Typical Brew Day Time?

[HighVoltageMan!]

Good info. I feel a lot better about my times. Grain is milled by the Friendly LHBS so that time is zero. And as some have noted, it is fun even while watching the paint dry... err, watching the boil. I probably could cut it by an hour, but added stress is unwelcome.

Thanks everyone. It can seem lonely at times, but it is a noble task.

A noble task, indeed.

 

[Hawkbox]

It's 5 hours for me. But recently I invited family and friend to the brew session and they found this very interesting and after the brew session it was time for a BBQ ! It's interesting to combine both activity !

We finally drug a lurker out with a topic they're interested in!

I am 4-6 depending on how much attention I'm paying and if I get futzing around with other things. I did a coolant flush on my motorbike and went and refilled my CO2 tanks while brewing yesterday so it ended up on the 6-7 hour range.

 

[Hawkbox]

Good info. I feel a lot better about my times. Grain is milled by the Friendly LHBS so that time is zero. And as some have noted, it is fun even while watching the paint dry... err, watching the boil. I probably could cut it by an hour, but added stress is unwelcome.

Thanks everyone. It can seem lonely at times, but it is a noble task.

I find it very relaxing to know I have nothing else to do but monitor a boil and maybe do some cleanup.

 

[Ward Chillington]

I'm with J A ...8 hours it typical for me.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

I don't know about anyone else but, I can't really change gears at all during a brew. Even if it's a quick email or something, it has to wait till wort is in the fermentor. I tried to multitask during a brew when I was still pretty new and little things about the brew get missed.

It's the same for me. It's been proven repeatedly that I can't multi-task so, at most I'll empty the mash tun (cooler) while boiling. I prefer to just sit and watch the boil while listening to an Experimental Brewing podcast. I fill the strike and sparge kettles the night before, I just turn on the stove while I am making the coffee. (I mash in the kitchen and boil out by the garage.) Total brew day, including cleanup, is usually 8 hours. It would be 6 but I do 90 minute mashes and rest before starting to clean up.

 

[Nosybear]

About 5-8 hours depended on what procedure I'm using, plus about another hour's cleanup.

 

[Josh Hughes]

Today was 3:45 hours from turning on the kettle to pitching yeast.

 

[Mark Farrall]

I'm 4-5 hours, but I'm really only paying attention for 2-3. I'll often take a break between mash and boil. Just raise the temp to denature the enzymes (or not if I'm brewing a dry beer) and go have some lunch. Come back an hour or so later and start the boil.

As I work from home 90% of the time I can also wedge it into a work day without much trouble. Get the grains and water ready before work. After lunch flick on the power. Take 15-20 minutes out of work to start off the mash. Take 30 minutes out of work to change from mash to boil. Finishes up the boil and starts the cooling/clean up around 5pm. Everything cleaned and ready before dinner, then pitch in the evening. If I'm behind on any work I can catch up while I wait for the wort to cool before pitching.

 

[Dirty Dingo Brewing CO.]

Easily 4.

I'm BIAB, and when I'm at work (I work for my LHBS) and use the grainfather, even longer with sparging.

I get my ingredients for free, so I splurge now and buy ice to use along with the immersion chiller

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

I always wipe the day clean for brew day. I always try to dough in by 8am and finish up by 2pm at the latest. (That's the cool thing about the robobrew is having the water at temp when I wake up.) If I go over that, it's no big deal. Sometimes I just take a break before finishing the clean up to have a brew and pat myself on the back for completing another brew.

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

I'm at about 3.5-4 hours for a 5 gallon batch. I grind the grain the night before and utilize 45 minute mash and boils for most beers.

 

[Daniel Parshley]

Usually 5-6 hours but grinding the grain and weighing everything out (hops in bags by addition time, steeping grains...) the day before and having it ready to go makes brew day seem a lot more enjoyable. Same for bottling day - wash bottles the day before.

 

[Vesparados]

I am in the median at 5.5 to 6.5 hours, depending upon the method. When I work at home, if the afternoon gets slow, I will brew 2PM to 10PM. It is therapy for me.

 

[Vader ipa]

I average 4.5-5 hour brew days. Although, my last brew day was about 6 hours. I was very lucky once and was completely done (including clean up) in 4 hours. It was just one of those days and the beer turned out great!

 

[Ward Chillington]

I average 4.5-5 hour brew days. Although, my last brew day was about 6 hours. I was very lucky once and was completely done (including clean up) in 4 hours. It was just one of those days and the beer turned out great!

What's your method?? All Grain BIAB? Extract?

 

[dpc166]

I'm about 4 hours for a typical brew day.

