Garage Brewing in Cold Weather

I have a big garage, and I would like to brew in the winter in the garage where its a little warmer and out of the elements. I do have a couple windows I could crack, and I could crack one of the roller doors. But I am concerned about a big propane burner in an enclosed space, not so much for the fire hazard (well a litle bit concerned about that), but more for the issue of CO build up and lack of oxygen in the garage.

Any thoughts?

I usually open a window, crack the garage door and also put a fan blowing out of the cracked garage door.

A lot of guys do it. Personally, here in Houston, I can't wait to brew in winter, but I've heard of plenty of people brewing with the doors open and fans going.

Get a CO monitor for your garage if you're concerned then you won't have to guess.

sigmund said:

Get a CO monitor for your garage if you're concerned then you won't have to guess.

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Great idea! AND it beats the heck out of the alternative .

For the record I am in New Jersey where it does get quite cold in the winter. It make brewing outdoors a challange....but the complementary lager temps in the basement rock :rockin:.

Alan

If you have a large garage, crack the window and the door. You will be fine. It really doesn't take that much. The propane burner will not use up that much O2 when you think about it.

The detector is worth the peace of mind though. I just opened my garage door about a foot and cracked the side window a few inches and monitored myself to make sure I wasn't feeling different. That tiny flame in my big garage (24x36 I think, plus full attic) really seems small.

Now if you have a smaller garage, of course it pays to be more careful. Having the flame closer to the door helps a lot. And understanding the risk and watching yourself goes a long way toward being safe.

Cowboy Up! Open the garage door fully & put on a parka.

Gilbey said:

Great idea! AND it beats the heck out of the alternative .

For the record I am in New Jersey where it does get quite cold in the winter. It make brewing outdoors a challange....but the complementary lager temps in the basement rock :rockin:.

Alan

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I am in PA... I just layer up and leave the garage door open during winter brew days. Huddle around your burner if you get too cold

So if I were to do the boil outside this winter (And Iowa gets really really cold) would setting the kettle in the snow after the boil be okay for cooling the wort, or would that cool it too fast?

Hartski said:

So if I were to do the boil outside this winter (And Iowa gets really really cold) would setting the kettle in the snow after the boil be okay for cooling the wort, or would that cool it too fast?

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Snow is actually a good insulator. Once it melts around the vessel it will cool VERY slowly. Stick to your usual methods.

Hartski said:

So if I were to do the boil outside this winter (And Iowa gets really really cold) would setting the kettle in the snow after the boil be okay for cooling the wort, or would that cool it too fast?

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I say go for it' as you're supposed to cool the wort quickly out of the boil.. but watch your temp closely. I'd get it out of the snow 10 degrees warmer than your target temp. If it's cold enough for snow outside, then at that point the last 10 degrees will fly by in or out of the snow.

You may even want to put it in your primary bucket/carboy a little warm if you're doing it all outside.

justio said:

I say go for it' as you're supposed to cool the wort quickly out of the boil.. but watch your temp closely. I'd get it out of the snow 10 degrees warmer than your target temp. If it's cold enough for snow outside, then at that point the last 10 degrees will fly by in or out of the snow.

You may even want to put it in your primary bucket/carboy a little warm if you're doing it all outside.

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As I said above... cooling in the snow will take a LONG time. I wouldn't advise it.

But with that being said, you also don't want to pitch the yeast into wort that's too warm. Maybe put it in your primary vessel warm, get inside where you're going to store it, bring it down to temp and pitch the yeast.

tasq said:

As I said above... cooling in the snow will take a LONG time. I wouldn't advise it.

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Ahh, I didn't see your post above.

I was just guessing, as I've never chilled my wort in the snow. I just know how long my wort chiller takes, and how much water I use chilling it. In my mind, below freezing temps and snow seemed like it would work well. It's cold up here in Michigan.

looks like i'll stick to the chiller too!

tasq said:

As I said above... cooling in the snow will take a LONG time. I wouldn't advise it.

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+1.

Like, days.

tasq said:

Snow is actually a good insulator. Once it melts around the vessel it will cool VERY slowly. Stick to your usual methods.

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That's the thing. I don't have a usual method yet. Was going to try my first Batch this weekend......

Hartski said:

That's the thing. I don't have a usual method yet. Was going to try my first Batch this weekend......

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You'll have much better luck with an ice bath in your sink or bath tub.

Ah, okay. Thanks a bunch!

Throw snowballs into your ice bath?

You could certainly use snow in the ice bath. How about leaving a large tub out to fill with snow and then adding water to that. Although it'd probably be easier to just bring some snow to your sink or tub inside.

Hartski said:

So if I were to do the boil outside this winter (And Iowa gets really really cold) would setting the kettle in the snow after the boil be okay for cooling the wort, or would that cool it too fast?

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I tried this once, it's a lot of work and not worth it. Try picking up all that wort and moving it around a snow pile without getting it dirty.
You can use the snow for cooling if you put the kettle in a bucket of water and snow

definitely looking forward to winter since I don't have to save someone run to grocery store and buy ice during the boil.

I plan to lift up the garage door two feet and give that a go. As a fail-over I'll hang this in the garage:

lol poor bird. my garage is full of crap i don't need/want anymore. i don't really feel like cleaning it out just for brewing. guess i will stick to partial boil extracts until spring

Open the door all the way.

It's plenty warm next to the propane burner.

Okay, so the aim is to cool the wart as quickly as possible? How about putting rock salt in the ice bath and rotate the boiling kettle? That's how we always made ice cream when I was a kid.

