Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#11
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
What's the difference between American beer and making love in a canoe?
None. They are both ***king near water. |
#12
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
wrote in message oups.com... What's the difference between American beer and making love in a canoe? None. They are both ***king near water. I do not expect to have to bite into my beer to be able to ingest it. ;-) American beers are indeed quite mild as compared to stout ales or beers from Canada or Europe. There are a number of private brew houses throughout the States frequented by those with a greater appreciation of beer. Excluding the drunk party scenario.........we drink beer here as a compliment to casual meals or to relax. Now college drinking is another scenario altogether and the quality of the beer is not high on that list. ;-) |
#13
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
I really don't see a feasible way to brew while underway but it might be
possible in a quiet anchorage. I think filteration must be necessary. Primary fermentation is in what is basically a food-grade garbage can. It takes about week or less. Secondary fermentation takes another...week...less with with a clarifying agent and maybe filtering. After that, it's bottling. After bottling leave for one week and then enjoy responsibily. One can buy canned kits that should be easy to store. My challenge is that I can't see me making a normal 5-gallons at a time...too big for my boat. Wondering how others solved this. Glenn. "Don W" wrote in message . com... Hi Bill, Bill Kearney wrote: Surely beer has to stand during the fermentation/settling process. How can you achieve that unless it's a houseboat you live on? Not to mention how NASTY the smell is gonna be WHEN that thing tips over due to wave action. I have never personally tried to make beer or ale, but have always thought it would be a neat hobby. Some friends of mine in Seattle used to make great beers, ales, and wines at home. They were members of the Boeing Employees brewing club (or some such org). Also, my cousins used to make very tasty dark beer at home. Here are some questions wrt this thread: Take it for granted that you could set up a gimbled arrangement for the brewing keg--could be as simple as suspending from the ceiling in an aft cabin with some bungees to keep it from swinging around too much... 1) Would you be able to brew a batch in a fairly quiet anchorage? How long does the brewing process take? 2) Is there something inherent in the brewing process that would cause it to not work when the contents are constantly agitated such as at sea? If settling is the issue, could you substitute filtration? 3) Are ingredients (besides the water) such that they could be stored fairly long term while on a cruise? Any successful homebrewers out there? Don W. |
#14
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
JimH wrote:
"prodigal1" wrote in message ... JimH wrote: But then again, I am an American who favors a nice cold bottle of Miller Genuine Draft. ;-) and therein lies the problem go north young man...great white north that is pop-fzzzz-gulp-ahhhhhh MGD? naw, that's not beer __ everyone need something to believe in... I believe I'll have another one (thanks Norm) I have. When I drink beer I do not expect to find clumps of barley, malt and yeast in it (a very stout beer!). I also do not expect to have to scoop it out of the mug. ;-) These flavour buds ensure the satisfying aftertaste. They also can be counted as servings of green vegetables if one is concerned with such things. I want a beer that is pleasing to the taste yet does not overwhelm my senses. Perhaps if I were raised in Dublin, Ireland or Fort George, Canada I would have different tastes. ;-) Absolutely. Sensory overload is a distinct problem with many of our tasty beverages. Caution must be exercised at all times. If you have a problem with MGD have you ever had a Coors Lite? Nothing but water passed over some barley and hops for 2 seconds. naw, just yanking your chain, both MGD and Coors are brewed up here and the hotter it is, the better they taste! |
#16
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:56:40 -0500, prodigal1 wrote:
JimH wrote: "prodigal1" wrote in message ... JimH wrote: But then again, I am an American who favors a nice cold bottle of Miller Genuine Draft. ;-) and therein lies the problem go north young man...great white north that is pop-fzzzz-gulp-ahhhhhh MGD? naw, that's not beer __ everyone need something to believe in... I believe I'll have another one (thanks Norm) I have. When I drink beer I do not expect to find clumps of barley, malt and yeast in it (a very stout beer!). I also do not expect to have to scoop it out of the mug. ;-) These flavour buds ensure the satisfying aftertaste. They also can be counted as servings of green vegetables if one is concerned with such things. I want a beer that is pleasing to the taste yet does not overwhelm my senses. Perhaps