22 replies to this topic

[3rd party JKor]

Inspired by the manifold thread...I've been wanting to do some after work brews for a while, but now with the little baby here it's become almost essential. The weekends fill up before I can blink. It's been taking me ~6-7 hrs for a typical brew day, but that's in relaxation mode. I know I could cut the time down significantly if I became more efficient.For those of you who do brew after work, how long does it typically take you and what are your time saving tricks?

[chuck_d]

Mill the grains, measure out all your ingredients the night before. Depending on your system just do as much prep work as you can the night before, fill the kettle with the water (a little extra for evaporation, leave the lid on). If you've got a smaller batch planned, do that one since reaching temps will happen faster.

[BFB]

I like brewing after work when time allows...for a reference....I brewed today. I had everything all ready to go when I woke up this morning..grains weighed and milled, water measured, mash tun assembled, boil kettle ready and fermenter cleaned and sanitized.From flame light to flame out..4.0 hours exactly. Chilled and in the fermenter in about 4.5.

[ncbeerbrewer]

+1 on Chuck D and BFB. I have been brewing in the evenings since my twins came along 3 years ago. I like them measure out my strike water, weigh my grains and crush them the night before I brew. I can be done in around 4-4.5 hours. As mentioned try to do as much as you can before that night and it should shorten it up for you too. Sometimes I pitch that night sometimes the next morning. Depends on your chilling capabilities and what your fermentation temperature will be too. Its worked great for me, wife doesn't care, kids are in bed, do what you want. Hope that helps too.

[walloon]

Why not try an extended mash? Dough in in the morning before going to work. When you get home, sparge and boil.

[SWAGMAN]

Please don't use that four letter word around as retired folks, WORK God BlessDominus VobiscumSwagman

[DuncanDad]

Please don't use that four letter word around as retired folks, WORK God BlessDominus VobiscumSwagman

Or us self-employed, working from home folks.

[HoppingFrog Brewing]

I will do delayed mashes But since i put togather a brew shed with water hot 190F and cold water I can brew in 3:30 hours I can do a 30 mash right from the water heater . I with a 30 min mash I get full conversion Fly sparg 10 gal in 15min 60 min boil chill in 10 min and clean with warm water from out side of wort chiller.I berw every other tuesday after work start at 4 sleeping by 9:00 works for me.

[BikeBrewer]

I only work 5 minutes from home, so I'm going to start getting things ready the night before and set my liquor tank on a timer. I'll come home at lunch (probably a late lunch - say 1 or a bit later) and mash in, reset the timer for 4:00 then come home at 4:30 and sparge. I figure I'll be able to get 10 gallons done by 6 or so, maybe a bit later.

[3rd party JKor]

I will do delayed mashes But since i put togather a brew shed with water hot 190F and cold water I can brew in 3:30 hours I can do a 30 mash right from the water heater . I with a 30 min mash I get full conversion Fly sparg 10 gal in 15min 60 min boil chill in 10 min and clean with warm water from out side of wort chiller.I berw every other tuesday after work start at 4 sleeping by 9:00 works for me.

A 30 minute mash and 15 minute sparge are much shorter than I'm used to using. I've pretty much stuck with 60 min mash and 45-60 minute sparge. How are your efficiencies with that method.

[3rd party JKor]

What's the strategy for mashing in hours early? What's the temp profile look like?

[ChefLamont]

I have thought about it too. I also like to brew early in the morning and be done to have the rest of the day for something else. I have been known to start as early as 5:30.I recently bought a bucket heater and will be looking at preheating my HLT with it. That way when I get up or get home the water will already be hot and ready to go. That should cut at least 30 min off the clock.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I started all grain over the winter and am able to get a batch in within 5 hours start to cleanup complete.The key is to do everything you can the night before as mentioned above. Crush grains, measure water, lay out equipment somewhere, etc.I start the day with filling the pot for strike water which takes about 20 minutes to get to temp. In that time I have all my equipment in place and am ready to mash..I batch sparge, I heat the sparge water so it is ready by the time the 60 minute mash is complete. I infuse some water to allow to grain absorption and start to vourloff. I then drain to brew kettle and set that on the burner and start heating. Meanwhile the rest of the sparge water is added to the mash tun. .Since I'm in the kitchen when I do the sparge I put the first 2 gallons in another brew kettle and start heating. I then add the rest of the sparge to the original kettle. This ratio allows me to get from sparge temp to boil as quickly as possible. .Once my boil starts I combine the two kettles into one and start the regular 60 min boil..The rest is just a normal brew day but the final tip is to clean as you go. Once the boil starts and I don't have to worry about boil overs I dump and clean the mash tun. Have everything sanitized by the time the boil ends so there is no delay after chilling. etc.5 hours takes up the whole evening/night after a work day, but it is doable.

[BrewerGeorge]

I'll do it occasionally. Like others have said, the key is getting as much ready the night before as possible. Cleaning as you go helps a lot, too. When really pressed for time, I have occasionally left the brewpot cleanup and putting everything away until the next night. Just don't try that with a mash tun.

[stellarbrew]

I've tried brewing after work, but after a long day at work, and fighting the traffic to get home, it's just not as fun. Drinking hombrew seems much more suitable than making it then. Much more enjoyable to get up in the morning on a weekend with a fresh head and a fresh outlook....also seems to make the process move faster and more efficiently.Of course, if the weekend is not an option, then better to brew after work than not at all.

[pods8]

I've brewed after work when I needed to get beer ready for my wedding but I usually like to do it on the weekend/ friday night when I don't feel rushed. I can take it mellow and take 5hrs without feeling rushed.That said pre measure the water/crush the grain so you can get right into it. I normally sanitize my fermentors/chiller while the mash is going. Then clean my tun while boiling. Once chilling is done cleaning up my keg/chiller and then pitching/oxygenating only takes 20min or so.

[BrewerGeorge]

Beer choice is another thing that affect how do-able weeknight brews are. Something that has just one bittering addition is easier to handle, IMO, than a hop-every-5-minute IPA because you can walk away from it to clean the mashtun, eat dinner, or whatever.

[3rd party JKor]

It probably won't be until at least the first week of May before I can give it a shot. But I think I should be able to hack it.

[djinkc]

Beer choice is another thing that affect how do-able weeknight brews are. Something that has just one bittering addition is easier to handle, IMO, than a hop-every-5-minute IPA because you can walk away from it to clean the mashtun, eat dinner, or whatever.

That's a great opportunity to try a FWH. I've done the mash in at noon deal a few times. My kids are all older so it's usually pretty easy to schedule a session without squeezing it in.Now, about a year ago I decided it was a really good idea to start one at midnight. Actually went pretty smooth but I was a basket case the next day......

[orudis]

What's the strategy for mashing in hours early? What's the temp profile look like?

IF you're asking about an extended mash, its just like any other single infusion mash. My thinking is that the mash profile is set right away, so any temp decay is not really an issue, mash profile-wise.