Warm up so I can brew!

Be thankful you have a garage.

 

This Saturdays forecast is looking good in VA so I am moving up my schedule to brew. This morning was 15 degrees on the way to work. Saturday is supposed to be 50.

 

I agree. But I think I'm might brew this weekend - even with the call for 6" of snow...

 

I brewed on Monday, it was ~20 degrees. I also kegged a couple of beers, there is still trub on top of the snow where I dumped the buckets

 

Brewed Monday here in Syracuse it was under 10f and wind was gusting. Basement is only 54 right now but us-05 seems to work well around high 50s

 

I know you guys in the northeastern US have been getting hammered lately, but you can still brew when it's cold, can't you? I used to do everything indoors, but I recently moved and the stovetop at the new place is inadequate for 5 gallons of wort. So I bought a propane burner and moved the boil outside. It has snowed on me the last two times I brewed, with the temps hovering just below freezing and the wind howling like crazy (fished a couple of leaves out of the boil!)

Anyway, lately, it has been colder in Houston than in Bergen, and we don't even begin to touch what you are seeing in Pennsylvania, but here's what I'm doing. I mash inside so I can stay comfortable. I'm doing a batch sparge in a 40Qt Igloo cooler. I run that out into the boil pot, and I move outside to the burner. Starting around 162-168 degrees, it doesn't take long to get the boil going, even at -3C ambient.

Once I hit the boil time (for me it's usually about 60 minutes, but I'm watching the wort volume to determine when to stop), I flame-out and move the kettle to a big bucket (made for mixing concrete). I put water in the bucket and run the wort chiller in the kettle. The water is flowing through the chiller fast enough that it is still cold enough when it exits. I run this into the bucket to keep that water cool. The bucket just overflows, but I'm outside so I don't care. The wort is down to 65 degrees or so in about 20-30 minutes. Then, I move back inside for transfer to the fermenter, OG measurement & yeast pitching. If your temps are in the teens (F teens, not C), you may have to think about this water thing. Maybe air on the outside would be better for you.

I usually ferment in a corner of the kitchen. It has been working fine for the ales I have done. I brewed an English brown and a Belgian IPA last weekend and they are both going right now. I'll check gravity this weekend and maybe transfer to secondaries.

It works for me, but obviously it's colder there than here (-1C today, about 30F).

 

Brewed my Big Country Scotch Ale yesterday. Temps outside were in the low 20s with steady snow all day - very peaceful and idyllic. Had the tunes cranked in the garage, enjoyed a couple of brews during the 90 minute boil and enjoyed the day (despite coming up a wee bit short on my final volume, though I hit 73% efficiiency, so I was happy).

 

2.5 BIAB 2.5 BIAB 2.5 BIAB

 

A couple weeks ago it was 19 degrees as I began my brew day, OUTDOORS, and my garage doesn't offer the proper ventilation, so if I want to brew...... Today I brewed as temperatures hovered around the freezing mark, and that was NICE. Since we had a bit of snow the past few days I was able to cool my wort in the 22" deep snow in our backyard. First time I didn't have to drag the hose around the house and use my wort chiller. It was a nice change. Cheers!