Too hot to brew?

[241]

I've been postponing brew day because lately here in California it's been over 90 F.

Last brew day it hit 93 F and I ended up with an epic sun burn. And trying to cool the beer down ended up being the most stressful part of the day.

How do you beat the heat when brewing?

And what do you do when you miss your 'window' for brewing?

Today I woke up at 5 am to try and get out there but it was already hot and quickly rising. Pretty bummed about it since after today I won't have another opportunity to brew for two weeks.

Guess I'll be cleaning and sanitizing some mason jars and storing my yeast for another day.

 

[Gavin C]

Brewing indoors is one obvious solution not available to all I suppose.

I like brewing indoors.

 

[Edbeenbreto]

241,
I brewed my last batch in the high desert when it was 100+. I started at night and yes the cooling portin sucked. I'm doing another batch tomorrow so hopfully it goes well. But I do wish it was cooler. I just moved from colorado and any day wouldbe perfect for brewing. So what I do to occupy my time in this heat, I go swimming lol.

 

[blizz81]

*shrug*...we brew in 90*+. Still cool wort down with an IC to pitching temps in about 10 minutes (submersible pump + bucket of ice water + 50' IC + stirring). Generally don't spend much time outside once the boil is rolling and under control.

 

[bobeer]

I brewed yesterday and it was 94 or so... I always do the strike water, mash and sparge inside, then do the boil outside on my propane burner.

Cooling the wort down with my IC was a B though. The ground water was about 60 degrees on the coldest setting since it's been so hot here recently. I chilled it down to about 120 then put it in the fermentor to cool over night. I didn't check it this morning before I left for work but I'm sure it's down to 70 by now. I'll pitch the yeast tonight when I get home. I need to do the pump+ice bucket thing...

 

[brewbama]

I brewed yesterday @ 90*+F. I put up a cafe umbrella in the table on the deck. I mash in, come inside for an hour, vorlauf and drain, batch sparge, vorlauf and drain, and start the boil. Once boiling and first hop addition has stabilized I set the alarm and come back inside. Go out, add hops, come back inside. Repeat as required. Once boil is complete I hook up the immersion chiller and come back inside. ~30 min later I drain into a fermenter and bring it inside. All in all I spend about 30 min total outside.

I can't wait until Fall when I can hang with my brew equip until Winter. Then Spring I can hang out again until Summer. Repeat.

 

[Remmy]

So long as you stay hydrated (drinking home brew throughout the entire process), the heat shouldn't be a factor.

Trust me on this one.

 

[mkyl428]

I brew in the garage, sometimes on hot days I am dripping sweat, & trying not to drip it in my wort...

Usually when I get too hot I go in for a bit or jump in the pool. I try to only be out there if I need to (adding hops, starting the boil, stirring the mash, that type of thing)

As far as chilling the wort I too use a pond pump & ice water... I chill as far as I can with the hose, then switch to the pump to get it the rest of the way down

 

[1977Brewer]

I'm outside for the entirety of the boil, in 100 + heat. I drink plenty of water and stay just inside the garage in the shade. Thankfully my garage faces north. Brewing in my driveway on a busy street, I just don't trust it. If I ever get my deck built I'll move the operation to the back yard, where it's always shady and I can watch from the house.

 

[Hello]

I spent one summer brewing outdoors. A fan in the garage plus plenty of water combined with beer made the process bearable. I sweat but I have a shower and extra clothes, so I don't mind much at all.

 

[frozennorth]

Come to Alaska, it is 41 degrees this morning.

 

[davidst]

Yesterday it was 94 during my brew day, I just stayed in the shade. In Texas there's not much choice during the summer.

 

[Rhumbline]

I'm down here in swampland. I do everything indoors in air conditioned comfort, with a big assed fan for ventilation.

My water temp is usually 85 out of the faucet, so I always have frozen ziplock bags for ice blocks.

It helps that I've got an all electric setup.

 

[Hello]

You know, if necessary, you could likely go ahead and do extract inside if your stove will boil enough water since top off water can be used. Then brew outdoors the other three seasons.

 

[bobeer]

You know, if necessary, you could likely go ahead and do extract inside if your stove will boil enough water since top off water can be used. Then brew outdoors the other three seasons.

Good idea.
Or do what I do in the winter... Brew all grain half batches inside but just brew twice as often. I sweat better than I shiver so I'm a hermit brewer in the winter. It gives me something to do since I"m stuck inside for months. Plus, if you bottle, you'll have a ton of brew to share for the holidays or for when people come over.

 

[slym2none]

Come to Alaska, it is 41 degrees this morning.

Anybody needing help up there? All I need is a job offer, Alaska sounds good to me!

 

[b-boy]

I brewed Sunday.

It was 90F here in Buffalo - which is a bit unusual. It's the first time I've had real problems getting my temps down. I don't know how you guys out West do it.

