A wheat, or as you describe it 'brown' color is the goal. If they are glowing red, they are on the edge of destruction. As soon as they're a wheat/yellow, drop 'em in the water and carry on with the next one. I'm not convinced it is necessary to spin them. I just set them with the base of the case in water, run a torch over them, and tip them over.
The value to me of annealing is in reloading -- sizing, belling, bullet seating, and crimping all happen more smoothly and consistently with annealed cases -- those are the stages in a case's life where work hardening is mostly accrued. In these times of unavailable components, preserving cases is more important than in more normal times.