Brewing in 100+ degree weather

We are entering our 3 rd week of triple digit highs here in Texas.

I'll be lighting the HLT at 4 AM tomorrow in hopes to finish up before it reaches 90 degrees.

Man is it hot. 104 in the shade.

What's the status of the brew hut? Thought you had AC in there?

I do, but it is not ready for brewing yet. I still need to build the brew rig and finish the inside. Money it tight at the moment, so that project is on hold. I have loads of beer making supplies, so I won't let that stop me from brewing.

It was only in the 90s yesterday, but I brewed inside. Just a quick extract/steep Mild to replenish the session tap. I could always brew in the new garage, as I put a 4500 cfm swamp cooler in there. Need to duct some of the flow into the brewery.

Yeah. Been there done that! The humidity from the boiler makes for a miserable time even with multiple fans running.

In the heat of summer I opt to brew at night when the air is much cooler but, it can still be a miserable time. If it's too hot and I am that low on beer, I'll just go grab an extract kit.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Yeah. Been there done that! The humidity from the boiler makes for a miserable time even with multiple fans running.

In the heat of summer I opt to brew at night when the air is much cooler but, it can still be a miserable time. If it's too hot and I am that low on beer, I'll just go grab an extract kit.

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BLASPHEME!

Driving to San Antonio every few miles was a huge burn patch. Probably a good 12 of them between San Marcos and 1604.

I need to finish my Jeep build but after working outside an hour or so the heat gets to me.

No doubt, it is hot as hell....But, after a few beers, I mostly forget about it.

I brewed on Sunday and got some comments from a neighbor (walking his dog) when I ran my counterflow chiller at 5pm. I always hookup a sprinkler to the dirty end of the chiller instead of watering my driveway. Still, that didn't stop comments like "Man, you know we're in stage 2 water restrictions, right? What are you doing?".

And you people LOVE the heat, or so you say. We just got done with 4 days of 90+ weather, and it's back to 60º for the next long while. That was most of our summer right there.

Yeah, we put up with a couple of hot months, but then again, we love our sunny January & February days in the 80s.

Do what i do Ed, make an extract or minimash batch in the kitchen when it is this farking hot...

I can't drag my lazy butt out of bed at 4am....

Brewed this past Saturday and fortunately it rained that morning so it cooled it off a bit but as the afternoon crept up the temp rose to around 95'F, if it wouldn't have rained that morning it would have been well over 100'F

Haven't had a hot day yet here just rain almost every day only good thing so far is no A/C as of yet . I will be brewing this Saturday or Sunday 80° during the day and 59° for the low . Great now we are under a severe storm watch till 7 pm

Its supposed to be 112 here this weekend, the toughest thing is getting out of bed at 6in the morning to brew only to find thats its already 95 outside. But its worth 3 months of hot weather for 9 more that are perfect.

BTW I found that blocks of ice are key in the summer for a recirculating chiller

EonBlue66 said:

Its supposed to be 112 here this weekend, the toughest thing is getting out of bed at 6in the morning to brew only to find thats its already 95 outside. But its worth 3 months of hot weather for 9 more that are perfect.

BTW I found that blocks of ice are key in the summer for a recirculating chiller

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Meh its a dry heat though at least it doesn't take you long to bring the HLT to temp ...

I put a thermometer in my cooler MLT last night when I got home and it was sitting at 120 empty, so yeah no need to preheat !!!

EdWort said:

Yeah, we put up with a couple of hot months, but then again, we love our sunny January & February days in the 80s.

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I'm all for mild winters (one or two snows are OK, not any more), but that's just a bit too much for this New Englander.

-Steve

It's hot as hell here too but that doesn't see to matter when I am brewing, although I have a pool right next to where I am brewing so I can just take a quick dip when I get too hot.

springer said:

Haven't had a hot day yet here just rain almost every day only good thing so far is no A/C as of yet . I will be brewing this Saturday or Sunday 80° during the day and 59° for the low . Great now we are under a severe storm watch till 7 pm

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We're in the same boat in Providence. 70s & rain so far for the whole season. Very depressing, but good brewing weather, I guess.

Just lit the HLT for a 15 gallon batch of Oktoberfest Ale a few minutes ago. Now waiting for the coffee.

It's dark still, but only 75 degrees. I hope to get it on the yeast cakes from my Kolsch before it hit 90 degrees this morning.

With temps like like that has anyone tried making a solar pre heater or something?

EdWort said:

Just lit the HLT for a 15 gallon batch of Oktoberfest Ale a few minutes ago. Now waiting for the coffee.

It's dark still, but only 75 degrees. I hope to get it on the yeast cakes from my Kolsch before it hit 90 degrees this morning.

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That's dedication there. I don't do much of anything coherently until the second or third cup of coffee. You and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I work nights and it is just about bed time for me. LOL I often enjoy watching the sun come up just before I go to bed. It's a pleasant memory to take to sleep with me

Good luck with the race against the sun.

Doughing in 42 lbs of grain was a chore, but I made it. Pfew!