Outdoor Brewers - what do you do in the winter?

[WarEagleBrewer]

I live in Alabama. What is this Winter thing you speak of?

 

[pshankstar]

I live in Alabama. What is this Winter thing you speak of?

That is so mean to us northerners who deal with the white stuff that falls from the sky for months on end!!! LOL

I really need to move south!!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

 

[mongoose33]

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?

It wasn't locked into the hose bib which is why it came off. That little set screw on the adapter is supposed to be screwed in to prevent the adapter from coming off.

I'll bet you 50 cents--or a homebrew--that you have a freeze-proof faucet on there.

EDITED TO ADD: Sudden thought: why not contact the plumber who replaced that faucet and ask if it's a freezeproof faucet? All this speculation might be resolved with a 2-minute phone call.

 

[TheMadKing]

I brewed in the winter when I lived in the PNW... It's not bad since you're working with fire, and you don't have to hover over it most of the time. My biggest problem was having to bring my garden hose inside to thaw it if I forgot to blow the water out the last time I brewed. I actually enjoy brewing in the winter more than in the summer, plus it makes chilling easier.

Put on a hat and coat, drink some good winter beer, enjoy the day!

 

[thadeus_d3]

I also live in Ohio. I brewed my first winter using a pond pump to chill the wort and it wasn't for me (I hate the cold). Ever since then, I've built up a huge pipeline of beer in early October and stored them in corny kegs long term. I have 12 kegs, so I'm able to store a decent amount.

 

[SGTSparty]

It wasn't locked into the hose bib which is why it came off. That little set screw on the adapter is supposed to be screwed in to prevent the adapter from coming off.

I'll bet you 50 cents--or a homebrew--that you have a freeze-proof faucet on there.

EDITED TO ADD: Sudden thought: why not contact the plumber who replaced that faucet and ask if it's a freezeproof faucet? All this speculation might be resolved with a 2-minute phone call.

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[FloppyKnockers]

Easiest way to tell if you have a frost free sillcock is to look at the orientation of the handle. If it's parallel to the wall, it is likely frost free. If it's at an angle, it is most likely not.

 

[vance]

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.

Can you give me details on how you made the recirculating chiller? I don't have a good way to chill right now and a recirculating system seems like the best option, I just don't know where to start building one.

 

[brewcat]

I just brew outside. I'd rather brew in the cold than the summer heat & bugs. I just put on some layers. The most time I spend outside is during wort chilling.

 

[brewbama]

I live in Alabama. What is this Winter thing you speak of?

Also in AL. I brew out on the deck. Sometimes I deploy the EZ Up.

 

[MaryB]

My solution to outdoor brewing in winter, 24x30 feet, 8" insulation in the walls, R50 attic...

 

[singybrue]

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?

That's a backflow preventer(aka vacuum breaker). It acts as a one way check valve. Has nothing to do with freeze protection.

 

[WarEagleBrewer]

That is so mean to us northerners who deal with the white stuff that falls from the sky for months on end!!! LOL



I really need to move south!!

Come on down! But.......only if you vote the right way. Yankees are welcome, commies are not!

 

[JonM]

FWIW, it is a very comfortable 78 here today and will be for the rest of the weekend. [emoji12]. Got up around 90 for a couple days last week but that's probably the worst of it for the whole summer. Even so, go get within 1/2 mile of Lake Michigan and the temp drops 10-15 degrees.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1469825381.375346.jpg

 

[Devon]

I do the mash in the basement, then set up the boil kettle just outside the basement door, and keep an eye on it through the window.

On the upside, chilling takes hardly any time at all.

 

[Brew_G]

I brew.

Northern VA winters aren't that bad, so it's easy to find a good day for brewing, even for someone like me who "schedules" brew days. We do get some wind and cold, but I have a carport that helps shelter me from the primary winter wind direction (NW).

The best thing about brewing in winter is ground water temps. Chilling (the worst part of brew day) is sooo easy.

 

[hockeybrewer]

I have a screened in porch that helps a lot plus I use the cardboard box that my flat screen TV came that wraps around my burn and propane tank with room to spare. It's at least 4 foot tall and blocks the wind and when I get cold I just sit on a bucket next to the burner and its plenty warm.

 

[E-Rodge]

Wow, i think im the third AL brewer to this post, gotta be a record.

Yeah, winter brewing isnt really an issue here...i think i did it in shorts and a long sleeve last December.

