Outdoor brewing in summer

[overdbus]

I just did an all grain brew yesterday morning it was
80 by 8:30 am here in socal , here if you brew outdoors
you really have little choice for about 3 months
(July, Aug, Sept) it's just hot. ya gotta flow with it...

 

[biochemedic]

I start early, 7:00 AM if possible. If you can get things done the night before, do it. Anything you can do to help with shade will give some relief as well. Even if your only standing two feet into the garage with the brew gear right outside of that, it helps.

Things you can do the night before:

Mill grains
Prep brewing equipment
Make a batch of sanitizer and keep it ready
Get notes ready, and recipe ready and easily available
Pre measure hops into solo cups, and mark time on them, then store in the fridge until needed.

Advanced items:

Mash the night prior to brew day. There is a good writeup in the technique in several places. Check Gordon Strong's writeup for, "The Overnight Oven Mash." this will save a TON of time on the brew day, so you'll finish before its too hot.

I'm also in NC, and I also try to get started very early (sometimes heating strike water along with my coffee by 06:00...) This has as much to do with the heat as with family scheduling... I always also have all my water measured out and prepared the night before.

I've said it before, I really need to think about the whole overnight mash thing...

 

[SC_Ryan]

Get yourself an easy up or market umbrella and set up a chair and cooler below it.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Love to brew in the summer - can't wait to get out of the kitchen.

Sure I sweat like dyslexic at a spelling bee, but it's worth every drop to be outside enjoying a brew day.

 

[rico567]

Quote from OP: do you guys actually boil wort outdoors when it's over 90 degrees outside?

In a word, no. I quit that after my first AG year; I'm a fast learner. Likewise, I don't brew outside when it's 10F. I accelerate my brewing in Spring and Fall, and that's it.

 

[Slowfro]

I'll brew outside no matter what the temperature is. July 4 I did an ESB on the patio when it was over 90° and somewhere around 95% humidity. I was miserably hot and sweaty, but the cold beer in a month is worth it. I'm in the early morning club...mash in around 8:30 and done by noon. I've also brewed outside when it was 14° out. I'm definitely not a fair weather brewer.

 

[day_trippr]

We were obviously within a pint or so of kicking my spouse's favorite wheat beer, so I cooked up another batch today in spite of knowing it was going to be hazy, hot and humid. And it was. Totally.

Being within feet of the rig while the burners were running was not an enjoyable experience in its own right, that's for sure. I set the rig up on the deck outside my office and tried to be as methodical as possible about the day so I could spend as much of it inside with the A/C. Lots of event timers running on my 'puter, everything staged just inside the slider. In and out in a flash.

Worked out. I didn't expire, the pitched and gassed young wheat beer is in the fermentation fridge, everything is cleaned up and put away, and I'm enjoying an ESB that went on tap today when the wife's wheat did in fact expire...

Cheers!

 

[Gregwarro]

Just go for it I say. Last week I did a Belgian Wit, it was 104 in the shade. This week its 94 in the shade and I am doing an imperial hoppy red! Just make sure you have plenty of cold beer on tap or in the fridge and you will be fine

 

[paithian]

I brew extract in my kitchen and even with a/c it gets like 90 inside dosent bother me but I also work in a no a/c shop during the day and a kitchen at night so I am used to the heat

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

I have not even grilled since this heat wave started. I'm thinking about hanging a light from the tree over the grill so i can do some post-sundown grilling.

But i did brew outside today, on my porch, because the temperature was in the 70's due to it being a stormy sort of day. Light rain, a little wind, and a brew going. It was a good day.

I think i may brew any other rainy weekend days this summer.

 

[Bamsdealer]

two weeks ago... brutal. 100F started at noon and brewed in the sun on blacktop. Not making that mistake again.

 

[craigger64]

85 degrees today and 76 percent humidity here in Pennsyltucky. Brewed in the garage because of thunderstorms. I brew when I can. Nothing we can do about the weather.

 

[Stauffbier]

Last week I did a Belgian Wit, it was 104 in the shade. Just make sure you have plenty of cold beer on tap or in the fridge and you will be fine

This! I've brewed on my patio where it read 105F in the shade three times in the last month. One thing to my benefit is that I don't babysit the boil. I go inside and do other prep and go out and check on the boil every 10 or 15 minutes. I have a few windows looking out to my patio, so I can see what's going on with the burner & kettle. The hardest part about brewing on those hot days is chilling, but even that isn't so bad with my pond pump and ice bath....

 

[nickelmcgee]

Weather is never a consideration, garage, fans and 100+ temperatures. Going to brew on Saturday weather calls for 100. It helps to have an electric set-up, doesnt seem to be as hot around the HLT and kettle, propane gives off tons of radiant heat. We'd lose 4-5 months of brewing if we didnt above 90.

 

[Mermaid]

I've decided to brew smaller AG batches indoors for the time being as I really don't have a way to avoid hot sun + patio burner and I know that it would take forever to cool the thing down. It's just a combination of where I live and my brewing area that make it so much more a pain in the butt. Figure I can just brew a couple weekends back to back, and make use of the 3 gallon fermenters I've got sitting around. I would love to brew a saison while the weather is hot. I've got some lovely sour cherry / hibiscus tea from Poland that would be a fun addition to a saison.

I'll save my next British ale batch for when the weather cools down. Maybe I'll build myself a 10 gallon mash tun between now and then so I can brew a bigger beer too..