Safety tips for brewing outdoors

I'm debating a move to brewing outside and I'm a bit concerned over safety. I'd have to pick up burner of some kind and I've seen the TV specials about turkey fryer disasters, so that's a concern. Plus I don't have plans to build an elaborate table or work bench so the transfer of hot liquid from one container to another is also a concern.

Any care to share some tips for brewing safely outside? Maybe some things I should look to purchase first just to be safe? Should it be inside an open garage or with no roof over head? Anything really.

A fire extinguisher is your best unitasker.

The difference between frying a turkey and brewing beer is a pot of boiling oil. If you are smart about it, brewing outdoors is fine.

Think about it this way, any danger you have brewing outside would be twice as bad if it happened inside. Turkey fryers are only dangerous when you're frying a turkey. Don't wear shorts and sandels when working with 5 gallons of boiling anything. Get some nice insulated rubber coated gloves. Wear safety glasses.

Bobby_M said:

Think about it this way, any danger you have brewing outside would be twice as bad if it happened inside. Turkey fryers are only dangerous when you're frying a turkey. Don't wear shorts and sandels when working with 5 gallons of boiling anything. Get some nice insulated rubber coated gloves. Wear safety glasses.

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Now the gloves wasn't something I had considered. Thanks for that.

This might sound stupid but not wearing shorts is a tough one. Here in TX it's hot more often than not so summer brewing in jeans might be like exercise. I agree it's safer though. I'm wondering if maybe I should reconsider until I can devise a setup that allows for easy transfer of hot liquids.

Just to reiterate what has been said, but the real danger with turkey fryer setups is that the 350+ degree oil can quickly boil over when adding a frozen turkey, which then catches fire and creates a fireball that can burn down your house.

When you're talking about beer you're boiling water, which if it boils over will just make a mess on the floor and possibly put out your fire.

As far as safety equipment it's up to you. I've done one of my boils outside in shorts and flip flops and only a few towels to grab the hot handles of the pot. Stupid? You bet. I wouldn't recommend it, but if the only thing stopping you from brewing outside is a pair of jeans vs. shorts, well, you can just make sure you're careful and there shouldn't be any problems. Boiling liquid landing on jeans and sticking to your skin isn't much better than boiling liquid landing directly on your skin. Just be careful and take as many precautions as you can

I take the same precautions as I do when grilling. I make sure to keep one hand cold at all times with a beer.

I wear shorts here in Mississippi when I brew outdoors. I do make sure I have on tennis shoes though rather than bare feet or flip flops. I had the same thought about jeans holding all the hot liquid next to my skin IF there was a spill and opted for shorts.

The best thing I can say is to make sure the burner is stable. If it is rocking or requires some sort of chock under one leg to hold it level, I'd fix that prior to the boil.

Other than that, brew on and have some fun!

Be careful where water and spills end up so you don't make a slick icy place in the driveway.

*notices OP's location*

Never mind. Carry on.

Just be smart and you shouldn't have issues. I begin cooling wort the second the boil ends. I don't even remove it from the burner, even though the cast iron may still be holding some heat from the burner.

Don't think you can watch a 1 year old and brew at the same time.

Its not any more dangerous than grilling (probably safer, to be honest). I've brewed in TX with shorts and close-toed shoes and been fine. Just don't stand right up against the kettle or with your feet underneath it and you'll be fine. An added plus is a boil-over can be cleaned up with a hose. I personally have been brewing in my garage (WITH THE DOORS OPEN) and its great (good lighting if the brewing goes past sundown, shady, stereo hook up possible, ability to fart and tell dirty jokes without my wife getting mad, etc.) In the summer it would get too hot for that, so I might move to the driveway.

As for needing a table, I just do everything on the ground and use a small table to hold my glass of beer & ingredients.

I brew in shorts and shoes, no flip flops on brew days, I also keep a pair of welding gloves nearby for moving equipment or anything that might be hot, works better than a pot holder or a towel with better dexterity as a bonus. I do have a fire extinguisher nearby also, had a wicked grill fire due to a ruptured propane line a few years back, no damage but it brought about the gloves and the extinguisher being required equipment!

azscoob said:

I do have a fire extinguisher nearby also, had a wicked grill fire due to a ruptured propane line a few years back, no damage but it brought about the gloves and the extinguisher being required equipment!

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This is my biggest fear with outdoor brewing. I meant to mention in my previous post that I also have a fire extinguisher handy when I brew.

Brewing outside is safer than indoors. Like others have said, have a fire exstiguisher and wear gloves (indoors as well). I wear shorts when brewing; I also protect my man area like if it where the Holy Grail.

