Dont brew in -15 degree weather...

Everything was going GREAT. Was done brewing my newest IPA and started hooking up my chiller.

I hooked up the outside end of the hose last because it was so cold out. Now I have spigot insulators so this is not supposed to happen, but the knob would NOT turn... no problem I would just get my channel locks and get some more leverage. About 10 seconds later there I am looking at a sheared spigot knob in my hand.

Well that wasnt so cool but I dont flip out. I check the spigot out front and it works fine. After dragging the hose out front and getting everything ready, I turn on the water.... nothing happens. All of the water in the hose had FROZEN SOLID!

Well I try my best not to flip out again and decide to hook up the hose to the water heater to melt the ice inside.... well that didnt work, apparently there was not enough force and/or heat to overcome the ice. By now I was a little pissed off.

So my brewpot will not fit in my sink...or my cooler... my tub is up stairs... I decide to set it outside in the snow and -15 degree weather to cool it down(covered of corse)....no problem. That ends up taking forever, eventhough its cold as balls.

I end up syphoning multiple times with my mouth, everything was exposed for longer than normal conditions, I made a huge mess in the kitchen because I was tired of being outside. I pitch my yeast at 80 degrees.... worst brew day EVER.

If this ends up not being contaminated I would be surprised.
But heres to never doing that again! And hopes of the best IPA ever


Cliffs: Do not brew in -15 degree weather, nothing will go as planned. You will shear off your water spigot, contaminate your beer, and pitch at a high temp...

please let us know how this batch turns out. may well be your best beer ever

Usually when everything goes wrong the beer is great..

Hope it works out ok. For what it's worth, maybe next time you have cold weather you can use your washing machine cut-off valves and hoses for the IC..

My money on this is your best batch yet.

just gonna throw it out there... Idk if ambients are really around during the dark bitter cold, you might be fine dude.

Stauffbier said:

Hope it works out ok. For what it's worth, maybe next time you have cold weather you can use your washing machine cut-off valves and hoses for the IC..

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Washer is upstairs.... I think I will rig up something for my kitchen sink before my next sub zero brew session.

Thanks for all the support guys. I am really anxious to see what happens. :cross:

At least you did not break the front spigot.

Yahh well, every-one has one of those days...

I need to go float in the pool after reading this.

SwampassJ said:

I need to go float in the pool after reading this.

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+1, while SWMBO attends to Brewing my next IPA...

i brew outside in all kinds of weather. your brew pot in a rubbermade of snow turns into an ice bath really fast. keep putting snow in and it will melt. stir the wort a few times to get it moving and you will have chilled wort really fast. many people assume that when it is really cold out that it will chill a pot fast all by itself, but the snow acts as an insulator. you still need to have an ice bath.

btw, what did you do with the broken spigot?

Doomsday said:

I end up syphoning multiple times with my mouth

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What was your reasoning for this?

The slow chilling isn't a problem. Just wait until it's at the right temp, then pitch the yeast.

Wow, maybe I should not complain about mashing at 39 degrees outside. If its a brew day, its a good day is my newly adopted motto.

Doomsday said:

Washer is upstairs.... I think I will rig up something for my kitchen sink before my next sub zero brew session.

Thanks for all the support guys. I am really anxious to see what happens. :cross:

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I read a thread about a guy that installed a hose spigot under his kitchen sink, tapped into the cold water supply line. Sounded like a great idea!

As long as the fire doesn't freeze, it's a good day to brew. Get your toque and mitts on, and away you go.

My one weak link is my RV hose from the house to the garage. Cold days I have to keep a trickle flowing. I always forget and have to thaw the hose at least once. PITA!

BTW, a torch on the spigot will quickly open a frozen valve. I know this far too well.

If your flame freezes go inside immediately!

Outside spigots should have a long stem so that when you turn the water off the shutoff valve is actually inside the house. If you shut off the spigot and don't remove the hose the water will not drain from the faucet and will freeze. I would check inside your house and make sure you didn't crack the pipe between the valve and spigot. If you did and the water eventually thaws out next time the water is turned on it could leak into the house.

