does brewing outdoors increase the chance of infection?

does brewing outdoors increase the chance of infection?

Not really. All of my beers are brewed outdoors.

I do put a towel over the kettle when it is time to chill the wort. It absorbs the steam and thus DMS rather than let it condensate and fall back in the wort as it would with a lid.

Good point, Ed.

Admittedly, I have wondered this same thing since starting to brew outdoors. A lot of the brewing literature emphasizes cleanliness in the brewing environment to the extent of closing ceiling vents and wiping off sufaces above and around the brewing area. Standing outside in a slight breeze surrounded by dirt, bugs, grass, dog hair, etc. seems to go completely against the clean environment idea.

However, I haven't had an infection from brewing outside (knock on wood). I think keeping the brewing equipment well sanitized as well as pitching enough yeast will help keep the bugs from taking over.

I have done all my boils outside, never covered it, just cooled with an IM and then immediately into the fermenter. No infections yet.
I might be tempting fate, but no need for me to change yet, until of course that dreaded day I am forced to eat my words.......

Fermenting (or even just working with chilled wort) where you crush your grain is much more dangerous.

I use this ugly junk to keep stuff from actually falling into the kettle. That's about my only worry to outdoor brewing.

I have wondered the same thing but it looks like it doesn't. I am getting really excited for fall because fall in Georgia is perfect brewing weather for outside brews

how is fermenting where you crush your grain much more dangerous? If you have it in a glass carboy with a airlock filled with santizer?

Well, it's also probably where you open your fermenter to take samples and rack off etc. Certainly there's no risk if it's sealed the entire time. It's just that I don't want any lacto getting in and it's all over the grain.

Along with the don't brew where you grind theory, I'll bet the kitchen is full of nasties. I clean mine like mad with bleach but there's just gotta be a greater concentration of food-grade bacteria :cross: in the kitchen than in the backyard.

It's such a small amount of time that you're really in "danger" when you're brewing outside. At most, it's a half hour between turning off the burner and having the yeast pitched. I'd be a little bit more concerned if I were doing a wicked long whirlpool, or otherwise taking a LONG time to chill.

The only concern I'd have with the towel is the cleanliness of the towel itself; it might be "clean," but how sanitary is it, really, even if it's been in a drawer out of the way since it was last washed? I guess the way I look at it; while the wort's still hot enough where DMS is a concern, anything that falls in isn't going to have much of a chance of survival anyway.

Bobby_M said:

Well, it's also probably where you open your fermenter to take samples and rack off etc. Certainly there's no risk if it's sealed the entire time. It's just that I don't want any lacto getting in and it's all over the grain.

Click to expand...

I guess I could see this being a concern, but I've never thought about it. I don't mill my own grain and so I just come home with a bag of it and use it when needed.

that said, I really wouldn't care about this still. Seems like such a low risk. There's just as much crud in the air as there is on your grain and you're not mixing wort with grain, so it shouldn't cause much of a concern at all.

I brew in the garage and chill outside like other have said no problems so far.

lol, the sanitation of my porch just sucks i'd say. when i was inside it was deep clean everytime(had two infections inside). outside i've had none. that's just weird????

think i'll gooo

I brew outside all the time and have no such worries. But then again our air is so clean here.
In fact last week scientists found a rare species of lichen that grows on trees, just 20 miles from where I live at. This lichen is an indicator of pristine air.

fat x nub said:

I have wondered the same thing but it looks like it doesn't. I am getting really excited for fall because fall in Georgia is perfect brewing weather for outside brews

Click to expand...

Sweet, because I have been brewing outside during the summer here in Atl and it's been hot, can't wait till the cool weather. I've done 4 batches outside and haven't had an issue yet.

Brewing outside doesn't increase risk of infection. Even if a bug/leaf whatever gets into your wort, you're boiling it, so no harm done. The biggest risk of an infection comes from improper sanitation.

I've done a few batches outdoors, never had any problems.
It's probably true what was said above, about more nasties in the kitchen.

My theory is, people have been brewing beer for centuries, long before they even knew what bacteria was. Plenty of it came out just fine. If open brewed beer was constantly being contaminated, people would have stopped drinking that foul stuff...

I brew outdoors and it's hard to contaminate a batch of beer. Depending on what's in the air in your house, it might actually DECREASE the rate of contamination. It's been said that indoor air contaminants tend to be more concentrated than outdoor.

But either way, it's HARD to contaminate a batch unless you're sloppy.

how does everyone keep things for falling into the pot like tiny leave particles, and bugs out?

how does everyone keep things for falling into the pot like tiny leave particles, and bugs out?

Click to expand...

A big rolling boil. Anything that falls in, gets zapped by the heat and will settle out in the cold break.

During chilling, I cover the pot. This is the time when the wort is most vulnerable.

Kevin Dean said:

I brew outdoors and it's hard to contaminate a batch of beer. Depending on what's in the air in your house, it might actually DECREASE the rate of contamination. It's been said that indoor air contaminants tend to be more concentrated than outdoor.

But either way, it's HARD to contaminate a batch unless you're sloppy.

Click to expand...

Yeah, what he said.

Actually, it hasn't just been said. It's a well known fact that in most cases, the air inside your home is often many times worse than the outdoor air.

meh...it's fine, indoor outdoor, whatever. i have fans blowing air in the basement i brew in, to recirculate with all the propane and everything. i leave them on while i'm chilling and leave my pot uncovered. NEVER had a problem with any of those batches.

i had one batch infected, but that was left at a friends house and who knows what he put in there :cross:

Kevin Dean said:

I brew outdoors and it's hard to contaminate a batch of beer. Depending on what's in the air in your house, it might actually DECREASE the rate of contamination. It's been said that indoor air contaminants tend to be more concentrated than outdoor.

But either way, it's HARD to contaminate a batch unless you're sloppy.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I'd venture to say the air inside most homes is less clean that the air outside.

Rebooting this thread.

I moved to outdoor brewing last month after upgrading my system. First thing I noticed is all the wind and particles blowing around. I have a giant spruce in the back yard and everything from needles, to bugs and who-knows-what wants to drop in my pot. I was really worried about this on brew day and low and behold 3 weeks later my American Wheat is showing early signs of an infection. Damn it! I think I'm going to run with EdWort's idea on page 1 and put a clean towel over the opening during chilling.

I just hope I'm wrong on the infection, but if not, that it at least tastes good. First infected batch ever its its almost definitely due to brewing in an uncontrolled environment. I brewed another batch last night and the wind and debris was worse. I hope I'm not going to lose two batches!

I've brewed hundreds of gallons of beer outdoors and have never had an infection.

brewbama said:

I've brewed hundreds of gallons of beer outdoors and have never had an infection.

Click to expand...

I believe the squirrel poo filled spruce tree in my yard is playing a roll in this.

I brew outside on my back porch. I do make an effort to cover my boil kettle when I am chilling the wort down though. My hop basket sits up above the top of the keggle, but I just put the lid on top of that and it covers/blocks the opening of the keggle. Works great, and I don't get infections, even with the ceiling fans on the porch on (it's hot as hell here in Florida 6 months out of the year)!

John

rhys333 said:

I believe the squirrel poo filled spruce tree in my yard is playing a roll in this.

Click to expand...

Location, Location, Location

So it seems my American wheat may be good after all (fingers crossed). The floaties aren't growing and look now like they may be from the 10% oats I included in the grain bill. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.