I did my first cold weather brew last weekend and it brought about a few new challenges. First of all I'm not too good with cold weather. It's my firm belief that humans should hibernate all winter. I had to make sure I didn't get in too big of a hurry while I was doing something outside during the brew. Second of all, I could only get my mash up to 147f. I did get close to my target OG though. I think I was aiming for 1.049 and I hit 1.047. I didn't do a starter but one thing I did different with the yeast was, since it was so cold, I carried the vial around in my pocket during the entire brew session so the yeast would be awake and kicking when it came time to pitch. Fermentation started pretty slow, I think it was 24+ hours before I noticed it starting to bubble and that was after I moved it into a semi-heated room in the basement. The main basement was getting down to the low 50s, this room seems to stay in the low to mid 60s. We'll see how it comes out.

(By the way, the name Fuzzy Weasel Head comes from the acronym FWH which stands for First Wort Hopping. A method I used for this brew)

Fuzzy Weasel Head Brown Ale
BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
10-C American Ale, American Brown Ale

Grain:
8.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row)
1.00 lbs. Crystal 60L
0.50 lbs. Chocolate Malt

Hops
0.50 oz. Nugget Whole First WH
0.50 oz. Nugget Whole 60 min.
0.75 oz. Willamette Whole 30 min.
0.25 oz. Willamette Whole 15 min.

Extras
1.00 Tsp 5.2 added to Mash
1.00 Tsp Irish Moss 15 Min.(boil)

Yeast
White Labs WLP001 California Ale