Well to be honest I was in the garage, and only for short bursts. It’s not like I stood by the kettle for the full 90 min. And I did the mash inside. School’s called off again tomorrow, but I think I’ll stay inside this time and watch the airlock bubble. 
Hells yes señor Capitan!! wow, nice work.
You Minnisootan school teachers really have to brew when you can!!
Cheers.
It’s predicted to get all the way down to 56F down here at sea level tonight! A TROPICS VORTEX!!!
Oh the humanity!!
(Where did I store my hoodie last Spring?)
I’ve brewed outdoors with the temps. in the 30’s.
On occasion if it’s cold and windy I’ll put the burner in the garage with door cracked a couple of feet. I have also done the mash in the kitchen and the boil outdoors.
My daughter gave me three new three gallon kegs for Christmas so I will probably do a few smaller batches in the kitchen this winter.
Also here in Jersey it usually doesn’t stay really cold for that long a time, for example today’s high is supposed to be 24 but Saturday it calls for a high of 53. So no need to freeze my ass off today when I can wait a few days and enjoy my brew day.
Thanks guys! It wasn’t fun to be the guy in the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” ad but nothing was broken and the bruises are healing.
As to the best temp to brew? I really like 25 - 45F range. A sweatshirt, ball cap and work gloves are more than enough to be comfortable and ground water temps are perfect for chilling. The low humidity is usually my biggest worry. Kettle evaporation is really high this time of year and it can be difficult adjust volumes for it.
The majority of my process is indoors in my basement workshop (walkout to a patio) so I can sit inside and look out at the burner. I use a remote thermometer (repurposed from my smoker) to monitor water temps for mashing and sparging. I am outside for less than 15 minutes for most brewing sessions. That’s what makes the fall so funny to me, I was just going out to move the kettle to a furniture dolly for the move inside to chill. Two minutes tops. :
It takes way too much propane to heat water when it’s below 0 outside.
Paul
Bucket heaters save some propane for me.
I brewed in 6F weather once a few years ago in a garage. I brew inside now on the stove, 4 gallon batches…so it’s much nicer and it heats up the house in the winter.
Also brewed in 11F weather on a friend’s deck recently. That was fun. But we mostly just watched the kettle from inside and drank beer.
I ride my bike year round, so brewing isn’t too bad. I biked today to work and it was only -6F with no wind. Wind makes all the difference in the world. Didn’t bike yesterday when it was -19 in the morning with 15mph winds out of the WNW. No thank you.
Holy s#$% !
No such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!
+1
Long sleeves and long pants suck.
I agree… Layer up and go brew. I brew no matter what temp it is outside…
I am also in the camp that would rather brew in -50F than 100F. I can fix cold but I can’t fix hot and humid.
Sure can’t. I hate hot and humid weather. I’d take 0F with no wind almost any day over 100F and humid. But they’re really both pretty close. If it could just be about 55F, sunny, with no wind most of the year - I’d be happy!
Haha for sure super child wouldn’t be my overall preference, but compared to hot it wins every time. I really only dislike child when it’s time to clean… But I have waterproof being gloves I put on over my regular gloves now…
Sunday when I brewed it was around 30F and really windy. It was nearly impossible to reach a boil. Never again.
Growing up in Upstate NY you’d think I could take the cold, but as I’ve gotten older it has become too much of a PITA to brew below 25F and I prefer above freezing so my chiller works. I can take the heat, doesn’t bother me too much, just need to be careful that hot wort doesn’t meet bare skin. :o
Brewed today at a beautiful 78 degree January Day. Since it doesn’t get below 60 too often anywhere in the 60s or 70s is nice. I have to take most of summer off when it’s pushing 100
I have an electric infrared heater like this http://www.morelectricheating.com/default.aspx?page=item+detail&itemcode=FOST480444&catlist=851 for the covered part of my patio where I brew. That helps keep the chill off, so I’ll brew outdoors down to about 15-20 F. Outdoor cleanup is a hassle when it gets much colder than that, so I switch it up and mash indoors and only boil outside. Sometimes, I do 3-gallon BIAB on the stove when it’s really cold - it’s fun to use a different technique and/or an experimental recipe.