Winter Brewing using propane - warm ideas

[Brian66]

Hi,

I live in NJ and brew with propane in my garage. Week to week it can be decent for brewing (40F and up) or a little chilly (30F and lower). I don't mind when it's over 40. It's usually windy here and once it gets into the 30s can get a little uncomfortable. I don't want to stop brewing. Especially after spending $20 on a 4 pack of sub-par beer. I'd rather drink my own - even at the same cost.

If you brew in your garage (or similar) in cold weather, how do you deal? A heater/salamender? Do you just man up? Do you stop brewing?

Looking for ideas - what's safe for propane - lowering the garage door? How much space would I need to leave? Other ideas for making it tolerable?

 

[robfar]

I brew in the garage in MD, usually not as cold as NJ but I have brewed on some wicked cold days. I open the garage door about a foot when using propane, but I don't to do that until I've runoff a couple of inches into the kettle. I have an electric RIMS mash tun that heats the strike water and controls temperature after mashing in. I run a small electric heater, but not having to open the garage door until midday is sweet.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

If you're going to brew in your garage, make sure you have a CO detector. Don't play around with that stuff.

 

[TooSlowz]

I brew in the garage as you do. In Nebraska it can get pretty cold and windy. When the burners are running the garage door is open at least 3 feet. I also place my stand near the garage door thinking the fumes can exit easier. One thing I've been doing for years is using what I call heat shields. They're just cardboard covered, front and back, with heavy aluminum foil. Each panel is around 20x18 inches. Four panels clipped together and to my stand create sort of box around the vessel I'm heating. For vessels that have a valve I just use three panels and leave the valve side open. Don't want to melt anything. The top of each panel folds in toward and around the vessel. None of the panels ever ever get close to the burners. So this helps keep heat around the vessel and protects from any wind. I feel I use less propane and heat more evenly.

 

[Velnerj]

I recently moved my burner and propane tank just outside my door of the house. I usually brew in the shed which is about 200ft from the house but it was cold and snowy that morning so I set up right outside my back door.

Worked great. I mashed in the kitchen and did all the "cooking" parts halfway in my house, I just had to stick my head out a few times for stirring and hop additions etc.

I adapted my immersion chiller to fit my bathtub spigot so I cooled inside.

 

[Sammy86]

I'm in CT, originally from NY so I feel the pain of cold winters.

First, get yourself some longjohns and layer up...i usually go with an under armour cold gear, tshirt and hoodie and beanie on top and longjohns, shorts, sweatpants bottom.

Get yourself a space heater...keeps everything nice and toasty! When I was in HS my old man set up a lacrosse goal with a tee so I could practice hitting in the winter...we had an old space heater on full blast in an uninsulated garage and everything was toasty.

 

[Transamguy77]

I’m in Pa and brew outside, earlier this year I bought a house with a garage that I think I can brew in, I’m going to look into using a bucket heater that I can heat my mash and sparge water and use propane to just boil. I have no desire to go electric but this might be an idea to try even though I’ve brewed outside for years.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Hi,

I live in NJ and brew with propane in my garage. Week to week it can be decent for brewing (40F and up) or a little chilly (30F and lower). I don't mind when it's over 40. It's usually windy here and once it gets into the 30s can get a little uncomfortable. I don't want to stop brewing. Especially after spending $20 on a 4 pack of sub-par beer. I'd rather drink my own - even at the same cost.

If you brew in your garage (or similar) in cold weather, how do you deal? A heater/salamender? Do you just man up? Do you stop brewing?

Looking for ideas - what's safe for propane - lowering the garage door? How much space would I need to leave? Other ideas for making it tolerable?

Wish I had an answer but I’ve never come up with one. Not sure I’ll be brewing again but that’s one of the reasons I’ve explored small batch for indoor, and/or electric. Living in WI guess I put on my hunting layers and deal. The real challenge for me has been maintaining mash temp.

Propane and CO - I have gotten monstrous headaches as long as I’ve brewed on propane. Like, rivers of sweat, pounding migraine, etc. Every time and I don’t know why because outside of some early years in a farm barn (no door - so sheltered only from rain, snow, wind, not cold) it’s always been in open air. I can only presume CO. but never know why. Never stopped me, apparently.

