Tips for Brewing in Winter

Despite the dragging of my feet, the winter is almost here. We've already had 2 solid snowfalls in Denver, and there will be plenty more on the way.

I finally switched over this summer to all-grain brewing, and it's not going to be as easy to brew during the winter as it was in the partial boil and extract days of yesteryear. Formerly, I could do all my cleaning right in my kitchen. I could also chill my wort in the kitchen sink (I still use an IC).

I'm working on a 3 keggle system now, and they are cumbersome to haul in the house, and tend to be a little messier. This summer I brewed outside and used my garden hose to do all of my rinsing and to chill my wort. This winter I'll brew in my garage.

I'm wondering if anyone has any solid tips or techniques for brewing with large equipment during the winter, if you don't have a giant sink basin in the garage. Specifically, how do people deal with cleaning and chilling?

LEAVE any doors well open and remove any gasoline etc. before firing up in the garage.

I like to cool in a kiddie pool with a towel to set the pot on (so as to not melt the pool)

Or if you use the hose for an immersion chiller, what is the problem?

Hose running in the kiddie pool helps convection, let it run over (preferably downhill from the house.)

Get some winter brewing equipment...lol. Seriously though I live in a 1/2 duplex.I mash in a 10G igloo cooler do my boils outside on a banjo burner. I chill my wort with an immersion chiller hooked up to the hose. Running water does not freeze.

Do you rent or own your home? I've been wanting to do research on this, and if anyone has any info I'd love to have it, but I've heard that if you fire a propane burner inside your garage and accidently burn your house down that insurance companies won't pay.

bottlebomber said:

Do you rent or own your home? I've been wanting to do research on this, and if anyone has any info I'd love to have it, but I've heard that if you fire a propane burner inside your garage and accidently burn your house down that insurance companies won't pay.

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When I lived in the burbs and had a garage I would open it 1/3 of the way and put the banjo close to the opening. Did this for 2 winters and never had an issue

I wouldnt know, I live sunny southern california :rockin:

zman said:

When I lived in the burbs and had a garage I would open it 1/3 of the way and put the banjo close to the opening. Did this for 2 winters and never had an issue

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I haven't had an issue either, but it still is something I'd like to know more about. I don't know how disciplined you are about staying put while the burner is going, but I have been known to putter around doing other things while the sparge water is heating up etc. I just want to know what all is involved should disaster strike. I should probably just call AAA but then they'd probably put me on some kind of a "list".

as long as the burner is in a ventilated area. I am sure it would be ok. IF you really need to know you can always ask the landlord and or check with your local FD and renters insurance co if you carry a policy

I own my place... I've heard people on here that had landlords that were against it, and some that were cool about it. I guess I'll have to call around.

bottlebomber said:

Do you rent or own your home? I've been wanting to do research on this, and if anyone has any info I'd love to have it, but I've heard that if you fire a propane burner inside your garage and accidently burn your house down that insurance companies won't pay.

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I take the insurance thing seriously. Maybe the insurance company would pay, maybe not. I am not willing to take that chance. Sure, if they refuse you could sue. But a turkey fryer demonstration to any judge or jury would end that effort, IMHO.

My brew season is Nov - Apr, in ice cold MN. I enjoy brewing in the garage in the winter months; pick a "warmer" day (no less than 20 deg f outside) and open all garage doors. There's no need to babysit the brewpot 100% of the time if you use your head and are safe, so warm up as needed. Do larger batches to get more done in a day, and take advantage of the faster cooling time outside

Surly said:

I take the insurance thing seriously. Maybe the insurance company would pay, maybe not. I am not willing to take that chance. Sure, if they refuse you could sue. But a turkey fryer demonstration to any judge or jury would end that effort, IMHO.

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LOL! Yeah, one good Youtube "turkey frying gone wrong" video would be hella damning - if one had been actually frying a bird indoors when the house burned down.

I expect any insurance "out" clause requires obviously dangerous activity, but when I'm running my BG14s the flame above the nozzles is like 1/2" tall at best, with big pots covering them, so there really wouldn't be any expectation of imminent domicile immolation.

I wouldn't classify brewing in a garage as particularly risky - unless all the doors and windows were closed

Cheers!

wear socks.

I brew in my garage, door open about 10 inches when its really cold - I use propane on a single burner for now - but I want to go electric.

my advice is to be as organized as possible - so you don't have to dick around outside freezing your bits off.

Surly said:

I take the insurance thing seriously. Maybe the insurance company would pay, maybe not. I am not willing to take that chance. Sure, if they refuse you could sue. But a turkey fryer demonstration to any judge or jury would end that effort, IMHO.

