Tips for winter brewing?

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PADave

PADave

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I do all my brewing and cleanup outside on the patio, but now that we have below freezing temps my brewing has come to a halt. I could possibly brew inside, but I'm not a fan of boiling off that much moisture indoors. Plus I'd have to listen to the wife about the smell. :( Anyone have any tips for dealing with the cold and brewing. Right now my only plan is to hope for a warmer weekend day to get a brew in. I'm thinking about drinking up everything in my pipeline over the winter, then collecting bottles till spring. That way all the old "inventory" would be gone and I could start fresh in the spring.
 
Best advice I can give - move somewhere warmer.:D

Kidding aside, if you have the equipment to do small batches (1 Gallon), you could do those inside. This would keep your pipeline going and let you try out some new styles while you wait for the temps to warm up.

Does your wife like beer? Make her something and maybe she won't say anything about the smell. Then everyone's happy. :)
 
I have no issue with the moisture during the dry PA winters. The wife not liking the smell I cant help you with.
 
gotbeer74 said:
I have no issue with the moisture during the dry PA winters. The wife not liking the smell I cant help you with.
Click to expand...

Fortunately, my wife likes the smell of cooking wort. Sometimes I'll buy grain combinations and make her a couple gallons of sweet barley tea. The stuff tastes great and is loaded with vitamins even before it's fermented. We drop a little honey in as an extra natural sweetener.

Best benefit?
Unlike pekoe teas, zero caffeine.
 
No garage?

I do feel your pain, I'm living in a much smaller home than the one I moved from, and my brewing is feeling the pinch. Don't give up: an empty pipeline suuuuuuuucccccccccks.

Also, all grain or extract? If it's just extract, you should still be able to maintain boiling temps with your usual apparatus (propane?). All grain complicates things, but should still be do-able.

So, my plans for the next batch here, if these freezing temps don't resolve by then:

Sweep the snow off the patio, set up the burner and kettle, do my usual strike water prep and BIAB mash, insulate as I normally do along with adding maybe one more layer. I'll probably adjust my hop schedule to go "no-chill" and just use the snow and cold outside temps to cool: this saves me pumping a bunch of water through the chiller and onto the pato. I could also consider doing ice water in a bucket with my pond pump.

I'll also have a pound or two of DME on standby in case I miss my temps on the low side.

Most prep work (sanitizing the fermenter and stuff like that) will happen indoors. Stuff will move outside only when it's needed, then be brought back inside.

Arguably, it's going to be a bit tougher to make perfect recipes: temps may be hard to keep on target, and the hop scheduling will be a bit funky. But with all that said... any beer is better than no beer!

:mug:
 
Before I went electric I used to brew a lot during the winter, I actually sort of liked the zen like calm of being outside brewing in a snowstorm, it was just so tranquil. Anyway here's some tips: Stay inside between active bits of your brew day. Build a windbreak for your burner. Keep your garden hose inside until you need it. Most importantly, have a nice warm beverage on hand.
 
^^plus one. I feel the zen. Keep hose unfrozen is key. I insulate with old winter jacket and plastic bag.
Ok so there are only 2 brewers huh....people who have sniffed an airlock and liars.
 
Best winter brewing tip:

Stand closer to the burner.

Other than that, keep your hose, grain, and mash tun inside. Doing the mash inside is your best bet, anyway.

Boil in an oversize pot, and pick recipes that don't require tons of different boil additions. Get your boil going, and go do something inside while it does it's thing.
 
dryboroughbrewing said:
Before I went electric I used to brew a lot during the winter, I actually sort of liked the zen like calm of being outside brewing in a snowstorm, it was just so tranquil. Anyway here's some tips: Stay inside between active bits of your brew day. Build a windbreak for your burner. Keep your garden hose inside until you need it. Most importantly, have a nice warm beverage on hand.
Click to expand...