I too feel like brewing outdoors is easier and safer than indoors. The benefits definitely outweigh the risks. Just keep thick gloves around and make sure your burner is stable.

plus outdoor spills involve a hose to clean up, indoor mess usually involves an angry wife and getting yelled at for messing up the kitchen

Search on craigslist for folding tables. I looked for about a month and finally found a steal...a 4 foot plastic folding table for $10, nearly brand new. I used it to keep everything organized.

I also think that an extinguisher and insulated gloves are essential.

If you have to move hot wort, you should rethink your process. Use an immersion chiller or counterflow chiller. Something that doesn't require you to move the hot wort. I didn't brew outside until I had all of those things in order.

Have fun!

Eric

EricCSU said:

Search on craigslist for folding tables. I looked for about a month and finally found a steal...a 4 foot plastic folding table for $10, nearly brand new. I used it to keep everything organized.

I also think that an extinguisher and insulated gloves are essential.

If you have to move hot wort, you should rethink your process. Use an immersion chiller or counterflow chiller. Something that doesn't require you to move the hot wort. I didn't brew outside until I had all of those things in order.

Eric

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If I do go outside at least I will benefit by getting a new fire extinguisher. It's a great idea and something I should have thought of. The gloves are something I would have never considered.

One monetary concern is the chiller and movement of hot wort. Not only would I have to get a chiller but I'd also probably be better off getting some valves on my kettles. It's one thing to look at the burner and maybe a cooler for MLT, but then adding valve kits and chillers really makes me think twice.

pretzelb said:

If I do go outside at least I will benefit by getting a new fire extinguisher. It's a great idea and something I should have thought of. The gloves are something I would have never considered.

One monetary concern is the chiller and movement of hot wort. Not only would I have to get a chiller but I'd also probably be better off getting some valves on my kettles. It's one thing to look at the burner and maybe a cooler for MLT, but then adding valve kits and chillers really makes me think twice.

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How do you chill your wort currently?

A fairly strong friend and an ice bath work for me (for 4 to 5 gal boils).

I used an ice bath with a 5 gallon batch outside for a long time. No issues moving the wort to an ice bath. Some others may disagree but moving my pot from the burner to a big pan of ice wasn't hard and cooled it down as quick as my wort chiller.

EricCSU said:

How do you chill your wort currently?

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With doing extract and partial mash inside, my boil volume in my 5g pot wasn't that big. I found using an ice bath worked well. I also got the idea to re-use a sanitized extract pail from the LHBS as a giant ice cube. I would sanitize the bucket, add water, put the top on, then freeze it the night before. On brew day I'd take it out and add it to my wort when trying to cool it. This really helped last time.

But, if I am predicting the steps correctly in my head, when I move outside, and use an 8g pot, and go all grain, and am faced with around 5g of hot wort, the ice batch probably won't work. Heck, I don't think the 8g pot will fit in the sink (it's fatter than my 5g pot). Then again, I could try to use a cooler for the ice bath. I might have to think about that.

For better or worse this hobby is getting me to think ahead more than I like.

I bought a big galvanized pan at HD, previously used it to hold bottled beer for parties. My 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot fit fine, and my keggle still fits. I use my worth chiller in combo with this and it works great.

Pretzel,

I use a big cooler as an ice bath and a block of sanitary ice (same method you described) and can get a 4gal boil to pitching temp in under a half hour. In fact, sometimes the sanitary ice won't melt all the way cause the ice bath works so well.

Also, I use the cooler as an ad-hoc fermenting chamber though the lid won't close. I just keep a towel over it (its in the garage) to keep the mosquitos out and swap frozen milk jugs in the bathwater once or twice per day depending on outside temp. My entire brewing setup (which I use outdoors) consists of a 7.5 gal kettle, propane stove, a cooler (a big one), a bucket fermenter, siphone hose, capper, and a lot of ice.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't want a lot more equipment (specifically a freezer with a temp controller and a couple of better bottles).

I wouldn't worry about it at all. As others have pointed out the danger with the turkey is the oil. In brewing you don't have that concern.

I don't imagine using a turkey fryer outdoors for brewing is any more dangerious that grilling.

Of course if you have small kids/animals, keep them away from the wort, after all it is five gallons of something boiling.

I would recommend it, brewing outside is enjoyable.

Trooper-Orange said:

Of course if you have small kids/animals, keep them away from the wort, after all it is five gallons of something boiling.

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I will need to do something about the dogs. If I use the back patio then we have to share the space. If I use the garage I don't have to worry about them, but it's the garage.

I would recommend it, brewing outside is enjoyable.

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I am not so sure I will like it when it's 98 degrees out, but we will see. Nice thing about being inside is you can multi-task a lot better.