Brewing in the cold

[mattozan]

I live in California, so I can't complain about the cold you guys are dealing with. But I still seem to have a problem today.

It's about 46°F today, and I can't quite get a rolling boil going outside.

I'm doing 5 gallons in a keggle. My burner is a Camp Chef 70k BTU. I've got a nice blue flame. But the temp seems to plateau at about 205°F. I kept waiting, and waiting, but it never started to roll. I wrapped a sleeping bag around the keggle for insulation, but it didn't seem to help.

I don't have a shield around the burner stand, but it isn't windy at all, and my spot it pretty sheltered.

After waiting over an hour (I did have some extra water to boil off anyway...) I just called it, threw in my hops (had to stir them in), and set the timer for 60 min.

Any suggestions? This is the first time I've tried AG outside in the winter, but I'm going to be doing this regularly now, and I'd like to do the best I can.

 

[k47k]

46 degree is not cold and should not result in your wort not coming to a boil.

Perhaps your propane tank froze up? when this happens output suffers. I put my tank in warm water to prevent freezing up.

I brewed in 10 degree weather the other day.

 

[wizardofza]

+1 with the propane tank freezing up. From time to time I have to shake it, especially when it gets close to the last 1/3 of the tank.

 

[zac]

I'm going to brew tomorrow in Denver and its supposed to be about 38F. I will be brewing in my carport and will be freezing my n**** off!

Does anyone have any tips for brewing in the cold? I plan on preheating my mash cooler. Do I have to worry about a higher evap rate on my boil?

Any tips would be appreciated. I havent really brewed in the cold before and worry I will run across something new.

My last brewing was done in 8* weather, with a little wind. Other than the deck being a solid sheet of ice, no problem. If you can fabricate yourself a windbreak, that helps. I always dough in a few degrees higher & make sure to pre-heat the tun in sub freezing weather. rH will determine more with boil off than temp will, but that can be easily solved by adding more water late in the boil.

I once brewed when the high was -13*, and that was a pain. Actually, any sub freezing weather causes my plate chiller to freeze up...and my sanitizer bucket to get slushy.... it sucks, but it beats brewing in the 100* heat we get in the summer.

 

[Brewdouche-RuBrew]

46 degree is not cold and should not result in your wort not coming to a boil.

Perhaps your propane tank froze up? when this happens output suffers. I put my tank in warm water to prevent freezing up.

I brewed in 10 degree weather the other day.

Thats a great tip thanks

 

[mattozan]

+1 with the propane tank freezing up. From time to time I have to shake it, especially when it gets close to the last 1/3 of the tank.

I'll try refilling my tank and doing a test boil.

 

[mattozan]

I'll try refilling my tank and doing a test boil.

Topping off my propane tank did the trick--thanks!

I brewed on Saturday, and the temp was the same as my problem day four weeks ago (46F).

But this time I had a full tank, instead of 1/3 full. Wort came to roiling boil no problem! Didn't even have to make a warm bath for my tank.