Outdoor brewing

[GeorgiaTiger]

I got a new pot and a burner that will be delivered today. I was getting ready to brew my first batch once it gets here and had a thought. With a propane burner, I need to be outside which isn't a problem but...once I brew it, I'll need to do an ice bath to cool it. How will I keep stuff from getting into it? Outside, things are in the air that can get into the pot if the lid is off. If the lid is on, it will take forever to cool it. Am I in a conundrum?

 

[enkamania]

I brew outside and enjoy it. Sure sometimes pine needles find there way into the kettle, but it's not a big thing. As for cooling, I do have a sink in the garage and use a wort chiller.

 

[GeorgiaTiger]

So something getting into the pot as it's cooling won't cause infection?

 

[radwizard]

I leave the lid off the whole time.
If you are worried about getting bugs from the cooling, just have the lid off until the wort gets cooler. That way you can stir it and get a quicker drop in cooling. You can put the lid on around 120 or so and periodically take it off to stir or check temp. Sanatize the lid before you put it on.

The last 20 degrees seem to take forever in chilling....

 

[jerbrew]

I'd invest into a wort chiller as soon as its financially feasible for you to do so. Nothing fancy. just an immersion chiller is all I've used for years now. It will allow you to keep the lid on and avoid things like bugs which are covered in nasty things from falling in (I seem to be fighting off bees most often). And if you still want to submerge into an ice bath you can do both, cool from the outside and inside for double the fun. Just buy a cheap Rubbermaid tub. You know, the ones you put Kegs of bud light in at parties

 

[brewshki]

I do the exact opposite. I'm pretty crazy when it comes to sanitation. I sanitize my lid before I start cooling and put it on as the boil ends. Then I take sanitized foil and cover the opening where the wort chiller comes through the cut out of the lid. The ground water is hot year here, so I never get very quick chilling anyway.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I brew outside exclusively and I keep the lid off while cooling never really had an issue. Ive seen a grass blade hit the wort and it survived I simply just pull it out with some sanitized spoon or something.

For cooling I have plate chiller I just hook up the water hoses and use the ground water and sometimes I get lazy and use a copper immersion chiller which takes a little longer but it less work to clean and get connected. Long story short your beer will be fine unless your really lucky and a bird drops a deuce in your pot.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Read the "don't do that" or the confession page if your feeling guilty about your sanitation practices. It will make you feel better and you will realize that yes beers can get infections but they are a lot more durable then I think most people lead on. Some people with horrible sanitation practices don't get infections then you have people who are anal about it that sometimes do get an infection. It can happen to any body from the laziest to the most careful. Now I am not saying go off and be lazy or do something obviously unsanitary but rather just don't fret about it and do what your setup allows for.

 

[GeorgiaTiger]

Long story short your beer will be fine unless your really lucky and a bird drops a deuce in your pot.

LOL. If one does, he will have to aim it to curve under the carport roof. Not many bugs around this time of year here, but ya never know what can get in there. I'll just not worry too much about it. Gonna try to brew this afternoon or tomorrow. We will see.

 

[Atlmustang]

I was in the same situation OP. I got a bayou classic burner and tried brewing outside. I hated let me rephrase hated the thought of anything foreign in my beer and fighting off bugs in the GA summer. Flies love wort! I brew 5 gallon batches inside now. I have a gas stove and moisture doesnt seem to be an issue inside but I have an open kitchen and living room so I just crack a few windows. No different than making stock or something. My kettle is large enough to use 3 burners so it really doesnt take long to get boiling.

 

[GeorgiaTiger]

Problem there is that the last time I brewed inside I made a huge sticky mess. My brewing has been regulated to the carport from now on. And I'm in Ga too.

 

[PADave]

Make yourself an immersion chiller. You just need copper tube, hose, and a few hose clamps. Possibly fittings if you want to go that route. I personally got a small fountain pump which I place in a cooler of ice water. The first hot water gets saved for cleanup, then once down around 100 degrees I just recirculate the water back into the cooler.

 

[Scturo]

My first couple of brews were in the kitchen. SWMBO wasn't too excited about it. So this was my excuse to buy a burner. Now I only brew outside, and I love it. I used a big rubber bucket with ice water to chill for the next couple of brews. Then I bought a wort chiller. Haven't had a beer infection yet.

