What is your cutoff time of day to start brewing?

[MON5TER]

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.

 

[WesBrew]

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.

 

[Smudgey]

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.

 

[Big_D]

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 <<

 

[jerrylotto]

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.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

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.

 

[corkybstewart]

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.

 

[corkybstewart]

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

 

[FloppyKnockers]

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?

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

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.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

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!

 

[JimRausch]

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.

 

[bobeer]

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.

 

[The_Antikveik]

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.

 

[balrog]

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.

 

[DeanRIowa]

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.

 

[_BullDog_]

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.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

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.

 

[Cellar_Dweller]

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.

 

[agentbud]

Night brewer here. Friday night - usually eat dinner and then start brewing around 6PM, ending around 1AM, or whenever my brew helpers leave. And by brew helpers, I really mean the guys that drink beer and watch me brew.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I always say if I'm not mashing in by noon the brew day is canceled. Instead I'll spend a few hours doing as much prep as I can to get a jump start on brewing the next day and wake up early to get going. Fill the kettle, add the salts, crush the grain, even fill out my brew sheet and all that. Did this last weekend and even pre-heated the water overnight holding it at 130 with a block of pink foam in place of the lid to slow the heat losses. Only took a few minutes to warm it up to strike temp and I was brewing. Finished by noon and got even with myself for lollygagging.

 

[PCABrewing]

I prep grain and starters in advance.
Brew day usually starts at 1000 with setting up the table and moving all the gear up to the garage. By 1100 I have the kettle heating water for the mash.
Goal is to have yeast pitched and equipment cleaned and stored by 1800.

 

[kevin58]

I always plan for a 9am start but if I'm not at it by 11am I put it off until the next day.

 

[bwible]

I have no kids and I work from home on a compressed 3 day schedule - I work 12.5 hours a day for 3 days then I have 4 days off. I usually work Thurs, Fri, Sat and my days off are Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed. I usually brew on Mon, Tues, or Wed while the wife is at work. Like others have said, I’ve never been an early riser. I have to get up at 5:00 on the days I work (was 4:00 when I was driving to the office) and I hate that hour of the day. “With the fiery passion of a thousand suns.” Because I resent it so much I sometimes sleep til 11:00 on my days off.

But I like to have everything planned, recipe in writing, water treatment figured out, etc and be ready to start by 9 am on a brew day. When all goes well, I can be done and cleaned up by 2:30, plenty of time before the wife gets home. Sometimes I even cook dinner, too.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

I typically brew on Saturdays and try to time it so that I start my boil as the sun goes down, so the season dictates timing. I brew in the garage, which faces west, so I don't want the sun beaming in. I want to watch the sunset, crank my tunes, and savor the boil with the garage open at night. It's a spiritual experience for me.

Right now, winter time in San Diego (if you can call this winter!)

I start heating my strike water around 2:00pm
Mash in around 2:30
Start draining at 3:30
Batch sparge by 4:00
Begin the boil process shortly after
Rolling boil just after the sun goes down
Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Rush, etc, keep me company
Done boiling between 5:30-6:00pm
Chill and pitch sometime around 6:30pm
This includes measuring OG, labeling, etc., process ends about 7:00pm
Rinse my equipment well, but save the deep cleaning for morning

If it's summer, this process begins around 4:00pm and ends around 9pm
If I'm doing a 90 minute mash, add 30-45 minutes

 

[bwible]

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

I do strong beers only a couple times a year, 3 gallons. For these, I do a mash supplemented with extract in the kettle. Been the easiest way. I have barleywines from the last 3 years. I’m finishing up a RIS I brewed in May of 2020 there are only 3 bottles of left. So I’m actually planning to do that one again this week.

 

[bwible]

Electric is the way to go. Setting up the night before and waking up to strike water ready to go...its a no brainer!

I have an Anvil Foundry but I don’t see the advantage. Either way, I have to grind grain. Whether I spend time doing it the night before or I do it while the strike water is heating up. So I put it on and grind the grain while the strike water heats up. Usually works out perfectly with the 6.5 and smaller batches, because I’m usually heating about 3 gallons of strike water. Now if I had the 10.5 or the bigger one they came out with, it might take longer to heat the water. But then I’d have to be on 240v instead of 120v so have to account for that also.

 

[Velnerj]

Great reads! I find this very encouraging because I can barely squeeze in 4-5 brew sessions a year.

I've got two young kids (4 & 1) and a spouse who does not support the idea of me having 4-6 hours of free time. Brew days are planned well in advance and often get vetoed and postponed due to life circumstances. But when the moon is in its seventh house and jupiter aligns with Mars a brew day can occur...

In those days I wake up as early as my tired body, who has kids who still don't sleep entirely through the night, will allow: 0500 at the earliest. My target is to be mashed in by 7 am. I'm an outdoor brewer on a three vessel propane system and if I'm lucky I'm finished by 1400. I'm currently looking for looking into an AIO system so that I can cut down my brew time - having strike water ready when I wake up is a dream...

The other issue is that I'm the cook in the family and if I brew I'm not allowed to let other household responsibilities slip so that I can make beer.... So my brew days tend to take much longer than necessary because I'm tending to other needs of the family.

Nevertheless it's all worth it when the beer hits its mark. A 5 gal batch will last me around 3 months.

 

[The_Antikveik]

@Velnerj, you need to put your foot down and insist on some equality. It should be a fundamental human right to home brew at least 4 times a month

 

[bwible]

@Velnerj, you need to put your foot down and insist on some equality. It should be a fundamental human right to home brew at least 4 times a month

Well a marriage should be about supporting each other. And there are always trade offs. Doesn’t your spouse have a hobby or something they enjoy spending time doing?