I have a Spike 3-vessel system (15gal). I prep my system the day prior (sanitizing and prepping the HLT and MT with the water I need). The day of, I fire up the HLT while I have breakfast and do other things so the water is ready for dough-in when I am ready. Dough-in to start of fermentation is about 3 hours for me (especially in the winter when groundwater temps are much colder). I use the exhillerator counterflow chiller and I go from boiling to 70F in about 2 minutes, then start transferring that to the fermenter.

While the system is boiling, I've already pulled the spent grain from the MT and whatever water is left in the HLT is transferred to the MT with PBW to soak. When I'm transferring to the fermenter, my waste water from the chiller goes into the HLT and is heated to get enough water to clean the mash tun. When I finish my transfer to the fermenter, I dump the crap out of the BK and transfer the mash cleaning water through the HERMs into the BK to soak for 30min and the rinse water is heated and transferred to the MT. Once that 30min is up, the cleaning water goes through the chiller into the sink, then the cleaning water goes through the HERMs to the BK, then from the BK through the chiller and into the sink.

Cleanup to drying and putting things away is about 45 min, so total time heat-up to finished cleaning is just over 4 hours.

If I'm doing a partigyle (or a boil with 2nd runnings over the same mash), my day is extended about 90 min for that 2nd transfer to the BK, hour boil, then transfer to fermenter. If I'm doing a true partigyle and blend the 2 worts for 3 beers, I add about another 45min to make sure my blend weights of each wort are correct.

 

[BOB357]

I'm right around average at 5 - 6 hours, depending on mash & boil times, whirlpool hop addition and ground water temperature. I do weigh and mill the day begore though.

 

[56 Firedome]

After checking the weather for the next 3 days, I assemble my Brew Equipment the night before, weigh out water treatment & bag up the hops per addition schedule.
Morning of brew, I pour water, Strike & Sparge, into MT & add water treatment, stir with paint mixer, drain sparge in to Sparge Tank & StrIke water into BK.
I pump hot Strike Water into MT to preheat it, drain back to BK , pour Grain into hot MT, pump Strike Water in through MT drain valve to eliminate air bubbles. I stir the soup with the Paint Mixer & put the lid on. Meanwhile I put the Immersion Cooker in the Sparge tank set to170 F & hold. As needed, I drain Mash water to BK & heat to next temp step. Pump from BK to MT through Sparge Manifold & circulate to target. Hold until next step needed. Drain to BK & circulate to next step. While draining to BK for boil, start pumping from Sparge tank through Sparge Manifold & hold for 15 min before continuing to drain to BK. When spent grain temp drops below 100 F, dump into compost pile. While boil continues, clean up MT & Sparge Tank. FWH & hops per schedule. When boil is complete steep for 20 min & then Whirlpool/cool with coil in tub of water through Immersion Coil until close to pitch temp. Then pumped into Fermenter with Air Check in place. Allow to settle over night then oxygenate & pitch Yeast.
In Summer I can do this all in 1 day at approximately 6 hrs. In the Winter I break this into 2 sessions. The 1st session ends with the draining of the MT into the carboy, yes it's hot, approx 150 F. 1st session runs about 3-4 hours. The 2nd session takes about the same amount of time & includes the cleanup.
So, Summer Session runs 6-7 hours while Winter Session runs approximately 7-8 hours. Summer days are long & warm well into evening while Winter days are short & evenings are cold begining about 4 pm.
I use a Clean in Place process using PBW (2 hrs) & Star San (2 hrs) with BK (heat to 120 F), Pump, MT, Cooling Coil & all hoses. This usually happens the next day.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I brew 1 BBL batches on a full gravity system. No pumps. 1 hour mash, 1 hour Fly sparge, 1 hour boil.
6 hours is a good number to start.
Then add the variables such as hop stands, etc.
Chilling for me depends on the city water temperature. In summer, my tap water is ~75° as compared to winter @~ 45° . Soon I'll have all my chilling water at ~38° so then my chill should be 16 minutes for 1 BBL.
I think I can get it down to about 5 hours then.

 

[dpc166]

I brew 1 BBL batches on a full gravity system. No pumps. 1 hour mash, I hour Fly sparge, 1 hour boil.
6 hours is a good number to start.
Then add the variables such as hop stands, etc.
Chilling for me depends on the city water temperature. In summer, my tap water is ~75° as compared to winter @~ 45° . Soon I'll have all my chilling water at ~38° so then my chill should be 16 minutes for 1 BBL.
I think I can get it down to about 5 hours then.

Just imagine if you had pumps!