I just moved to a rural area. I brew in my garage. It was brutally hot. I forgot the ice, and it was too far to drive. It took about an hour to get the wort into the mid 80s. I just racked it to a carboy and put it in my fermentation chamber for ~6 hours. That got the temp down to the high 60s. Then I pitched my yeast. So far, so good.

 

[BrunDog]

I live in South FL and the groundwater never gets below 80 in the summer. The only way to do this is with ice. If you are an IC guy, cool first with groundwater to take out the bulk of the heat, then switch to ice water to do the rest. If you are a CFC guy, use two counterflow chillers inline (I do this). Or you can combine these, recirculating through the CFC then turn the IC on with ice water.

I brew in my garage, have a fan blowing behind me, and I just sweat my arse off. The real problem is brewing into the night, because mosquitoes come out at dusk and fly right into my garage!

-BD

 

[bronco8777]

+1 for the pond pump circulating ice water through the IC. I brewed Saturday when the high temp was 95 with very high humidity. The ground water is roughly 70F this time of year but with the ice water, I was able to cool my wort to 68F in about 20 minutes. This was 3 degrees shy of my pitching temp so I let the fermentation chamber cool it for about 30 minutes and was able to pitch within roughly an hour of flame out.

 

[jrcrilly]

It was hot here (90 plus) all weekend. Did two batches (all-grain with propane heat) in the garage Saturday and another one Sunday due to poor planning (neededc to get this stuff stuff done). The back-to-back brews were the hardest because there was always something going on with one or the other so no chance to duck into the air conditioning. And, of course, both burners were running hard at once which isn't usual. Counterflow chiller didn't quite get them down to pitching temp but close enough that an hour or two in the ferm chamber (15 cf freezer) got them where they needed to be. I may switch to indoor partial extract or BIAB when temps get below zero, though...

 

[NickTheGreat]

You just have to drink more of your last batch

 

[Teromous]

I brew in the garage, sometimes on hot days I am dripping sweat, & trying not to drip it in my wort...

Yeah I'm the same way. On hot days I am soaked but there are benefits to brewing in a garage. If I need to cool down I just go inside for a bit.

 

[madscientist451]

I usually brew like crazy during April and May and hang it up for June, July and August.
I brew for fun and its just not fun for me brewing when its hot out. My version of fun is floating down the local river and drinking my homebrew.
My usual lineup for the summer is 2-3 lagers, maybe a Kolsch or two, some lawnmower beers like beermucher 's centennial blonde, and I make sure I do one hoppy IPA at the end of May that usually lasts until about the end of July. I end up buying some IPA during August, but that's ok. Here it is September and am just starting to run out of my summer beer, so I guess I made enough. Time now to get back into Porter, Stout, my never ending sour beer projects......

 

[unionrdr]

As of about the third week of July, it's been 85-90+ around here. Ground water is about 80F. Gotta wait till Thursday for the temps to go back down into the 70's, 60's at least one day they say. Got two batches to get brewed up while it's cooler.

 

[Hello]

Anybody needing help up there? All I need is a job offer, Alaska sounds good to me!

I bet the malls are better there.

 

[oakbarn]

We brew in Hot weather all the time.

1. Start Early. We do All GRAIN and we heat out Stike with Hillbilly Hottub heaters controlled by BCS over night.

2. Once you start you fires, get away from them and do not go near them unless you need to make a Hop Addition.


3. Stay in the shade and Hydrate with Ice Cold last Brew session output.

4. Get a block of Ice to sit on. You can use it later to cool your cooling water.

5. Get a Portacool. You have to aim it away from your burners or you will be violating rule 2.

 

[Singletrack]

Summertime, and the brewing is easy. Right around the corner is brewing when the high temp is just above freezing and daylight hours are severely limited. I enjoy brewing in all seasons, but summertime is easier than winter.

I've thought about a fan a few times this year, but nah. The old man would not be pleased. When we cleaned out his garage, we found more than 30 fans, including weird combinations of motors, belts, and pulleys, and my all-time favorite, a remounted furnace fan that could blow a shed right off its foundation. Apparently, he enjoyed a breeze, or messing with fans, or both.

So, get a fan.

 

[brewcat]

Nah...I'll just start early in the morning or step inside. The heat only stops me brewing because of fermentation temps. Hopefully I can get a remedy for that this weekend.

 

[ferm.adventures]

Connecticut it is more of an issue loosing time due to cold and snow. I brew on my deck and I was snowed in from December to April this past year. My winter seasonal was awesome being brewed in April.

Anyhow, in the summer I have a small immersion pre-chiller. I can usually get the wort down into the 90's with that, and I then switch a pond pump in the ice bucket I used for my pre chiller. I also recirculate my wort when I chill, so I can get the temperatures down pretty quick. and have chilled into the 50's for lagers regardless of the outside temperature into the 80s/90s.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Hottest brew day this year it was 105 in the garage. At least it was shaded. Takes less time to heat water!!!

Don't be a panzy. 90's ain't bad. If you are making excuses then you aren't into brewing enough. If someone wants to brew, they will brew!