Prepping for Winter

[CanaHomebrew]

Hello! I'm in Ohio, and brew in the front yard of my townhome, this is my first winter as a homebrewer, and with snow coming down as we speak, I am not sure I will be back out to brew until spring.

I do BiAB and have several grain bags, fermenters and a 10 gal kettle with a ball valve. I also use a propane burner, which is stored on my covered porch all year.

Anything that I need to do to prep my equipment for a long winter with no use?

 

[homebeerbrewer]

If you store your equipment outside, make sure there is no water in it to freeze. Other than that, a good cleaning in the spring is all you need.

 

[Jtvann]

Just to be safe, I’d suggest bringing any chillers inside the house. Getting all the water out of an immersion chiller isn’t always easy. I see copper tubing bursting pretty quick.

 

[IslandLizard]

make sure there is no water in it to freeze.

+1^, such as any (accumulated) water left inside your immersion chiller coil. It's hard to blow all of it out, best store inside protected from freezing.

 

[matt_m]

Don't store a brew bag unless you are 250% sure its dry. Been there, done that. Apparently the straps must have been damp inside or something but the whole thing had mildew spots and was unsaveable.

 

[CanaHomebrew]

Sorry, the only thing outside is the burner, everything else is stored on a shelf in my office, any tips on getting water out of my immersion chiller? It's stored inside, but I can't imagine that it would be good to leave water in it for a few months

 

[IslandLizard]

Sorry, the only thing outside is the burner, everything else is stored on a shelf in my office, any tips on getting water out of my immersion chiller? It's stored inside, but I can't imagine that it would be good to leave water in it for a few months

You can blow it out with a compressor, bicycle pump, or possibly a tire inflator.

Yes, the water inside may get yucky, moldy. Make sure on next use not to let it mix into your wort or beer, such as from leaky hose connections.

Don't use Starsan in it, it's acidic and will attack the copper over time.

 

[IslandLizard]

the only thing outside is the burner,

I'd stick a plastic (garbage) bag over it to keep dirt, dust, and insects (spiders) out of it. Less cleanup and maintenance, unplugging the orifice and nozzles, next Spring!

Put some properly marked stickers on the bag, so it doesn't get inadvertently thrown out with the trash some day...