Micro Brewery on Board ?

[hummingway]

I have a 20 foot travel trailer at home that is my brewery so I know the space isn't an issue on the boat. However boiling the wort is. I also suspect storage of the raw materials (malted grain, hops and yeast) to be an issue. When I lived on the boat I didn't brew, I kept my gear in storage, but I sure missed it. It is one of the few things about living on land again that I find an improvement over the boat.

I don't know if a portable brewery that you take to the beach would be possible or not? The wort chiller (required to get the hot wort down to a temperature that the yeast can be pitched at) would be a challenge but a solar powered pump that pumped sea water might work.

In the right circumstances it could be an adventure, in the wrong ones a PITA. I confess that when I go out for a couple of weeks now I don't even even take a keg with me. loading it and the co2 on the boat doesn't seem worth the effort. I settle for knowing how good it will taste when I get home.

If I were designing a boat for long distance cruising or living aboard ... it would have a brewery built in

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by hummingway

However boiling the wort is.
I also suspect storage of the raw materials (malted grain, hops and yeast) to be an issue.

I don't know if a portable brewery that you take to the beach would be possible or not? The wort chiller (required to get the hot wort down to a temperature that the yeast can be pitched at)

For an aspiring boat bum your as far behind the 8 Ball as the front door!

Listen here, 'Ol Hummers... The ain't no boiling de wort! Their ain't no grain, hops and kit that goes off or needs storage!

If you fellas would read the frickin website I supplied a few times (above) you'd see that your living in the past and need to get a big rev into the future!

Coopers Brewrey is one of the biggest in Australia and their home brewing kits is sensational!

As for a portable brewrey to take to the beach.... are you crackers?????? Stuff it in the head and everytime you sit down you can give your brew a good cuddle!!!!!!!!!


Bliss!


Mark
PS What the hell's a wort chiller? Sounds like a teenagers pimple sucker...

[hummingway]

Kit beer???? Where's the hoity-toity nose up in the air icon when you need it?

[hummingway]

Wort chiller is what I use to get 20 litres of boiling liquid down to 75F in 15 minutes.

[Ruf361]

put it in a carboy and lower it over the side of the boat

[kevingy]

Originally Posted by David M

I would imagine that the extra space it takes to make beer is greater than the extra space that could be made to store beer.

Yes. One would need the space for both the space to make the beer and the space to store the made beer. In home breweries, beer is typically brewed in a large container, then transferred to smaller containers to carbonate. I've used Mr. Beer in the past. The Mr. Beer fermenter is a 2 gallon plastic jug. That amount of beer requires about 12 20 oz. plastic soda bottles. The beer ingredients require a small amount of storage with other provisions. The water and bleach (to sanitize the fermenter) would be onboard anyway. When the fermenter is not in use (like that ever happens ), stuff can be stored in the fermenter.

So, yes, more space is required, but it's not as though one would need to gut the galley to brew.

http://www.mrbeer.com/

Originally Posted by David M

If having that much beer on board is important, then perhaps one needs to step back, look at the big picture and ask why.

To each his own. One might ask the same question about why one needs a television, computer, or iPod on a boat. To some, making the perfect beer is as important as perfectly trimmed sails. It doesn't have to be rational to be enjoyable.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Ruf361

put it in a carboy and lower it over the side of the boat

Thank you, Ruf!!!!!!!!!

See Hummers, a bit of nautical ingenuity and theres ya Wort Chiller! May even catch a fish with it!

The Coopers brew you only add 2 litres of boiling water to 21 litres of tap water so the temperature is normally spot on somewhere between 18 and 27 degrees - which is perfect.

Temp control works by a blanket and stuffing an old plastic water bottle with hot water down inside.
One can use ones hydrometer to test SD or, if you are really up with it (like moi) and use an air lock you ca.... let me change that around - you stand clear - I leave the thing for a few weeks (near 20 days) and then bottle it. It normally brews in 7 to 10 days by the extra time is ok because of the airlock, and it gets the sediment right down the bottom and not in the bottle....

