Automating your brew day

[iBrau]

Hey guys,
I'm looking for your ideas on automating parts of an all-grain brew day. I'm currently an electric BIAB brewer, so that is what i'd be most familiar with.

The back story here is that I've got 2 young kids that have stolen all my spare time and the only reliable time left is about 2 to 3 hours on weekday evenings. So that's the challenge - complete a full brew day with only 2 hours of my time needed!

Any ideas for automating mash-in?
The best I've come up with is lowering a grain bag into the mash liquor using an electric hoist. The worry then would be dough-balls in the mash though. I plan to maintain mash temp with recirculation and a heating element, as this has worked for me in the past.

Other ideas would be automating the hop additions, and there are some nice 'hop dropper' gadgets on youtube. But has anyone tried to automate hop additions? Or would you have any concerns to watch out for in doing this?

What do ye guys do to shorten your brew day?

Vince

[mick02]

Hey Vince,

I've done this a few times (midweek evening brewing). The key for me is preparation the night before. I set the grainfather to start heating the water for when I get home from work. I weigh the grain the night before too so when I get home from work it's just a case of mashing in. I usually am all done and dusted in about 4 hours.

[nigel_c]

A simple timer to have all water up to temp when you are ready to go is a real time killer.
I've done the same recently. I have a simple timer set to heat up mash water for whatever time i want to start. Normally early. I get grains ready the night before. Temps get dialed in and i do a 30-40 mins mash. Transfer to boiler and a 30 mins boil. Can get brew day done in about 2 1/2 hrs if I want.  I drop my efficiency between 5-10% depending on recipe.
Not overly automated but streamlined.