brewing beer aboard while cruising

[zboss]

Originally Posted by DDabs

Oscar Blues put all of their beer in cans. Ten Fidy, g'night, old chub are just a few that are prime examples of what you described, better than most on tap or in bottle

No... as in kit beer... not canned beer. Yes, that is good beer.

So, I just started the kit beer. To get it into the fermenter took about 45 minutes. I was very careful to measure out the ingredients and make sure I got as much out of the can as possible. With that said, the kit only produced a starting gravity of 1.038 which is quite low for an IPA. I could see slight mistakes in measuring taking out .010 from the reading but the style should be closer to 1.063 which is almost twice that of the kit.

I can only guess that they make mash their grain to produce a moderate hand of unfermentables so they can still produce a mouthful without the beer being malty. Since the beer is not as malty they don't have to use as many hops, which is probably a characteristic most widely appreciated by the average consumer and good for the bottom line as well. Since the yeast still has some alcohol tolerance left after the beer is done fermenting, the sugar added to the beer before bottling will get eaten up well.

It definitely has a hop character to it although I would not describe it as heavily floral. The varieties of hops grown in Australia and New Zealand are not generally ones that US consumers are used to - they are pretty good I imagine but I've never made a beer using Australian hops. They do produce some hallertau varieties.

We will see how this key turns out but if I were to make it again I would not use any sugar in the fermentation. I would boost the amount of dry malt to bring the beer into the style guidelines if still wanting to make 5 gallons/20 liters or reduce the amount of water to raise the gravity. We will see how the coopers yeast turns out. I have had good experience with it before but you could use some other kind of ale yeast to produce a very different beer using the same basic ingredients.

[hellosailor]

Tinned beer. I wonder if there is a problem with bpa coming out of the can liners in beer just like with so many other tinned things?

Or with bpa in plastic booze bottles. Thank heavens Scotch and rum still come in plain glass bottles!

[kefroeschner]

Great thread ... glad to see so many brewers out there. Even at sea, upholding the IPA tradition. My only comment is on bottles -- I like champagne bottles. They are plenty stout, and you can get plastic corks and wires, or save the ones from the original, but boil them immediately before use. Much classier than (ecch) soda bottles.

[Astrid]

Tinned beer. I wonder if there is a problem with bpa coming out of the can liners in beer just like with so many other tinned things?

Couldn't be any worse than the lead based glazes used in a lot of the ceramic beer, stout, or porter bottles used in the 19th century and earlier.

[hellosailor]

Lead glazes still are being used, often in goods from China. And at least one Arctic expedition may have died from the lead solder in newfangled tin cans. Fully leaded crystal is now banned for tableware (at least in the EU and US). So "no worse than" something proven to be toxic, still leaves it worth looking at.

If you need hormone pills, by all means, consider BPA as a free alternative. If, on the other hand, you don't think estrogen pills should be passed out like jelly beans, or you're starting to notice your address book contains the names of multiple cancer victims, or your doctor has said "we'd better biopsy that"...

I'm real tired of businesses that piss on my head and try to tell me it is just raining. If the BPA gets from the can liners into my body (and it does) then I don't need the canned goods. I still use canned goods--I just look for bpa-free tins, or non-tinned goods, when there's a ready alternative. Extra salt, sugars, bpa...it really is obscene, when you consider what all that stuff might or might not be doing.

[micah719]

Doc: "Now, what seems to be the trouble?"

Miss: "I'm worried about the hormone treatment you've put me on. I'm growing hair in places I've never grown hair on in my life."

Doc: "Some side effects are to be expected with this kind of treatment. Don't worry, we can overcome those. Where for example are you growing unwanted hair?"

Miss: "On my testicles, which is another thing I wanted to ask you about."

[zboss]

The instructions were incorrect... I found other coopers directions printed directly on the can which said to add 300 grams of sugar vs. the 100 in the printed instructions located in the lid. I added the 200 grams.

However, even after calculating the optimal SG using my brewing calculator, the recipe is still coming up short on the starting gravity.

BTW - I suppose you would not have to use propane at all to create the dilution if you could find a black container (like a sun shower) and use the sun to get it hot.

Champagne bottles are a good idea but then you still have to cork them.

[micah719]

Any sailing brewers tried or recommend dextrose?

[s/v Jedi]

I'm waiting for you guys to wake up and start distilling that beer into premium whiskey!

[zboss]

Originally Posted by micah719

Any sailing brewers tried or recommend dextrose?

That's just corn sugar. It's 100% fermentable to as long as you are fermenting cooler, you should not notice too much difference between that and cane sugar or beet sugar. If you ferment warmer you may get some funny buttery flavors in your beer if you use too much sugar.

[Astrid]

@Hellosailor, I was being ironic and actually agreeing with you; some chemicals will get you in the short run, like the lead associated with the lead solder used in the food tins of the Franklin expedition to the arctic (of which you spoke), or the BPAs or other chemicals which might leech out from plastics in ones food.

[zboss]

Have you guys made apfelwein? Tastes like champagne and no boiling required:

This is copied from edwort on homebrewtalk:

Award Winning Apfelwein Recipe (German Hard Cider) Apple Wine Recipe
Placed 1st in the Cider & Apple Wine category at the BJCP sanctioned Alamo Cerveza fest (out of 11 entries) and took 2nd place for Best of Show for the main category of Meads & Ciders (out of 50 entries).

