How long should I allow for my first AG?

[ilikerossi]

Well hopefully, if H&G ever send me my order, I should plan my first AG brewday for this Sunday words fail me to describe how excited I am :party: , now.....any rough guide lines as to how long it may take and is it best to make a real early start in the morning? (obviously I'll be steady away like) Cheers :

 

[johnboy]

I would allow a good 5 - 6 hours for your first allgrain. Theres always something that takes longer than you'd think. Waiting for water and wort to heat up takes ages. Don't watch your pot coz it will take longer.

Get as much ready as you can the night before, like weighing out grain and laying equipment out. It's little things like this that make it run smoother. Write a checklist and work through it.

Hope it goes alright and good luck. :pray:

 

[ilikerossi]

Yeah plan on getting as much done as I can the night before.
Cheers johnboy :thumb:

 

[31bb3]

I did my first AG last weekend i started about 11.30 took me till about 17.30 that was without tidying up like johnboy said try to prepare as much as possible the day before
You'll have a fantastic time i did please take some pics as you go its always nice to see a brewday posting

 

[Muddydisco]

A good 6 hrs is likely. Just get that HLT on as soon as possible. Then you have an hour or so to finalise everything, Remember your tun manifold and your hop stopper and you'll be well away.
Pic's will be good, but you'll be busy we know that :thumb:
I find cleaning as I go helps as well, as soon as the tun is empty and the boil is on, I'll start cleaning saves that horrible feeling after all the fun is hours of cleaning to do! :lol:

 

[Sean_Mc]

Its never fun working in puddles :grin:

I read and read before my first AG, yet still managed to leave the taps open.

**Don't forget to fit your hop strainer to the boiler before filling with your wort**

 

[rickthebrew]

Hope you have agreat brewday - my first one was around six hours (my worst around 12 - broken boiler :cry: ) I agree with the guys get as much weighed out the night before, write a checklist and take some pics if you can Most of all enjoy and have fun planning the next recipe! What are you gonna brew?

:thumb:

 

[ilikerossi]

A good 6 hrs is likely. Just get that HLT on as soon as possible. Then you have an hour or so to finalise everything, Remember your tun manifold and your hop stopper and you'll be well away.
Pic's will be good, but you'll be busy we know that :thumb:
I find cleaning as I go helps as well, as soon as the tun is empty and the boil is on, I'll start cleaning saves that horrible feeling after all the fun is hours of cleaning to do! :lol:

Cheers MD :thumb: Really I can't wait, just drinking what "might" be my last kit beer, and It's funny you know, - It's the best one I've ever done ...a Brupaks IPA with some added 25 minute hallertauer's in for good measure - it doesn't seem to have that odd condensed malty taste which while quite palatable, all my other 20 or so kits had? (not gonna tell my mates...aka "Beer Monsters" about this one or it won't see me through :rofl:.
Anyways fear not I'll have one of them round taking plenty of piccy's :thumb:

 

[ilikerossi]

Its never fun working in puddles :grin:

I read and read before my first AG, yet still managed to leave the taps open.

**Don't forget to fit your hop strainer to the boiler before filling with your wort**

Haha, trust me I'm going to do something fool proof :thumb:

 

[ilikerossi]

Hope you have agreat brewday - my first one was around six hours (my worst around 12 - broken boiler :cry: ) I agree with the guys get as much weighed out the night before, write a checklist and take some pics if you can Most of all enjoy and have fun planning the next recipe! What are you gonna brew?

:thumb:

Ta rick!, I'm planning on a scaled down recipe of a Naylors blonde which is my local brewery - one of their session beers, really nice, light and hoppy!. They are really great guys so will give me any help I need with the recipe :thumb:

 

[ilikerossi]

I did my first AG last weekend i started about 11.30 took me till about 17.30 that was without tidying up like johnboy said try to prepare as much as possible the day before
You'll have a fantastic time i did please take some pics as you go its always nice to see a brewday posting

Will do matey :thumb:

 

[TheMumbler]

As other have said, plan for at least 6 hours plus clean up. Open taps and not fixing the hop strainer are mistakes I've made in my short career as a homebrewer so far. I've found that having multiple alarms which will display text on my phone a real help for timings.

Do not, I can't stress this enough, plug in a plastic bucket type boiler until it has some liquid in it

I'm still loving the hobby though :)

good luck

 

[highwayman]

When I first started AG brewing almost 2 years ago... I cocked up on my first 2 brews..I got the strike heat wrong on the first...and then I rested the wort in the copper before putting the Twin i/c in the second. So after that I typed up my own 'Idiots Guide to Brewing' on a word document. I now follow the list ticking off each bullet point as I do things and then it prompts me what I should do next. Shimples :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

10 Hours . . . No Not kidding . . . I'm sure there is an idiots check list on the forum somewhere . . . this will really save you some time

 

[corby_brewer]

This is what i read over and over again, very imformative, Thanks BREWSTEW. :thumb:

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=493

 

[jonewer]

I'd reckon on 8 hours for the first one..... by #3 you've figured out how to save time and cut a few hours.

Oh, and in addition to not forgetting the hop strainer - If its an H&G model, make sure you drill a few extra holes in it, else it will clog up and you'll be up to your armpits in beer trying to unclog it! :thumb:


TOP TIPS! - MAKE SURE ALL YOUR TAPS ARE IN THE 'OFF' POSITION BEFORE ADDING LIQUIDS.
(Thus speaks the voice of experience )

 

[pjbiker]

TOP TIPS! - MAKE SURE ALL YOUR TAPS ARE IN THE 'OFF' POSITION BEFORE ADDING LIQUIDS.
(Thus speaks the voice of experience )

Yeah but we've all done it, more than once . My mash tun fell off the shelf onto the floor, still in it's sleeping bag last weekend, fortunately the lid mostly stayed on and still managed 75% efficiency. Made a right mess though.

Anyway, my suggestion is to draw and treat your water the day before and set a timer for the boiler/HLT so it's nice and hot when you start. I use a cheapo timer plug from IKEA I think.

 

[ilikerossi]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I'll post the brewday sunday night :thumb:

 

[rickthebrew]

hope you have a great brewday :thumb: even when things go a little wrong from time to time it`s all worth it when your sippin your own ale :clap:

 

[Springer]

rough guide lines as to how long it may take

Lots of good advise up above, remember its not a race, just go steady and plan it all out and enjoy it
See my post http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=5035 Towards the end of the post is one of my brews with timings, I think to get the time down to 5 hours is a good as it gets, unless you cut down boil or mash time ? First time out could take considerably longer .
I remember on one brew going off to do another job and coming back 75 mins later to find that the element had tripped out, how long had it been boiling? ? , that added two hours plus and Mrs. S. said I was supposed to be doing something for her......not messing about with beer :? :evil:
Heating times are very much increased by cold ambient temperature and wind chill, so lagging is a must these days
Have fun lets here how you get on
S