-15 out.. can I brew?

[jcorn]

I have the day off from work due to below freezing temperatures. I have been planning a brew day for yesterday and am now behind due to weather. How hard is it to brew in -15 degree weather? Im sure I will have to wort chill inside with a hose but how hard will it be boil 5 gallons of wort? Maintain 5 gallons? I top off to 5.25 gallons

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[Foosier]

It can be done. I think I saw some folks from Green Bay last year do an outdoor brew in those kind of temps. Key thing will be to have some kind of a heat shield around your pot to keep wind from blowing your heat away from the pot. I know there are some pics on here for some great heat shield designs.

You could also brew in your garage leaving the doors cracked to allow some airflow to ensure you do not have carbon monoxide issues.

Honestly as far as cooling goes, put a lid on it and stick it in a snow bank if your pot is not too heavy when full. Obviously be careful doing this as boiling spills are bad.

 

[jcorn]

It can be done. I think I saw some folks from Green Bay last year do an outdoor brew in those kind of temps. Key thing will be to have some kind of a heat shield around your pot to keep wind from blowing your heat away from the pot. I know there are some pics on here for some great heat shield designs.

You could also brew in your garage leaving the doors cracked to allow some airflow to ensure you do not have carbon monoxide issues.

Honestly as far as cooling goes, put a lid on it and stick it in a snow bank if your pot is not too heavy when full. Obviously be careful doing this as boiling spills are bad.

Sweet! Carrying 5 gallons sucks but adding ice to the situation makes it really bad! At least Im not carrying 9 gallons. My god that is like impossible. I do it on 10 gallon top offs

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[TyTanium]

Snow insulates really well; I'd leave it exposed and the cold air & wind will strip away the heat pretty quickly. Or set it into a bucket of cold water & add some snow to drop the temp.

I think you're right that the larger concern is the boil. Definitely try to shield the burner from wind. And if you have a CO detector, might be a good idea if you're in the garage.

 

[jcorn]

Snow insulates really well; I'd leave it exposed and the cold air & wind will strip away the heat pretty quickly. Or set it into a bucket of cold water & add some snow to drop the temp.

I think you're right that the larger concern is the boil. Definitely try to shield the burner from wind. And if you have a CO detector, might be a good idea if you're in the garage.

I will just brew in the garage with the door halfway open. I need to get a detector though. So you dont think a wort chiller would even be necessary? I am going to put some water in a plastic tub and platey uncovered pot in it if so. Ive never seen it this cold in Indiana! I think they said it is a record low

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[TyTanium]

I will just brew in the garage with the door halfway open. I need to get a detector though. So you dont think a wort chiller would even be necessary? I am going to put some water in a plastic tub and platey uncovered pot in it if so. Ive never seen it this cold in Indiana! I think they said it is a record low

I'd use the chiller if you can do so easily. The groundwater temp is so cold it'll chill very quickly. That'll still be faster than sticking outside in the wind.

 

[jflongo]

I will just brew in the garage with the door halfway open. I need to get a detector though. So you dont think a wort chiller would even be necessary? I am going to put some water in a plastic tub and platey uncovered pot in it if so. Ive never seen it this cold in Indiana! I think they said it is a record low

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I have brewed in my garage in the winter many times. I just raise the garage door about 1/4. Also, I wrap tin foil around the sides of my burner stand, to reduce the amount of wind hitting the flame. A wort chiller is still a good idea if you have one, and if that is what you normally use.

 

[jcorn]

Thank you guys

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[jcorn]

Also should I expect more boil off in these temps? I dont use a lid during boil

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[solbes]

I brew in my garage with a propane burner and the garage doors closed. There is enough ventilation in my drafty 3 car garage to avoid any issues with CO. Never a headache and I've done it 40+ times.

I have not brewed in quite -15, but maybe 0 in the garage with no issues. I overbrewed this fall though, so now I am contently trying to work my way through the stock.

 

[JustinVT]

As with the above posts I would go for it. I did a brew in my garage on the first and as I recall it was about -7 out. I did not run into any problem, save a little numbness.

Good Luck!

 

[ArcLight]

I brew outdoor in 20 degree weather and it sucks.
I cover my pot with a welding blanket and it heats up FAST.
The mash loses some temperature, so I have to apply more heat after 30 minutes.

 

[Setesh]

I've brewed with my garage door cracked about 2" and my attic access door open (creates an updraft system) at lot of times. Never got a peep from either of the 2 CO detectors in the garage.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I'd be worried about the propane tank freezing up on you constantly.

