# How is boat beer made?



## CaptainRahnn (Feb 1, 2014)

I was reading a book in which the single handed sailor had made his own beer on board. Anyone done this or heard of it?


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

Yes. Many a liter brewed and consumed on board. Easiest way is to get a "Home Brew" kit and give it a go. Happy brewing!


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

I've never done it aboard, but making beer can be fun. I've had it come out pretty good and not so good and never really made enough to know what I did differently. I would make smaller sized batch, so if you didn't love it, you just make another and aren't stuck with two cases of the stuff.

There are also several different techniques. The traditional method is to boil grain (barley) at an exact temp for an exact time to extract the sugars, which you then ferment into alcohol and CO2. That takes skill, time and space. You can also buy barley malt and just add water, hops and yeast to ferment. It can come out well, but purists will turn their nose up at it. 

Honestly, I've had traditional homebrews that are good and bad, as well as malt brews that are good and bad. 

The most arduous part is bottling. Naturally, the bottles must be sanitary (not necessarily sterile) so that any natural bacteria, which may be perfectly benign, doesn't grow or cause the beer to change. Soaking and drying bottles is a real PITA and I can't imagine doing it aboard. I recommend using the largest single bottles you believe you'll consume at a time, such as quart sized or growlers to limit the necessary number. 

Have fun. I haven't brewed beer in over a decade, but it was like a science project with a cool reward. Good luck.


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## Fstbttms (Feb 25, 2003)

There are many threads about brewing aboard on this, and other sailing forums. Here's one:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/69436-so-i-started-brewing.html


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Never made beer but have had good luck with wine as berries and fruit grow all over the coast.When it's not a raving success there's alway the stil so nothing's wasted.


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## AncientTech (Jun 16, 2012)

I do not have the recipe and procedure but I would love to learn how to brew ginger beer on board. Talking with people north of me and a few down in the keys it is a treat that people look forward to drinking.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

Ginger beer is easy:

Peel and grate 1 tbsp of fresh ginger root
Boil 1 cup of water, add 1/2 cup of sugar and ginger root.
Remove from heat and add 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice.
Let ginger/sugar/lemon water cool to room temp and stir in 1 packet of yeast.
Add the mixture to a 1/2 gallon bottle of bottled water (or better to split between 2 quart bottles).
Cap tightly.
Let it sit for 2 days minimum.
Pour carefully, so that you do not get sediment, into a glass.
Enjoy!


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

So basically, ginger beer is carbonated, watered down, ginger flavored moonshine?


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Minnewaska said:


> So basically, ginger beer is carbonated, watered down, ginger flavored moonshine?


That doesn't sound too bad...


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

I used to brew quite often, and since I lived aboard, it was always on the boat. In fact, at the homebrewtalk forum I go by the name "brewonboard".

The trend in the USA homebrew scene is to start with grain, extract, and hop ingredients and get a fairly complex list of supplies together. This gets you "started" and then you "graduate" to all grain brewing, which is complex enough and equipment intensive enough that you don't even want to think about doing it on a boat.

In Australia and Europe, many brew using "can kits" which can turn out shockingly bad, or with very minor tweaking can turn out absolutely great. They require 1/10th the work of extract brewing, and the ingredients are shelf stable.

I HIGHLY recommend the Cooper's homebrew kit. It has everything you need, and with minor tweaks to the recipes the brew turns out great. In fact, I have a coopers fermenter with canned beer fermenting just 10 feet from where I sit now.

Here's the kit, and I've bought from this store before. No complaints. 
Coopers DIY Beer Kits

Here's the video that shows the whole process. Easy enough to do on a boat! 






MedSailor


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

My closest friend brews her own beer. Tastiest stuff I've had. It's what turned me onto beer after the crap in college. 

My plan is to make her the official Boat Brewer.


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## Alex W (Nov 1, 2012)

MedSailor said:


> They require 1/10th the work of extract brewing, and the ingredients are shelf stable.


I would also do a partial extract style brewing if I were making beer on a boat. However I wanted to point out that this single quote is exaggerating quite a bit. Full grain systems can be quite simple, and there are even small desktop models that are fully automated.

I brewed hundreds of gallons of beer using full grain systems and could do a 10 gallon batch (not on a boat) in about 3.5 hours. It was easy to split this into two styles of beer for slightly more work and an extra half hour or so of time. Full extract brewing (no grain at all) can make mediocre beer in about half the time, not 1/10th of the time. Partial extract makes very good beer, but requires almost as much time as a full grain beer.


