[RC]

The mash is recirculated for at least 120 minutes, as we do triple infusion step mashes...There are double stainless steel screens in the mash tun...We also have double stainless steel screens on the bottom of the boil kettle...The run off into the fermenter does not take place until we have achieved a full and very visible cold break. This takes from one hour to 2 hours...

No offense, and I'm sure your beers are great, but wow this sounds like a PITA of a brew day. Good on ya for toughing it out!

The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset can be useful but it can also be a trap. It can blind a brewer to tweaks/improvements that make the brew day shorter, simpler, and overall more enjoyable, but importantly makes just as good beer.

[Iliff Ave]

The mash is recirculated for at least 120 minutes, as we do triple infusion step mashes...There are double stainless steel screens in the mash tun...We also have double stainless steel screens on the bottom of the boil kettle...The run off into the fermenter does not take place until we have achieved a full and very visible cold break. This takes from one hour to 2 hours...

No offense, and I'm sure your beers are great, but wow this sounds like a PITA of a brew day. Good on ya for toughing it out!

The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset can be useful but it can also be a trap. It can blind a brewer to tweaks/improvements that make the brew day shorter, simpler, and overall more enjoyable, but importantly makes just as good beer.

+1. I used to try to get clear wort going into the kettle. After a while I started skipping that step and there has been no impact on the finished product.

[Megary]

I like to drink clear beer.  And I like easy.

Post boil, I transfer my cooled kettle to fermenter by the "siphon, dump and run" process.  I siphon some of the wort to take a gravity sample and take some of the weight off.  Then I just pick up the kettle and fill to the 3 gallon mark on my fermenter.  The wort I transfer is pretty cloudy, though I usually leave about a quart of gunk in the kettle.  I'm transferred in about 5 minutes.

I then wait until I'm convinced everything has dropped out post fermentation, then keg.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/forum/threads/what-are-you-drinking-right-now.2751/page-438#post-145612

[Bel Air Brewing]

The mash is recirculated for at least 120 minutes, as we do triple infusion step mashes...There are double stainless steel screens in the mash tun...We also have double stainless steel screens on the bottom of the boil kettle...The run off into the fermenter does not take place until we have achieved a full and very visible cold break. This takes from one hour to 2 hours...

No offense, and I'm sure your beers are great, but wow this sounds like a PITA of a brew day. Good on ya for toughing it out!

The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset can be useful but it can also be a trap. It can blind a brewer to tweaks/improvements that make the brew day shorter, simpler, and overall more enjoyable, but importantly makes just as good beer.

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

[ynotbrusum]

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

I tend to think of it like a 3 legged stool - Ingredients (combined recipe and freshness), Brewing experience (however learned - and I have learned a lot from the participants on this forum), and Process (your system tweaked to work right for your end goal).  Those work together to bring about the best results (and for me that means flavorful, crystal clear beer, usually).

[fredthecat]

No offense, and I'm sure your beers are great, but wow this sounds like a PITA of a brew day. Good on ya for toughing it out!

The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset can be useful but it can also be a trap. It can blind a brewer to tweaks/improvements that make the brew day shorter, simpler, and overall more enjoyable, but importantly makes just as good beer.

+1. I used to try to get clear wort going into the kettle. After a while I started skipping that step and there has been no impact on the finished product.

my dirty secret is that i regularly do as low as 30 min boils for various beers i think i can manage that on.

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

"decades of experience", "brewmaster".

dude i missed you. glad youre back. are you able to brew in summer? i tend to give it a rest for Jun/Jul/Aug

[Bel Air Brewing]

No offense, and I'm sure your beers are great, but wow this sounds like a PITA of a brew day. Good on ya for toughing it out!

The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset can be useful but it can also be a trap. It can blind a brewer to tweaks/improvements that make the brew day shorter, simpler, and overall more enjoyable, but importantly makes just as good beer.

+1. I used to try to get clear wort going into the kettle. After a while I started skipping that step and there has been no impact on the finished product.

my dirty secret is that i regularly do as low as 30 min boils for various beers i think i can manage that on.

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

"decades of experience", "brewmaster".

dude i missed you. glad youre back. are you able to brew in summer? i tend to give it a rest for Jun/Jul/Aug

We brew during all months of the year.

I actually got that quote from famed BBQ expert Harry Soo. He said it's not the pit, it's the Pitmaster. I just applied it to everyone here, as all forum members brew great beer!

Honestly, we have made improvements in the quality of our beer. But as stated, I think a large part of that is the recipes being used.

