LooseChange and I have had a bit of a chat about home brewing and I was wondering who amongst us actually does their home brewing on board.
I have only ever brewed at home but once we start cruising full time that will not be an option so I will have to consider how I am going to do it on Board.
The first two things that come to mind are that the boat will need to be somewhere reasonably calm/flat for a week while the fermentation takes place and also that I will need to have a 240 volt supply at hand for about five hours to run the urn during the cooking process. An alternative to the 240 volt would obviously be a stovetop urn.
Does anyone have any experience doing this ?
Cheers, Rick.

It might be cheaper but Im not sure about easier.

Shotchas,
I was actually requesting about spirits.
I gave up brewing beer many, many years ago.
I have distilled at home for quite a few years now but as we are looking at full time cruising in the near future I was hoping to hear from someone who has actually distilled on board and how they went about it.
At the moment I use a 25 liter still with a 240 volt supply but I would imagine that a stove top setup would be a much better setup on a boat.
I disagree that you couldn't run a still on board, you would just need to adapt how you go about it.
It would certainly need a lot more thought than doing the same thing in the comfort of your home but a cruisers we have to learn to adapt to the situation.
Cheers, Rick.

Great Meg,
The pressure cooker side of it never occurred to me. I have one on board already as they are great to use on a boat.
Does the conversion destroy the pressure cooker for normal use or can it be used for both purposes.
Mine is a more modern version without the weight over the exhaust and the option of two pressure settings.
Pressure cookers are relatively inexpensive so buying a second one would not be a problem.
I can't see the point on wasting good alcohol on making a fish relax though. I would much prefer to use it to make myself relax just before I whack the fish on the head to stun it.
Thanks for your info, I hope others get something from it too.

No need to clarify it mate. Your preaching to the converted. I have been doing it for about ten years now.
I refer to it as brewing as the initial process is almost the same as doing beer but with a lot more sugar/dextrose. et-all.
My original post did mention having a 240 volt power supply for the earn. That might have indicated I was talking about spirits.
I wasn't looking for directions on how to do it, just advise from others on how it might be done while living on board.
Since I have a 25 liter reflux still I guess I have only been making pretend spirits all this time.
Funny that, a few people have been known get the wobbly boot after imbibing on my pretend spirits. A friend of mine who rides with me in Ulysses once complained my brew was piss weak (he is a south American, which means he is super machismo and 40% alcohol isn't strong enough) so for our next run I made him a special bottle at a slightly higher percentage. It was quite funny for the rest of us watching him try to crap and spew at the same time. He never complained again.
Cheers, Rick.

Franric, don't listen some of these remarks, U on the right track. My guess would be cooling problem
more tricky on boat in Qld.
By the way I love the piss too,but don't spoil it, I get 45, just right for. me.

Franrick said..
I have only been making pretend spirits all this time.
Cheers, Rick.

I contend that a lot of the spirits you buy in the shops are all only "Pretend" spirits as well.

Let me try and splain it .... Arguably, Scotch is the most popular spirit in the world and possibly Vodka being a close second.
If you take just one brand and have a guess at how much they sell of it each year and if it's a say 12 year old scotch, that means there are 12 whole complete warehouses of this stuff, each one a year younger than the next one. Taking into account yearly growth means that each year the warehouse needs to get bigger to accommodate the demand needed in 12 years time when that warehouse hits the retail shelves.
Now the whole crux is that I don't believe any Distillery can afford to keep that much stock on hand, very expensive stock on which they have paid taxes, given that the government makes more "profit" per bottle than the manufacturer does, it can not be argued that it's the high price that allows the distiller to store it for so long.
For years I have believed that most of the spirits sold around the world are of the "Pretend" type, otherwise why would there be a huge industry devoted to making synthesized flavours. Coz it sure as hell isn't to satisfy a piddling amateur market.

Franrick said..
Jesus LC,
You could strip paint with that.
Mine rarely gets over 90%

It's part of my routine to make the best product possible in the most efficient way. It does get diluted to the required strength .... but not with tap water, I use those drums of water you buy at the supermarket, no fluorides or chlorides or any other nasties.

BTW .... to really strip paint you need Bundy Rum.

LC,
I am the same with diluting. I have a water purifier at home. Not an inline one but one that does about eight liters at a time.
The diluted spirit is then screened again as I run it through an Essencia filter combined with a carbon cartridge.
It is a little more expensive that way but also very convenient and you end up with an ultra clear pretend spirit.

Sectorsteve said..

Franrick said..
Shotchas,
I was actually requesting about spirits.
I gave up brewing beer many, many years ago.
I have distilled at home for quite a few years now but as we are looking at full time cruising in the near future I was hoping to hear from someone who has actually distilled on board and how they went about it.
At the moment I use a 25 liter still with a 240 volt supply but I would imagine that a stove top setup would be a much better setup on a boat.
I disagree that you couldn't run a still on board, you would just need to adapt how you go about it.
It would certainly need a lot more thought than doing the same thing in the comfort of your home but a cruisers we have to learn to adapt to the situation.
Cheers, Rick.

the guys from delos have some videos on it. they do it anywhere and everywhere.

that stuff they make on Delos would be awful. they use a cheap still spirits still. part of the process to good neutrals is a decent length in the column. the column needs to either be copper or needs to have copper packing. I would say a column under 3ft is a waste of time.

bubble7777 said..

that stuff they make on Delos would be awful. they use a cheap still spirits still. part of the process to good neutrals is a decent length in the column. the column needs to either be copper or needs to have copper packing. I would say a column under 3ft is a waste of time.

I agree, the stuff they make on Delos could never have been much good, mainly I think they were after affect, rather than quality. The stuff they make now must be even worse as they have recently switched over to an Air Still, a contraption that looks more like a thermos with a spout than something that could produce quality spirits.

I make Baileys as well, but mine is at 40%, not the anemic 17% of the real stuff, try it, you may like it as well.