Outdoor Brewers - what do you do in the winter?

[vance]

I just started my brewing journey and I'm already dreading winter. Ohio is cold as **** and I don't have a garage or anything. I don't *really* want to use my propane burner indoors, but I also don't want to give up brewing for 4 months b

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

Well I went electric a while back, but prior to that I just wandered inside during the non-critical bits and came out to add hops/stir whatever. I've actually brewed more than once when it was actively snowing, and that was pretty cool to see the snow drifting down all around me.

 

[purplehaze]

I brew year round and it gets pretty cold here in Ma. Sounds like your looking to keep warm while brewing as opposed to winter brewing tips. I just don't spend the entire time outside. Every opportunity I get to warm up inside I take it. Plus there are some things you can do to shorten brewing time.

 

[jerbrew]

I brew outside. December summer is pretty forgiving in San Diego.

 

[TorMag]

I have yet to brew in the winter, just started this December and my first two batches were stove top. Since moving to BIAB, I have moved outside, but now I am looking to move back inside. Too damn hot to brew outside, plus I am too worried about bird poop and bugs flying into my wort. So winter brewing will not be a problem.

 

[Sourz4life]

I live in Maine so that's about half my year. Its actually the reason I switched over to using induction burners with SS 304 pots. Now I brew in the basement where it also stays cooler in the summer.

 

[TorMag]

I live in Maine so that's about half my year. Its actually the reason I switched over to using induction burners with SS 304 pots. Now I brew in the basement where it also stays cooler in the summer.

That is what I am getting ready to do. Bought my pot. Getting ready to purchase the induction burner.

 

[mongoose33]

I just started my brewing journey and I'm already dreading winter. Ohio is cold as **** and I don't have a garage or anything. I don't *really* want to use my propane burner indoors, but I also don't want to give up brewing for 4 months b

What do I do in the winter? Shiver!


I'm not truly outdoors--I brew in my garage--and as long as the temperature reaches about 40 degrees or more, I can brew in there. I open one garage door as otherwise the moisture wants to condense on the ceiling, and I position a fan so that it blows across and above the top of the boil kettle so the steam doesn't just rise to the ceiling.

The mash tun cools faster, of course, but much of that can be mitigated by heavier blankets wrapped around it, and maybe mashing a couple degrees higher.

My other plan is to try to get more in the pipeline so if I have to go a month or two without brewing it's not a hardship.

 

[mrdauber64]

I heat my water and mash in a cooler in the kitchen. I move outside on my deck to boil. I only stay outside to wait for a boil and any kettle additions. Other than that I sit inside watching from my sliding glass door. To cool I either do it at my sink, or in my garage with my wort chiller. I would say I spend less than an hour outside total.

Heating the water on the stove takes a little bit longer, but it is worth not having to stand outside in the middle of winter in Minnesota.

 

[Rayi]

It's usually not the cold that gets you. You can always stand closer to the pot and turn around a few times to get the back warmed up. It's usually the wind that is a PIA. I look at what direction the wind is coming from than pick a side of the house to boil on

 

[Jim311]

I mash in a cooler in the kitchen as well. I heat my 3-4 gallons of strike water on the stove top. But I do it because it's hotter than hell outside right now, and it saves me a little bit of propane to do it that way. I go outside to boil and use a timer so I really only go outside to add hops at various intervals. The good news is that chilling will be fast!

 

[dolphi123]

How do you guys brew outside? Do you use insulating jackets to control the temp of your brew?

 

[Rockn_M]

Bundle up! The cold isn't the biggest problem, it's the wind. If you're doing propane you'll need to make sure you have something blocking the wind from your propane burner. It's a pain to have to keep lighting it.

 

[Dog House Brew]

Have a good wind screen. Keep your hose inside. Burner puts off enough heat that it is terrible. My rig stays out so I blow my CFC out with an air compressor. I just put some hot water in the MT to preheat. The snow can be a drag, but other than that, rock on!'

