Cold Weather Brewing Question

[rockytoptim]

I have recently switched to AG brewing (propane burner, keggle and cooler).
before that I just did 5 gallon extract batches on my stove. This will be my first winter that I will brew outdoors. My question is do I need to insulate my boil keggle to reduce heat transfer from cold air to wort that is coming to a boil. I live in Detroit area so temp is 30F and below in the winter. I have a garage but its a detached uninsulated, unheated so that will keep the wind down but not much help on the outside temperature.

 

[flyangler18]

I brew pretty frequently in the winter and have an uninsulated kettle. What you may want to consider doing is building a windbreak around the burner (just some flashing will do) to keep the heat focused on the bottom of the kettle. Consider mashing inside if you can to reduce the amount of heat lost to ambient.

 

[sigmund]

The wind will have much more affect on your burner than it will your keggle, so a windbreak is important. If it's just the cold that concerns you, I brew all winter long outside in my uninsulated garage and don't have any issues. Just make sure you're very careful about draining your hoses when done.

 

[WenValley]

I brewed Edworts BeeCave IPA last week. It was spitting snow and the temp. was in the low 30's. I didn't notice much difference in boil time or getting the HLT up to temp. from summertime brewing. I brewed in an open garage and wind wasn't a factor.

 

[Marko73]

My biggest issue with cold weather brewing was the steam from the kettle. I was not able to see my boil. Maybe not a real issue, but just bothered me. . ..

 

[pretzelb]

Just make sure you're very careful about draining your hoses when done.

Why? From the hot liquid?

 

[rockytoptim]

Thanks for the help everyone. I have a good windbreak on my burner so I should be good to go.

 

[Ashz]

Only problem I have here in PA is being able to stand the cold myself. Usually drinking large quantities of hot tea and making runs into the house to warm up. Other than that I brewed all last winter and my MT typically held to a degree or two for an hour long mash.

I will agree that the fog coming off of the kettle can get annoying.

 

[sigmund]

Why? From the hot liquid?

No, you have to drain the hoses so they don't either freeze and break something or freeze and then when you're ready to run water, you find out you can't because your hoses are frozen solid.

 

[rcrabb22]

+1 on steam and seeing the boil. Also, watch for any liquid spills freezing on cold concrete. I slipped on a little patch of ice last year and almost fell against my boiling kettle. Could have been bad.....