Cold China Brew - Tips for Cold Weather Brewing

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beerspitnight

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Nov 4, 2010
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Location
Beijing
Hi Folks,
We are almost all set to brew an American stout on Friday night. It is really cold here in Beijing and we'll be brewing outside. High temps for the day are 37f and lows of 15f. I suspect it will be be below freezing when we brew, so I am looking for some suggestions to make sure the process works as it is supposed to.
We brew 10 gallon all grain batches.

Possible Issues:

Frozen water in the hose that we use for the wort chiller and for cleanup.
Solution: I bought a new hose and will keep it inside until it is time to cool down the wort.

Cold Gas Tank - we brewed a couple of weeks ago in the cold, and we lost pressure on the gas tank due to the cold.
Possible Solution:I will keep the tank inside until it is time to turn on the burner, but is there anything else that I can do to ensure that the tank doesn't get "too cold"?

Mashing - We kept temps sorta consistant the last time we brewed in the cold, but it will be even colder on Friday night. Any ideas on ensuring that our mash temps remain consistant? We have a digital thermometer that is connected to a logging program on the laptop (via usb), so we are able to constantly monitor temps.

Cold Brewers - solution = a fire pit in the back yard.

Does anyone see any additional issues that we might have to deal with during the brew?

Thanks!
 
Never brewed outside in the cold with propane, but as a proud Manitoban, I've grilled enough meat below zero I may be able to help...

Be very careful with a propane tank indoors - they vent if they got warm, and then you've got propane drifting around inside...not fun.

Icefishing, I use a tub of warm (20C, not hot water!) to warm up the tank and keep it warm as I grill.

You could always use the firepit that's keeping you warm to keep some water warm for the propane tank.

Have fun! Don't let winter grind you down!
 
Put the tank in a large bucket of hot water and keep it warm

Wrap blankets around the mash tun to minimize heat loss

Get a good bottle of schnapps to keep YOU warm!
 
Put the tank in a large bucket of hot water and keep it warm

Wrap blankets around the mash tun to minimize heat loss

Get a good bottle of schnapps to keep YOU warm!

^^^^ plus add some really hot water to your mash tun to pre heat it. then pour it out just before u mash
 
You use more gas when it's cold (I take the tanks inside to warm up) and also run the burners hotter and if it's windy, you have to set up a wind block. Use lids for the pots, wok lids fit keegle's great.
 
Can you have your mashtun inside out of the cold? That would probably work much better.
 
Can you have your mashtun inside out of the cold? That would probably work much better.

Thanks for all the advice, people! I'll have to find some type of blanket to use as I don't reckon my wife will be keen with us using one of her blankets!
Pre-heating the mash tun is a good idea as well. We usually add a bit of hot water to warm it up, we'll use more next time.

And we don't use propane over here - it is liquid gas, but point taken! Into a warm water bath it will go!

Thanks folks!
 
More out of curiosity - what kind of liquid gas are you burning?

As I said, mostly curious, but I've used enough different camp stoves in the cold to possibly have a trick or two to share, if I know what fuel you're burning.
 
Insulation - of whatever kind (blanket, etc...) around what needs to stay warm... Mash tun, propane tank, people, etc...:)
 
More out of curiosity - what kind of liquid gas are you burning?

As I said, mostly curious, but I've used enough different camp stoves in the cold to possibly have a trick or two to share, if I know what fuel you're burning.

I think, think it is NG - propane has only recently started to be available over here. After I filled the tank this weekend, the woman told me in the future she would use propane rather than liquid gas. Fine by me...and yes, I hope the pipes don't freeze!

Yes, blankets, schnapps and a fire should do us well!
 
are you outside or in the garage? I've brewed down to 10 degrees (here in Minneapolis) in the garage with the big door cracked a few inches. No issues with the propane tank.

I leave the chiller in the basement and just carry the bucket down and chill down there.

wool socks and a good hat and you should be good to go.
 
are you outside or in the garage? I've brewed down to 10 degrees (here in Minneapolis) in the garage with the big door cracked a few inches. No issues with the propane tank.

I leave the chiller in the basement and just carry the bucket down and chill down there.

wool socks and a good hat and you should be good to go.

No garage over here - we'll be brewing in my backyard...
 
Glynn said:
^^^^ plus add some really hot water to your mash tun to pre heat it. then pour it out just before u mash

I read a trick on this forum somewhere, overshoot the temp of your strike water by about 5-8 degrees f, the process of preheating the mash tun will cool it to proper strike temp, add grain, viola, dough in at proper temp! It might take one or two tries to figure out EXACTLY how much heat loss preheating the mash tun, and it will change based on ambient temp, strike volume, etc, but if mashing indoors it will be fairly consistent.
 
So...I'm curious...how did brew day/night go? If it's Sunday morning in Winnipeg, Saturday night should have happened in Beijing...hmmm....a little over a day ago?

I hope everything ran smoothly, and nothing froze!
 
It was so cold! We had issues with the gas tank losing pressure - even though we wrapped it. I think we will use a warm water bath for it next time.
We also had issues with the hoses - I had to take the cleanup hose inside to the tub to warm it up. Ice also clogged the wort chiller hose, which caused a pressure buildup, which blew the hose off the end of the chiller pipe. Next time I will leave the hoses inside until needed.
It wasn't too bad though. The fire kept us warm - the mash temp stayed where it needed to be, but we were happy when it was done.
I put down a lot of road salt to keep the spilled water from freezing over, which made a mess out of the deck, but that was easily cleaned up.
I'll think back to Saturday night with fond memories come August when it is miserably hot and muggy out!
 