[Ruf361]

i brew at home, now i live on a boat, so i am going to transfer my operation to the boat. i am in a marina so space and power arent a factor. the one main issue with brewing, and one that matter is being able to let it ferment in a constant temp range. on a boat, this can be slightly challenging because of insulation and how often you run your AC if at all. They make "coozies" or wraps for carboys and buckets, or a closet, or locker will remain pretty stable. it easy to do if you want to do it.

like many other threads on this forum, most naysayers are the one who never do it, just armchair quaterbacks!

depending on your set, a gay powered turkey fryer would be fine to cool your wort. and you can use that set up to cook plenty of things so might not be bad to have aboard anyways. i think they make ones that can run off camp fuel bottles.

[Khagan1227]

I brew my own beer and I know a guy that uses 2 liter pop bottles for his brew.

You can use about any grain (even rice) for brewing beer and using wort extract doesn't take up much room. Any folding water carrier will work to ferment the beer in. Hang it from the overhead while it's fermenting and you have a television.

After what I've read on here, I wanna hang out with MarkJ when we are in the same port!

[sailorboy1]

Wow, a beer battle!

There's beer for drinking...............then there's beer making for a hobby that you later drink. All I care about is the drinking part and a kit works fine for me.

Of course once you start brewing/making beer you know what it really is ............yeast pi** (acohol) and yeast farts (bubbles) :-)

[Ruf361]

i would still probably use glass and a bottle capper just because, well, i like glass and bottle caps! Always having beer is probably a good bargin tool as well for pirates, i mean fishermen!

plus you can use Saison yeast for a more citrus summer type brew, which i find refreshing.

[jenny2]

Originally Posted by Saucy Sailoress

1 kg rice
0.5 kg raisins
15 litres water
1 teaspoon yeast

1 - Mix all in a bucket (empty water dispensers work great) - and seal.
2 - Decant when bubbles stop. Bottle when clear.
3 - Drink slowly, in small glasses - and probably with a mixer :-)

I love rasin wine! I'm waiting for my next 7 gallons to bottle.Its strong and GOOD plus you don't have to drink much,also very easy to make.I will have to try your brew. Beer to me is just to much trouble to make your own to me.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Khagan1227

After what I've read on here, I wanna hang out with MarkJ when we are in the same port!

A man with obvious good taste in friends. Bring your wife. I'm single.

Please regard photos below...

The Coopers brew is the can, the bottles and sugar (or you ccan use white sugar). Yeast is under plastic can lid. For carbonation I use 3 sugar cubes per 700 mil bottle. (Please see Whale on cupboard behind. Ain't he cute )

The photo where someone has obviously surprised me... is my earlier brew position before moving into the aft Head. But I bottle on the saloon table. Note the fermentation container and note well (NB in latin) the 'lil black line that is the stick on thermometer.

Mix can of goo with 2 litres of boiling water and whack in fermenter with sugare and mix a bit, top up to 23 litres (a mark on fermenter). Stir and tell jokes for 30 seconds and then chuck in dry yeast and light stir in.
Close lid really hard and stuff airlock in.

Go away and come back a few weeks later and bottle.



But certainly I am not adverse to folks trying it all from scratch the hard way, but this is so simple

[Ruf361]

i would consider installing a small pony (5gallon) keg on my boat, no more bottles!

[hummingway]

10 lb Canadian 2-row
1 lb Crystal Xtra dark (120 lov)
1 lb wheat malt
8 oz Chocolate malt
3 oz Roasted barley
2 oz peated malt

single infusion mash strike @ 165F 12L for 2.5 hr
sparge @175F 14L

Boil for 1.5 hr
1.5 oz Cascade hops in boil
.5 oz Cascade final 20
.5 oz Cascade 5 minute rest

makes 20L

The gravity of this ale is 1.070 which allows it to finish at 9% alcohol by volume which is a darn good reason to homebrew!!! It takes about 4 months for it to begin to get really nice.