Brewing outside in the cold

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CartoonCod
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Brewing outside in the cold

Post by CartoonCod » Sat Jan 06, 2018 2:36 pm

Can I brew outisde in -13C weather with a blichmann burner? I want to give it a try, is it even worth trying? I only have one propane tank.

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by GAM » Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:08 pm

Wind shield will help but I think yes you can.

S

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by Woody » Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:19 pm

I've done it with my KAB6 so I can't see it being an issue with the Blichmann. As Sandy said wind shield of some sort to save on propane and I'd have a bucket of warm water to put your propane tank in and add to it or change it out once or twice during the boil. With one tank you don't want it freezing up.

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by MikeMorrison » Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:47 pm

I've done it with my Anvil burner and I believe the Blichmann is a better burner. Some kind of partial enclosure/ shield is a must!
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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by jacinthebox » Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:50 pm

My dark star burners can handle it no issue. I always use a wind blocker to maintain a constitant boil off
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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by elreplica » Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:05 pm

Phuckdat...I chickened out and ran to Propeller :o
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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by LeafMan66_67 » Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:24 pm

No problem at all with cold weather brewing with the Blichman. I've brewed down to minus 16C. A windscreen will help. I was making them with heavy duty foil until I mounted a custom aluminum one on the legs of my burner.
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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by TheGrainBarrel » Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:26 pm

:rockin: I'll be going my shed early tomorrow morning lol no need for a windshield there!

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by LeafMan66_67 » Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:35 pm

FWIW, aluminum flashing makes a great wind screen.
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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by CartoonCod » Sat Jan 06, 2018 7:42 pm

Cool. I've got my burner going, so far so good. I'm running it pretty slow to avoid "freezing it up".

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Lucas
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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by Lucas » Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:47 pm

This reminds me why I switched to indoor brewing...

I'd need a pretty strong burner on those -40 days here in Winnipeg.

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by John G » Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:00 pm

Your boil off amount increases in the cold (dry) air, so you may want to take that into account if you work out calculated volumes.

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by ahunt » Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:08 am

I just tried brewing indoors on my propane stovetop today. Sooo slow compared to my usual outdoor burner. Could barely reach the boil.

Has anyone tried adding a 1500W element to help along a stovetop boil?

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by GAM » Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:05 am

CartoonCod wrote:
Sat Jan 06, 2018 7:42 pm
Cool. I've got my burner going, so far so good. I'm running it pretty slow to avoid "freezing it up".
Open it up and keep the tank warm. Also Fermcap means you done need to stand over the pot till boil.

S

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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by oceanic_brew » Sun Jan 07, 2018 5:31 pm

Yeah fermcap and a nice window to look through

Oddly when I first started brewing I used to love getting bundled up and sitting around a kettle boiling. Now I can't even sit and watch it in the summer. Too busy for that.


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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by jacinthebox » Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:01 pm

I keep my tank in a bucket of water during the boil to avoid it freezing up
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Re: Brewing outside in the cold

Post by CartoonCod » Sun Jan 07, 2018 9:09 pm

Thanks for all the help and ideas. The brew day went well. I won't be scared to brew <-10C anymore.

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