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I brew out doors on a Kal clone and in the winter I still brew, in missouri we have bitterly cold winters and windy as hell but still have Indian summer days once and a while, it is doable you just have to pick the right day and forget about everything else

 

[SGTSparty]

I heat my water and mash in a cooler in the kitchen. I move outside on my deck to boil. I only stay outside to wait for a boil and any kettle additions. Other than that I sit inside watching from my sliding glass door. To cool I either do it at my sink, or in my garage with my wort chiller. I would say I spend less than an hour outside total.

Heating the water on the stove takes a little bit longer, but it is worth not having to stand outside in the middle of winter in Minnesota.

Do you have water in your garage? I'm dealing w/ some of the same issues as the OP, with the exception of having a 1 car detached garage, however, while it has power it does not have water. Currently I run an Immersion Chiller from my hose bib but that seems like a terrible plan in the winter if you want all your pipes to remain in tact. I have hose fitting on my laundry sink but that's in the basement down a flight of stairs and through several baby gates... less than ideal for transporting 5.5 gallons of near boiling wort.

 

[MadJohnShaft]

Freeze and enjoy the impressive column of steam.

 

[kh54s10]

I brew outside on my enclosed porch, but the windows have to be open so I don't poison myself. I wait for the occasional warm day. I also do extract or smaller BIAB batches indoors on the stove.

I actually brew more in the winter than I do in the summer when it is to HOT!

 

[mongoose33]

Do you have water in your garage? I'm dealing w/ some of the same issues as the OP, with the exception of having a 1 car detached garage, however, while it has power it does not have water. Currently I run an Immersion Chiller from my hose bib but that seems like a terrible plan in the winter if you want all your pipes to remain in tact. I have hose fitting on my laundry sink but that's in the basement down a flight of stairs and through several baby gates... less than ideal for transporting 5.5 gallons of near boiling wort.

Can you use a pump to recirculate cold water (boosted by the ice you've created by simply freezing water in the winter, outside) through the IC into a tub filled with ice and water?

Alternatively, does your hose bib have a no-freeze faucet? Mine has that so I can, and do, use my hose bib outside during the winter because when finished it will drain back to the part that's inside the heated section of the house. You have to make sure you disconnect the hose when done so it'll drain otherwise you can sometimes have the water left inside the faucet freeze on you. Then drain the hose and voila! You can use your outside hose bib.

Here's a pic showing what they look like:

 

[SGTSparty]

Can you use a pump to recirculate cold water (boosted by the ice you've created by simply freezing water in the winter, outside) through the IC into a tub filled with ice and water?

Alternatively, does your hose bib have a no-freeze faucet? Mine has that so I can, and do, use my hose bib outside during the winter because when finished it will drain back to the part that's inside the heated section of the house. You have to make sure you disconnect the hose when done so it'll drain otherwise you can sometimes have the water left inside the faucet freeze on you. Then drain the hose and voila! You can use your outside hose bib.

My bib does not look like that unfortunately, just a standard hose, not a forward sealing like you have. I could do water and ice if I had a pump. I'm normally gravity only but I suppose I could use the sump pump I use for pumping water out of my garage when it floods... it already has a garden hose fitting and if I'm using a IC it doesn't need to be food safe right? Plus once we hit that part of the winter I can keep cooling the water w/ snow. This might just work...

 

[mongoose33]

My bib does not look like that unfortunately, just a standard hose, not a forward sealing like you have. I could do water and ice if I had a pump. I'm normally gravity only but I suppose I could use the sump pump I use for pumping water out of my garage when it floods... it already has a garden hose fitting and if I'm using a IC it doesn't need to be food safe right? Plus once we hit that part of the winter I can keep cooling the water w/ snow. This might just work...

Do you have a plumber friend who might install a no-freeze faucet for you in exchange for some homebrew?

