a 2 hour break, which included 2 beers, Märzen(Austrian) and Czech Pilsner. Also, it was my first use of my new Digimash system.
 
Brew day shouldn't be a race to get done but there is a lot of outside forces that could make it that way. I'm lucky as I see lots of folks are with not a lot of family obligations. Even the family folks carve out times that work. I plan ahead and leave some bumper time in the day for those not so smooth times. You need to try to make brew day fun or else it seems like a job. After reading all of the posts it seems we are having fun and brewing great beers to enjoy -fruits of our labor!
 
Brew day shouldn't be a race to get done but there is a lot of outside forces that could make it that way. I'm lucky as I see lots of folks are with not a lot of family obligations. Even the family folks carve out times that work. I plan ahead and leave some bumper time in the day for those not so smooth times. You need to try to make brew day fun or else it seems like a job. After reading all of the posts it seems we are having fun and brewing great beers to enjoy -fruits of our labor!

Agreed, I always make it a multi-purpose day by watching of sport's games, mowing yard, BBQing, and/or cleaning the house, never seems like a chore. I look forward to my brew time and the feeling of accomplishment.

Dean
 
Goal is to start by 7AM. I get the yeast starter (if needed), brew equipment, and water additions taken care of prior to brew day.
Condition and mill grains at 7AM.
Light a cigar at 8AM.
Usually done and cleaned up having a victory beer around 1PM.

I started brewing in '99 when my kids were 7 and 6 but stopped in '02 since life happened. Picked it up again in '14 after when both kids were solidly out of the house and were not coming back to live under my roof.

It was fun brewing when the kids were little because they were excited to help but there is only so much time in the day.
 
Set up and Grains conditioned and milled Saturday evening after dinner. Sometimes before.
Sunday Brewzilla heat on at 9am. Have a cup of tea in bed.
10 to 10.30 mash in. Clean as I go. No chill, so usually in the cube and all cleaned up by 3pm. Not often any longer but depends if all goes to plan!
Into the fermenter the next day either before work or after depending on the day.
 
If I’m brewing on the weekend I’ll set everything up the night before. Set controller to have the water heated when I wake up. Brew after coffee. Any other day I split the brew day. Run the mash around 7pm. Transfer to the E Kettle and brew it in the morning.
 
I can only brew when my wife and toddler have a night at their grans. Its usually after work, ~6pm through to about 1am or midnight if I'm organized and don't want to wake up to a kitchen 3 layers deep in sticky stainless.
No spontaneous brew days for me anymore. Ive also learnt there's definitely a wrong way to suggest a family night at grans, without dad.
 
I can only brew when my wife and toddler have a night at their grans. Its usually after work, ~6pm through to about 1am or midnight if I'm organized and don't want to wake up to a kitchen 3 layers deep in sticky stainless.
No spontaneous brew days for me anymore. Ive also learnt there's definitely a wrong way to suggest a family night at grans, without dad.


Ouch.. that‘s gotta suck! Hell, just reading it is painful!

I did a quick google search.. this link might help.

Link <<
 
When I make my bourbon stout, I iterate on the mash (24# total grain bill for a 5 gal batch!). I usually assemble and measure everything the night before and start around 5:00 am and try to finish up by around 8:00 pm. I start with about an hour of water preheating and chemistry/pH adjustment. Both 12# mashes are stepped and each takes about 2 hours - I recirculate in a Mash and Boil. Sparging adds another 3 hours in total and the boil is 2 hours with at least another hour to cool. I brew in the kitchen and ferment in my basement so it takes time moving stuff up and down the stairs. I fastidiously clean my gear before and after each step and make more RO water while I'm brewing which adds more time. Single mash batches I can usually wrap up by 2 pm.
 
When I worked full time, brew day was squeezed into the weekend or vacation time. I still tried to make it fun but sometimes it didn't turn out that way. Still good beer so it turned out to be fun afterwards. I'm just retired so now every day is a Saturday. Still my brew day is split in two days maybe three depending on other things going on around the house. Being winter not much to do outside but move snow around.
 
When I make my bourbon stout, I iterate on the mash (24# total grain bill for a 5 gal batch!). I usually assemble and measure everything the night before and start around 5:00 am and try to finish up by around 8:00 pm. I start with about an hour of water preheating and chemistry/pH adjustment. Both 12# mashes are stepped and each takes about 2 hours - I recirculate in a Mash and Boil. Sparging adds another 3 hours in total and the boil is 2 hours with at least another hour to cool. I brew in the kitchen and ferment in my basement so it takes time moving stuff up and down the stairs. I fastidiously clean my gear before and after each step and make more RO water while I'm brewing which adds more time. Single mash batches I can usually wrap up by 2 pm.
You listed several of the reasons I haven't brewed my imperial stout in 10 years. The main reason is I lost my fascination with strong beer
 
My girls are 9 and 13. They stay out of the way for the most part. They're normally still in bed or doing their own thing when I start at 10am or so. During the mash I like to give them some attention before I turn my attention back to the boil. It never fails that they are going to interrupt me at some pivotal point in my process though. It's at this point I yell to my wife to get these two little spoiled brats away from me. Distract them with food or something, please!

