Brewing in -30°C

[sammytag]

I did an outdoor brew today in -30° Celsius, and want to encourage anybody who can stand the cold to get out and brew in the winter. It was the most relaxing brew day I've had yet (9th batch, but, still).

Stuck a bomber of beer in snow along with some glasses to cool them off. After pouring it into the glasses, the head of the beer froze solid but it was still delicious. Stood over the steaming pot of wort for an hour and a half getting big wafts of ginger, cinnamon and orange peel. Took about 15 minutes to bring my wort from boiling to pitching temperature by shoveling snow onto the outside of the pot.

Cold weather was made for brewing.

 

[MotivationDedication]

Cold weather was made for brewing.

Except for the whole fermentation part

Sure could save some time and hassle with wort chillers, hows the cost of living up there? maybe it'll be easier just to move there haha

 

[scottland]

You might consider making an electric kettle so you can brew indoors. -30C, good lord. It was a balmy 24C yesterday when I brewed =)

 

[solbes]

Wow, how much propane did you blow through to get a boil going in -30? That's pretty hardcore.

 

[FatherJack]

-30C in November? Wow! Where in Canada are you? Inside the Arctic Circle?

 

[david_42]

Except for the whole fermentation part

Not so. Winter is great for lagers. My brewery stays around 50F and the garage is just above freezing.

 

[GodsStepBrother]

Last year we got a freak storm, and our temperature went down to -7 F. It was nuts, we are not used to that climate here in Texas. I made it a point to brew, wow was it nuts. I didn’t realize how much more boil off I got from the cold weather. I put my beer down on the bed of my truck while I stirred the mash, upon returning it was frozen solid.

Thought I took the hoses inside and thawed them out in the bath tub, but when I needed to run my chiller I didn’t realize the hose valve on the wall was frozen shut. I ended up putting the beer in the carboy and sticking it in the wind, it chilled in about 20 minutes.

It is nice to brew in all different climates. Except dusty!

 

[sammytag]

-30C in November? Wow! Where in Canada are you? Inside the Arctic Circle?

Nearly. Had a bit of a cold snap in Edmonton AB. It brought the Aurora Borealis out at night though, so, can't complain.

Wow, how much propane did you blow through to get a boil going in -30? That's pretty hardcore.

You know, I was bracing myself for my tank to run dry, but I actually used no more propane than any of my other boils in significantly warmer weather. I started with 50 degree C water, which was pretty quick to bring up to mash-in temps. Had to give it a couple shots of gas to keep it in the right range, but nothing outrageous. But other than that, it was actually very quick and there wasn't much wind so the flame hit the kettle really well for the whole boil.

But, yeah, brewing in the winter is great. If you've been putting it off, or are unsure if it's a good idea - get out there and brew! It's worthwhile because you don't need a wort chiller or have to use a lot of water to chill the wort. That's a big advantage for me, at least - I'm one of those people who feels bad for running the tap for more than a few seconds, so, it puts my mind at ease.