What I do on cold days is I have (RV) hoses that are just long enough to go from the faucet to my kettle. I store the hose indoors. When time comes to fill the HLT I bring the hose outdoors, fill the kettle, disconnect the hose when done and take it back into the house. When it's time to fill the HLT with sparge water, I get the hose from the house, use it, disconnect it put it back in the house. When it's time to run a chiller I go and get the warm, re-softened hose use it, and when done, disconnect it from the faucet and take it back indoors. It is a lot easier to handle a 15' hose than a 50' hose.

I've never brewed at -15 F because if it gets that cold around here it is usually to windy to brew. I don't even brew when it's 80 and windy.

I probably would've just stirred it slowly and continuously with the lid off. With the lid on I imagine it takes forever to cool down.

Hockeyhunter99 said:

your brew pot in a rubbermade of snow turns into an ice bath really fast.

btw, what did you do with the broken spigot?

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I have nothing big enough to fit my brewpot or I would have done this.
Still havnt figured out what to do with the spigot.... that can wait a few days.

ArcaneXor said:

What was your reasoning for this?

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Frustration and wanting to get this looooong bre day over with. I have syphoned with my mouth plenty of times and nothing ever went wrong, but that was only ONCE and very fast. My line kept getting clogged this time...

lschiavo said:

BTW, a torch on the spigot will quickly open a frozen valve. I know this far too well.

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No torch I just figured a little leverage would do the trick lol.... never again

I've sworn off below freezing brewing. I've done it several times, and it just isn't enjoyable. It isn't te cold temps that bother me. It is the freezing hoses, and getting wet when cleaning that I can't deal with.

MY rule is that if the propane tank is hooked up, so is the hose. Just a safety precaution. So taking thehose inside when I' not needing it isn't going to work for me.

I'll just wait for the above freezing days to brew. I brewed today. It was in the low to mid 40's and it was awesome.

All my brew days have been at -20F or lower. My very first brew, it was -40. Heated garage, sump pump to recirculate the cooling water, and a few shovels full of snow to keep down temp. No big deal.
(Current Fairbanks temp...-47F)

bstacy1974 said:

All my brew days have been at -20F or lower. My very first brew, it was -40. Heated garage, sump pump to recirculate the cooling water, and a few shovels full of snow to keep down temp. No big deal.
(Current Fairbanks temp...-47F)

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I'm on my phone so I can't see your location. South Pole?

lschiavo said:

I'm on my phone so I can't see your location. South Pole?

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Alaska

Are you drinking a beer yet or a bourbon in a glass? I live in FL and can't imagine making beer in -15 F.

Yea I was in my heated garage. All my troubles took place outside of the safe zone lol.

If only this house had a spigot in the garage like my house in vegas... Or maybe if it was hot here like vegas!

Brewing in -15 ? Actually out in the -15 deg air ?

How long can it take to get down to 70 if you leave the pot out there for a few minutes...
It's been a long time since I've been in that temp range. I doubt I would want to be
brewing then.

Pretty hardcore.

Doomsday said:

Yea I was in my heated garage. All my troubles took place outside of the safe zone lol.

If only this house had a spigot in the garage like my house in vegas... Or maybe if it was hot here like vegas!

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Just noticed you're in Anchorage. Coldest January on record. Sometimes, I wish Al Gore was right.
Seriously though, cheap sump pump in a rubbermaid storage tub, water, snow. Automatic recirculating cooling water loop. It only takes about 3-4 gals of water in the tub.

bstacy1974 -- We did a 10 gallon batch today. Nothing like a little ice fog in the garage (when you open the door).

hahaha nice akryder. Thats about what my garage looked like.

Also bstacy1974, I already built a nice immersion chiller, and since the tap water is nice and cold here it works like a champ. I think my best bet will be making a connection to my kitchen sink.

A little update for you guys. It has been fermenting at 65 degrees for the past 2 days, smells awesome, no signs of infection yet.

The thing that pissed me off was my last IPA was very cloudy, still tasted great but cloudy. So I used some irish moss and was hoping for a nice clear IPA.... That will probably not be the case.