Brewing in the freakin' heat?

It has gotten to that time of year when brewing is kind of unpleasant.

I can see why the Germans banned brewing in the summer.

Other than starting very early in the morning, what are your tricks for brewing when it is hot enough to melt lead?

Brewing inside with the A/C blasting.

Of course, that only works well with extract brewing...

Stay out of the sun, drink plenty of liquids (beer)!

I brew in my basement. It was 95 outside this weekend but my basement was a very nice 70 degrees.

I start brewing at 4am.. This last brew day wasn't half bad actually. My brew partner and I usually drink at least a gallon of ice tea and run a few fans.

I would recommend a rolling swamp cooler if you were in a dry climate (like Arizona), but I have a feeling that would be of little relief where you are.

The only part of my AG brewday that's outside is the boil...and doesn't necessarily need to be tended to all the time. It's the only thing that keeps me from feeling jealous about the guys with the extravagant 3-tier/pump setups where everything is done outdoors!

blizz81 said:

The only part of my AG brewday that's outside is the boil...and doesn't necessarily need to be tended to all the time. It's the only thing that keeps me from feeling jealous about the guys with the extravagant 3-tier/pump setups where everything is done outdoors!

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+1

I go out to check on the boil every 5 minutes or so... otherwise, I'm in the air conditioning enjoying a homebrew (it also helps that I can see my BK from out the back window, too).

I'm in and out of the pool the entire brew day. I tried starting at 6am but the humidity here is ridiculous (as in 100%) that early in the morning and it is miserable. Sadly enough 95 under an umbrella or in the pool is more comfortable than 82 at 6am.

It was close to 100F air temp in NJ on Sunday when I brewed. On my south facing deck the decking got so hot I had to put shoes on to walk on it even after hosing it down with water! I did two batches. One started at 7:00 AM and was in the fermentor and in the basement by 10:30. The second batch was probably a mistake as it was so hot I couldn't get my wort chiller to cool my batch down below 80F. The keggle was so hot I needed gloves to pick it up!!! Got it into the basement to cool. Pitched eventually when it cooled.

Alan

Since switching to AG, when it gets like it is now I just.....don't. I did bottle a batch today that was brewed a month ago, when I was lucky enough to catch the last day of a cool spell. I now try to brew as much as possible in Spring and Fall, in Winter when weather allows (I'm too busy during the holidays, and January & February are pretty much out around here). That leaves March, April & May (some years June isn't bad around here, but this year it was almost a total loss), and part of September, October and part of November. The problem with the Fall, which is prime brewing weather, is that's usually when we take our big vacation of the year. Last year we went to China for the last half of October and first week of November, so I had to brew like a maniac before we left, and do a lot of bottling when we got back.

......and everyone's situation is a little different. My biggest asset is that I'm retired, and can schedule pretty freely.

I brew in a one bedroom apartment in NYC with one air conditioner. I get the living room as cool as can be and then start brewing. The only really tough part is cooling the wort but an ice bath at the end should bring it down to pitching temp.

electric indoor brew rig...

If you brew by the pool, it's like combining a resort vacation with your favorite hobby. And you stay cool by jumping in the pool very periodically.

passedpawn said:

If you brew by the pool, it's like combining a resort vacation with your favorite hobby. And you stay cool by jumping in the pool very periodically.

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except here in FL our pools are above 90.

Will no one else say it??!?!?!

Man UP!!!

A little heat and humidity cleanses the soul and lends a sacred feel to creating your wonderous elixer. Be glad and rejoice that you can actually brew when it's hotter than Haides.

Don't sweat into the brew pot?

Make beers that are more resistant to high temps (e.g. Belgians, saisons, etc.) or build yourself some sort of fermentation chamber.

I just brewed a Belgian golden strong yesterday. The fermenter is in a water bath under a fan with some ice. I got it down to the mid-60s and it will slowly rise to around 70-72 by late afternoon. After two days I plan on taking it out of the water and let it get up to 80 (during the day) until fermentation ends. Then I'll put it back in the water to keep stable temperatures while the yeasts clean up after themselves.

I brewed my first beer, similarly a Belgian blonde, last July by letting the fermenter sit in the middle of my kitchen at 80 the whole time. It turned out great.

Are you a lower back tattoo kind of guy? Man up!

CrAzYmOuSe said:

Are you a lower back tattoo kind of guy? Man up!

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hah!! I sweat my ass off on brew day this time of year........but its worth it for fresh home brewed beer on tap!!!!!

brrman said:

electric indoor brew rig...

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SSSssshhhhhh! Don't give the secret away.

See you in 6 months when people are asking about brewing in the snow!

I can't wait to brew in the snow.... I hate it here in Richmond, it's only supposed to be 104 today

I brewed my last batch on Friday, I had the day off to make it a 4 day weekend for July 4th. I started at 7 AM and it really wasnt too bad. I made a pale ale a couple weeks ago and it was over 100 that day as well, I just had to man up. It wasn't much fun but it wasn't unbearable either. The worst part was that my chiller wouldn't get teh wort below 80 degrees when it's that hot outside.

TeufelBrew said:

Will no one else say it??!?!?!

Man UP!!!

A little heat and humidity cleanses the soul and lends a sacred feel to creating your wonderous elixer. Be glad and rejoice that you can actually brew when it's hotter than Haides.