[Bel Air Brewing]

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

I tend to think of it like a 3 legged stool - Ingredients (combined recipe and freshness), Brewing experience (however learned - and I have learned a lot from the participants on this forum), and Process (your system tweaked to work right for your end goal).  Those work together to bring about the best results (and for me that means flavorful, crystal clear beer, usually).

I agree! Like you, I have learned from the nice people on this forum. Especially tips on grains, and yeast.

[denny]

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

I tend to think of it like a 3 legged stool - Ingredients (combined recipe and freshness), Brewing experience (however learned - and I have learned a lot from the participants on this forum), and Process (your system tweaked to work right for your end goal).  Those work together to bring about the best results (and for me that means flavorful, crystal clear beer, usually).

I agree! Like you, I have learned from the nice people on this forum. Especially tips on grains, and yeast.

Many years go I reached an opposite conclusion....I decided that recipe is a minor part of the process.  A great recipe does you no good if you can't pull it off. 

[Bel Air Brewing]

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

I tend to think of it like a 3 legged stool - Ingredients (combined recipe and freshness), Brewing experience (however learned - and I have learned a lot from the participants on this forum), and Process (your system tweaked to work right for your end goal).  Those work together to bring about the best results (and for me that means flavorful, crystal clear beer, usually).

I agree! Like you, I have learned from the nice people on this forum. Especially tips on grains, and yeast.

Many years go I reached an opposite conclusion....I decided that recipe is a minor part of the process.  A great recipe does you no good if you can't pull it off.

This comes as a surprise, as we have discovered good recipes most often produce good beer. And we have discovered that less is actually more. One grain, one hop. Awesome beer!

So the inverse must also be true, a good brewer can make outstanding beer with a very poor recipe.

[denny]

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

I tend to think of it like a 3 legged stool - Ingredients (combined recipe and freshness), Brewing experience (however learned - and I have learned a lot from the participants on this forum), and Process (your system tweaked to work right for your end goal).  Those work together to bring about the best results (and for me that means flavorful, crystal clear beer, usually).

I agree! Like you, I have learned from the nice people on this forum. Especially tips on grains, and yeast.

Many years go I reached an opposite conclusion....I decided that recipe is a minor part of the process.  A great recipe does you no good if you can't pull it off.

This comes as a surprise, as we have discovered good recipes most often produce good beer. And we have discovered that less is actually more. One grain, one hop. Awesome beer!

So the inverse must also be true, a good brewer can make outstanding beer with a very poor recipe.

I think it kinda depends on the definition of poor recipe.  A recipe that was nothing but 10 lb. of crystal won't turn out well no matter the skill of the brewer.

Also, I firmly believe in no artificial limits.  Yeah, you can make great beer with one malt and one hop. But you can also make great beer with 5 malts and 7 hops if those are carefully and thoughtfully chosen.

[Bel Air Brewing]

It is a little extra clean up, but no big deal.
Our beers are consistently improving. But we feel it is the recipe as much as anything. Plus decades of experience is finally paying off.
Like a friend said…”It’s not the brewery, it’s the Brewmaster.”

I tend to think of it like a 3 legged stool - Ingredients (combined recipe and freshness), Brewing experience (however learned - and I have learned a lot from the participants on this forum), and Process (your system tweaked to work right for your end goal).  Those work together to bring about the best results (and for me that means flavorful, crystal clear beer, usually).

I agree! Like you, I have learned from the nice people on this forum. Especially tips on grains, and yeast.

Many years go I reached an opposite conclusion....I decided that recipe is a minor part of the process.  A great recipe does you no good if you can't pull it off.

This comes as a surprise, as we have discovered good recipes most often produce good beer. And we have discovered that less is actually more. One grain, one hop. Awesome beer!

So the inverse must also be true, a good brewer can make outstanding beer with a very poor recipe.

I think it kinda depends on the definition of poor recipe.  A recipe that was nothing but 10 lb. of crystal won't turn out well no matter the skill of the brewer.

Also, I firmly believe in no artificial limits.  Yeah, you can make great beer with one malt and one hop. But you can also make great beer with 5 malts and 7 hops if those are carefully and thoughtfully chosen.

As an example, we just brewed a pale lager, Czech / German style, with 100% Floor Malted Bo-Pils grain. We used 2 hops, Tetnang & Saaz. This has turned out to be one of our best beers, and has rapidly become my favorite.

On the other end, both of my English Imperial Stout and English Barley Wines used a complicated grain and hop recipe. And both of these are quite good.

So I agree with you 100%. But we will continue with cloud free clear wort. It seems to work for us. And as stated, it helps with clean yeast harvesting. This may be the biggest advantage.