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So what is your solution? Do you just brew outside? I never really got the electric brewing thing before, but I'm starting to now...

bottlebomber said:

So what is your solution? Do you just brew outside? I never really got the electric brewing thing before, but I'm starting to now...

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First of all, I am not suggesting we cannot brew indoors safely. We can. I am only suggesting that one takes into consideration what type of case the insurance company could make should something happen. IMHO, they win.

I brew outdoors. In fact, I will be moving my brewery to my second home and will begin preparing next week. I will have an L.P. stubbed into my garage so I can connect my brew rigs hose. I will also be adding some water and additional electrical outlets as well.

Brewing outdoors can be a challenge but that is part of the hobby in westcentral Wisconsin for me.

Surly said:

I take the insurance thing seriously. Maybe the insurance company would pay, maybe not. I am not willing to take that chance. Sure, if they refuse you could sue. But a turkey fryer demonstration to any judge or jury would end that effort, IMHO.

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I work in the insurance business and we do cover stupidity. I don't like the idea of propane indoors or partialy indoors, but unless you are doing something illegal a claim could not be denied.

Used to brew in a friends garage with the burners setup just outside the door. Moved to my backyard this summer, winter plan is to keep the burner outside but do everything possible inside (mash, chill, etc.).

Wondering about running a hose from the HLT outside down the basment stairs into my mash tun. Anyone try this? Would have to do a test run to see how much heat loss there would be. I want to chill inside to avoid dealing with frozen hoses, but moving 5 gal of wort in hot pot down the stairs seems like a bad idea.

Another aspect that is important to consider..IMHO is cross ventilation. I brew in my garage all year long. I have a back door to my garage that I leave open and I leave the big garage door open 1/3 of the way to create cross ventialation.

Surly said:

...I will also be adding some water and additional electrical outlets as well.

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Water in a garage in a Wisconsin winter could be as risky as a turkey fryer, haha. Don't forget a way to drain it all down if you're trimming out with a faucet. Ie slop sink.

I brew in my garage, year round. I leave the doors closed, and have a CO monitor...it's never chirped...garages are leaky.

As for washing up, I made myself a brew sink out of wood, a rubbermaid container that had a hole in the bottom, and a few pieces of pipe. Cost around 20-30 bucks. I ran water from the laundry room through RV hoses to a free faucet I got off of craigslist. The drain was siliconed into the bottom of the rubbermaid, and plastic pipe runs back through the wall and drains into the laundry room sink.

Yeah just make sure you always drain your hose, so that when you turn the water on to chill your wort or clean up its not frozen solid. I prefering brewing in winter - no bugs - wort chills fast - and no neighbors getting up in my business.

shortyjacobs said:

I brew in my garage, year round. I leave the doors closed, and have a CO monitor...it's never chirped...garages are leaky.

As for washing up, I made myself a brew sink out of wood, a rubbermaid container that had a hole in the bottom, and a few pieces of pipe. Cost around 20-30 bucks. I ran water from the laundry room through RV hoses to a free faucet I got off of craigslist. The drain was siliconed into the bottom of the rubbermaid, and plastic pipe runs back through the wall and drains into the laundry room sink.

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That's Oakie-fabulous!

Thanks for the advice, all. I'm less concerned with heating with my burner in my garage as I've got quite a bit of experience with that, it's all the cleaning and chilling which I usually do outside that had me wondering. But it sounds like all of you have done a fair amount of this outside without problems. I'll keep an eye out to make sure I don't freeze my hoses (or my bits!), and will try to brew on warmer days.

Shorty, your sink basin is an ingenious idea! I looked into what it would cost to run water for a sink basin into my garage and it was pricey. This would be a great compromise. I'd guess I could use my garden hose for the water input on that, as I have a separate garage so running water from my laundry is just as far.

Well I am planning on brewing in my unheated work shop, but if it is too cool, I would move into a welding bay at work, thousands and thousands of square feet of heated unoccupied factory space with exhaust fans.

I think i will suspend brewing for the coldest part of winter, cold and lack of running water in detached garage where i brew is the main reason. But in october and november i will have 55gal of 7 different beers bottled/secondary/primary so i should be fine till first day od spring

cciszew said:

I think i will suspend brewing for the coldest part of winter, cold and lack of running water in detached garage where i brew is the main reason. But in october and november i will have 55gal of 7 different beers bottled/secondary/primary so i should be fine till first day od spring

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Hmm...Hang on, I'm doing the math...

Ok, I currently have roughly 20 gallons on six faucets, 5 gallons carbed in a keg, 10 gallons currently cold-crashing, 5 gallons of 2 month old RIS putting more time on the clock, and a 5 gallon batch in primary. That comes to...45 gallons.

We go through around 5 gallons in two weeks, but with the family and friends coming over during the approaching holidays that ramps up pretty steeply. I'm pretty darn sure the stock on hand won't even make it to Ground Hog Day, so I'll be kicking the wife's car out of her side of the garage at least every other weekend...

