Does anyone brew during a cold winter?

[Dynachrome]

I've read on here that trying to cool your wort in the snow really isn't a good idea (assuming you mean put the kettle IN snow.) Snow is a great insulator and it will take forever to chill. If you meant putting snow in the actual kettle, then disregard this post!

Set it on the back porch with a lid on at 10 degrees F and it will cool in a few hours. I've done it.

If you set it on a snowabnk though it would probably melt the snow and tip over.

 

[cklages]

Having chilled in the snow, as long as you keep stirring, and moving snow against the sides of the pot, you can be down to temps in 20 minutes. Its a bit of work, you can't just 'set it and forget it' but it works if you do.

 

[passedpawn]

I do everything outdoors, brewing and fermenting. This is the best season for me because the weather is just getting down to where my chest freezer doesn't have to run (it's outside).

 

[iaefebs]

Winter brewing is one of my favorites. I brewed a batch today and the temp was 1°C 34°f. The groundwater temp was 50.3°f. It probably took a little longer to get to mash temp but the chill went very fast. Hoses are harder to rewind though.

 

[TheDom]

Yeah, I'll tough it out brewing through the winter, even if it means I have to put socks on every now and then.

 

[schweaty]

I think winter is the best time to brew. I brew in my garage and in the summer it gets too damn hot in there. Not to mention I LOVE having water temps in the 40's. Makes chilling my wort a breeze. This summer my average water temperature was 80 and so I had to buy a $3.00 bag of ice every time I wanted to brew. It was such a pain in the @ss.

 

[Proetus]

I brewed 10 gallons today and i dont think it got above 35°. Nothing real bad. My regular outside hose that i would use for chilling was frozen 2 weeks ago. I just use my RV hose in the winter. Well water is fantastic in the winter for chilling lagers to 50°

 

[Fantastical]

I just started brewing a few months ago and realized I had to ferment down in the parkade storage lockers because of the temps. They were in the high 20's Celsius back in September in the apartment. I was disappointed at the time because the parkade is heated in the winter and I didn't think I would ever be able to lager. However.... I checked the temperature the other day and it sits perfectly at the lower end of the lagering temperature range! Woohoo!

I think what a lot of brewers do is brew what the season allows for. When cold lager!

 

[ingchr1]

...you can't just 'set it and forget it' but it works if you do.

Tried that before, just set it in a pile of snow. It took about 3 1/2 hours to cool down. As mentioned in another post stirring probably would have helped.