Am I the highest brewer in America?

[skultch]

No, it's not what you think. :cross: haha

My house is at ~11,200 ft elevation. I am curious if there are any home brewers here in the Rockies that might be close or higher. I highly doubt there are any professorial breweries this high, as Alma, CO near me is the highest incorporated town in North America, and they are only at 10,578. A quick google search came up with a brewery in Potosi, Bolivia, that is above 13k, so I guess I'm out of the running for the world title.

 

[jbrookeiv]

What temp does your water boil at?

 

[wildwest450]

Not on 420 you aint.

_

 

[Ace_Club]

At that elevation, it should be around 190F.

 

[heferly]

Not on 420 you aint.

_

was going to say, heck of a title on such a monumental date

 

[BendBrewer]

Yeah, I have to say I have you beat on a pretty regular basis.

 

[joety]

I recall staying in Breck and unable to get a roaring fire going in the fireplace; I assume due to decreased oxygen.

It would burn, but not a satisfying burn. Good thing you only need 190 to boil.

The Breckenridge Brewery (which I've visited) distributes in Wisconsin. I assume they are "down" the hill from your home?

 

[drac0]

My house is 68 feet above sea level.. You've got me beat, just by a little bit.

 

[wildwest450]

My house is 68 feet above sea level.. You've got me beat, just by a little bit.

Good grief, do you live on a boat?

_

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I'm fairly sure I am the lowest homebrewer in America.

 

[Malintent]

I got you beat, drac.. I am the lowest brewer in the thread.... 16 feet ASL

Last time I was up at 10k I had to stop to catch my breath every three steps... and I couldn't walk and talk at the same time.

 

[o4_srt]

I got you beat, drac.. I am the lowest brewer in the thread.... 16 feet ASL

Last time I was up at 10k I had to stop to catch my breath every three steps... and I couldn't walk and talk at the same time.

Assuming there are no homebrewers in new orleans... You might be the lowest

 

[A4J]

i'm about 100 feet below sea level.
beat that.

 

[Airborneguy]

I think I'm about 10ft above sea level, but the guy above me clearly beats that!

 

[NorthRiverS]

skultch,

It's like you are sitting on the peak of Mt. Hood! The highest point in Oregon. Wow!

NRS

 

[skultch]

So, I took so long to rejoin my own thread because I was buying a barley crusher and a BIAG custom made bag from http://brewinabag.weebly.com AG here I come!!

My water boils at 192F. I guess I get a little extra boil off due to the extremely low humidity, but I've never brewed anywhere else to compare to. Any of you desert guys have extremely high boil off?

I have a lot of improvement ahead of me, especially with water volume levels. It's tough brewing outside with the low temps and wind. It seems to do weird things with the propane flames. I've had very different boil off amounts between my 3 batches, I think due to the wind.

I probably have slightly lower hop utilization, too, I'm told. I'm not at the level yet where I can reliably test different factors, so I just boil my bittering hops for an extra 10 minutes or so and call it good. I'm just now planning my 4th batch ever, and it will be my first all grain and BIAB.

Yeah, Breckenridge BrewPub is at ~9,600 ft, so quite lower. I drive past it every day on the way to work or snowboard. I think there is a small brew pub in Winter Park that might be higher, but I'm not sure about that. (Edit: They are at ~9,000 ft) The 3 other breweries in Summit County are probably all higher than Winter Park, and lower than Breck.

I think the best part of brewing where I am is the water. There aren't any permanent residents that live up hill from me. I have a simple well, with a simple paper filter, and no chlorine or any chems needed. It is f'ing delicious right outta the tap. I might test my water some day, but I'm not that dialed in yet for it to be significant, I think. I've only ever tasted my first batch (Great Lakes Eddie Fitz tribute) and it was way better than I expected, so I doubt my water has any serious issues.

 

[wildwest450]

i'm about 100 feet below sea level.
beat that.

That's like a sore dick, it's hard to beat. bada bing.


_

 

[skultch]

Oh, and in celebration of this fine day, I guess I've gotta talk about my next favorite inebriant. As you all may know, Colorado has some fine product, AND it's legal. I don't want to go into details, but I'll just say that it is very easy to obtain useful byproduct of the cultivation process and I DO INTEND to perfect the infusion of said byproduct into an IPA of some sort. I also intend on aging an Pale Ale on top of some local pine wood. I've got a sample that smells like it would go great with a PA or mild IPA.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

I'm sitting here looking out my window at the highest mountain in Glacier National Park 5,500 feet above me....and you're sitting in your living room 500 ft higher than that. Pretty sweet.

