time saver

[megaschnauzer]

it takes me about 6 hours to do an all grain batch. i don't mind the time but i was wondering what's a good time saver?

[Otis_The_Drunk]

Making up and grinding your grain bill the night before. Sanitizing everything the night before.
I also clean up as I go along. As soon as I'm done sparging I promptly empty out the mash tun and clean it up. I don't settle down until my yeast is pitched.

[JayShaw91]

How do you deal with the hot mash? I usually let it cool WAY down.

[Otis_The_Drunk]

I throw it out on my compost pile and stir it in.... I don't care if used mash has cooled. Usually it's steaming when I toss it in.

[nelstrodomus]

The way I save time with all graining is having a hot water faucet in my garage, the water comes out at about 120F which saves tremendous time getting to strike/sparge temperature.

Also, I'm a batch sparger so as soon as I have drained the first runnings the burner goes on the boiler at full blast while the sparge water is already at sparge temperature ready to go. Cleaning/sanitizing the carboys and whatnot occurs during the boil, as I usually have about a 40 minute wait between first addition and anything else, so it gives me something to do.

I'm going to give doing 2-10 gallon batches in a single day, and will most likely start doing that all the time once I get brewing again with my SWMBO's brother in law, nothing better than 2-5 gallon batches of different beers in an afternoon!

[markaberrant]

The night before, I will measure and crush grains, measure out my mash and sparge water, and get all other equipment ready.

When I get up the next morning, I immediately fire up the mash water, and go from there. I mash for a minimum of 60 minutes, and always boil 90 minutes. The brewday itself takes me less than 5 hours, including a full cleanup of my kitchen.

[MrNate]

Brew 2 batches in one day. More "Time Economy" I guess.

[beerking]

I crush and MASH the grains of my first batch the night before. As soon as my regular mash schedule is complete, I make sure the mash is at the top of my mash temp range and then put an insulation blanket on it and let it sit overnight. In the AM (Usually ~8-8:30) it is around 124F, and I just raised the HERMS water to boiling then HERMS my mash up to mashout temp. and start sparging.
This way, I can fit 2 brews in that day, or be done by noon if I just do one.

[Mad Scientist]

At six hours, you're not doing too bad fro an all-grain batch. Like the others, I try to take care of grain crush & weighing, etc the night before...

[megaschnauzer]

i built a wind shield to put around my burner and kettle to try and trap more heat near the water. that will probably save a minute or two on heating time. :rolleyes:

[PsychoBrew]

i built a wind shield to put around my burner and kettle to try and trap more heat near the water. that will probably save a minute or two on heating time. :rolleyes:

I was considering something like that - seems like when I brew the wind always comes up - I then end up messing with the flame and using propane non-efficiently.
I have found some flaws in my process also that I will be resolving which should make things go a bit faster. I will start prepping the night before also.

I just did my first AG batch so I have alot to learn and streamline, but it took me about 6hrs.

[paulcgi]

there was a thing in one of the magazines (BREW or zymurgy I forget) where somebody asked that same question.
The answer was that with modern malt you generally don't need to mash for an hour. Last time I really paid attention conversion was complete in like 25 minutes or so. What the article talked about ( I think it was a Mr Wizard one) is that you can begin sparging after like 20 minutes or so.. do not mash-out. The enzymes are already in solution and will continue to work while you sparge. conversion will continue during sparging and in the boil kettle (obviously don't fire the kettle) and that you could knock quite a bit of time off the day. efficiency suffers only very minutely.
I tried it a few times, but am a creature of habit and I like the 60 minute mash time because I can then get other things done (fermenter cleaned/sanitized etc)
I brewed on Saturday .. cleaned everything Friday night, brew time saturday was in the 5 1/2 hour range

[megaschnauzer]

it took me about 8 hours on saturday. i started at about 1:30 after doing some mountain bike trail work. i'm not an evening person so i was pretty beat at the end. i would much rather get out there about 8:00 am and be done by mid afternoon. it was enjoyable though. next time i may start slowly heating my wort as it's filling the pot.

[Mill Rat]

Jason Ebel, brewmaster of Two Brothers Brewing in Warrenville, Illinois is dead serious when he states that their infusion mashes are completely converted in 15 minutes. He makes this point during every tour, I think because he likes to see the shock and awe on the homebrewers' faces.

[Mad Scientist]

Jason Ebel, brewmaster of Two Brothers Brewing in Warrenville, Illinois is dead serious when he states that their infusion mashes are completely converted in 15 minutes. He makes this point during every tour, I think because he likes to see the shock and awe on the homebrewers' faces.

Hmmm...I wonder at what temp?

[paulcgi]

I dont think the temp matters, did a quick look, here's one from BYO: http://www.byo.com/mrwizard/1641.html

[megaschnauzer]

sweet. maybe next time.

[Mad Scientist]

I'll be paying attention too....

The reason that I coomented about temp is becasue below 150, the conversion is slower.

[deucedaily]

I know the Rock Bottom in Arlington also only mashes for 20-30 minutes as well.

[B_rad1969]

It's a long process I know. I figured that if I got paid what I do at my regular job, a 5gal. batch costs me $240. That's only $120 per case!:D

[dparsons]

My process is to have enough homebrew that I don't care so much if I spend 8 hours brewing.

[YamahaXS]

Have you considered brewing 10 gallon batches? These take a little longer (extra water, more sparge, etc) but not anywhere near twice as long as a 5 gal batch. Although you sacrifice some capacity to have a lot of different beers on hand.

[Cosmic Charlie]

Can I shorten my mash when using Maris Otter with adjuncts? If it matters, here's the grain bill for my mini-mash:

12 oz crystal (90L)
4 oz black patent
12 oz toasted oats
4.25 lbs MO

[paulcgi]

I'd say, start testing for conversion after 15 mins and see.. the thing is that if you do not mash-out, the enzymes will continue to work in the wort that you have collected in the boil kettle. you just have to make sure that you dough-in properly to make sure that all of the starch is solubilized. let us know what you get if you do.

I know a few pro brewers in the state and some are officers in brewer's assoc. I'll check with them how long they mash and what their procedures are, just for edification

[dparsons]

Marris Otter doesn't convert any faster. Thats one process I just leave nature time to do. You can give it less time, but your efficiency will decrease and you'll need more grain to start with.