Survival Drinking- Coffeepot Beer

It’s actually pretty amazing the odd stuff I run across at 1AM in the morning, and this time I came across an interesting article at Southern Fried Science.

In the article, they describe being on an oceanographic research vessel, and during the long stay at sea….running out of alcohol.

They then go into detail on how to brew beer using ingredients found onboard and a coffee maker.  This is actually pretty ingenious and, even though I am listing the basic steps below, I highly recommend you check out their website for the backstory and full details.

1. Grind up your ‘grains’ (but not so much that it becomes powder).
2. Place your ‘grains’ in coffee pot (not the filter basket, the carafe).
3. Run 2 cups of clean water through coffee maker and let it sit on the hot plate for an hour. This releases all the good chemicals from you ‘grains’ and creates a fluid called wort.
4. Strain the wort through the coffee filter and place the filter full of ‘grain’ into the filter basket. Add the ‘malt’ to the filter basket. Pour the strained liquid back into coffee maker and add 1 cup of water.
5. Run the wort through the coffee maker 5 times, each time adding 1 cup of water.
6. Pour the wort into the saucepan and boil for 45 minutes. Two minutes before boiling is done, add the hops.
7. Carefully pour the wort into the canning jars.
8. Let the wort cool to between 60 and 70 F. Once it is cool enough to touch the outside of the jars without burning, pitched the Bakers’ Yeast into the mixture.
9. Seal jar with a handkerchief and rubber band over the mouth, and let sit for 3 to 5 days.
10. And table spoon of sugar to the jar and seal with the lids, making sure they’re air tight.
11. Store in a cool, dark place where it will not be disturbed for a week