I'm about to make my third batch of homebrew (and my second all grain). The biggest obstacle to getting started for me each time has been my own laziness. I'm not exceedingly lazy. Its just that after listening/reading about homebrewing, my head is packed with too many details and I lose focus. I make it more complicated than it is, and just end up putting it off. Can anyone lay out what they do to make their brew day run as efficient as possible? Including what they might do the night before, as well as everything else up through getting the beer into the fermenter. Last time I remember thinking of a list of things I could do to better align all of the steps, so that I'd actually enjoy the process and waste zero time...but have since forgotten most. Btw...I'm on a kitchen stove, with a 5 gallon mash tun, 7 gallon kettle, and 5 gallon carboy...making 3-4 gallon batches...in case this matters.
I would recommend (re)reading the steps in How To Brew, and make your checklist from that, modifying as needed to fit your process. General advice: Clean as you go. You'll find there are times you're standing there, not quite sure what to do. There's probably something that needs to be cleaned (for example, your mash tun during the boil). Or sanitize your fermenter during the mash. As you find these things, add them to the appropriate part of your checklist.
Thanks Vike. Last time around I did just that, but also remember thinking of a bunch of things I didn't read anywhere (in How To Brew or otherwise). I'm sure I'll remember after the fact next time I brew, I'll just be sure to write them down this time.
Vikeman's advice of making the full check list and then attacking it during mash/boil/cooling downtime is great and helps make brew day shorter. I suffer from laziness as well as a lack a patience. One trick for me to shorten the brew day is to heat up my mash strike water the night before to ~180* and wrap the kettle in towels and blankets over night. That way I only need to re-heat the water a little bit, rather than waiting for it to come up from room temp (I brew w/ distilled water and build the mineral profile, hence room temp water)
I get organized the day before as much as possible by...... measuring out my hops, adding mash water and brewing salts to kettles, setting all needed tools for brewday in one place, I use brewsmith for making a list of what order I need to follow, so then on brew day I just check off each step as I go.
For me the two key steps to stay organized are: 1.) gather all of the equipment either at the laundry room sink where I'll do my cleaning and sanitizing, or at the back door to the back porch where I'll brew. (Except I bring my LP tank from the garage onto the porch; it's never indoors.) 2.) I make a copy of the recipe and create my checklist and timeline blank lines right on it so that as I start a procedure, I'll write the time started and for for the time to end, including the interim times for each hop addition, immersing the wort chiller into the wort while boiling, etc. It's really a lot about staying organized so that you eliminate mistakes.
I find ways to double up on my time. I'll heat strike water for my mash while I'm crushing grains. I'll use multiple pots on the stove to maximize the heat put into my strike water. You can do this for your steeping grains too. If you need to weigh hops, now's a good time too. After you get the boil going, make breakfast. You have a few minutes to spare, if you're not doing 12 hop additions. I also clean any extra pots pans, mash tuns I've used at this point. I also sanitize my fermenter for the first time during the boil, along with blow off tubes, strainers, etc. I'll hit them again right before transferring to the fermenter.
All my equipment has a designated storage area in close proximety to the brew arena, hops are divied up and grain milled 2 days prior so the day before brewday, other than making a starter if using liquid yeast, I reflect on my recipe while sipping on a Bigfoot : )
All good advice thus far. I do a checklist and also write down my target timing for each step. Knowing I have X amount of time between steps and having it written out keeps me on task. Of course; things don't always go smooth or as planned, but I try to dial it in as much as possible. When I get off track with a brew I'll make note of what and why just in cSe I need to come back and diagnose an issue or re create a good mistake. I've showed other Brewers my notes and they think I am WAY too detailed. I find it to be a great tool to look back upon and have never had a problem arising from too much detail I regards to my notes/process. It has helped me refine my process and brews quite a bit. Don't be afraid to be the brew nerd with stacks of notebooks and file upon file of old checklists. Beer nerd and proud here!