I’d recommend as open as you can deal, nothing to mess around with. I forget what they’re called, but something like a heat “tube,” directs heat forward, used in construction?

I feel for you. Good luck.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I don't brew in my garage, but being Swedish I have plenty experience in combating cold winter weather. First get set of decent merinowool longjohns and long sleeve base layer shirt, no cheaping out, you get what you pay for. Then a decent wool sweater, no crappy synthetic materials, there is a reason wool is still around and kicking, and maybe a Micro fleece middle layer shirt. Layers is better than just a thick sweater and big bulky jacket.
Keep moving around, sitting/standing still in cold weather is impossible to dress for, you will freeze no matter what you are wearing.

 

[Brian66]

Thanks everyone for the input!

 

[Beermeister32]

Seems to me you need a portable heated guard shack! (To hang out in not to brew in!)

 

[BrewZer]

It will get super steamy over your kettle. That steam's got to go somewhere, and out is better than hanging around in your garage condensing on everything. Whether you layer up or get one of those infrared heaters, I'd suggest running enough fans to move the warm, moist air out of your garage.

You should probably move any potential sources of flammable fumes outside as well.

If you start to see scorch marks on your garage door, it's time to quit.

 

[kevin58]

I brew in my garage in Michigan. It is unattached and unheated and I used to brew out there in all weather. My coldest brew day was 15° - 20° the day after a foot and a half of snow had fallen. At the time it was actually fun but now that I am in my 60's I stop brewing once the temps get much below 40°. Getting water to my kettles when it is freezing out gets problematic and clean up afterward in those temps is brutal. So for winter brewing I went to small batches indoors on the stove top. I'm exploring the possibility of getting an urn type system and brew in the basement as soon as I can come up with a venting solution.

 

[twd000]

yes, man up is my approach. I spend too much time indoors in the winter as it is. I'm in New Hampshire. Yesterday's garage brew session was about 15 degrees. Only problem was spilled water on the floor re-froze into an ice-rink. Above advice about merino wool base layers is good advice. Leave the garage door side open for ventilation. Warm water from frost-free garage utility sink makes cleanup a lot less painful. One tip is to connect a fitting to air compressor to blow out immersion chiller and hoses so they're clear and don't re-freeze before next brew day.

 

[Pablo 54]

I prefer it, actually. As mentioned earlier, crack the garage door for proper ventilation. I do lagers pretty much exclusively from November to March. With 5 gallon batches, once done with the boil, I'll put the kettle on the cold, concrete floor. I use an IC with a pond pump in an ice chest so I will, when there is snow on the ground, supplement the ice water with a shovel or two of snow.

 

[Cyclman]

Hot Rod heat sticks, x2 if you have the 115 circuits. Only need propane for boiling then, much more bearable.

 

[madscientist451]

Do you just man up? Do you stop brewing?

Is there an equivalent for the phrase "man up" when it comes to thinking logically? You have heat in the house, you have a kitchen, when the weather sucks, downsize your batches and brew inside on the stove.
All you need is a $20, 16 quart pot and a BIAB bag.
Its been snowing for the last 3 days here and windy, my keggle is gathering dust, but I'm cranking out brews 2.5 gallons at a time and able to accomplish other things while brewing. I can do full 5 gallon brews on my stove, but I go for the smaller size for more variety and its easier for me.

 

[Brian66]

Is there an equivalent for the phrase "man up" when it comes to thinking logically? You have heat in the house, you have a kitchen, when the weather sucks, downsize your batches and brew inside on the stove.
All you need is a $20, 16 quart pot and a BIAB bag.
Its been snowing for the last 3 days here and windy, my keggle is gathering dust, but I'm cranking out brews 2.5 gallons at a time and able to accomplish other things while brewing. I can do full 5 gallon brews on my stove, but I go for the smaller size for more variety and its easier for me.

I brew in the garage because the rest of the family hates the smell. It smells great - I don't get it. But they are super supportive of my brewing even though they don't like the smell and they don't drink beer. So I comply. I already do small batches and with the suggestions above I think I'm good.