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CrAzYmOuSe said:

Are you a lower back tattoo kind of guy? Man up!

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This
and
This

Freakin cupcakes........................

TeufelBrew said:

Will no one else say it??!?!?!

Man UP!!!

A little heat and humidity cleanses the soul and lends a sacred feel to creating your wonderous elixer. Be glad and rejoice that you can actually brew when it's hotter than Haides.

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You live in Denver? Frankly, you don't know the meaning of "heat and humidity". And yes, I have been in Denver in the "hot" part of summer.

Just go to "Water World", and try to count the bikinis.

Or, come to the Memphis area and suffer...

I am in South Carolina, so I feel your pain!
I try to start earlier but that doesn't always happen. No more beer while brewing...its just water until I pitch the yeast...then lookout! I found my biggest relief has been a patio furniture umbrella that a friend salvaged from the side of the road. SHADE!! I am seriously considering a baby pool though...it IS only the beginning of July and have a couple months of this left!

I either make a half batch or just suck it up.

This year though, the problem hasn't been the usual triple digit humidity fests but the freakin' rain.

I brewed last weekend, it was tickling 115° by the end of the brewday. I started at 9am, dealing with the heat gets fairly routine for me, since there is no air conditioning in the shop where I work I get used to it. the only real issue is the chilling the wort, my tap water is 93° or hotter. So I use 40-50lbs of ice in a cooler, with a pond pump to move the 33° water through my immersion chiller.

azscoob said:

I brewed last weekend, it was tickling 115° by the end of the brewday. I started at 9am, dealing with the heat gets fairly routine for me, since there is no air conditioning in the shop where I work I get used to it. the only real issue is the chilling the wort, my tap water is 93° or hotter. So I use 40-50lbs of ice in a cooler, with a pond pump to move the 33° water through my immersion chiller.

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Yeah, but that's in Arizona. Everybody knows that 115 is a dry heat....

The humidity around here is the only reason we haven't caught on fire yet this summer. I would say that you guys need some but at 115 degrees, you want as little humidity as possible!

monsoon season here will put the humidity up to 40% or higher, sometimes into the 70%+ range, add that to over 100° temps, its right ickey.

I brewed this past Sunday and sweated my A$$ off. To make matters worse I used my BBQ to boil the wort; it must've been 130 degrees. Some cold beer made it bearable.

SWMBO thought I was retarded (for this and many other reasons!)

At least I now have 5 gallons fermenting in the basement.

I brewed a Belgian ale 2 weeks ago and the actual temperature reached 99. However the combination of my brew kettle and the heat reflecting off the driveway my brew thermometer sitting on my brew stand 4 feet off the driveway registered 110. To beat the heat I tried to keep in the shade as much as possible and once the boil started I spent about 15 minutes in the AC eating lunch. My biggest problem was the hot groundwater when it was time to chill. I had to use 20 pounds of ice in a cold water bath to eventually cool the wort to pitching temps.

I brewed yesterday in 95F heat. It really wasnt bad...no humidity to speak of. I was inside most of the time with my AC on. I only went outside for: strike water, stir, heat sparge water, stir, first runnings, sparge, hop additions, cool, transfer....done!

I brewed a pale ale....How does Safale US-05 do in warmer fermentation temps...I cant get it down lower than say 68 and 70 degrees. I have a swamp cooler set up...I guess I could throw some frozen water bottles in there

HoppyDaze said:

I brewed yesterday in 95F heat. It really wasnt bad...no humidity to speak of. I was inside most of the time with my AC on. I only went outside for: strike water, stir, heat sparge water, stir, first runnings, sparge, hop additions, cool, transfer....done!

I brewed a pale ale....How does Safale US-05 do in warmer fermentation temps...I cant get it down lower than say 68 and 70 degrees. I have a swamp cooler set up...I guess I could throw some frozen water bottles in there

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I brewed 10 gallons of Amber Ale Sunday, it is fermenting with US-05 at 62*F.

You will get more esters at the higher temps, but it should still be pretty clean.

Try to incorporate the same chilling principles used in brewing.

Perhaps you could make a CFC by wrapping 300 ft of copper tubing around a trash can. Climb inside and turn up the hose.

A swamp cooler is another idea. Set up a large fan nearby and every 30 minutes or so dump a bucket of water on your head.

HokieBrewer said:

Try to incorporate the same chilling principles used in brewing.

Perhaps you could make a CFC by wrapping 300 ft of copper tubing around a trash can. Climb inside and turn up the hose.

A swamp cooler is another idea. Set up a large fan nearby and every 30 minutes or so dump a bucket of water on your head.

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That there is funny!

jgln said:

That there is funny!

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ACTUALLY, I have seen something kind of similar.

A guy made a big coil of copper tubing and mounted it behind a large fan. He took a big garbage can and filled it with water and ice. Then, he used a pump to circulate the water through the tubing.

Instant outside A/C!

:rockin:

Cpt_Kirks said:

You live in Denver? Frankly, you don't know the meaning of "heat and humidity". And yes, I have been in Denver in the "hot" part of summer.

Just go to "Water World", and try to count the bikinis.

Or, come to the Memphis area and suffer...

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Or go back to KC or central Texas where I spent most of my life. Yep, I know heat and humidity far to intimately. I do like bikini counting, no matter where I happen to be!