Ingredients

5 Gallons 100% Apple Juice (No preservatives or additives) I use Tree Top Apple Juice
2 pounds of dextrose (corn sugar) in one pound bags
1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast

Equipment

5 Gallon Carboy (I use a Better Bottle)
Carboy Cap or Stopper with Airlock
Funnel
First sanitize the carboy, airlock, funnel, stopper or carboy cap.
Open one gallon bottle of apple juice and pour half of it into the carboy using the funnel.
Open one bag of Dextrose and carefully add it to the now half full bottle of apple juice. Shake well.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3, then go to step 5.
Pour in the mixture of Apple Juice and Dextrose from both bottles into the carboy.
Add all but 1 quart of remaining 3 gallons of apple juice to the carboy.
Open the packet of Montrachet Yeast and pour it into the neck of the funnel.
Use the remaining quart of juice to wash down any yeast that sticks. I am able to fit all but 3 ounces of apple juice into a 5 gallon Better Bottle. You may need to be patient to let the foam die down from all shaking and pouring.
Put your stopper or carboy cap on with an airlock and fill the airlock with cheap vodka. No bacteria will live in vodka and if you get suckback, you just boosted the abv.
There’s no need to worry about filling up a carboy so full when you use Montrachet wine yeast. There is no Kreuzen, just a thin layer of bubbles.

[zboss]

continued...

). I'm able to fit all but 4 oz. of my five gallons in the bottle. Ferment at room temperature.

It will become cloudy in a couple of days and remain so for a few weeks. In the 4th week, the yeast will begin to drop out and it will become clear. After at least 4 weeks, you can keg or bottle, but it is ok to leave it in the carboy for another month or so. Racking to a secondary is not necessary. It ferments out very dry (less than 0.999, see here)

Apfelwein really improves with age, so if you can please let it sit in a carboy for up to 3 months before bottling or kegging, then let it sit even longer. Here's what some folks think.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Saccharomyces
Six months and it hits its stride. Eight months and it'll blow your mind.
If you want to bottle and carbonate, ¾ cup of corn sugar will work fine. Use as you would carbonate a batch of beer.

Remember to reserve judgment till after 3 glasses. It grows on you.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND START ANOTHER BATCH 2 WEEKS AFTER YOU START THIS ONE.
YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!


GENERAL QUESTIONS
compiled by Dammed Squirrels from the first 37 pages of this thread. Thanks DS!

How does it taste?
It ferments quite dry. Some people have tried different yeasts in order to achieve a sweeter taste. It may take you a few glasses to get a feel for the flavor. It is very reminiscent of a sort of apfelwein produced locally in Germany. There really is no comparable product in the United States. It's drier and less sweet than commercial hard ciders. It gets better with age and at 6+ months, the apple flavor really comes out.

[zboss]

and continued...

How do you sweeten it?
Many folks back sweeten it with Wine Conditioner. Wine Conditioner is a blend of sucrose and sorbic acid. The addition of 2-4 oz. per gallon adds sweetness and prevents renewed fermentation. It can be purchased as any LHBS that caters to wine makers. Others will use Splenda or lactose (other non-fermentable sugars). Germans who prefer it sweet (or Suß as they say) will add a splash of Sprite or 7up to a glass. This is the easiest method as you don't have to make a whole "sweet" batch that way.

What is the difference between Apfelwein and hard cider?
EdWort says, “Most ciders are a bit sweeter. Ciders and Apfelwein are about 6% abv, but I like the little boost I give it with 2 pounds of Dextrose. It adds no body or flavor and still tastes like Possmann's Apfelwein, only it will kick your butt much quicker.”

Is this like Apfelmost / Apfel Korn?
No. Apfel Korn is a german liqeur made from wheat spirits. Apfelmost is spontaneously fermented with fresh-pressed apples or apple juice. It is probably similar, but the results may vary as a result of the spontaneous fermentation. Either way, Apfelmost is most certainly has a lower alcohol content since the initial gravity is not increased by the use of concentrate or corn sugar.

What’s the difference between apple juice and cider?
Cider is made by pressing apples. Juice is then filtered to remove all of the stuff that makes it cloudy.

Can I use apple cider instead?
Sure! You can use whatever you want. However, there is not enough information in this thread to give you any better details as to how it will turn out. I recommend starting a new thread or ask more experienced cider-makers.

What kind of Apple Juice should I use?
Ideally, you want to use 100% natural apple juice with no preservatives. The only acceptable preservative is ascorbic acid, which is a source of vitamin C and does not affect fermentation. Pasteurized juice is preferred, since it will have less bacteria.

How much will this recipe cost me?
5 gallons of Apfelwein can be made for between 20 and 25 dollars.

What else can you do with this recipe?
EdWort says, "this makes a great Grog in the winter time. Take a quart in a sauce pan, add some rum, turbinado sugar, and float a cinnamon stick in it and simmer for a while. Serve hot in mugs. It'll warm you right up."

[Matt sachs]

I brewed and bottled 48 - 12 oz bottles of an Irish stout 7 years ago. It wasnt to my liking so it went off the basement to be forgotten - until now. ..... Wish me luck.