 

[-Dan-]

Like many of us, I am in the same boat. When i ended up in NJ from a warmer place, it was natural to switch to electric to keep brewing in the garage. Kitchen is not an option for me and with a bunch of little ones, i also didnt want to deal with propane anymore. There are many reasonable priced options available to replace/upgrade equipment. I did a combination... i don't need to add comments to what has said or the experience many of us have...
However, one comment with propane in the garage and door "open". When brewing years ago, in a much warmer climate, but also much windier the propane burner was placed outside garage door, probably 3-4ft aware from the door and door cracked open approximately 4ft. Long story short; the wind blew the fumes into the garage borderline causing some significant health issues. No need for further details or anything against brewing in the garage...just sharing personal experience. Don't do it!

 

[grzrk]

I brew in the garage because the rest of the family hates the smell. It smells great - I don't get it. But they are super supportive of my brewing even though they don't like the smell and they don't drink beer. So I comply. I already do small batches and with the suggestions above I think I'm good.

Same here with the smell complaints and a cold climate. I got an electric kettle for Christmas and 12 foot ceiling in the garage so I've done one batch so far with the door closed so far but running a hose from around the corner for chilling was a pain (basically re-winterizing with the air compressor as fast as possible). This weekend I'm going to try the "pond pump in a cooler full of ice" to chill with to avoid going outside at all; and save some water. Fingers crossed.

 

[JimC]

Brewing in my garage right now, -6c out.

- Make sure all your hoses, pumps, etc are brought inside so they don't freeze.
- Run water though your supply hose every 15 minutes to keep it from freezing.
- Dress warm.
- Have a heater to warm hands.
- Bag of salt to salt all the water down the drive way so it doesn't turn into a sheet of ice.
- Cleanup is the worst part, bring it indoors to clean if you can.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Brewing in my garage right now, -6c out.

- Cleanup is the worst part, bring it indoors to clean if you can.

This is the worst part, even in 40F weather in north Alabama.

 

[JimC]

Forgot, have a hair dryer handy to de-ice valves and hoses and such if you forget to keep them warm/running.

 

[MikeCrigger]

I brew in my Michigan garage ALL the time. 2 Propane Camp Chef burners. I installed a range hood from a resale store over my set up to exhaust vapor and fumes to the outside. I have a CO detector as well. I heat the garage with a 240V electric garage heater that hangs from the ceiling. Installed both hot and cold water spigots so water isn't an issue, with a utility tub installed as well. I only have to crack the bottom of the garage door a few inches when I have the boil kettle ragging, otherwise, just the window cracked and the range hood running works. If I start to get a reading on my detector, I open the garage door a few more inches, but that's rare.

 

[Dland]

I brew outdoors in winter, though I try to avoid it if it is much below 20F. Brewed many batches w gas, but now electric. Quick tips;

Dress for winter, wear warm boots, gloves, don't hesitate to change them if they get wet.

Go inside and have a warm drink or snack during brew process. No reason to hang around outside watching brew mash, sparge, or even boil (once it has settled in past boil over point). It gets easier to walk away for a while once brewing becomes routine.

Consider switching to electric at some point if you brew a lot. Better temp control makes it easier to walk away from brew for longer periods (and go inside). It would also solve any worries about burning propane indoors.

 

[Jim R]

Like they say, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing. I brewed in -1 degree F weather last week in my unheated garage with no problems. I left the garage door open about a foot or so while my Blichmann burner was running. It is even relatively warm by the burner. I even used the outdoor frost-free faucet for cooling and clean up.

 

[EthanH]

The biggest issue I have is maintaining mash temps and not doubling my carbon footprint maintaining a boil.

I've taken to doing 2 gal stovetop batches. I've been finding the decreased volume also makes brewing something I can do in a couple hours on a weeknight on a whim.

 

[Brian66]

thanks guys! clean up is what I dread the most since running the outdoor faucet gets everything wet and colder - I'll do that inside. I have a very high garage ceiling so that should help. Will probably brew this weekend.

 

[JSmetalcraft]

I guess I should not be here to reply......I moved my cart into the house. Last week I first did a 5 gallon batch BIAB and boiled it on the stove. While it was boiling I Mashed a 10 gallon batch. The 10 gallon batch was boiled on the propane burner mounted in the stand that was place in center of kitchen. I open a window in kitchen and another in dining room to get cross flow. Not so much for moisture or carbon dioxide, but it get hot in there.