Brewing Shoes

[3 Dawg Night]

This is technically an equipment question.

What shoes do you wear while brewing? It seems that flip-flops are a bad idea when dealing with hot liquids, but I always end up with soggy tennis shoes, particularly during cleanup. Anybody brew in "low top" rubber boots?

 

[IslandLizard]

Crocs!

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Crocs!

I thought about that, but it seems like Crocs would have the same issues as flip-flops, as far as hot liquids are concerned.

 

[Spartan1979]

I just brew in my tennis shoes. They rarely get wet.

 

[IslandLizard]

I thought about that, but it seems like Crocs would have the same issues as flip-flops, as far as hot liquids are concerned.

Oh, yeah, pretty much the same issues. I saw Mario Batali wear them on the Iron Chef, once, that may have been the inspiration.
Crocs are just a little sturdier, providing at least some protection and are perhaps not as much of a trip hazard.

Here's one of my unfortunate encounters with hot liquids, sadly, not even brewing related.
Long time ago I had the boiling content of a travel steam iron emptied on my feet. I was only wearing socks. Although I pulled the socks off in record time, I always wondered if wearing the socks actually caused most of the blistering. Would bare feet have fared any better?

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Here's one of my unfortunate encounters with hot liquids, sadly, not even brewing related.
Long time ago I had the boiling content of a travel steam iron emptied on my feet. I was only wearing socks. Although I pulled the socks off in record time, I always wondered if wearing the socks actually caused most of the blistering. Would bare feet have fared any better?

One summer in high school, I spent a week hiking part of the Appalachian Trail. One night, we were boiling water for dinner. Like an idiot, I was sitting a few feet downhill from the stove. Another guy tripped over the stove and spilled the entire pot of near-boiling water right where I was sitting. I spent the next hour sitting in a nearby creek.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

If you splash hot wort on crock clad feet you could end up with red circles on the tops of your feet, but you could kick them off quickly if you find wort collecting in them. brewery pros wear boots and are smart to put their pant legs over them, not tucked in. Pants in boot tops, wort runs in and you could be standing in hot wort getting a serious injury. I wear beat up tennis shoes instead of going barefoot (my usual indoor condition).

 

[wsmith1625]

I wear Vans while I brew. I usually wear flip flops in the summer, but put the Vans on for some added protection on brew day.

 

[day_trippr]

Brewed today, indoors and bare footed, something I do about a third of the time. If I keep the wort where it belongs it's nbd, if things get sticky that's when I don slippers. Today I kept the wort where it belonged.

I've actually never splashed hot wort on my legs or feet, but have managed to take the occasional splashed shot right in the mush when skimming early break...

Cheers!

 

[jcav]

I always wear an old pair of tennis shoes. No worries about hot spills and when I hose out the mash tun I keep my feet dry!

John

 

[Konadog]

Your supposed to wear shoes?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Your supposed to wear shoes?

Only if you’re clumsy or accident prone.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I always wear my oldest, grungiest tennis shoes. They stay dry for the first few hours, but inevitably they get soaked.

I'm a sloppy, sloppy brewer. No way I could ever do it inside!

 

[srussell999]

I wear old running shoes. They rarely soak through. However, the last 4 brew days I haven't spilled anything on the floor. I consider a dry floor an indication of a very good brew day.

 

[magno]

I wear crocs usually. They can be kicked on and off easily. There are versions made for folks in proffessional kitchens without the holes in the top... mine have the holes though.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I always wear my oldest, grungiest tennis shoes. They stay dry for the first few hours, but inevitably they get soaked.

I'm a sloppy, sloppy brewer. No way I could ever do it inside!

I do OK on brew day; although, I've had boilovers on my last two. I think I have that figured out, though. Those two boilovers were with my new KAB4 burner, and I think I need to crank it down a bit as the wort approaches the boil. I'm also going to start using FWH rather than a 60 min addition.

Cleanup (with garden hose) is where my tennis shoes tend to get soggy. I guess I could put off all my cleaning until the end and change into flip-flops.

Wet feet in flip flops outdoors in winter seems . . . suboptimal.

 

[jrgtr42]

I usually wear sneakers. I don't ever wear sandals of any sort while brewing. Aside from hot liquids, I have enough glass hanging around that it's a bad idea. I usually wear pants, too, not shorts. same reasons.
I've run across several people that wear boots. I don't know that I know anyone that wear the rubber boots for homebrewing, but hiking or Doc Martens are fairly common.

