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Cold Weather Brewing?

Wildrover

Grandmaster Brewer
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Later this summer I'm moving from the hot climate of sunny Florida to a very cold climate in North Dakota. Before anyone calls me crazy it was an easy decision.  I could stay in Florida and be warm and poor or move to North Dakota and be financially more secure, they're paying me enough to buy a coat.

Anyway, it seems like the cold weather really hampers some brewing activity.  I'm wondering if this is because people don't like the cold or if the cold makes brewing beer that much more difficult (e.g. holding mash temps, bringing wort t a boil etc.).  I know some don't brew much in the summer because of it being too hot.  I don't let the heat stop me though, my apartment is air conditioned and the heat outside, though brutal during the summer, obviously allows for a nice easy boil. 

I'm also wondering if you could combat some of the cold air issues by simply staying inside for the entire process.  When its 20 below out I can see how the idea of bringing 6+ gallons to a boil might not be reasonable.  But if I were to do it all on the stovetop in a nice climate controlled house I would think this would be okay.  Of course, to do this, on an electric range, I'll have to have several pots in order to get the 6+ gallons to boil since an electric range just isn't going to get it all hot enough if it stays in one 10 gallon pot (I've tried).  Are there any issues with breaking up the wort boil like this, and if anyone has done it, how are hop additions added, all to one pot or do you break it up among pots etc? 

Any insight will be appreacited

WR
 
Here in Oregon we are no where as cold as the Dakotas - but we do keep our house cool in the Winter by choice. I'm also a believer that the first 48hrs of Fermentation are critical and you need to keep the temperature up to get the yeast going.

This Winter I used a Brewbelt and got very good results --- and I just spent and extra $100 for Northern Brewers digital controller and probe assembly. So this will work in the Winter  -- AND I plan to build a Son of Fermentation Chiller. I can use this same assembly to control that as well

http://www.northernbrewer.com/temp-control.html

http://www.blackcanyonbrewers.com/BCHA-PDF-Files/chiller.pdf
 
Yea, don't stress too much. I talk with another dakota brewer and a guy near international falls, minute and they both seem to brew in the winter. 
My first ag batch was done at about freezing and then fermented at 56-58 -I take what I'm given from my basement as far as temp goes.  Check tastybrew for jmo and clb.
 
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