There are worse fates

Cheers!

I brew in my double attached, but uninsulated garage Oct - June, too damn hot in the summer. I open my overhead door all the way and prop my rear passage door open about 6". I also have a CO detector. I am not taking any chances with dying that way. We can get cold weather in Chicago but I live here and it is, what it is.

To be honest I would rather brew in -10F cold than 95F heat. Some people love the heat and others like myself are built for cold.

I guess you should probably keep a fire extinguisher nearby if you are brewing in your garage. I think the only real concern is a leak at the connection to the propane tank.

When I want to brew and it is -30 with high winds, I just do a brew in a bag half size batch right on the kitchen stove and chill it in the kitchen sink. (I've since found that I can do a full 5 gallon batch on my kitchen stove) I never have to go out in the cold to brew.

RM-MN said:

When I want to brew and it is -30 with high winds, I just do a brew in a bag half size batch right on the kitchen stove and chill it in the kitchen sink. (I've since found that I can do a full 5 gallon batch on my kitchen stove) I never have to go out in the cold to brew.

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This is what I do when its below freezing (I dislike cold weather more each year). But my stove needs the assist of a heat stick to boil. Hook my IC to the kitchen faucet, good to go.

we have a nice high ceiling in our garage so i just park my rig in the center with the door wide open and i can come and go as i please to check temps and stuff.. probably not a bad idea to pick up a CO detector to put just inside the garage door to the house.. not worried about the garage with the door open

bumstigedy said:

I guess you should probably keep a fire extinguisher nearby if you are brewing in your garage. I think the only real concern is a leak at the connection to the propane tank.

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When my neighbor saw me for the first time firing up two 80k btu burners in my garage he produced fire extinguisher and we both feel safer now
And im not sure its safer but i use natural gas, its for sure more convenient and much cheaper than propan

I'm very luck to have a dedicated brew space, a separate "workshop" room in the back 1/3 of my garage. I have Been brewing on my new electric system very comfortably for the whole year with no problems but winter is coming. This thread is a reminder to be prepared, it may only get down to the low double digits here in NC but that's cold enough for brew-day mishaps
1.I should insulate my spigots
2.keep supply and chilling hose inside and drained when not in use
3.wear gloves when rinsing equipment outside or plumb in a utility sink!
4.try not to run water down the driveway - ice rink
5.dress appropriate
6.activate space heater
7.supplement with coffee

i have so many thoughts of what i'm doing when i go all electric in a could years (we'll be getting ready to finish our basement and i'll have new electric run for it).. i think i'm going to fashion a webcam to be always on the entire rig/controls so i can view it anywhere in my house from my phone.. i'll have alarms ready but it'll be nice at a moments notice to be able to see what was going on.. could also probably get a video baby monitor to do it as well

I too live in Denver and have never had a issue brewing in my garage. I do everything the same just make sure to disconnects my hoses and blow out my immersion chillers with compressed air. I even store my hoses in the garage to make sure they are not frozen for the next brew day

This will be my first outdoor winter brewing season. I was just planning on chilling in a snowbank. I guess I should just keep the hose drained instead. (insert hose draining joke here).

Azurecybe said:

This will be my first outdoor winter brewing season. I was just planning on chilling in a snowbank. I guess I should just keep the hose drained instead. (insert hose draining joke here).

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I tried the snowbank once. Did not work. If anything, it acted like an igloo, blocked the wind, and wort chilling took ages! unlesss you continuously pack snow around the kettle. Better off using the immersion chiller if you have a place for run off water. and use the snow as a "pre chiller"

Azurecybe said:

This will be my first outdoor winter brewing season. I was just planning on chilling in a snowbank. I guess I should just keep the hose drained instead. (insert hose draining joke here).

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I did this with one of my first batches, well before I ever had a chiller. It definitely took the whole night, but somehow, despite all warnings, the beer still tasted pretty good!

bullywee said:

I have Been brewing on my new electric system very comfortably for the whole year with no problems but winter is coming.

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I don't know anything about these electric burners everyone is talking about. Are they efficient? How do they affect your boil times?

rivertranced said:

I don't know anything about these electric burners everyone is talking about. Are they efficient? How do they affect your boil times?

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Definitely more efficient, <$1 ish for a 10 gal full AG brew session. Not burners though, they are water heater elements we install INSIDE the boil kettle, (and HLT, etc.). From what I've read, (haven't finished my E-kettle conversion yet), time to boil is similar.

It's a big switch though. Involves completely ramping over your brewery if you want to do it right.

You dont have to worry about wild yeast in the air if its like 5 degrees outside and you chill in the snow I expect.