A lot of truth here. Before electric, I was brewing outside in the wonderful, :rockin: , Wisconsin winter. It may be my enjoyment of being outside whenever I can but something about brewing outside in the winter with feet of snow around me was great...that or the snow is starting to get to me...
 
After careful consideration, I've decided that stopping brewing for the winter just isn't going to happen. That, and paying $50 for a case of good beer just now for a beer exchange tonight reminded me how expensive buying beer can get. So after sleeping on it, I decided to try mashing inside on my little brewery stove, where I started by doing small batches, and then doing the boil outside. I do BIAB, so there won't be much change in my process, just a little longer to heat up my mash water. I'm still going to wait for a day above freezing though!
 
That's exactly how I do it.

Wear layers and warm boots. Wear a good pair of warm work gloves and - here's a biggie: immediately dry up and salt any spills. Don't want to be slipping around a big boiling kettle. And bring a Thermos full of hot coffee.
 
Pick a day when the weather breaks! It's been cold as hell here in CO but today is going to be low 50's.

I got everything ready last night so I could start early and be done well before the afternoon winds come.

The temp is going to drop again starting tomorrow so today was my "window".

It's not unusual to have warm days through a Colorado winter so I'll probably be able to sneak in a few days through he rest of the season.

I usually break out a small kettle and brew a few 2 gallon batches on the stove, which is a lot of fun on a cold snowy day!
 
Murphys_Law said:
Pick a day when the weather breaks! It's been cold as hell here in CO but today is going to be low 50's.
Click to expand...

That was my initial plan. My only opportunity to brew are on the weekends, preferably Saturdays. Looking at the long, long, range forecast doesn't look good. Going down into the teens for next week and then not much above 40 thru Jan.
 
Winter is so great for brewing lagers it would be a shame not to take advantage of the conditions.

My office was maintaining a perfect 50f/10c over winter, fermenting lagers in swamp coolers with no crazy ice bottle swapping routine.

Definitely mash inside so you don't lose too much heat. Put down boards or grit on any icy areas, falling over carrying glass brewing gear or hot wort is a recipe for disaster.

If your hoses freeze up then at least no-chill is a viable option in winter.
 
This! I just picked up ingredients for my third lager of the season (Schwartzbier, Oktoberfest and now I'll do Yooper's Fizzy Yellow Beer as Yooper's Fizzy Yellow Lager.)
 
Sadu said:
Winter is so great for brewing lagers it would be a shame not to take advantage of the conditions.
Click to expand...

Not into lagers. I ferment using a chest freezer, so doing them wouldn't be a problem any time of the year.
 
PADave said:
I do all my brewing and cleanup outside on the patio, but now that we have below freezing temps my brewing has come to a halt. I could possibly brew inside, but I'm not a fan of boiling off that much moisture indoors. Plus I'd have to listen to the wife about the smell. :( Anyone have any tips for dealing with the cold and brewing. Right now my only plan is to hope for a warmer weekend day to get a brew in. I'm thinking about drinking up everything in my pipeline over the winter, then collecting bottles till spring. That way all the old "inventory" would be gone and I could start fresh in the spring.
Click to expand...

Hard Cider is your cold winter friend :)
 
And here I was trying to think up ways to keep the garden hose from freezing solid at -8....

I brew in my heated garage but do need water for cleanup... yes I do drain the hose right away!
 
I don't think a little moisture once or twice a month is going to be a problem.

That said, before I had a stove big enough to boil 5 gallons I would heat water on the stove and mash inside, then boil outside the back door. Then I'd bring it in to chill it.

In Michigan in the winter the extra moisture from a brewday only serves to keep the humidifier from running as much.
 
Brew 2.5-3 gallon batches inside when wife is away shopping or something. :D As far as humidity, I live on the cast, but the cold air doesn't hold humidity and in doors I tend to be below 30% humidity (no humidifier) so a little added moisture is nice...
 