I feel for you Norherners, i travel there for business occasionally and for some reason they always send me to detroit in February. Dont know how you do it!

 

[vance]

I have a screened in porch that helps a lot plus I use the cardboard box that my flat screen TV came that wraps around my burn and propane tank with room to spare. It's at least 4 foot tall and blocks the wind and when I get cold I just sit on a bucket next to the burner and its plenty warm.

The best idea I have so far is brewing on my front porch... it wouldn't be great, but it's concrete at least, and I could sit inside my living room and still keep an eye on the mash and boil. Oh, how I wish I wasn't a college kid and had a house with an actual garage.

 

[bendog15]

In Maui the winters are pretty tough to brew as well. See attached pic
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1469961855.516955.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1469961872.080613.jpg

 

[Rockn_M]

In Maui the winters are pretty tough to brew as well. See attached pic
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It's a hard life.

 

[Murphys_Law]

In Maui the winters are pretty tough to brew as well. See attached pic
View attachment 364386
View attachment 364387

Please take no offense when I say, you suck!

 

[Murphys_Law]

I brewed one batch in my garage (bought a CO alarm) but water for the IC was a real PIA. Also brewed one small batch on the stove which was also a pain for me. Luckily we have some nice winter days in Colorado and I can get out and brew once in a while.

 

[mongoose33]

In Maui the winters are pretty tough to brew as well. See attached pic
View attachment 364386
View attachment 364387

It's a hard life.

Please take no offense when I say, you suck!

There's a theory--I just invented it--that says each place is equally attractive. Maui--I've been there, very nice--is expensive. Hard to get things we take for granted in the lower 48. Land and housing--expensive in Maui. However, the weather is terrific.

Every place has its advantages and disadvantages. My theory is that on balance, each place has enough nice to balance the not-so-nice.

We have some winter here in Wisconsin, but one thing we don't worry about is water. Land is reasonably-priced, where i live you can buy a home for in the $100,000 range, with a large yard. We tolerate the winter to get the other great things about living here.

Same in Maui. They tolerate the things that are disadvantages which are balanced by the things that are great.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

There's a theory--I just invented it--that says each place is equally attractive. Maui--I've been there, very nice--is expensive. Hard to get things we take for granted in the lower 48. Land and housing--expensive in Maui. However, the weather is terrific.



Every place has its advantages and disadvantages. My theory is that on balance, each place has enough nice to balance the not-so-nice.



We have some winter here in Wisconsin, but one thing we don't worry about is water. Land is reasonably-priced, where i live you can buy a home for in the $100,000 range, with a large yard. We tolerate the winter to get the other great things about living here.



Same in Maui. They tolerate the things that are disadvantages which are balanced by the things that are great.

Yup. I live in NH. Everything is "reasonably* priced. I can be in the mountains, the ocean, or Boston in under an hour in different directions. However the weather isn't the greatest, property is a tad expensive, and there's not much to do exactly where I live.

 

[TorMag]

In Maui the winters are pretty tough to brew as well. See attached pic
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View attachment 364387

The flip side here, it must be a real PIA to get ingredients (expensive too).

 

[ThatVideoKid]

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.

Will you bots ****ing stop it?

 

[Toga]

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...

I live not far from you. I brew all winter outside regardless of temp. I mash in a 10 gallon round beverage cooler and get very little temp drop during a 1 hour mash even in the dead of winter. I boil on the back porch in the open air, then cool with my immersion chiller. You can run a hose outside from a sink with an adapter if needed. I am lucky enough to have outdoor access to my basement and run a house out from the basement to the chiller then put it back in the basement when done to keep it from freezing. Before I had a chiller I would use one of the red rubbermaid tubs with rope handles and add a couple gallons of water to it when I added my sparge water to the tun. It would pretty much freeze and all i had to do was set my boil kettle in it and add a bag or 2 of ice or just shovel some snow into the tub to chill. The tubs are about $20. I have one I no longer use in perfect condition I can sell or trade. I also have bottles to give away. Pm me if interested.

 

[day_trippr]

Winter - or just inclement weather - does not stop my brew days.
I roll my rig into our rather snug workshop where I set up some simple 8" ductwork running to a ~1200 cfm blower exhausting outdoors, with cross-ventilation from an open window on the other end of the shop.

Takes about 20 minutes - most of which is moving all the free standing tools out of the way - with the last step plugging in the CO detector.
Then I'm ready to fill the hlt...

Cheers!