 

[pshankstar]

Another suggestion is to make smaller batches indoors during the winter months. If I didn't have a garage that is what I would do. Being in Western NY it seems like some years our winters are half the year.

Now this thread has me thinking, do I have a no-freeze faucet outside for my immersion chiller? I hope so! Then I can throw some snow into a cooler and recirculate my water if needed!

 

[SGTSparty]

Do you have a plumber friend who might install a no-freeze faucet for you in exchange for some homebrew?

Unfortunately not and we just got the faucet replaced like a year ago because the old one was leaking so there's no way the wife is letting me replace it again. Although, we need to replace the faucet on the front of the house next year... probably worth extra investment... I mean just to protect against frozen pipes... definitely not because I want to make beer in the winter...

 

[JonM]

There is no bad weather only bad clothes. I usually wear snowpants and good boots (sometimes with those warmer pack things in the boots) and layers up top.

A couple other tips: after I drain the mash tun, I leave the hot grain in there and put a garbage bag over the top of the grain - that gives me a nice clean warm container to store things that shouldn't freeze or to store my big gloves when I'm not wearing them.

Salt spills right away if it's below freezing (or if the garage floor is below freezing even if the air temp is not) Safety first.

As for chilling, I fill a ten-gallon cooler with ice and water and rig up a recirculating thing with a pump, and I just run ice water though the chiller. Two 20-lb bags of ice gets me to lager temps no problem.

Other than that, bring a Thermos full of something hot to drink.

 

[JonM]

Or plan B: build a massive pipeline in September and October. I did that last year and it worked out pretty well. I did things that need to age, like a dubbel, a stout and a robust Porter, and they were perfect right around Christmas.

 

[mongoose33]

Unfortunately not and we just got the faucet replaced like a year ago because the old one was leaking so there's no way the wife is letting me replace it again. Although, we need to replace the faucet on the front of the house next year... probably worth extra investment... I mean just to protect against frozen pipes... definitely not because I want to make beer in the winter...

I thought that around here at least, those faucets were code. Are you absolutely sure the new one is not a no-freeze faucet? Heck, they were going around here checking to see that we had anti-siphon devices on hose bibs.

One way to know is that if you just run it for 5 seconds, then shut it off, water will continue to drain.

 

[SGTSparty]

I thought that around here at least, those faucets were code. Are you absolutely sure the new one is not a no-freeze faucet? Heck, they were going around here checking to see that we had anti-siphon devices on hose bibs.

One way to know is that if you just run it for 5 seconds, then shut it off, water will continue to drain.

Maybe. I have one that has one of these doodads on the end:

Or it did... it came off attached to my chiller funny enough and I haven't put it back on yet. I either over tightened the chiller trying to stop some dripping or it was installed $#!+y or both. Is that the same thing?

 

[orionol73]

Do as much as you can inside!
Only my boil happens outside and there is the added benefit of cold weather and snow to help the chilling process. As mentioned above just wear proper clothes and only spend the necessary time outside, otherwise hide in the house. :rockin:

 

[mrdauber64]

Do you have water in your garage? I'm dealing w/ some of the same issues as the OP, with the exception of having a 1 car detached garage, however, while it has power it does not have water. Currently I run an Immersion Chiller from my hose bib but that seems like a terrible plan in the winter if you want all your pipes to remain in tact. I have hose fitting on my laundry sink but that's in the basement down a flight of stairs and through several baby gates... less than ideal for transporting 5.5 gallons of near boiling wort.

Yes, I have water in my garage. I also have a heater in there and keep that at 45 degrees in the winter so that my kegerator doesn't freeze. In my old house though I hooked my immersion chiller up to my utility sink using a garden hose to sink adapter.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

I just started my brewing journey and I'm already dreading winter. Ohio is cold as **** and I don't have a garage or anything. I don't *really* want to use my propane burner indoors, but I also don't want to give up brewing for 4 months b

I brew outside in the dead of NH winter...so Ohio should be a breeze!