if I were raised in Dublin, Ireland or Fort George, Canada I would have different tastes. ;-) Absolutely. Sensory overload is a distinct problem with many of our tasty beverages. Caution must be exercised at all times. If you have a problem with MGD have you ever had a Coors Lite? Nothing but water passed over some barley and hops for 2 seconds. naw, just yanking your chain, both MGD and Coors are brewed up here and the hotter it is, the better they taste! As a Pom now living in Australia, my problem is the temperature that beer's served over here. If I want frostbite of the toungue, I'll lick my eutetic plate. Still, 20 seconds in the microwave brings a pint of Aussie beer to a reasonable temperature and nothing could damage the taste any more than the "brewers' have. |
#17
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
Peter Knight wrote:
As a Pom now living in Australia, my problem is the temperature that beer's served over here. If I want frostbite of the toungue, I'll lick my eutetic plate. Still, 20 seconds in the microwave brings a pint of Aussie beer to a reasonable temperature and nothing could damage the taste any more than the "brewers' have. buddy of mine feeds his dog beer --I know, he's an idiot-- calls the poor thing "Six Pack" funny thing is, the dog turns it's nose away from Fosters! |
#18
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
Glenn -
Do you recall or have a copy of the articles regarding the brewing of beer on boats? I do hope you receive constructive answers and hopefully someone who has been brewing will answer your post. For years I hated to pay big bucks for beer in most of the islands. I hated carrying a case or two back to the boat. We went to rum because of the costs and avilablity. But we ended up paying a lot for cokes and we were still carrying the cases back to the boat. From my experience, I had thought about brewing beer on my next boat. I have also thought about putting in a mini soda fountain to dispense coke, tonic... Lastly, the best beer I had found in the West Indies was in the DR. We would load up on beer and rum and ration our beer for special occasions. stu "Glenn A. Heslop" wrote in message news:raEVf.183041$sa3.143382@pd7tw1no... I've read several articles where cruisers were brewing their own beer aboard their boats. I brew my own when ashore, but have had to resort to store-bought beer when living aboard for the winter. Have any of you any experience brewing your own afloat? Glenn. s/v Seawing www.seawing.net |
#19
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
Don W wrote:
Here are some questions wrt this thread: Take it for granted that you could set up a gimbled arrangement for the brewing keg--could be as simple as suspending from the ceiling in an aft cabin with some bungees to keep it from swinging around too much... 1) Would you be able to brew a batch in a fairly quiet anchorage? How long does the brewing process take? Anywhere from a month to a year. A decent ale might take 6 weeks. Mostly depending on temperature, strength and gravity. A cool anchorage would be preferred, warm ferments can get funky and messy. Ideally something in the 50-70F range for ales. 2) Is there something inherent in the brewing process that would cause it to not work when the contents are constantly agitated such as at sea? If settling is the issue, could you substitute filtration? According to lore, one of the things that made the original India Pale Ale unique was the fact that they underwent secondary fermentation and aging in oak casks while sailing from England to India. Supposedly the agitation increased the efficiency of the fermentation, converting a higher percentage of sugars to alcohol than was the norm at the time. Some scholars dismiss this as just lore however. Also, in Burton-on-Trent they created the Burton Union system which intentionally agitates fermentation to increase efficiency. This also produces a surfeit of yeast which they dry and put in jars and sell to Aussies who actually eat it for some reason. In general I think it is safe to say that the agitation of brewing at anchor would allow the fermentation to go on longer than usual, producing a slightly lower finishing gravity and higher alcohol than on land. Also, clarity would be slightly reduced due to the agitation and increased yeast bed. Filtration works, but requires a pump and filters and will make a hell of a mess when a fitting lets loose. A simpler solution would be to use a clarifying agent and some patience. Racking to a tertiary fermenter would also help clarify it. Dark beers don't need much clarity, and a full-bodied stout can hide a lot of flaws, especially after the 3rd pint. 3) Are ingredients (besides the water) such that they could be stored fairly long term while on a cruise? It depends on how you make your beer. Storing fresh grain and hops is probably a pain on a boat. On the other hand, dry malt extract can be stored like sugar and vacuum packed hop pellets are more robust than fresh hops. You can even use hop extract if your beer doesn't need too much hop character. Dried yeast packs store nicely. Making beer from dry extract, hop pellets and dry yeast is not going to yield a competition-quality homebrew, but with practice, and depending on your taste, you might be able to develop a combination of recipe and technique that worked for you. Any successful homebrewers out there? I'm a former award-winning homebrewer and BJCP Master Beer Judge. Where are you thinking of brewing? I'm assuming there are some ports of call where an onboard brewery would be frowned upon. -- Chuck Cox - SynchroSystems - Synchro.com , my email is politician-proof, just remove the PORK |
