Its cold Im brewing outside

[Dopeybrew]

Currently with the wind chill its 18 degrees outside. And I have no garage.
Im an idiot.

So whats the coldest you have ever brewed outside?

 

[Psylocide]

Oof... no thanks. We have terrible straight line winds on the plains here, so I spend more time ****ing with my burner and trying to keep it lit.

Coldest I've done was probably around 18°, 0° windchill.

Never again.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Its 12 degrees here, I would be brewing outside if we had room to do it. There is too much snow to do it, at least in my small yard. Going to see if making a snow fort out of blocks will afford me enough room to clear a spot to do it.

We have a little warm up to 28 ish this weekend, so hoping we can get rid of some of our piles.

 

[DizzyPants]

Awesome, You are a Trooper. Won't be hard to cool the Wort.

In Seattle I am just trying not to dilute mine too much. #Rainsucks

 

[k1ngl1ves]

It's 7°f today and not windy for a change.

Today is the only day this month I have to brew. I prefer brewing outside... but 7° might be pushing it.

Decisions decisions...

 

[steveoatley]

Back in 2008
Just to get out of the house - my wife was going stir crazy with new baby

I brewed in a Detached Garage - unheated - except for the propane burner

It was 5F

I had 3 layers on.
Managed to raise the temp in the garage to 30F by the time I was done with
a 1 hr boil

Never again !

my 2 cents

 

[doublehaul]

Currently with the wind chill its 18 degrees outside. And I have no garage.
Im an idiot.

So whats the coldest you have ever brewed outside?

Child's play! I've done much much colder. But maybe I'm much much dumber!

 

[doublehaul]

Nice thing is you can stick your gravity sample in a snowbank

 

[Psylocide]

Its 12 degrees here, I would be brewing outside if we had room to do it. There is too much snow to do it, at least in my small yard. Going to see if making a snow fort out of blocks will afford me enough room to clear a spot to do it.

We have a little warm up to 28 ish this weekend, so hoping we can get rid of some of our piles.

No driveways in Buffalo?

 

[TheCADJockey]

No driveways in Buffalo?

A guy got shot in my driveway once. Not taking my precious equipment outside the fenced in yard. Besides, the most snow is in the driveway because the plow keeps re-burying me :cross:

 

[kombat]

I'm Canadian, ... so..... yeah.

Coldest I've brewed was probably about -7° F (-22° C). It wasn't pleasant, a lot of stuff tends to freeze quickly at those temperatures, cleanup is a pain in the butt, hoses get all stiff and stuff... but I've done it.

 

[fermentology]

I live in Texas, it doesn't get cold, but it does get hot

 

[Psylocide]

A guy got shot in my driveway once. Not taking my precious equipment outside the fenced in yard. Besides, the most snow is in the driveway because the plow keeps re-burying me :cross:

Hmm... I think I'd be up for that.

I just got myself a Ruger AR-556, I can lay down cover fire.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Coldest I ever brewed was 10°F. And then I started building my basement brewery shortly after that. So much better. Worth every damn penny I sunk into the endeavor.

 

[Staestc]

I'm in Texas too. It's 31 F today and misting, but I plan to do my first all grain this weekend. Of course, the forecast for this weekend is in the 70's!!

 

[standpoint]

About a month ago I brewed 7 5-gallon batches in one long sitting, outside it was -5F. I was in a detached unheated garage. I had on a snowsuit, but the work kept me warm I actually had to unzip it. No gloves or hat either.

 

[Ski12568]

60-65F is the lowest for me

 

[imasickboy]

A few weeks ago I did one when it was 9°. I was cold, but I wouldn't be adverse to doing it again.

 

[eadavis80]

I'm lucky - have a garage and I go inside to warm up after I add hops and just go out every now and then to keep an eye on it. Extract + garage = low maintenance!

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

Coldest I've brewed is in the 20s. I brew right outside our back door, where the kitchen is. That was back in my 5 gallon days.

Nowadays I brew 15 gallons at a time, and need it to be above freezing so I can use the hose. There is no way I am lifting 18 gallons of water on to the brew stand.

Supposed to be 36 here on Saturday, and I have a Quad planned.

Nice thing is, I can watch everything from the window inside the house. So my outside time is minimal.

 

[doublehaul]

Chiller hoses are a challenge. Got to pre thaw them in the garage. And my propane bottle will freeze up. Sometimes I'll stick it in a rubber maid and pour in boiling water. Tough to see into the kettle thru the steam too. And there's always the having to shovel a spot for the brew stand...

 

[JonM]

I brewed in 10ishF conditions a couple times. The pump and QDs are at risk for freezing up and there is a pretty serious risk of ice damaging the chiller, whether its an IC or a plate chiller. I've figured out some workarounds to deal with freezing, but this winter I've stuck to brewing only when it's above freezing. Yes, the pipeline has suffered.

 

[madscientist451]

Its just not worth the trouble to me. I'd rather do 4.5 gallon batches in my cozy kitchen than be outside brewing 15 gallons. To each his own though. Glad you are enjoying it.

 

[mergs]

I've brewed batches when its in the 20's before. I kind of like it. The nice thing about cold is you can use nature to chill. Place your kettle in a snowbank (tightly covered of course) and let nature chill it. Actually, you don't even need a snowbank if you're willing to let it sit out overnight. I've done this "no-chill" method 3x and haven't had any problems. Saves a lot of water using the chiller.

 

[doublehaul]

Its just not worth the trouble to me. I'd rather do 4.5 gallon batches in my cozy kitchen than be outside brewing 15 gallons. To each his own though. Glad you are enjoying it.

What do u brew on? I used to use our kitchen stove (2 burners on a 10 gallon kettle) and the reflected heat caused damage. Now we have a nice stove and I would catch hell for brewing on it. I want to build some kind of protective outdoor area just because of the conditions. I actually started a thread on it awhile ago -
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=513457

 

[TechyDork]

A guy got shot in my driveway once. Not taking my precious equipment outside the fenced in yard. Besides, the most snow is in the driveway because the plow keeps re-burying me :cross:

Leave a six pack in the snow bank with a big balloon on it. The plow guys always "clean up" after themselves when they plow my neck of the woods.

 

[Zepth]

+1 electric!

I have never brewed outside. If I do it will be on a condo balcony and probably look at a little sketchy. And certainly not in this -20C weather. Forget that.

 

[madscientist451]

I've got a Kenmore flat top electric range, boil in a 6 gallon pot. I had an Older Kenmore with the open burners and I think I broke one of the burners with the weight of my BK, so I got the more modern one.
No one to give me hell in my kitchen: divorced and my new lady has her own home and loves my beer so I guess thats a silver lining in the dark cloud of a divorce.

 

[olotti]

I brewed today but in my garage, high was 9deg with windchill of zero and it was sunny and actually a lot better than I was expecting. Cleaning is a ***** though since I normally use my hose from the garage but didn't want a sheet of ice running down the driveway from runoff so I cleaned in my basement where I have a tub sink. I'm lucky though because I have a garage and I have a spigot for a garden hose hooked up in my garage so I can still use my immersion chiller. Last two beers I've made have been the clearest I've made thanks to really cold water and a super swift chill time.