I froze my dong off brewing about three or four weeks ago in the cold, and after mashing (moderately successfully), it occurred to me that a Decoction Mash would help maintain temps.

When I mashed in a cooler in 30 deg temps, even with a blanket over it, I lost temp FAST.

My wife, god love her, donated an electric blanket she didn't use, so I could wrap up the Mash Tun in an electric blanket, and now on even the coldest days in the brewhousegarage, my mash holds to within two to three degrees.

But if I didn't have it, and was planning on brewing in the cold, I'd definitely consider a triple decoction mash. it gives you three opportunties to add heat back into the mash. and if you apply a decoction mash schedule to your recipe, I'd just add an additional two quarts to the first decoction. see if you can get temp in the colder climate doing that, but my guess is after the first decoction, you'll get the hang of how much more you need to add.
 
beerspitnight said:
It was so cold! We had issues with the gas tank losing pressure - even though we wrapped it. I think we will use a warm water bath for it next time.

I brewed today in temps around -6c/20f. I tried a water bath for the tank with tap water which is about 20c/68f, and it seemed to work great for keeping pressure, but it ended up with a layer of ice about 6-7 mm/1/4" thick wherever the water contacted the tank, so I'm not sure if it actually helped or not. It also started freezing the surface of water in the tub. I haven't removed the ice from the tank yet, I figure with no pressure release it will warm back up a bit and break the ice off itself, but that could be wishful thinking.
 
I plan to brew next week in the garage in WI. I have similar concerns about the gas tank freezing and the wort chiller freezing. I am also concerned about creating an ice rink in my yard with the discharge water from the chiller. I was thinking about using frozen gallon jugs of water sanitized and then set into the wort to cool it. Anybody ever do this to eliminate the need for the wort chiller?

As for the tank, I like the electric blanket idea. I will also warm up the tank in the house overnight as well as preheating the cooler and upping the mash water slightly to make up for temps.

This climate is great for fermenting in the basement but not so great for brewing in the garage!

Pat
 
My concern would be both sanitizing the frozen plastic bottles and the melting point of the plastic as you would be dropping them into 212 degree wort, IMO, bad idea
 
Hey Pat!

I have used frozen 500ml pop bottles, dipped in sanitizer, as wort chillers. Also, I like making a snow/water slurry in a bigger container, and putting my pot in the slurry while I put the frozen bottles in the wort...I have gone from boil temp. to pitching temp in 10 minutes.

I'm sure there's someone with more experience who could tell me why this is a bad idea...but, the best cold breaks I have achieved...the fastest beers to clear...are all ones I've used this technique on.

If nature's gonna throw winter at you, might as well take advantage.

Alternatively....create the rink with the chiller discharge, I'll bring my skates, stick, a bag of pucks and a two-four...cheers, eh?
 
Hey Pat!

I have used frozen 500ml pop bottles, dipped in sanitizer, as wort chillers. Also, I like making a snow/water slurry in a bigger container, and putting my pot in the slurry while I put the frozen bottles in the wort...I have gone from boil temp. to pitching temp in 10 minutes.

I'm sure there's someone with more experience who could tell me why this is a bad idea...but, the best cold breaks I have achieved...the fastest beers to clear...are all ones I've used this technique on.

If nature's gonna throw winter at you, might as well take advantage.

Alternatively....create the rink with the chiller discharge, I'll bring my skates, stick, a bag of pucks and a two-four...cheers, eh?

Nice! As for the glass bottles, wouldn't a quick dunk in 200+ degree water make for a shatter risk? That's why I thought plastic but get the point of the poster above on that and will leave that by the wayside.

I guess I've invested a lot already in this hobby (read: obsession) so a little more cash for two lengths of garden hose (one in, one out), a garden hose adaptor for the out, and a garden hose adapter for the kitchen sink might be the best option.

My lovely wife must be obeyed as you all say here on this forum and wouldn't take too kindly to the ice rink idea. We do have a pond in the back but that's 100 feet away and the water would probably freeze on the way there!

Thanks for all the tips, I really do appreciate them.

Pat
 
PatDunkel said:
I plan to brew next week in the garage in WI. I have similar concerns about the gas tank freezing and the wort chiller freezing. I am also concerned about creating an ice rink in my yard with the discharge water from the chiller.!

Pat

I only boiled outside, did mashing and sparging inside. I used the snow packed around the kettle to cool the wort, and it took forever. Then I dumped into my fermenting bucket, and it still took forever. Next time I will go back to using my wort chiller. I use a cooler with icewater, and a pond pump that I got from harbor freight for about $20. I can chill 5gals in about 10-15 mins that way.
 
A high of 37 and low of 15 sounds like great brewing weather. Don't leave your hoses connected to the faucet after you're done running water or it will freeze (I've had this happen. Quickly disconnect and drain after running any water. Wind breaks are very helpful. Keep a dry towel handy in case you get your hands wet. Dress in layers. Have fun! When I get highs anywhere near 40 in the winter I go out of my way to brew!
 
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