Anyone else NOT brew in the winter?

Winter brewing is perfect for ales/and easier for lagers.Keeping room temp down will get you a nice mid/low 60's range basements almost hit lager temps.Im brewing less these days but more volume im thinking its a good time for cleaner beers.Plus it gives you more to do inside.

Last winter I was still living the apartment life and managing to do full stovetop boils. After 90 minutes of boiling water in 400 sq ft apartment, when I'd have to go outside for something the steam pouring outside looked we were living in a steam sauna.
SWMBO didn't appreciate the wonderful aromas that remained in the air, but she still let me do my thing now and then.
This year, my garage may do more than hold junk and vehicles!

cimirie said:

But I suppose if you get 48 inches dumped on you in a 6 hour brew session, I might think about heading indoors.

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Oh come on ... 48 inches in 6 hours that's nothing ... ha ha!

Winter here is fun... get up at 4 AM and go out in the 10 F air and use the snow blower to remove the 24 inches of lake effect snow that fell over night just so you can get to the road which most likely is not plowed, so you can use the 4 wheel drive to get to work. Then when you get home, you park at the road and walk to the house and get the snow blower out and remove the 12 inches of lake effect snow that fell while you are work. All the while thinking that you get to it again tomorrow because the west wind is still blowing the snow in from the lake....

But I can do something you cant ... I can walk on the lake out in the woods and go fishing, just have to cut a hole in the ice and freeze my silly a** off okay so I am little crazy!

I brewed a couple of extract beers late last winter. I think that is what I will do again this winter. Yet, this fall I am trying to brew a lot to squirrel away 2 or 3 ten gallon batches.

That's my plan, I'm going to try and brew 30 gallons by the end of November. If I start getting low, I'll do some extract/partial mash in the winter.

I'm really looking forward to brewing in the snow!!

I want to try my hand at a lager (52 degree basement)...
Ales are much easier too... easier to warm up the ferment than cool it down.

Outside, though? You don't have to be outside the whole time... that's what windows are for!! (How does the wort chiller work, though... the hose will be a pain in the ass once winterized...)

Can't wait for winter to arrive, altough I do love fall: snowshoeing, Christmas, firing the woodstove, hot pipping stews after shoveling. All good. The only thing that sucks is getting snowed-in, but that only happens 2 or 3 times a year.

Gotta take advantage of that cold ass tap water!

TheMan said:

I guess I'm in the minority here lol. I love the cold. Enjoy brewing outside in the winter. It's a simple concept, dress warm and it doesn't affect you. Sure, washing everything is not as easy, but that's a small price to pay.

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I too enjoy brewing when it's cold as all get out. Getting down to fermentation temp is never easier.

I'm plannign on no-chill in the winter. Reduce hops a bit and stick the BK in the snowbank. Next day warm the kettle up on the stove and pitch yeast. It's worked well before.