 

[Jayhem]

I've never brewed that cold but I have brewed in the teens and using a ghetto fabulous heat shield composed off roofing tin, bent into a couple half circles and encompassing my burner and half way up my brew pot I can boil 13.4 gallons hard using a bayou classic SQ14 burner on high. Expect more boil off, especially if humidity is below 50%

Mash indoors if you can.

 

[jcorn]

I have not brewed in quite -15, but maybe 0 in the garage with no issues. I overbrewed this fall though, so now I am contently trying to work my way through the stock.

Sounds like a hell of a problem

 

[jcorn]

I'd be worried about the propane tank freezing up on you constantly.

This is the only problem I ran into today. I heated my 6.5 gallon mash water up for my biab outside and brought the pot inside for the biab mash itself. 75 minute conversion at 150, squeezed the hell out of the grain bag to collect 5.5 gallons of wort and then took it all back out to garage and fired it up for 60 minutes. All went very well up until about 30 minutes into the boil and something happen to where I was not able to regulate the propane. It stayed one consistent flame that seemed to maintain a light boil so I think I was ok for the whole 60 mins. I chose not to use a chiller and just kinda free balled it out in the snow with the lid halfway on. It has been out there for about 50 minutes now and is around 110 degrees. Hopefully nothing goes wrong from such a long cool down. Cold break did seem to happen within 20 minutes.
One weird issue I had was not hitting my temps correctly when I added my grain. I guess my grain was colder than normal and it took my expected 154 to 146. I stuck it on top of my stovetop since I was already back inside when noticed and tried to goose it up to around 152 but I think I scorched a little grain while doing so. It has a cooked smell to it now which hopefully doesnt destroy this beer. I did not leave it on the stove for more than maybe 8 minutes and I stirred the whole time it was heating up. It is a citra wheat pale ale that includes:
-10 lbs White Wheat
-1 lb Munich
-1 lb Crystl 60L

60: 1/2 oz Magnum
15: 1 1/2 oz Citra
5: 1/2 oz Citra
KEG HOP: 1 oz Citra

 

[jcorn]

I've never brewed that cold but I have brewed in the teens and using a ghetto fabulous heat shield composed off roofing tin, bent into a couple half circles and encompassing my burner and half way up my brew pot I can boil 13.4 gallons hard using a bayou classic SQ14 burner on high. Expect more boil off, especially if humidity is below 50%

Mash indoors if you can.

I used my Bayou Classic and it boiled off around 1.5 gallons in 60 minutes + preboil/postboil. My normal boil off rate is about 1/2-3/4 gallons per hour. I lucked out being able to use the garage. After my neighbors seeing me out brewing today it is hard to imagine the thoughts running through their heads. All for brew, brew for all :rockin:

 

[gtmaus]

I brewed a couple days ago and it was single digit temps. Didn't have any problem getting a proper boil.

 

[Glynn]

I brewed today in my garage and it was -16 with a wind chill in the -50 range with no problem

 

[jcorn]

I brewed today in my garage and it was -16 with a wind chill in the -50 range with no problem

Cheers to being a man!

 

[Riot]

Am I the only one who checks the weather report for the week when I start thinking I should brew? It's been pretty consistently awful out, I keep picking the warmest day of the week and working brewday into that.

 

[jcorn]

Am I the only one who checks the weather report for the week when I start thinking I should brew? It's been pretty consistently awful out, I keep picking the warmest day of the week and working brewday into that.

Yes

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[hs1149]

Biggest issues I have experienced while brewing in detached garage are: freezing water spicket at the house or frozen hose if I leave it connected when water not flowing.

Looking for a hose that stays flexible in cold weather. I tried the Flex Hose PRO. They stayed flexible & the are easy to store but they developed leaks after 5 uses.

 

[Setesh]

Am I the only one who checks the weather report for the week when I start thinking I should brew? It's been pretty consistently awful out, I keep picking the warmest day of the week and working brewday into that.

I have tried that. But their track record is pretty bad quite honestly. I'll plan on Saturday since they say it will be awesome and then it turns out that Saturday sucks and Sunday is awesome, or Friday is awesome and Saturday sucks....friggin forecasters....I need to get myself a cricket

 

[jcorn]

Biggest issues I have experienced while brewing in detached garage are: freezing water spicket at the house or frozen hose if I leave it connected when water not flowing.

Looking for a hose that stays flexible in cold weather. I tried the Flex Hose PRO. They stayed flexible & the are easy to store but they developed leaks after 5 uses.

I have went through 2 of those things just in 2013. Walmart is said to replace it if it breaks because they have had so many returns on them. Does work very well though and so easy to hook a chiller into.