 

[khugs21]

12ft above here

 

[joety]

So, I took so long to rejoin my own thread because I was buying a barley crusher and a BIAG custom made bag from http://brewinabag.weebly.com AG here I come!!

My water boils at 192F. I guess I get a little extra boil off due to the extremely low humidity, but I've never brewed anywhere else to compare to. Any of you desert guys have extremely high boil off?

I have a lot of improvement ahead of me, especially with water volume levels. It's tough brewing outside with the low temps and wind. It seems to do weird things with the propane flames. I've had very different boil off amounts between my 3 batches, I think due to the wind.

I probably have slightly lower hop utilization, too, I'm told. I'm not at the level yet where I can reliably test different factors, so I just boil my bittering hops for an extra 10 minutes or so and call it good. I'm just now planning my 4th batch ever, and it will be my first all grain and BIAB.

Yeah, Breckenridge BrewPub is at ~9,600 ft, so quite lower. I drive past it every day on the way to work or snowboard. I think there is a small brew pub in Winter Park that might be higher, but I'm not sure about that. (Edit: They are at ~9,000 ft) The 3 other breweries in Summit County are probably all higher than Winter Park, and lower than Breck.

I think the best part of brewing where I am is the water. There aren't any permanent residents that live up hill from me. I have a simple well, with a simple paper filter, and no chlorine or any chems needed. It is f'ing delicious right outta the tap. I might test my water some day, but I'm not that dialed in yet for it to be significant, I think. I've only ever tasted my first batch (Great Lakes Eddie Fitz tribute) and it was way better than I expected, so I doubt my water has any serious issues.

I have to find that Winter Park brewpub. My brother's B-I-L has a place out there and I am invited each year. I did not see it on the last trip.

 

[BoxofRain]

I think I'm about 10ft above sea level, but the guy above me clearly beats that!

I was going to say that when I lived in Belle Harbor, that was pretty much at 0.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Regarding fire and altitude, I've had bad luck with Bic lighters above 8,000' MSL. A Zippo always works perfectly.

Unless you are unable to sustain a somewhat vigorous/rolling boil with your rig, I doubt your hop utilization suffers. Have you noticed any other odd things when brewing at such a high elevation?

Hypoxia comes to mind, but that's not really what I meant...

 

[Looper]

Oooo yeah I've been to the brewery in Potosi Bolivia.. One of the craziest places I've ever been..

The mines of Potosi are definitely worth googling...

 

[iaefebs]

Never thought about this altitude boiling thing. I am at 500' altitude and have to boil at 212° for 15 minutes to kill the nastys. Skultch can boil at 192° and accomplish the same? What about when using a pressure cooker as an autoclave? In high altitude does a pressure cooker reach the same temperature as sea level?.... hmmm I need to do a internet search.

EDIT: Searched Google and got my answers...very interesting information out there..learned something today.

 

[drac0]

I got you beat, drac.. I am the lowest brewer in the thread.... 16 feet ASL

Last time I was up at 10k I had to stop to catch my breath every three steps... and I couldn't walk and talk at the same time.

Nice!

 

[Dahoov]

Oh, and in celebration of this fine day, I guess I've gotta talk about my next favorite inebriant. As you all may know, Colorado has some fine product, AND it's legal. I don't want to go into details, but I'll just say that it is very easy to obtain useful byproduct of the cultivation process and I DO INTEND to perfect the infusion of said byproduct into an IPA of some sort. I also intend on aging an Pale Ale on top of some local pine wood. I've got a sample that smells like it would go great with a PA or mild IPA.

Sooo......um......when are you brewing next? I wanna come over:fro::rockin:

 

[pd230soi]

2,200 feet here. Might take my gear up the local mtn for a group grope at 7,000.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

2,200 feet here. Might take my gear up the local mtn for a group grope at 7,000.

2,200 feet? OK guys, the two millipedes dancing the conga wins this thread.



Edit: innacurate joke, so sue me. I've been dricking the whicksey and couldn't do the math or the etiomonologiocal research.

 

[Mongrel]

Only at about 3,500 here. It has been a long time since I lived in Bolivia, and I'm not sure how happy I'd be at 11,000 ft these days. Although, it's a great way to burn off all the beer calories.