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## RainDog (Jun 9, 2009)

3.5 hours = 210 minutes. 1/10th of that is 21 minutes. I would say 21 minutes is reasonable for the Coopers. Heating the water and sterilizing the container is 75% of the work.

Of course bottling is no faster now matter how you brew.....


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

AlexW,

I was comparing kits to extract brewing, not to all grain. I've never brewed all grain, but if it can be done on a boat without taking up all of your locker space, then I want to know how and you will become my personal hero.  

Most of the time I have done extract brewing on the boat, but right now I'm experimenting with the Coopers cans again and trying to fine tune my recipes with shelf stable ingredients in anticipation of longer term cruising. They really are a heck of a lot less work than extract brewing. No 90min boil, just boil a kettle, add stuff and stir...

If extract brewing is more of your thing, then vacuum packed mylar packages of hops, kept cool or refrigerated can last quite a long time. With the occasional re-supply you could be in good beer for a long time. 

Of course, I'm headed to the land of OZ where the Cooper's kit reigns supreme. They even sell them in the corner grocery stores.... Now I'm getting all nostalgic. I think I'll go sing the Aussie national anthem now. 

MedSailor


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## RainDog (Jun 9, 2009)

MedSailor said:


> I'm experimenting with the Coopers cans again and trying to fine tune my recipes with shelf stable ingredients in anticipation of longer term cruising.


I hope we get a detailed report if you make something drinkable. Given the price of beer in the Bahamas, might be worth doing some of this for kicks. I have only done all-grain. I would rather not drink beer for 3 months than mess with all-grain on a boat the size of mine. Would also like to be able to do 1 gallon batches.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

RainDog said:


> I hope we get a detailed report if you make something drinkable. Given the price of beer in the Bahamas, might be worth doing some of this for kicks. I have only done all-grain. I would rather not drink beer for 3 months than mess with all-grain on a boat the size of mine. Would also like to be able to do 1 gallon batches.


Not drink beer??? Not an option. 

I might write up something once I get a few good recipes down. Right now what I have in the fermenter is 2 cans of Coopers real ale and 3lbs of amber dry malt extract and 5 gal of water. It's done fermenting and is now mellowing and I've sampled it. It's decent actually. Kind of ESB-like.

For your small batches and for those without any brewing equipment, I give you this blog post. These guys were neighbors of mine at Shilshole in Seattle. Great people, lots of fun. I thought this recipe was fairly unbelievable. At least the "better than any beer I can buy" part was for sure. Though, these guys drink real beer, so out of curiosity I did this batch, including all the steps. Even used a collapsible jug like they did. Turned out surprisingly good. I can buy better beer of course, but it was waaaay better than budmillercoors. 
s/v hello world: self reliance

MedSailor


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

I can say the "Mr Beer" kits are not worth the time or energy. Ginger ale is really easy to make. I use flip top bottles, kind of like what Grolsch comes in (but clear I got them at Ikea). I also make Kombusha, it is a similar process.


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## RainDog (Jun 9, 2009)

I had a mr beer batch once a friend made. Agree it is for sure not worth the price of the water used to make it.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

miatapaul said:


> I can say the "Mr Beer" kits are not worth the time or energy. Ginger ale is really easy to make. I use flip top bottles, kind of like what Grolsch comes in (but clear I got them at Ikea). I also make Kombusha, it is a similar process.


The coopers can kits are pretty darn easy. If you want a smaller batch, but don't mind a bolder, more bitter beer, you can just use one can by itself and 2.5gal of water.

No direct experience but I've never heard a good thing about them except a nostalgic "they got me into brewing."

MedSailor


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## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

aeventyr60 said:


> Yes. Many a liter brewed and consumed on board. Easiest way is to get a "Home Brew" kit and give it a go. Happy brewing!


hey bud I have one...a really good kit I was going to use to make some at the restaurant but they were emphatic on temperature for the actual fermentation process...

can you do it in the tropics on a boat and for example what tweaks would you do for the recipe?


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## Fstbttms (Feb 25, 2003)

christian.hess said:


> hey bud I have one...a really good kit I was going to use to make some at the restaurant but they were emphatic on temperature for the actual fermentation process...
> 
> can you do it in the tropics on a boat and for example what tweaks would you do for the recipe?


