GELF Hooch

GELF Hooch was an extremely potent alcoholic beverage often imbibed by Dave Lister.

It was made by GELFs, or possibly the recipe originated with GELFs.

Appearances[]

Dave Lister gets drunk on GELF hooch at a Brefewino gambling den in the "lost episode" of Series VII, "Identity Within". This causes Lister to lose the ignition keys to Starbug, and the Cat's love interest Ora, in the gambling game four-dimensional pontoon. Here it is said to be made with kerosene. ("Identity Within")
Whilst the main characters are imprisoned in The Tank in Series VIII, Baxter has a supply of illegal, high-strength hooch in his cell. As revenge for an earlier prank, Kryten steals the hooch and places it in Lister and Rimmer's cell, right before an inspection. This may or may not be the same as the GELF hooch seen in "Fathers & Suns"; it looks the same, the effects are described as identical, and it is even in a virtually identical container. Lister and Rimmer have no option but to drink it, and are drunk when Ackerman appears to inspect their cell. They later have to abandon Red Dwarf because Baxter threatens their lives due to the stolen hooch, but they discover the Chameleonic Microbe on the way out... ("Only the Good...")
GELF hooch makes an appearance in the Series X episode, "Fathers & Suns". Presumably produced by GELFs with whom the Dwarfers traded, GELF hooch was kept in large glass bottles. It had a brown, cloudy appearance and potent analgesic effects, almost to the point of worrying the imbiber. Lister started using it as a painkiller when he had a toothache, rather than going to the Denti-bot. He also used it when he wanted to remove his memories of the messages he had made for himself. He made a series of pronouncements and ultimatums as a father, interspersed with shots of hooch, that he could then watch as his own son. The hooch made him completely forget what was in the messages and wake up in a shopping trolley. ("Fathers & Suns")
After meeting the BEGGs, Lister comments to Kryten that they are constantly inebriated on GELF hooch and have horrific breath, to which Kryten says that he is happy Lister is making friends. ("Entangled")
In the animated menus on the Series X bonus DVD, Gelf hooch is seen "bubbling" up.

Behind the Scenes[]

The "hooch" that Craig Charles was drinking filming "Fathers & Suns" was actually apple juice. Charles was feeling extremely unwell at the time and having to drink lots of acidic apple juice made him feel even worse.
Since 'hooch' is not a term commonly used in British English, this would appear to be one of the many tweaks to the show designed to increase its appeal in America.