brewing in winter weather

[megDC]

This will be my first time brewing in the cold winter weather. I have a round cylindrical rubbermaid cooler for my mash tun and wondering if it will be able to hold the right temperature. Anyone have any issues like this?

It will be around 35 degrees this weekend when I want to brew. Is there anything I can do to or tricks you know to keep the temperature of the mash consistent in the cold weather?


cheers

[speed]

wrap it with a sleeping bag. one other idea, take the tun inside during the mash.
hey where are you located?

[adamK]

Out of fear of it getting too cold here in MT I run my mash/lauter inside and just boil outside - but my cooler is crap. I believe you should be able to wrap insulation and/or blankets around the tun to better insulate the cooler if an indoor mash is not an option.

I sometimes pay more attention to the humidity and wind in the winter: it takes particles to take the heat away. If it is going to be a dry calm day, you will likely not have any problems (although your altitude will play some part).

Hopefully the beers go well this winter!

[foomench]

Have you insulated the cooler lid? I fill mine with expanding insulated spray foam stuff. Really helps in any conditions.

[Bugeater]

As others have said, mash indoors. I do it year round. I use an electric bucket heater (about $25 from any farm supply store) in my HLT. For early morning brewing, I even hook that up to an appliance timer for early in the morning so I can get up, mash in, and then go take my shower and eat some breakfast. Don't even have to put my pants on until I go outside for the boil (prudish neighbors get upset ).

All kidding aside, this process has all sorts of advantages. The biggest of which is consistency of your process. Your grain temp and mash tun temp are the same every brew. You don't have to recompute your strike temperature every time and you don't have to second guess the changing temperature loss.

Wayne

[LordUlrich]

Going electric was my solution, now I can brew in the midst of winter and just have the steam to worry about (although the additional humidity is a nice advantage, as the air is dry this time of year), although last year I did everything on my stove, using 2 pots to get he wort to boil, and then combining them after hitting a boil. It worked, and those beers got me my pro brewer job, but it was a pain in the butt.

[megDC]

wrap it with a sleeping bag. one other idea, take the tun inside during the mash.

hey where are you located?

North Platte

[megDC]

I just had my boss weld me a three tier sculpture so I rather not drag the cooler inside. Plus I am not that strong.

I am going to try insulating the cooler lid and wrap it with a blanket or sleeping bags. If it happens to snow on a brew day, I'll try the electric bucket heater to be able to mash inside.

THanks for the tips!!