Hot Summer Brewing

[brumer0]

This will be my second full summer living in NC. Its March now and it already is in the mid 80s. Last summer was brutal. I flat out stopped brewing from mid-May to late-August because it was so miserable to be outside with my propane burners going.

So the question: How do you brewers stay cool when you are brewing in the hot (and humid) summer? Is there even a way!?

 

[Waynep005]

I live in CA with hot summers and brew at night

 

[how1]

Try brewing in nebraska during the winter when its 15 degrees outside. I put my gloves and ski suit on and away I go. my neighbors think I'm crazy. The hardest part is when i have to go through 3 sets of zippers to relieve myself.

 

[brumer0]

Try brewing in nebraska during the winter when its 15 degrees outside. I put my gloves and ski suit on and away I go. my neighbors think I'm crazy. The hardest part is when i have to go through 3 sets of zippers to relieve myself.

Im from Colorado and remember the cold winters. I found myself complaining a few months ago (when I was brewing) about how cold it was. I quickly put myself in check. 40 degrees is not cold

 

[Runyanka]

In Texas, when it reaches 105+ degrees just remember a couple things. Stay hydrated, have a fan going in the garage, and use an ass ton of ice in your pr-chiller!

 

[FloridaCracker]

Well I'm lucky enough that my wife lets me brew in the kitchen... Also I am still at partial extract so no need for the turkey fryers.

 

[Beerrific]

stopped brewing from mid-May to late-August

Basically this is the best way to deal with it. Or if you must brew, find some shade and start early. I also strictly do not drink when brewing in summer until the yeast is pitched.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I'd imagine you could do what some folks do when it's super cold out (it's what a guy on Basic Brewing Radio from Quebec was doing while it was -10 out), keep your equipment as close to the door as you can, and only step out to tend to it when you need to, otherwise staying inside.

On a semi-related noted (the fact that it was in the 80s today and is still technically winter makes me doubt this myself) I've heard it's actually supposed to be a cooler than average summer.

 

[brumer0]

I thought about adding an AC to my garage. I decided thats a bit ridiculous. So, Im just going to buy a few big fans, try and keep my brew system out, but on the edge, of my garage (in the winter it was opposite) and drink lots of beer -wait, i mean water -maybe both. I might also just have to sacrifice my mornings and night-befores and get up early and brew. The evenings are no cooler. The real thing is the humidity.

Thanks everybody. Its good to know that Im not the only one with this problem.

 

[jheist]

My other main problem with the hot summers is keeping fermentation temps under control. Really difficult to keep my beers tasting clean in my house without a fridge for temp control. I usually stop brewing in late may and start back up in september.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I brew in the basement now. It still gets hot in the summer, but with a little red neck ventillation to flush out most of the heat from the burner it's not that bad. I know this is a bad idea and I don't reccommend doing this, but I made a simple little cardboard ventillation hood that passively ushers heat out the window. I'd rather have a metal one, but it hasn't gotten hot enough so far to catch the cardboard on fire.

 

[brumer0]

I recently acquired a fridge from my mother-in-law. This has really changed my brewing life. Also, I currently use an imerssion chiller but last week ordered a counter-flow chiller. I plan on tieing these two together to help me cool the wort.

I never mentioned in my original post, how another reason that I stopped brewing is that I COULD NOT get my wort down to below 80 degrees. Hopefully this year it will work out well.