 

[TorMag]

I was in the same situation OP. I got a bayou classic burner and tried brewing outside. I hated let me rephrase hated the thought of anything foreign in my beer and fighting off bugs in the GA summer. Flies love wort! I brew 5 gallon batches inside now. I have a gas stove and moisture doesnt seem to be an issue inside but I have an open kitchen and living room so I just crack a few windows. No different than making stock or something. My kettle is large enough to use 3 burners so it really doesnt take long to get boiling.

Same here. I fought the battle of Georgia last summer, ended up brewing late in the evening, chilled in the dark. All sorts of bugs come out at night in Georgia and I had to fight them off. That batch was my first infection. I have since moved into my basement and use an induction burner.

Outside I was constantly worried about bird ****e.

 

[Atlmustang]

Problem there is that the last time I brewed inside I made a huge sticky mess. My brewing has been regulated to the carport from now on. And I'm in Ga too.

Oh man! The dreaded boil over? My kettle is 13 gallons so even the fiercest hot break doesnt come close to breach. Back when I did extract brewing in a 5 gallon stock pot it was always a concern of mine.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I live in Texas so I know a little something about heat considering its only 75 degrees here approaching Jan.

You need to go ahead and purchase a swamp cooler you can get them at most hardware stores or order it online. Also start first thing in the morning so you are done by 10-11am if you start late and have to turn on the lights of course you will attract all the bugs. Just my two cents.

 

[btbnl]

Or go no-chill and avoid the problem altogether.

Just dump the boiling wort into one of these, seal and invert to double-super ensure a sterile interior, and leave it overnight to cool.

 

[GeorgiaTiger]

Or go no-chill and avoid the problem altogether.

Just dump the boiling wort into one of these, seal and invert to double-super ensure a sterile interior, and leave it overnight to cool.

Now that looks interesting.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

Nobody's mentioned it so i will. A big benefit of a counterflow chiller (plate or tube in tube) is your wort stays hot until it's cold. Hot enough in the pot to keep the yellow jackets from taking a swim, and also hot enough to sanitize any insects that make a error in judgement.

 

[LBF]

I went to outdoor brewing back at the beginning of the year, and I went straight to having a counterflow chiller. It's well worth having, I can chill a lot faster than ice bath. So far I gravity flow everything.

 

[Devon]

...your beer will be fine unless your really lucky and a bird drops a deuce in your pot.

This just reminded me to check for the annual brewing disaster podcast from basicbrewing.com. Thanks TDB!

 

[MrBJones]

Assuming you do five gallon batches, and you aren't alone when you brew....why don't you just carry it inside after the boil?

I do all of my brewing entirely inside. The patio garden hose isn't long enough to reach the gas stove top, so I have to carry the 10 gallon pot - with five-ish gallons of hot wort in it - to the other side of the kitchen before I connect the hose to the immersion chiller. Yeah, it's heavy but certainly do-able

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Assuming you do five gallon batches, and you aren't alone when you brew....why don't you just carry it inside after the boil?

I do all of my brewing entirely inside. The patio garden hose isn't long enough to reach the gas stove top, so I have to carry the 10 gallon pot - with five-ish gallons of hot wort in it - to the other side of the kitchen before I connect the hose to the immersion chiller. Yeah, it's heavy but certainly do-able

Please....please be careful carrying around that much wort every brew.

 

[MrBJones]

Please....please be careful carrying around that much wort every brew.

Definitely! It's a solid 10 gallon pot, with handles, and only half full so no worry about sloshing. And I don't do it alone...we each take a handle and move slowly and surely. Hot mitts are a must.

 

[Sparkncode]

I have for my first two all grain which are also my first outside brews I had no worries about stuff getting in while hot but for the cool down I just put the lid on and plumbed my plate chiller to recirculate through it back into the pot so I could get all the wort cooled down in a safe environment relatively quickly.
Then all it takes as a quick sanatising of the pump out hose end then into the carboy which is easy enough to protect the opening from unwanted if necessary but pumping in the already cooled wort doesn't take long.
The pump is just one of those cheap 24V pumps but does the trick.

Maybe one day I will get unlucky with a bird during the boil so I think maybe I should set up a tarp off the side of the house to protect against that. That would also help with unexpected changes of weather.