 

[Dru1989]

If you splash hot wort on crock clad feet you could end up with red circles on the tops of your feet, but you could kick them off quickly if you find wort collecting in them. brewery pros wear boots and are smart to put their pant legs over them, not tucked in. Pants in boot tops, wort runs in and you could be standing in hot wort getting a serious injury. I wear beat up tennis shoes instead of going barefoot (my usual indoor condition).

Get the Crocs Bistro's, they don't have holes

 

[TheMadKing]

I usually am more worried about my feet being tired from walking/standing for several hours, so I wear supportive hiking boots with good cushion. Mine happen to have goretex so the water isn't an issue.

When it's really hot though, I just wear Teva hiking sandles. They are more supportive than flip flops, and my system poses only a very minor risk to hot wort splashing anything it shouldn't (I've never been burned by wort in ~15 years of brewing)

 

[kaal]

Waterproof hiking boots and jeans too. I'll be mopping the floor immediately afterwards anyway. I haven't done it yet, but the possibility is always there with hot water/wort.

 

[Fewk]

I wear Vans while I brew. I usually wear flip flops in the summer, but put the Vans on for some added protection on brew day.

Vans here too but any closed-toe full coverage shoe is adequate.

 

[GBRbrew]

I use slip on water shoes during clean up, seem to always get wet from the hose

 

[Yooper]

Oh, yeah, pretty much the same issues. I saw Mario Batali wear them on the Iron Chef, once, that may have been the inspiration.
Crocs are just a little sturdier, providing at least some protection and are perhaps not as much of a trip hazard.

Here's one of my unfortunate encounters with hot liquids, sadly, not even brewing related.
Long time ago I had the boiling content of a travel steam iron emptied on my feet. I was only wearing socks. Although I pulled the socks off in record time, I always wondered if wearing the socks actually caused most of the blistering. Would bare feet have fared any better?

I am almost always barefoot. BUT I brew indoors and unless there is a disaster, unlikely to get my feet wet.

But about the socks/boiling water- I may have shared that one day I lifted up the top of my MLT to see if it was filling well, and the arm was up high, and 185 degree water shot directly at my chest. I ripped off my shirt, but because it was wet, it took a few minutes. I still have a scar on my boob. I felt that wet shirt burning the entire time I had it on. Maybe if it was bare skin, I could have dried it off faster but I have a feeling that maybe I was saved from a worse burn.

 

[letsallgoforasoda]

Crocks. But I work in a kitchen and I'm lazy so I just where black chefs pants and crocks anywhere I go anyway

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

Crocs Bistro's unless I'm in beach mode, then it flip flops

 

[Deadalus]

Most times either crocs or slip-on garden shoes. I brew and clean up in the driveway so I prefer something water resistant. In the winter snow boots to keep my feet warm! Most times something ends up dripping either water or wort.

 

[Brewbuzzard]

Oh, yeah, pretty much the same issues. I saw Mario Batali wear them on the Iron Chef, once, that may have been the inspiration.
Crocs are just a little sturdier, providing at least some protection and are perhaps not as much of a trip hazard.

Here's one of my unfortunate encounters with hot liquids, sadly, not even brewing related.
Long time ago I had the boiling content of a travel steam iron emptied on my feet. I was only wearing socks. Although I pulled the socks off in record time, I always wondered if wearing the socks actually caused most of the blistering. Would bare feet have fared any better?

Yes, the hot water runs off immediately. Leather or rubber boots are the best. However, I brew in tennis shoes or flip flops.

 

[JAReeves]

Flip Flops most of the time, in the dead of winter, sneakers (It's Los Angeles, c'mon). I have a high heat/pain tolerance, so spilling mash water on my legs/feet when transferring it to the mash tun is an inconvenience at best. The only issue I have had, hot or cold, was when I dropped a 6 gallon carboy and the shrapnel cut my toes; that was less than fun.

 

[firerat]

Flip flops.

Im a slow learner.

 

[augiedoggy]

I brewed in socks when I brewed indoors in a spare bedroom.... But I kept the liquid in the kettles for multiple reasons... to me it was no different than cooking in a kitchen.. if one can be careful and adjust thier process to do that without large spills and mess than why not brewing? especially with all the much more sophisticated gizmos we have for brewing like pumps valves and quick disconnects with hoses..

the responses here are a good indicator of just how vast the process is between different brewers.

 

[Brewbuzzard]

I wonder what type of brewing shoes they wear at Clown Shoes Brewing...