Top 5 Tips for Brewing Beer Outside

Ah, the first outdoor brewing day of the year. Here in Minnesota the spring came early - like three months early. When the weather hits 70 degrees on a Saturday, everyone in Minneapolis runs out to do their favorite outdoor activity. My favorite outdoor activity is homebrewing. Yeah, I know you can do it indoors, but there are some great reasons to take it to the back yard:

1. You get to use a propane burner. Having a burner really speeds the brewing process up - I can take 5 gallons of wort to a boil in minutes, way faster than my stovetop can.

2. No need to clean up messes. Spilled some wort on the patio? Easy. If only I could get away with spraying the kitchen floor with a hose every time I made a mess inside.

3. Converging with nature. Whatever you want to call it. Sitting on a lawn chair in the beautiful weather, reading a book while brewing, is just way nicer than sitting on my couch doing the same thing.

4. Chilling is a breeze. It's easy to hook my chiller right up to a garden hose, get a huge flow rate if I want, and water the garden with the exit water.

5. "Hey, what are you doing over there?" "I'm brewing beer." "Oh, really?" So, as you can see, I'm excited about the start of outdoor brewing season.

This weekend I took the opportunity to brew a simple American Wheat beer.

4.5 lbs Rahr White Wheat Malt

4.5 lbs Rahr Premium Pilsner

0.5 oz US Northern Brewer hops @ 60 min (9% AA)

1.8 oz Homegrown Cascade hops @ 5 min

OG 1.052

0.5L Yeast Starter of Wyeast 1056

A thirst-quencher for summer is the goal here. Nothing too complex, just a soft body with a bit of tartness and a clean citrus finish. Bring on the warm weather!