Giving this thread a big ol' hip check off topic:

For all the folks here talking about winter being the perfect time for lagers:

I'd love to find a way to make a small, cheap, heater-only "ferm chamber" out of something (cardboard? foam?) that I can build around a fermenter and a heat wrap, to harness the cold temps on my patio. Start the lager fermentation, then stick it outside and use the heat wrap to keep the temps in target.

The one thing that comes to mind for me is something like Son of Ferminator, basically a box built out of foam. Any other ideas?
 
Looking to brew electric in my un-heated garage. Will there be any issues with condensation if I brew with everything closed up?
 
Ike said:
Giving this thread a big ol' hip check off topic:

For all the folks here talking about winter being the perfect time for lagers:

I'd love to find a way to make a small, cheap, heater-only "ferm chamber" out of something (cardboard? foam?) that I can build around a fermenter and a heat wrap, to harness the cold temps on my patio. Start the lager fermentation, then stick it outside and use the heat wrap to keep the temps in target.

The one thing that comes to mind for me is something like Son of Ferminator, basically a box built out of foam. Any other ideas?
Click to expand...

I did that last winter for a huge batch of mead. I used extruded polysterene insulation from a hardware store. It's the one inch thick blue or pink stuff. I duct taped it together into a box shape then set it up in my cellar. Inside I placed five fermenter buckets with a paint can heater on a thermostat and small fan to circulate air. 11 months, several parties, and one friend's wedding later I've still got five gallons of mead to drink.
 
I just put a fermwrap in the mini fridge I use as a fermentation chiller. When the fridge part isn't running it's just an insulated box.
 
Winter brewing is great. No flying bugs.

The main thing is chilling, so temps in the 20s is almost necessary. I do my mash and sparge indoors so that helps.
 
Ike said:
The one thing that comes to mind for me is something like Son of Ferminator, basically a box built out of foam. Any other ideas?
Click to expand...

I'd build a cube out of rigid foam insulation board.

If you cut a nominal 4x8 sheet you can get the following pieces:
2 of 23.6"x23.6" Squares (Top and Bottom)
4 of 23.6"x34.8" Rectangles (Four Sides)

Then I would use the 12" reptile heating tape for heat so you get a nice even heat. 3 Feet is a good length, which will set you back $20 after shipping.

If you're feeling particularly crafty you could wire the heat wrap directly onto the back of your ITC-1000.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
BeardedBrews said:
Then I would use the 12" reptile heating tape for heat so you get a nice even heat. 3 Feet is a good length, ...
If you're feeling particularly crafty you could wire the heat wrap directly onto the back of your ITC-1000.
Click to expand...

Precisely.

Ike said:
...The one thing that comes to mind for me is something like Son of Ferminator, basically a box built out of foam. Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Your answer is above, Beardedbrews nailed it and sets you up for future upgrades, thinking full on ferm chamber w/heat and cooling, I'd just use a STC 1000 so you can flash for the STC 1000+ project on HBT, see thread)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I mash inside and boil under a 10x10 canopy thats wrapped with tarps. I keep a 30 gal rubber garbage can filled with water and run the wort chiller with pond pumps. If it freezes i just break the ice with a hammer.I can usually chill in 10/15 mins when it's really cold.
 
I love brewing outside when it's cold. You can put more layers on but in the summer you can only take so much off. Even if you end up naked in your backyard it's still too hot!

Best advice I can give is do all your prep and cleaning inside.
as others have suggested... do your mash inside if you're brewing AG.
Shield your burner and pot when trying to get a boil
Practice no chill brewing so you don't burst your water pipes

I do a lot of half batches inside during the winter just for the sake of having more beers available to me during the dead of winter when there's nothing to do but sip on tasty homebrew. The 2.5 gallon batches are fun to do. You get a 24 pack of beer volume wise and you have a ton of different kids. Or you can hone in 1 or 2 specific recipes so when the warmer weather hits you hit the ground running and can brew full volume finalized recipe batches of beer.
 
All this talk of no chill...
I love dropping my IC in the wort in the winter. Break out the stopwatch and get all excited. Those low groundwater temps make quick work of it.
 

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