#20
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Brewing beer aboard
Hi Chuck,
Chuck Cox wrote: 1) Would you be able to brew a batch in a fairly quiet anchorage? How long does the brewing process take? Anywhere from a month to a year. A decent ale might take 6 weeks. Mostly depending on temperature, strength and gravity. A cool anchorage would be preferred, warm ferments can get funky and messy. Ideally something in the 50-70F range for ales. A month to six weeks sounds doable. A lot of long-term cruisers seem to hang out in the same place for that long. The temperature range could probably be handled with a cooler, or possibly with just a small water evaporation pump. 2) Is there something inherent in the brewing process that would cause it to not work when the contents are constantly agitated such as at sea? If settling is the issue, could you substitute filtration? According to lore, one of the things that made the original India Pale Ale unique was the fact that they underwent secondary fermentation and aging in oak casks while sailing from England to India. Supposedly the agitation increased the efficiency of the fermentation, converting a higher percentage of sugars to alcohol than was the norm at the time. Some scholars dismiss this as just lore however. Also, in Burton-on-Trent they created the Burton Union system which intentionally agitates fermentation to increase efficiency. This also produces a surfeit of yeast which they dry and put in jars and sell to Aussies who actually eat it for some reason. In general I think it is safe to say that the agitation of brewing at anchor would allow the fermentation to go on longer than usual, producing a slightly lower finishing gravity and higher alcohol than on land. Also, clarity would be slightly reduced due to the agitation and increased yeast bed. Filtration works, but requires a pump and filters and will make a hell of a mess when a fitting lets loose. A simpler solution would be to use a clarifying agent and some patience. Racking to a tertiary fermenter would also help clarify it. Dark beers don't need much clarity, and a full-bodied stout can hide a lot of flaws, especially after the 3rd pint. If I understand what you are getting at correctly, you could probably start a batch at anchor, and possibly let it continue to ferment on a passage. Sounds like the agitation wouldn't be a show stopper. 3) Are ingredients (besides the water) such that they could be stored fairly long term while on a cruise? It depends on how you make your beer. Storing fresh grain and hops is probably a pain on a boat. On the other hand, dry malt extract can be stored like sugar and vacuum packed hop pellets are more robust than fresh hops. You can even use hop extract if your beer doesn't need too much hop character. Dried yeast packs store nicely. Making beer from dry extract, hop pellets and dry yeast is not going to yield a competition-quality homebrew, but with practice, and depending on your taste, you might be able to develop a combination of recipe and technique that worked for you. Fresh grain probably wouldn't be a problem unless you needed large quantities of it. 25-50lbs could be vaccum packed and storred on a boat. We like to make fresh bread, and are considering taking an electric grinder and fresh wheat to make flour for the bread. I grew up on a wheat farm, so can testify that wheat, barley, oats, and corn all store quite nicely if kept dry. I'd add rice to the list as well, as we still have a good bit of a 50 lb bag that we bought back in 1999, and its still as good as new. Don't know about hops though. Any successful homebrewers out there? I'm a former award-winning homebrewer and BJCP Master Beer Judge. cool! Would you mind describing the process from start to finish for those of us that would like to try, but haven't yet gotten educated on the finer (or possibly even some of the coarse) points? Where are you thinking of brewing? I'm assuming there are some ports of call where an onboard brewery would be frowned upon. I'll bet! That would take some research to determine where it would be okay and where they would get irritated at you. Don W. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
History of Beer | General | |||
living aboard | General | |||
Grand Banks Aleutian 70, (observations aboard) | General | |||
A beer with Bush | General | |||
Observations made aboard a TomCat 255 | General |