Outdoor Brewing ??

Anyone ever tried brewing outdoors ? Not outdoors in the sense of like your back yard or out on the porch - I mean outdoors like on a hiking/camping/picnic trip ?

I like the sound of it, but the amount of equipment you would have to schlep out there coupled with potential sanitation, cleaning, and water problems might make it hard to do.

Yeah the sanitation might be a challenge, but I think I can just put the equipment in the back of my pickup.

Other than that - not spilling on the way home is all I can see that could go wrong.

Tried it, not yet. But I would love to go camping and do a full boil on a grate over a firepit. You could go anywhere from a small 1G batch boiled on a portable stove with filtered stream water all the way up to just kicking it at a nice campground. I'm sure you'd attract the attention of your camp neighbors and probably make a few friends.

Got a question for you though... How long are you going to be out there? Most beer won't be even ready for carbonation for at least 2 weeks, 1 at the very least. Then you have to worry about carbonation. If you don't plan on bringing out a kegging system, you'll have to probably wait a total of 4-5 weeks before you can even drink that beer you brewed out there.

We do big brew days with out homebrew club. Everyone hauls their gear out to someone's back yard, tents go up, etc etc. Biggest challenge with true camping brewing would be water. Limited water for your mash/brew, cleanup, and chiller water. Its totally possible though if you can bring enough water out...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mPXqtzpBDQ]YouTube - Brewing on Mt. Bierstadt[/ame]

Would you want to drive any distance with a fermenting primary?


Not for me in the least. I hate doing the dishes while camping.

Boondoggie said:

Would you want to drive any distance with a fermenting primary?


Not for me in the least. I hate doing the dishes while camping.

Click to expand...

Doesn't have to be fermenting. Were I to do this, I'd transport the wort home in sealed container(s) and pitch the yeast when I arrived. The container(s) could be sanitized/sterilized at home and just opened in the bush to put the wort in. Of course there is always the challenge of putting check valves on the primary that will allow gas out but shut on liquid. Hmmmm.....

Well I had thought about staying out there long enough to ferment the beer, keg it and drink it before going home but thats not really practical for me.

I think if I give it a try, I will just cook wort on the propane burner, chill in the creek, pitch yeast and seal it up, and then pack it up in the pickup and just spend the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids and bring the beer home when its time to go home. Possibly camp and spend the night or something - but definitely bring the beer home to finish.

I don't know if its the beer commercials or what, but something about the idea of brewing with the cold running spring water seems appealing. And since its so cold, it seems like you could chill wort easily too.

Make sure you post pics.

Fingers said:

Make sure you post pics.

Click to expand...

Oh I'm sure I will if I decide to go through with it.

Actually I got the idea on a hiking trip we went on week before last, came to a stream and waterfalls up in the mountains and I thought - wow this would be a perfect place to brew. Then the thought of carrying 5 gallons and the gear back out of there brought me back to reality, but I realized I know a place thats just as good only I can drive my truck there. I can load up a picnic table, all the brewing stuff, and a cooler full of beer and drinks and food and pretty much make a day of it.

Bury the fermenter to keep it cool, come back in a month and force carb and keg. Now THAT would be the coolest brew ever! You'd be immortal.

Or this fall you could go to a cabin in the woods, brew a huge beer, and leave it over winter to ferment/lager in the cabin. When you come back in spring you have a beer ready to keg.

Dunno what a bunch of spent grain would attract...my dog if he could smell it. Something to consider.

Thats not a huge deal... just carry a shotgun