Next to sanitation, fermentation temperature control is the most important technique a homebrewer must master. Without it, you are unlikely to produce anything worth drinking. Assuming you will be making an ale, they like to be fermented in the mid-high 60° range. And since the fermentation process is exothermic, the chamber the fermenter lives in will need to be somewhat cooler than that.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

christian.hess said:


> hey bud I have one...a really good kit I was going to use to make some at the restaurant but they were emphatic on temperature for the actual fermentation process...
> 
> can you do it in the tropics on a boat and for example what tweaks would you do for the recipe?


Keeping a wet T-shirt over the fermenter can work wonders with evaporative cooling. Using ice in a small insulated chamber that the fermenter is in can also help.

Ideas:Fermentation Chamber Options

MedSailor


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## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

thanks a lot

here is a question too

my kit was also emphatic on stainless steel new boilers...can you sterilize used ones?


or use lined pots? 

I cant afford buying new steel pots

my kit is a grain kit its actually a really good one with all sorts of flavourings, hops etc...I was going to do it to sell at the restaurant but I dont have the time to do it there with the kid and all...

thanks


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## Fstbttms (Feb 25, 2003)

christian.hess said:


> thanks a lot
> 
> here is a question too
> 
> ...


You can do the boil in a stainless or aluminum pot. Doesn't have to be new. Doesn't even have to be sanitized. Just clean. However anything that touches the wort after the boil is complete must be sanitary.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

Minnewaska said:


> So basically, ginger beer is carbonated, watered down, ginger flavored moonshine?


You got a problem wit 'dat?

Also, as a former homebrewer, there is NO WAY that I would consider brewing beer on a sailboat... There is no room for the equipment, and washing/sterilizing the equipment after use (this is how you avoid funky flavors) would be virtually impossible.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

eherlihy said:


> You got a problem wit 'dat?
> 
> Also, as a former homebrewer, there is NO WAY that I would consider brewing beer on a sailboat... There is no room for the equipment, and washing/sterilizing the equipment after use (this is how you avoid funky flavors) would be virtually impossible.


For years, I have been attempting to prove this myth wrong, and I think I have succeeded (in proving it to myself at least). I really should write it all up with pictures one day. It is do-able and a lot of the equipment, and even some of the procedures are unnecessary when you really want to pair things down. There are also fun things you can do on a boat, like chill the fermenter by floating it in the slip next to you.

MedSailor


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

I found the ale's were able to withstand the heat while brewing in the tropics. No wonder the ships of old carried barrels of ale across the worlds oceans. India pale ale seems to bring back fond memories of beer brewed in Fiji, Vanuatu and while sailing up the Queensland coast. Beer kits available at most Woolworths. The ginger beer was good too. It only required a week or so in the bottles before being drinkable. So one batch of ginger beer and then one batch of beer. What a great way to cruise. Brewing our way through paradise. Sure made fixing the boat easier. Nobody and I mean nobody refused a home brew...Recently ran into a German friend of mine who enjoyed my libations a few years back, he was wondering it I still had a few homebrews he could enjoy.....


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## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

good ales is what I got...might as well try

anybody insight with using used pots for boiling, is that a deal breaker?

thanks

good thread btw!


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## Fstbttms (Feb 25, 2003)

christian.hess said:


> anybody insight with using used pots for boiling, is that a deal breaker?


Not sure why you are hung up on "used". Stainless or aluminum will do, used or new, as long as it's clean. Don't overthink it.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Fstbttms said:


> Not sure why you are hung up on "used". Stainless or aluminum will do, used or new, as long as it's clean. Don't overthink it.


Yea, it only has to be sanitary after the boiling, though I would prefer to use stainless Steel. A good top fermented ale really only needs to be kept cool for the first two or three days, then you don't have to worry too much as long as you can keep it in the low to mid 70's.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

christian.hess said:


> good ales is what I got...might as well try
> 
> anybody insight with using used pots for boiling, is that a deal breaker?
> 
> ...


Try making the recipe that I linked to in the sv hello world blog. It uses nothing exotic at all and with that as a base you can choose to get as complex as you like. Personally I don't have space for a lot of dedicated brewing equipment. My 3gal kettle is the same one I boil crab in.


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## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

thanks man will do, Ill save the good stuff for when I get the basic batch done...

appreciate it


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