Hartski said:

Okay, so the aim is to cool the wart as quickly as possible? How about putting rock salt in the ice bath and rotate the boiling kettle? That's how we always made ice cream when I was a kid.

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You can do that... You can even get a coil of copper tubing to put "IN" the boil kettle and circulate ice water through that!!!
(It's called an immersion chiller)

Just being a bit funny

I live in WI and there is no better time to brew outdoors than December thru Feb. Throw on some CarHartts, grab some homebrew, and go to it. As far as putting your wort in a snowbank to cool it, forget it. It takes forever. I still use my hose and chiller in winter, i just keep them in my basement between uses so they don't freeze.

Ohio-Ed said:

You can do that... You can even get a coil of copper tubing to put "IN" the boil kettle and circulate ice water through that!!!
(It's called an immersion chiller)

Just being a bit funny

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well , yeah. I know about all that but i don't have the stuff to do it yet. BTW, First post from my phone. Technology is great, right?

I know I will get flamed for this and I know everybody runs them in the garage BUT......most of these burners are not approved for indoor use. My concern is if there ever was a fire would the insurance company have a reason not to pay off?

Hartski said:

well , yeah. I know about all that but i don't have the stuff to do it yet. BTW, First post from my phone. Technology is great, right?

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Welcome to HBT.

Anyway you can use technology to help you brew is fantastic as far as I'm concerned.

No problem with not having a chiller. I think most folks start with a pot in the kitchen sink trying to cool it down. Rock salt might help a bit, but I doubt you really need it.

I have been thinking about similar issues (I live in Winnipeg, Canada), just having made the move to AG with a propane burner doing 5 gallon batches. My garage is approx 22 x 30 with 13 foot ceilings so I think I would be okay if I boiled beside the open man door. But what I think I am going to do is just boil on the front step. I'll make it work!

I tried the garage thing, then I went completely electric indoors

I was never comfortable burning propane in the garage though since it's built into the house with bedrooms above and only the garage door to vent outside. If the wind was coming from the wrong direction I was too worried about everything getting sucked through the house instead of out the door.

I cooled my stout in a snowbank last year and it turned out great! After brewing I was lazy, so I plopped it right down in the snowbank and the next day brought it in and warmed it up slowly on the stove to pitching temp.

Scored over 40 at a homebrew competition this spring. And I got knocked for too much hops (less points, but the judges seemed to love it!) Possibly due to the no-chill cooling method. I think leaving the whole hops in overnight added more hop flavor and aroma than the recipe called for. But I'd do it again!

If you want to chill quickly, place the kettle in a larger container with some water and add snow. The water will transfer the cold to the kettle very quickly. Just make sure to keep the wort moving gently so all of it can touch the sides of the kettle.

I've run my car for an hour and a half with everything closed up in my garage before I passed out cold for a high school science project.So I believe a small burner running for an hour with cracked windows and doors should be fine. But remember always be smart and step out once and a while and mabey open everything up halfway through the boil to refresh the air.

Brewvy said:

I've run my car for an hour and a half with everything closed up in my garage before I passed out cold for a high school science project.So I believe a small burner running for an hour with cracked windows and doors should be fine. But remember always be smart and step out once and a while and mabey open everything up halfway through the boil to refresh the air.

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Hmmm... somethings not adding up here.

I can attest to the DO NOT COOL YOUR WORT IN A SNOWBANK theory. My first batch ever was on a -20f day in Wisconsin. Seemed like a great idea to use the elements to cool my wort....3 hours later and I was still at 100 degrees. This made for my one and only 7 hour brew day.

knelson said:

I can attest to the DO NOT COOL YOUR WORT IN A SNOWBANK theory. My first batch ever was on a -20f day in Wisconsin. Seemed like a great idea to use the elements to cool my wort....3 hours later and I was still at 100 degrees. This made for my one and only 7 hour brew day.

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I did something similar last year and luckily realized after 10 minutes that I had just created a wonderful igloo for my wort. I tried grabbing handfuls of snow and rubbing the sides of the pot but my hands got cold much too quickly and I moved it inside to the bathtub soon after.

As for the people who claim to use their hoses in the winter for their immersion chillers, how in the h3ll do you turn on that outside spigot when it's frozen solid?

Mischief_Brewing said:

I did something similar last year and luckily realized after 10 minutes that I had just created a wonderful igloo for my wort. I tried grabbing handfuls of snow and rubbing the sides of the pot but my hands got cold much too quickly and I moved it inside to the bathtub soon after.

As for the people who claim to use their hoses in the winter for their immersion chillers, how in the h3ll do you turn on that outside spigot when it's frozen solid?

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With a shutoff located INSIDE, turn that on, then turn it on outside and chill. When done, shut off the outside spigot, then turn off the inside spigot. Then go back outside and turn ON the outside spigot. It will drain.

If it's frozen to start with, heat it up with a propane torch...

Homercidal said:

With a shutoff located INSIDE, turn that on, then turn it on outside and chill. When done, shut off the outside spigot, then turn off the inside spigot. Then go back outside and turn ON the outside spigot. It will drain.

If it's frozen to start with, heat it up with a propane torch...

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Ahhh, an inside shut-off. I don't believe I have one of those in my crawlspace. I guess I'll need to go look at some point. I've been meaning to install a split in there anyway so I could run a line out to the garage and install a brewsink. I just don't look forward to digging through the roots of the giant tree that's in the way to get down below the frost line...