A Brewery That Follows You Around – What Could Possibly Be Better!

What could be better than a brewery that follows you around whilst on holiday? It appears miracles do happen! The new 3,954-passenger Carnival Vista which launched in May this year has its own craft beer brewery on board. Brewmaster Colin Presby, 31, does his beer-making at the Red Frog Pub & Brewery on Carnival Cruise Line’s largest ship in full view of passengers at the entrance to the ships Caribbean-themed pub the RedFrog.

Mixing grain he just milled into boiling water in one of two large, German-made, copper-topped glass kettles, Presby said his goal is to achieve a “wow” from beer-loving cruisers. “What we’re trying to do is make high quality, full-flavored beer,” Presby said. “I want this to compare very favourably to any craft brewery wherever a guest comes from.” The shipboard brewery is producing three distinct types of beer based on recipes from Miami’s Concrete Beach Brewery – a brand of Alchemy & Science, a subsidiary of The Boston Beer Company.

There’s a citrusy, hoppy, pungent, 6% alcohol ThirstyFrog Port Hoppin’ IPA; a cloudy, hazy ThirstyFrog Caribbean Wheat made with coriander and orange peel and designed, Presby said, for sipping outdoors on a hot Caribbean day; and a rich FriskyFrog Java Stout. The Carnival Vista is the only place you can sample the beers – poured by a bartender or poured yourself from two self-serve draft stations in the RedFrog pub.Presby brings experience to his shipboard beer-making role.

He started homebrewing in 2006 with the guidance of one of his chemistry professors at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. And he has been on the scene ever since – including working with brewing legend Carol Stoudt and as head brewmaster in a brewpub in his hometown of Reading, Pa.

“This is a great acknowledgment and a great step forward for the cruise industry and the craft beer industry,” Presby said. “Guests are looking for variety and freshness and the best way to meet that demand is making beer. We’re delivering the freshest beer you’re ever going to have on any ship anywhere.”  Given the immediate popularity, shipboard chefs are now discussing ways to introduce the beer into their culinary creations and do beer-and-food pairings featuring the craft beers brewed on board.

Well I’ll certainly drink to that – cheers!