Outside Temp brewing questions

I'm in Chicago too and planning to brew outside tomorrow. Two hour boil no less! Going to be rough but I'm committed. Cheers!

 

You can make it work without any detrimental effect on the entire process, as long as your body can stand the cold while the boil is happening.

 

I do almost all my brewing during fall and winter. I remember one brew day last year was -10 degrees! My advice is don't try cooling the kettle down in a snowbank because it will insulate it and take even longer. Before going all grain I did bring out liquid extract a little too early, bad experience there. But once you get your system down and boil under control you don't need to be out there too much.

 

If you can boil 10 gallon batches on your equipment, then there should be no trouble boiling at least 5 gallon batches in much colder weather. I lived in Chicago for a couple of years, and yes finding that unseasonably warm day will no doubt help you tough it out. Either way, you are correct in that chilling will go very quickly

 

Nahgonnahappen anytime soon.

Big-time arctic outbreak heading your way (time sensitive links)

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/610day/
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/index.ph

 

UPDATE : Putting the propane tank in a bucket of warm water works wonders. Almost to boil in Chicago suburbs 18°F; been a great brew day outdoors so far.

 

Just stand a little closer to the kettle.

 

I'm in Chicago, too.
I don't do as much all-grain BIAB garage brewing in the winter unless it's above 40 - simply because I'm not really a cold-weather fan.

I try to get a decent stockpile together by late fall, and then by the time spring comes around I'm ready to kick in.
It's possible I may do an extract batch in-house over the winter if something catches my eye

 

i brewed 5 gallons on my deck last year when it was -11F. no wind chill. the actual mercury temp was -11F. did it mostly because, well, screw the weather. i am going to brew no matter what. and i live in Upstate NY. just do it man.

the boil off and vapor cloud was something you would expect to see in a Lord of the Rings movie. other than that there is no reason not to brew when it is very cold. my experince was that a hot kettle is no match for even the coldest air temp. the kettle will boil. a wind screen is a good idea though.

just be sure you have a hat and a coat available. other than that there is no good reason you can't brew in extreme cold weather. zero. good luck.
Cheers.

 

It has already been said, don't put the kettle in a snow bank to cool! just let it be! Maybe put a blanket over your mash tun would help