cruis'n and brew'n: Does anyone brew beer at sea

[J. LaFitte]

Fruit is cheap in the tropics. Mash, add a bit of water, sugar, and yeast. Party in a jug.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Symphony

I also worried for international travel having to explain my copper equipment to a Caribbean or Central American customs inspector.
it is possible with a large enough vessel. Good luck and keep trying.

Get the right one and its nothing more than a 20 litre tea urn with some s/s pipework that fits inside when not in use.

[GILow]

Plenty of threads here on CF.

To summarise, yes it can be done reasonably easily provided you have the space and the water.

The smell is not a problem. Put a length of pipe on the water lock and direct it out of the boat. No different to what I used to do at home where I ran the pipe out the window.

A small fish tank heater is within the capabilities of a boat with reasonable power generation and storage capacity. I seem to remember that the heater was no longer needed once the fermentation started as it an exothermic reaction.

Mostly worried about the comment that a one litre bottle is a “single serve”! Maybe in Darwin?

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Symphony

I had the idea to distill spirits on board a boat big enough to generate 220V with enough current, so I started at home using the 220V in the laundry room. works great, but as other have said you need two important things which are difficult to achieve on a boat:
stable temp in the 70s F
stable place to let the yeast fall to the bottom

otherwise it's like trying to distill Vegemite; not good flavor but plenty of buzz until the next morning.

I also worried for international travel having to explain my copper equipment to a Caribbean or Central American customs inspector.
it is possible with a large enough vessel. Good luck and keep trying.

I know there are some very strange people wandering around out there in boats, but why would one want to distill Vegemite??

[GILow]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

I know there are some very strange people wandering around out there in boats, but why would one want to distill Vegemite??

I think you kinda answered your own question.

Folks in boats...

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

I know there are some very strange people wandering around out there in boats, but why would one want to distill Vegemite??

Well, Vegemite can be awfully hard to source. For some mysterious reason, stores in Europe do not stock it.

I have needed to resort to stuffing my pockets with it on infrequent flights back home. The ability to distill it on board seems very favourable to me .

SWL
aka “a happy little Vegemite”

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by GILow

I think you kinda answered your own question.

Folks in boats...

Well yes, but distilling Vegemite is a strange thing for even strange people to do.

[wsmurdoch]

The book Orca ( https://www.amazon.com/Orca-John-Pen.../dp/1499319797 ) introduced me to easily brewing beer aboard. The book is great, and within it lies the onboard beer secret. Coopers Brewing in Australia ( https://coopers.com.au/diy-beer ) makes kits of flavored malt extract which with a little water and time become beer. In the USA the kits are sold by Mr Beer ( https://www.mrbeer.com/ ). We buy the 2 gallon refill kits, mix up the wort, ferment it in a 2-1/2 gal rectangular water bottle stoppered with a water lock all tied to the salon table leg and covered and kept dark with a Bud case box, then after 10 days or so rack the beer into empty 1L tonic water bottles. I force carbonate the beer with a 5 lb cylinder of CO2 fitted with a regulator and basketball needle using black rubber basketball valves stuck through holes punched in the tonic water bottle caps. Presto, beer in 11 days. IPAs and ales do best.

The CO2 also makes Diet Coke from syrup for my Rum. We carry a 5 gallon box bought from Sam's. It lasts 5 months.

What's not to like? Buy John's book. It's fun, and you will have something to talk about with other cruisers... plus lots of beer.

Bill

[GILow]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Well yes, but distilling Vegemite is a strange thing for even strange people to do.

True, but with all due respect to SWL, EATING it is strange enough for me.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

The book Orca ( https://www.amazon.com/Orca-John-Pen.../dp/1499319797 ) introduced me to easily brewing beer aboard. The book is great, and within it lies the onboard beer secret. Coopers Brewing in Australia ( https://coopers.com.au/diy-beer ) makes kits of flavored malt extract which with a little water and time become beer. In the USA the kits are sold by Mr Beer ( https://www.mrbeer.com/ ). We buy the 2 gallon refill kits, mix up the wort, ferment it in a 2-1/2 gal rectangular water bottle stoppered with a water lock all tied to the salon table leg and covered and kept dark with a Bud case box, then after 10 days or so rack the beer into empty 1L tonic water bottles. I force carbonate the beer with a 5 lb cylinder of CO2 fitted with a regulator and basketball needle using black rubber basketball valves stuck through holes punched in the tonic water bottle caps. Presto, beer in 11 days. IPAs and ales do best.

The CO2 also makes Diet Coke from syrup for my Rum. We carry a 5 gallon box bought from Sam's. It lasts 5 months.

What's not to like? Buy John's book. It's fun, and you will have something to talk about with other cruisers... plus lots of beer.

Bill

Use a syringe to squert a few CCs of sugar water into each bottle before you cap it and it will carbonate itself in the bottle.

[cj88]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Well, Vegemite can be awfully hard to source. For some mysterious reason, stores in Europe do not stock it.

I have needed to resort to stuffing my pockets with it on infrequent flights back home. The ability to distill it on board seems very favourable to me .

SWL
aka “a happy little Vegemite”

I grew up with Vegemite and Marmite so I can survive in both hemispheres.

[Antares Sky]

You can purchase ready to brew wart in a 2 litre plastic bottle the same used for soda. Inside the cap is the yeast. You remove the cap pull the yeast capsule out drop it in the bottle. Close the lid, tip the bottle end for end several times then let it sit till it brewed. Once brewed you chill and serve.

[skyrise]

Howdy.... This is something I know a little bit about..



As mentioned above Coopers do a really nice/ easy brewing kit.. It makes about 35 pints.. Just get the kit and mix it with water and brewing sugger for the yeast.



OR even simpler is mead.


I have a 5 litre bottle(demijohn).. Add 5 jars honey + white wine yeast and water.



White wine yeast is about as strong as you can get about 14%..

At that % you don't really need to distill.
It's ready to drink when it goes nice and clear which about 4-6 weeks depending on temprature..

[Jon Hacking]

Kahuna, we started brewing on board in Oz in 2006, as the beers are redonculously expensive there (probably a good thing, but strange in a culture that likes to present a hard-drinking image of themselves). The equipment wasn't much (we still have it) but storing the bottles took cubage. I cheated, in that I used the beer-kits available in Oz & NZ (& in specialty brew shops, which is to say, nowhere else in SE Asia, where we are now). It's all documented in my Brewing Pages.

The main problem I found was that the temperatures in the tropics are so high that the primary fermentation went off very quickly (3 days instead of 12). This may have killed many of the yeasty-beasties, as the subsequent carbonation cycle never produced much carbonation. If you can find a way to keep your carboy cool, that will help. Good Luck!


PS: We're now brewing our own rice wine, which doesn't taste at all of rice, & not much like wine, but it's a pleasant (& cheap) brew.

[Tikka]

Sure very easy , beer kit, fermenter, air lock, sugar.
no energy need it,
great range of different types of beer available .
I only use plastic bottles, make sure your beer completed fermentation ,
I leave it for 2 week before bottling