brewing on Mars

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noblebrew

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With Mars One now taking applications to go and colonize Mars by 2023 it got me thinking what I would bring with to brew.

I was thinking couple rhizomes not sure what type.

I'm sure I could use some left over storage containers as fermenters.

With this process you wouldn't have to grow a crop or malt it. But would you need that waste as compost for your eating crops?

what would you brew on Mars?
 
yes, it is a one way ticket. They are going to colonize Mars not visit. And where man goes so does beer.
 
I'll sit right here where everything is plentiful and breathable, I will however raise a red ale and toast the idiots that sign up for that without thinking it through.
 
Hey you get 20 m^3 of habitat space per person for 2 Freaking years while in space! They coyly listed the 10 m^3 of space for passengers on Colombus' voyage across the Atlantic. 4 people total.

Fill up that kettle with as many hops, dry malt extracts, and yeast packages as you can fit.

Martian Blonde Ale for refueling after a romp with your blonde babe colonist(s). Martian Imperial Stout for mourning the loss of a colonist(s) (hopefully the other dude on the station and not either of the babes).
 
Desvio said:
That brings up an interesting question, I wonder what the challenges would be brewing and fermenting in zero gravity.
Click to expand...

Gonna be a ***** to get it to clear because where does it fall?
I suppose a light centrifuge or filter system would work though.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirkwooder
I wonder how recycled urine water would be to make beer? LOL
Ask MillerCoors.
__________________
Paranormal Brewing
Beer so good, it's frightening.
2013: Wamphyri Belgian Dark Strong, Trinidad Scorpion IPA, Shadowman Stout, Bermuda Triangle Barleywine, Bloody Mary RyePA, Pruno.


Very funny:mug:
 
Desvio said:
That brings up an interesting question, I wonder what the challenges would be brewing and fermenting in zero gravity.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't exactly bubble out of the airlock either while in 0 G. You would not have to worry as much about spills as even if it does you can use the container to catch it before it hits the ground. Though I must say the biggest problem would be lugging a propane burner onto the shuttle.

And it would have to be a Red of course. Red Planet, red beer.

You would probably end up making lots of prison wine and apfelwen and other things you can make from standard rations. Skeeter pee maybe?
 
I don't even know how I would ferment in 0 G. I think I would have to take a 7 month break, and resume brewing when we reached the red planet.

It would be a lot of hooch brewing with whatever I could get my hands on. skeeter pee sounds good. Maybe call it something like j.c.p. john carter piss, the moons of barsoom old ale. Mike's grok.
 
This is exactly like if Christopher Columbus had the internet and homebrewtalk.com. It's like looking back in time...
 
I think noblebrew is right, the colonists are going to be drinking hooch. How many acres of barley will need to be grown to keep a colony flush with beer? Probably way to much domed realestate that will have to go to producing food and oxygen initially. I'm guessing they will bring some genetically engineered potatoes with them or some starch root vegetables that will survive in the martian soil and provide some easy calories. So my guess is that the first martian alcoholic beverages are likely to be some type of vodka. They will need some raw alcohol for solvents and medical applications as well.

I don't think beer will arrive on the red planet until we start to get some much larger domed or subterranean cities and large agricultural areas, probably after terraforming has already begun. My prediction, late 2100's. :)
 
acidrain23 said:
I think noblebrew is right, the colonists are going to be drinking hooch. How many acres of barley will need to be grown to keep a colony flush with beer? Probably way to much domed realestate that will have to go to producing food and oxygen initially. I'm guessing they will bring some genetically engineered potatoes with them or some starch root vegetables that will survive in the martian soil and provide some easy calories. So my guess is that the first martian alcoholic beverages are likely to be some type of vodka. They will need some raw alcohol for solvents and medical applications as well.

I don't think beer will arrive on the red planet until we start to get some much larger domed or subterranean cities and large agricultural areas, probably after terraforming has already begun. My prediction, late 2100's. :)
Click to expand...

Isn't a byproduct of plant life the production of oxygen? I seem to remember that from my middle school biology class, and if so then planting more crops for both sustenance and oxygen would be seen as a good thing to cut back on shipments of oxygen needed.

I wouldn't want to go personally, just think what happpens if a shipment to the colony fails to arrive...starvation and suffocation are not things I want to worry about as a daily possibility.
 
This is silly but...beer gives off CO2, which of course is good for plants and their symbiotic return of oxygen. Mars brewing would not be in zero G, as its mass is about 1/3 of Earths, hence a gravitational pull of 1/3. Zero G would be while traveling and that in itself might not be the greatest idea, considering beer farts and burbs in such a confined space. So, likely better to wait until arrival, fire up fermenters in the greenhouses and feed the rhizomes. As far as urine water goes, it's likely distilled and UV treated and so fine for beer. But the thought might squeam some... It would be interesting to get Marvin Martian hammered though!


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Using urine for making beer is a moot point. They are going to be recycling it and using it for drinking water anyway. Not to mention recycled sweat and whatever else adds to the humidity in the air (i.e. breath).
However, using that water that could be used for other purposes may be frowned upon.
 
Well since you are in a pretty much zero liquid waste environment (locked in a can, where the humidity is removed and recycled) you probably wont have to worry about it. You could even use less processed water for it as the boil should help kill off contaminants. I would think the heat usage would be the big roadblock to it. Don't they use MRE style chemical heaters to heat their food? I mean, its not like it would be easy to get propane refills on Mars, and I seriously doubt you would find a 220V circuit you could plug into for your boil.
 
Electric brewing -
Solar power, Wind Turbine, Fuel Cells?

Not sure if it's windy enough or if fuel cells are a viable option, but it seem's like there'd be plenty of sunshine. Might take a while to store enough power, but they've got to power the station somehow. I'm sure they need energy for more than just heating their food.
 
Mars is plenty windy (much more so than earth). The sun isn't as bright though (it's further away), and dust storms can wipe out most of your solar power, and have wind speeds high enough to destroy earth type wind turbines. The thin air on the other hand limits the amount power you can extract from wind at low wind speeds. Turbine design for Mars would be quite different to earth.

Fuel cells need fuel and oxygen, either produced locally from solar or wind or shipped in. Nuclear brewing is the best bet ;)
 
Well, the shuttles & the ISS had/have microwave like heaters for sealed trays of food. I've seen them eat shrimp & other normal dishes in space ships nowadays. But a Mars colony might be a bit different. Not to mention the carbonation in low G/ low atmospheric conditions. Likely still need the so-called space beer.:rockin:
 

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