Livin in Holland, MI & haven’t brewed for a while due the crappy weather we’ve had lately. I’m an all-grain propane brewer. Anyone else brew in sub-freezing conditions? If so, what sort of obstacles should I consider or should I just stop being a pussy and brew? I’m considering doing some extract beers just to fill my kegs. Any thoughts?
I’m lucky having a walkout basement with a door in my woodshop/brewery. I run the propane outside while I stay inside. I use homemade aluminum flashing shields to block the wind from by stand. I mash inside and just move pots in and out.
This isn’t an option for everyone but it works for me.
Paul
If you’re out of the wind, you can brew in just about any weather. I had a whimpy burner back in Minnesota, so I always stuck to 5 gal. batches when it was cold. Loved having all the snow for quick chilling.
Now get out there and brew. You’ll be able to tell your grand kids about the adversity you survived one day.
3 gallons All-grain in my kitchen here. I can brew year-round and the only thing that changes is my chilling water temps may be a few degrees higher in the summer. Heat in the winter and A/C in the summer - I’m a spoiled brewer 
If you are doing extract like you said in the last sentence, you should have no problem keeping the boil if you have a decent burner. I have done so in temp in the 30s here in NM no problem (ya it does get cold here some times). But you also said you do all grain. The hard part for me is keeping mash temp. If you use a cooler pail, preheat it with hot water, then put the mash pail in the house to keep warm. Me I do biab mash in the kettle, and when it is real cold I have to keep hitting a bit of heat and stirring every 10 or 15 mins, so I haven’t mastered perfect temp control yet, but it still comes out ok. I just made an insulation cover out of a fiberglass welding blanket ($20 at harbor freight), but haven’t had the chance to use it yet.
I like brewing in winter, chilling the wort is a breeze.
Suck it up and get brewing! Seriously…
I know how you feel being in Chicago! I do brew in my garage but it’s been of little relief this year for sure so a couple things I find helpful:
- place your propane tank in a tub of warm water, the gas flows much better and doesn’t freeze up
- keep your hoses inside or be sure to blow them out completely when done brewing to prevent them freezing up
- Chilling with 48 degree ground water is completely AWESOME!!
- Use a windscreen if heating is problematic
- use reflectix around your kettle
6 Mash inside or pre-heat your tun. I keep mine inside until I’m ready to brew to keep it warmer - Wrap your tun in a blanket to maintain temps
It takes a bit of work but it’s completely doable if you plan ahead!
+1
And also to 48 degree ground water!
I don’t really ever have an issue brewing outside… layer… I never get cold even when temps are in the negatives. I will wear some gloves to rinse things off outside… Do most the actual washing indoors.
Finally got a break here in upstate N.Y.41 degrees, tap water still at 40 degrees though. Brewed yesterday 2nd AG went very well i must say. Like to throw out a thank you to denny on his RIPA man its is tasty tasty tasty cant wait for it to finish. I will say some sort of hop screen,blocker,false bottom,what have you will be my next venture in upgrades. Always used pellets first time with whole hops not much fun dumping a keg to the bucket glad i had a buddy around. Any thoughts or recommendations on what to use in bottom of keg or drop in screening for the hops would be appreciated.Brewed my first AG 6wks ago at 8 degrees went well bundle up and keep that propane out of the wind.
I brew exclusively outside. It sucks, but that is all I have. No garage, so I wing it. I let the hose trickle so it doesn’t freeze. My burners put off so much heat once I start I never get cold. Chilling is awesome with 48 degree tap. I would rather brew in the cold of winter than heat of summer.
This. Pre-heat the mash tun!
I bring mash and sparge water from the house in buckets (145 degrees so less time in the garage waiting for it to heat up) and I keep the hose for chilling inside until the last second. Irish coffee helps as well.
I was taught in pasta making class to always start with cold water to prevent the pickup of mineral deposits in the hot water tank and plumbing. Might be interesting to test both cold and hot supply with ward labs to see if this is true.
I tried to get a boil going outdoors on a turkey fryer when it was in the mid-20s and quite windy. Not a mistake I will be making in the future.
I was successful in brewing in the cold with the turkey fryer by using it in my detached garage with the bay door and entry door open so there was a good draft. I sat in my car in the driveway and watched to make sure nothing bad happened. Not sure if the fumes in the garage would have been bad enough to cause harm to me but I didn’t feel like taking the chance.
you would have been fine:)
I brew in the garage with the bay door open about a foot and the service cracked open. I have a co monitor and it’s never gone off
I moved back into the kitchen because it is often too hot outside to brew. I still manage 12 gallon batches on the stove. A bit slower but I got HVAC and a vent hood.
If you are willing to do a concentrated boil extract is great for that- and hop utilization doesn’t suffer that much anyway.
The worst part for me is the clean up. I brew in my heated garage but take the pots outside to empty and wash with the garden hose. I don’t have water or a sink in the garage. Really sucks when the weather is cold. What do the rest of you do for clean up?
Kris
I use IC heated water for HLT and MT. I heat water on the burner to clean the BK.
Having brewed in Minnesota and Colorado I’ve had some pretty cold brew days. I usually enjoy the snowy days when it’s quiet and full of the big snow flakes…but those windy bitter cold ones are a challenge. I stick to 5 gallon brews and stay inside as much as possible. Generally I just suck it up since the propane isn’t outside that long (I’ve never brewed below -10F though), the house blocks the wind, and the snow is superb for crash chilling the wort ;D
I hear you about this crappy cold weather in Michigan! I"m from the Traverse City area and it was 20 degrees below zero last night! I brewed 3 weeks ago in my unheated garage (19 degrees) using BIAB so it cut my time in the cold, but was hard trying to maintain temps… At least using extract it should go fairly quickly. Dress in layers and take plenty of inside warm-up breaks! You should try it at least once to challenge yourself ha ha!