When is it too cold to brew outside?

Brewer's Friend 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
pshankstar

pshankstar

BIAB Homebrewer & Coffee Roaster
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jun 29, 2015
Messages
7,549
Reaction score
27,831
Location
Canandaigua
First off, I'm in Western NY and this winter has been pretty easy. *Knock on wood* I haven't brewed since December and I am really getting the itch to brew. I have two extract kits (American Wheat & SMaSH) calling my name sitting in the closet. I am really tempted to go out and brew one up tonight but the temperature is going to be around 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit. Normally I would do a full boil but if I do brew tonight I would do the partial and top off like the instructions say. This way I'm not trying to boil 7 gallons (+/-) and it should be a little quicker.

Note, I have the blichman propane burner and a keggle and a smaller pot for partial boils. So I would use the smaller pot to do the brew. I would be brewing in my garage with the door opened a little for ventilation. Also, I do not brew inside b/c my wife and oldest daughter hate the smell. :confused: What's there not to like????

So with that being said, for others who live up north like I do, how cold is too cold to brew outside? Does it become too much of a pain when the temperature gets too cold (i.e. to bring the wort to a boil)? Saturday is out of the question b/c there are wind chill warnings with the temperature to be in the -20 to -25 range. Sunday I may be able to brew but I'm not counting on it, plus it isn't suppose to be much warmer on Sunday than Saturday. Also, my wife doesn't care for the fake holiday called Valentines Day (so just a nice card is enough). LOL Lucky me and this has been going on for over 10 years! :D

Anyways, thank you all in advance for your input! Cheers!
 
I'm right by Niagara Falls and brew in a detached unheated garage,brewed last year outside. This year has been pretty good so far. I plan on brewing Sunday they are calling for a high of 12. Set up by a window so you can watch it from inside and bring everything to kitchen to wash. I throw some towels and blankets over my mash tun. No chill works really good when its single digits outside. You don't need to be outside that much 5-10mins here and there.
 
Two brews ago it was 19 degrees F here...not that bad at all to be out brewing ...I Just bring the mash tun in the house after dough-in in weather like that and all is good. But I have a killer Propane burner too so boiling is not an issue. YMMV

IMG_1716.JPG
 
Its going to be about 5 degrees tonight and I'm brewing indoors. This is the silver lining inside the dark cloud of getting a divorce, I can brew when and where I want to.....
The only thing that slows down my brewing is my semi-high maintenance lady friend that is way better than the ex.....Cheers! :mug:
 
Never "too cold", just some things to be aware of... More heat loss from the mash, more boil off, and other nuisances like freezing hoses if you have your water hooked up outside.
 
20s or so is my limit. Probably could go lower with a better way to chill.
 
anything under 30F and I say it is too cold... I did this last brew session at about 20F and it was too painful. I just wanted to get done. I do this because I enjoy it so if I dont enjoy I dont do.
 
Wasn't going to brew 'till St. Patty's, but Monday should be 35 or so and I'm a teacher so I have the week off for mid-winter break. Made a starter with harvest Bry-97 for an IPA tonight. Now it's just a question of do I brew just the IPA or also a honey nut brown ale?!
 
In Florida I love sitting by the kettle in January, February and March. Any other month I run out, throw in some hop pellets and escape back into the air-conditioned comfort of my house.
 
In Buffalo, NY as well!!

I do half batches on the stove, BIAB

Doing a 3 gallon batch of oatmeal stout as we speak.
 
Yeah, when it's this cold in MI, I kind of prefer beers where you just have one hop addition, watch for the kettle for 5 minutes to ensure no boil over, and then run back inside to play video games for the next 55 minutes. However, Monday I'll doing an IPA so the ps3 will be paused quite a few times...
 
I used to brew all winter long in Wisconsin but I decided this year that the freezing point is my limit. I don't like freezing QDs, icy slipping hazards on the ground in front of boiling liquid, and I really don't like the risk of freeze damage to my new plate chiller.

