Brewery on a boat?

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thehorse

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Forgive me if this isn't quite the right sub-forum for this query but I was wondering what would be the drawbacks of setting up a brewery tap on a boat. The vessel is huge, with loads of potential but brewing uses a lot of water and I'm guessing it would get all its water from a tank. Similarly, getting proper-voltage electricity might be an issue. But is it impossible? Have others managed it?
 
If you can run restaurants or pubs from a vessel why should a brewery a problem?
Reverse osmosis for cleaning water and separate tank for drinking/brewing water. Power from the grid or generator.

You might need to smash your piggy bank though
 
It wouldn't be impossible but there may be some issues to overcome:

You need a decent electricity supply to run the element for the boiler.

Gas is probably not a good option on a boat?? (but possible with good ventilation)

Water supply - not only do you need water for the brew itself but there is a lot of cleaning to think about. is the water as sanitary as normal mains water?

Cleaning - you need somewhere to wash and clean everything.
 
I'm not the most qualified to answer this question but my main worry would be that boats don't stay level. I wouldn't be keen on 20+ litres of boiling liquid on a surface that could move in any direction at any given moment.
 
Thanks: all good points. Our collective lack of expertise might also be a drawback but we're thinking of experimenting and seeing it where it takes us.
 
We lived on Calypso II on the canals and rivers of France, Holland, Germany and Belgium for 8 years after we retired.

I didn't brew any beer because with wine at about 80p a litre I was very seldom sober enough to even consider it! :whistle:

IF you are on a canal (as opposed to being at sea) then there should be no problem whatsoever with brewing beer and cider on a suitably sized boat. (i.e. one that doesn't roll too much and one that has decent open-air areas - preferably covered.)

We generally used filtered canal/river water for most "washing" duties (toilet, pots, pans, clothes etc) and only used fresh water from our tanks for rinsing. I can see no reason why you couldn't do the same for brewing equipment.

We also used gas onboard and even had a charcoal BBQ set up on the afterdeck so again using gas for heating and boiling water for brewing should be no problem.

Finally, we discovered that the bilges (which were totally dry) were an ideal place to store wine and beer because, regardless of the temperatures outside and in the cabin, they were always around the temperature of the canal or river itself.

Best of luck with the venture. Here's a photograph of Calypso II. :thumb:

 
I lived on boats for about 10 years
Mostly in a marina
Both my daughters where born on board
Personally I can't see it being a problem
If u draw water from about 6ft down u will get nice cold water for cooling
The stand pipe water by the bout is clean for drinking etc
I was a dock master, I see all kinds off things lol
Here is a example http://www.fluidlondon.co.uk/venue/canada_water_and_rotherhithe/wibbley_wobbly_se16
 
You don't really need clean water for brewing, it's all boiled anyway. Then just use no rinse sanitisers for racking.

Added bonus of free cooling water!
 
A little bit of history here, I remember reading that during the second world war the troops were looking forward to a pint on returning to Blighty on leave or injured and brewing was increased to keep up morale. The Government started installing breweries on ships and took 2 of these to the Pacific for troops there but the beer itself was rank. The war finished before it could deliver to troops in actionshortly after and they continued to brew rank beer for about 6 months afterwards. afterwards.
MV Menestheus was the name of one ship if you want to look it ups
 
"Helene" is a delight to anyone with an eye for a good-looking boat! :oops:

She sits on the Canal du Midi, is an officially recognised "ship" and has a genuine SSR (Small Ships Register) number. :whistle:

Start a brewery? Why not! :thumb: :thumb:



PS

It's not mine!!! :nono: :nono: :nono:
 

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