Starting at this time gives me plenty of time to clean up then and start the grill so I can sit out back and watch the girls play, let me rub their bellies, and then they poo on the lawn. Yeah, they're dogs. What did you think I was talking about?
 
I do 10 gallon all grain so it's a longer day than most of you. I get everything together the night before(yeast starter is already done) so there are no surprises in the morning. I get up early and I'm brewing by 8 AM, done and everything is clean by 3 PM.
Your brew schedule is much the same as mine. The day before the electric HLT tank is filled, grains milled into the mashtun and everything else set for the next morning. Whenever I get up I can start the mash then brew some coffee and let the day begin. It's a 4-6 hour day then the cleanup which some might slip into the next day. Getting the spent grain hauled out is the most important task to get done. I brew 10-15 gallon batches.
 
My girls are 9 and 13. They stay out of the way for the most part. They're normally still in bed or doing their own thing when I start at 10am or so. During the mash I like to give them some attention before I turn my attention back to the boil. It never fails that they are going to interrupt me at some pivotal point in my process though. It's at this point I yell to my wife to get these two little spoiled brats away from me. Distract them with food or something, please!

Starting at this time gives me plenty of time to clean up then and start the grill so I can sit out back and watch the girls play, let me rub their bellies, and then they poo on the lawn. Yeah, they're dogs. What did you think I was talking about?
I had to read that second paragraph twice before it settled in!
 
Brew day shouldn't be a race to get done but there is a lot of outside forces that could make it that way.
Absolutely! My very first brew, back in 2011, was an extract kit Christmas gift. I started it 12/26, and told my wife, "I think it'll only take 2 hours , maybe 3 at the most". Even though I had read the online version of J.P.'s How to Brew, I still didn't have a good handle on the timeline. SWMBO scheduled us to go see the grandkids about 2 hours after I decided to brew this very wonderful Christmas gift. Well, of course it took about 4 hours, mostly because I was chilling using a sink bath. And I didn't want to leave the wort until I pitched the yeast. She was just a wee bit pissed. Surprised she didn't leave without me. I'm much more relaxed now, 185 batches in. :mug:
 
Back when the kids were really little I'd brew whenever I could. The times would change based on what was going on at the time. My wife runs a business too so there's always stuff to do then throw in the kids and I was left with whatever time was available. Sometimes it was a super early brew day and other times I was up until 3am cleaning. I dont miss those days but it did feel good to get a brew in when I could.
Now the kids are 7 and 5 and I have slightly more time and more of a routine to fit in brewing. I love an early morning brew day when I get to see the sun rise and get to have some quiet time to myself. Other busier days I wait until after dinner to mash in and I'm done by midnight or so which is ok with me every so often.
 
I insist on having everything for AG prepped (even a sanitized FV) by the night before then start as early as possible and have a very relaxed enjoyable brew day. Trying to do everything from scratch on the day is far too much hassle. Extract kits, including wine, and shop bought apple juice for cider are preferable without any planning/off the cuff.
 
Yeast starter done days in advance, salts/hops/grains weighed night before, prefer to be done by 1-2pm.

Reasoning: I am married to a wonderfully patient and understanding woman, who hates everything about the taste and smell of beer and beer making. I have long since moved to the garage but still must use kitchen and must therefore be cleaned up and "aired out" before she gets home.
 
Like many of you, I do have all my equipment and ingredients ready the night before a brew session, including but limited to, equipment ready and organized, waters filled, yeast ready, grains crushed, and sanitizer at the ready.

The most important for me is my full checklist(Brewing Notes) for my brew day with volumes, temps, and timings, every step listed I need to preform a successful brew session, hopefully to prevent me from my previous mistakes.
 
Typically brew saturdays and start around 8:00 and cleaning up shortly after lunch.

occasionally I’ll brew sundays and start after church which is around 12 or 1:00.

keep thinking of doing a weekday brew, since I work from home, and getting the water started mid afternoon but haven’t yet.
 
I have a 5 almost 6 year old but I brew whenever really. Morning afternoon or night, doesn't really matter to me. During the work week if I decide to brew like yesterday I mash in around 5:30pm and am done around 9:30. I have an Anvil Foundry so most of the brew time is spent not brewing. I press a button to mash and go do other things for an hour, same with boil.

Weekends usually like 10a to noon start, done by mid afternoon.
 
I have a 5 almost 6 year old but I brew whenever really. Morning afternoon or night, doesn't really matter to me. During the work week if I decide to brew like yesterday I mash in around 5:30pm and am done around 9:30. I have an Anvil Foundry so most of the brew time is spent not brewing. I press a button to mash and go do other things for an hour, same with boil.

Weekends usually like 10a to noon start, done by mid afternoon.

Pretty much same here. I have a full on electric system and it's pretty easy to attend to a brew during a slow work day. I like to start by around 3 on a weekday so I can be done by 7:30 or so. I'll prep my water and grain the night before so the brew is mostly just pushing buttons. Weekend brews start sometime before lunch, and can go pretty long if I invite people over to hang out during.
 
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