Still, there are ways to reduce those risks - keep the chiller inside until ready to use, salt the icy spots on the ground, etc. heat strike water on the stove, dough in inside and leave the mash tun in the kitchen untl it's ready to drain. And there is no bad weather, only bad clothes. Snowpants, boots with little warmer packs in them, big coat, layers. I also found that, after I drain the mash, I can put a plastic garbage bag in the mash tun on top of the spent grain and it makes a nice warm storage area for gloves, QDs, snacks, etc.
 
Oh, and if your pipeline is getting low and the winter is preventing you from brewing, 5 gallons of Tree Top and a pack of Nottingham.
 
Today is 19, wind blowing 30-40 in New Hampshire.....Too cold to brew. Not too cold to drink though! Moving indoors with induction has been my best upgrade.
 
I live in Michigan and brew year round outside. To me personally, I enjoy being outside as part of the process, it's relaxing. If it's cold I layer up and maybe have more trips inside, but no issues other than being unprepared to run my wort chiller with a frozen hose (my story on that can be found at my website beersnobby.com under the homebrew link).

So either bring your hose inside first to let any residual summertime water thaw out, or go buy one of those collapsible pocket hoses like I did and keep it with your brew day kit.

As for the full versus partial, the cold air shouldn't have a major effect on being able to get it to boil. In theory you'll lose heat through the kettle walls more readily, but your major heat source of the flame below your pot will still be putting out the same amount of heat, and your water should be starting at the same temp as usual. Plus heat transfer is all about temperature difference. When you're boiling at 212 degrees, a 45 degree day is still a big temperature difference like 212 is to a 15 degree day.

Oh one other caution- I find if drinking outside in the cold, bathroom trips are MUCH more frequent!
 
I brew in an unheated, uninsulated garage in the winter months. Typically my garage is 10 degrees higher than the ambient temperature outside. On a day like today, when the temperature outside is hovering in the high teens to low twenties, my garage is typically around 28F - 32F. On days like this, I don't leave water overnight in my containers without directing the heat from on ceramic heater on them.

I find that a ceramic heater, and the heat generated from my burners raises the temperature to the low 50's, and that is certainly comfortable. Of course, I make sure that my garage is well ventilated and follow simple fire safety rules.

Switching to direct heat vs. an insulated mash tub helps me to avoid the problems that mashing in a colder environment raises.
 
It does get into the low 30s here occasionally, I got one of these for my shop before I was brewing , sounds like a jet engine but it's warm

image.jpg
 
I'll be brewing tomorrow, and they're calling for 10F. Boil will be done outside and the mash will be done inside.
 
I brew in the attached garage when it gets too cold. I bring the mash inside though as to not lose to much heat. What I learned last rime though was not to let the chiller water just roll down the driveway.... Wife wasnt to happy with a skating rink in front of the house.

I am actually brewing tonight. Should be between 10-15
 
It's gonna be in the mid 20's here in NC, plan on brewing tonight after we do our valentines stuff. I'm off Monday but they care calling for snow so I would rather brew tonight I guess. Already have my starter going since Friday. On a side note how long can you keep a starter in the fridge before it starts to get suspect?
 
Loved the hockey stick to assist with the brew-in-a-bag for the Polar Brew Day event! Looked like good times!
 
RunNakeDnECU said:
It's gonna be in the mid 20's here in NC, plan on brewing tonight after we do our valentines stuff. I'm off Monday but they care calling for snow so I would rather brew tonight I guess. Already have my starter going since Friday. On a side note how long can you keep a starter in the fridge before it starts to get suspect?
Click to expand...

NB told me a starter can be kept in a fridge for a week.
 

Similar threads

corncob
Bucket heater cut 30 minutes off my brew day
Replies
0
Views
267
corncob
corncob
Gabriel Sayegh
How do folks calculate ABV after a step feed with volume change?
Replies
12
Views
556
MaxStout
MaxStout
B
Terrible brew
Replies
25
Views
1K
Craiginthecorn
C
brewbuddynick
Can somebody help me with a high final gravity. In search of solutions or cause of problems.
Replies
10
Views
776
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
Gadjobrinus
Fast solution for using IC pre-chiller for 5 gallons lager?
2
Replies
44
Views
2K
Gadjobrinus
Gadjobrinus
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top