Winter Brewing?

[cimirie]

This may sound rediculous, but I wish I had your problem. Brewing in August in a 95*, 95% humidity environment while boiling in central Florida is akin to having your toenails removed with sulpheric acid. It's just not fun. Add to that, temperature control being a pain (no space for an extra fridge so must rely on swamp coolers).

I would love to "deal" with brewing in 30* garage in Michigan or Illinois or Minnesota during the winter and having a ready made lagering space available.

I guess we all have our environmental crosses to bare! The grass is always greener...

 

[robtotten]

I've brewed in both. Here in KY we had the hottest summer on record, temps were in the 90s for 8 weeks straight. It's brutal, and you have to drink less (hah!), but I'd take it over the 20 degree winter weather I brewed in during February. Neither are pleasant. And yes, the grass is always greener. Unless you're drinking Heineken, then the glass is always greener.

This may sound rediculous, but I wish I had your problem. Brewing in August in a 95*, 95% humidity environment while boiling in central Florida is akin to having your toenails removed with sulpheric acid. It's just not fun. Add to that, temperature control being a pain (no space for an extra fridge so must rely on swamp coolers).

I would love to "deal" with brewing in 30* garage in Michigan or Illinois or Minnesota during the winter and having a ready made lagering space available.

I guess we all have our environmental crosses to bare! The grass is always greener...

 

[jturie]

Philly's snowiest winter on record (70+ inches) was followed by the hottest summer on record. I prefer the cold! My garage has an external faucet, so it's perfect for winter brewing.

 

[HSM]

The "magic fairy dust" is a squirt of dishwashing liquid in water. Drizzle it on a gas union, and if there are any leaks, you get bubbles. Done a lot of propane connections, and this works. Also for checking for leaks from time to time.

Teflon tape is a better "magic fairy dust" (ie. preventing leaks).

Not counting last winters major snow, I'd just prefer to wheel the cart out on the patio or driveway.

 

[rico567]

The Dawn or Palmolive in water is just to check for leaks. Of course the joint must be sealed, if using black pipe, either with compound or tape. I prefer the tape, and since it's gas, be sure to use the yellow teflon variety, not the white. My propane lines are 1/2" soft copper, so it's flare fittings all the way......and these strictly seal by compression, no sealing agent of any kind should be applied.

 

[bullinachinashop]

I'm nervous about taping into the main line. There is a plug that I could remove and add and elbow with a shut off valve. But I need to run to another room about 70 feet in the ceiling and down to the B10 which by the way I did plumb together with black pipe. I need to pressure test with a compressor for leaks soon.
My exhaust hood is another story.

Do not hook up a compressor to your gas line! The pressure is measured in inches of water column. The pressure would tranlate to about 1/2 psi. You can easily ruin all you gas appliances this way.

I also only use Rectorseal on blackpipe fittings.

I think hiring a licensed plumber would be a GREAT idea if your not 100% sure of yourself.

As far as winter brewing, I hope to have my all electric, gravity system finished by the time the snow flies. Then I'll be in the comfort of my man cave.

Bull

 

[Killercal]

I brew in my garage in the winter, heck even in the summer. This cuts down on the wind in the summer and prevents me from getting frost bite in the winter.

 

[Starderup]

yup - garage

 

[HopHead24]

Plumber called!!!:rockin: He's coming out on Sat and he's a homebrewer! False bottoms were shipped today as well. Looks like I'll be brewing before the snow flies. Too bad we had frost warnings north of here last night. What happened to summer?

 

[ChshreCat]

It sucks brewing in the winter in the pacific northwest. Some days it barely makes it over 40 degrees in the afternoon. I suffer through it though.

 

[eelpout]

I'll chime in as an outdoor brewer. Out there anyway so whats the difference?

 

[Wellshooter]

Teflon tape is a better "magic fairy dust" (ie. preventing leaks).

Not counting last winters major snow, I'd just prefer to wheel the cart out on the patio or driveway.

TEFLON Tape is a LUBRICANT not a sealer. Plumbers use a paste such as Rectorseal to seal threads.

Here I've been waiting for the weather to cool down so I can brew.

 

[wyzazz]

TEFLON Tape is a LUBRICANT not a sealer. Plumbers use a paste such as Rectorseal to seal threads.

Here I've been waiting for the weather to cool down so I can brew.

I'll disagree, as it's marketed as "Thread Seal Tape".

 

[Wellshooter]

I'll disagree, as it's marketed as "Thread Seal Tape".

Sorry it may be marketed as such but it doesn't do a very good job. When you can see oil seeps at every connection and the environmentalists are complaining you find something better. That thing was Rectorseal. There are other compounds, in cans with brushes, that are equally as good, in the plumbing section of any hardware store. Teflon tape will not keep gas or oil in and it won't keep water out of critical electrical connections. The big selling point for teflon tape is that it is clean and doesn't get your hands dirty, other than that it has no redeeming characteristics.

 

[Bjornbrewer]

Bunch of little girls here in this thread, I throw on my Ice Fishing gear and brew outside or in the garage. I usually have some steak or something going on the grill at the same time to help beat the cold.

Hell ya! Man up and brew. :rockin:

In all seriousness though, I installed a side entrance door in my garage to avoid opening the main door. It'll help. Other than that, I put on my big boy pants, drink a winter warmer and brew.

 

[Monghetti]

I was a professional plumber for 6 years until yesterday. I gas piped hundreds of new homes with lines ranging from 1/2 inch to two inches. We would always use white teflon tape on the threads followed by a thin layer of pipe dope (thread sealant). Always checked for leaks using dish soap as well!

 

[Billy]

As someone who has brewed in North Dakota (my home) California, Texas, Nebraska, and now North Carolina (thank you military) winter brewing is far better than summer months. Like many others have said a garage is a huge boon, as well as a pair of man pants (carhart overalls anyone?) Here in NC I have a huge issue trying to cool my wort with the tap water being a balmy 79* in the summer as opposed to doing it back home where it was about 38 or so with us constantly worrying about pipes freezing. We actually had our faucets set up with a little gadget I made back home to turn on every 2 hours and run a bit of water to keep them from freezing. In those conditions you just gotta enjoy a bit of blackberry brandy, brew like a champ, cheer on the packer game coming across the AM radio and laugh at those who can't hack it!

 

[KyleZ]

I usually just suffer through it, but am leaning towards smaller stove top batches inside this year when it gets really cold.

 

[Shackled]

In the winter I brew a lot of 2.5 gallon AG test batches on my stove. And last year I made many great 5 gallon batches where I used the dilution feature of beersmit, and made a 2.5-3 high grav wort, over compensating for hop utilization. And topping just like in an extract with grain recipe. I did everything from lagers to ipas this way, and many of them scred high in contests.

Revvy oh wise one,
Can you point me in the direction of more information on doing this.
Seems like it might be a solution for me in my apartment to go AG.

 

[ian-atx]

Here in texas, winter brewing is the best. Especially this past winter when it actually got sort of cold.

Summer brewing...man, nothing like losing 10 pounds in sweat while doing a 90 minute boil.