Ginger Beer: Am I doing this right?

[oneilldave]

Hi All,

I'm making a ginger beer brew this weekend and I'm looking to include the following:

1k Fresh Ginger
3.5K Sugar
500g Honey
Juice from 4 lemons + zest
Mug of Fresh Elder Flowers
Yeast + Nutrient
To Make 5 Gallons with a final OG around 5% to 7% ... I hope!

So, the question is, will this work? Have I missed anything out? Does anyone have any suggestions of what they think I aught to add to make it better, more exciting, and so on. I have never made a brew, other than wine, from real ingredients that weren't squeezed from a tin so any ideas would be wonderful

Thanks in advance,

Dave.

[oneilldave]

Hi All,

Well, it's too late now as I have started the brew! I only put in a fistful of Elder flowers as I misjudged the blooms and enough aren't available just yet. I pitched it with some yeast I got when making a St. Peter's Ruby Red - a friend helped me out at the time with some Safale yeast so I put the one supplied with the kit in the freezer. Came in handy today, so that was a good move.

I made it up to 4 Gal and it has a starting gravity of 1070.

How's it doing? Bubbling nicely and smells quite gingery!

I will add to this thread what it's like when the time comes.

Dave.

[Invalid Stout]

Umm, if you do it like that the sugar will all ferment out and you'll have an extremely dry drink.

Most people drink their ginger beer when it's still fermenting, so it's carbonated but still sweet. I don't see you getting through 5 gallons in a weekend though, unless it's really hot.

[dave-o]

Yeah it'll be very dry. Some maltodextrin might be a good idea here.

[Tony01]

You could add some Splenda at the same time you add priming sugar, that's what I normally do. Be careful with the priming sugar though.... I'd keep it to about 60g for a 20 ltr batch.

[oneilldave]

You could add some Splenda at the same time you add priming sugar, that's what I normally do. Be careful with the priming sugar though.... I'd keep it to about 60g for a 20 ltr batch.

Splenda? That's a new one to me. That's one of those slimming sugar substitutes, isn't it? So I take it that it doesn't ferment. Is it cheaper than maltodextrin?

Okay, the other comments about a very dry drink: I was aiming to have a grown up ginger beer that was about 5% to 7% (ish) in strength that I could bottle and keep for a while (also ish!). Is that a good idea, then? I was also going to let it ferment out to as close to 1000 as possible. Should I bottle earlier? Say, 1010? If I did, would that help keep the sweetness up without the bottles popping on me? I once bottled some cider when it was at 1020 and spent the next few weeks ringing NASA to appologise for the bottle caps in the Shuttle's orbital path. They were quite understanding, bless! The wife wasn't, though

Thnks for the advise, guys, it all helps a novice like me get on the road to perfection ...

Dave.

[dave-o]

Should I bottle earlier? Say, 1010?

I wouldn't advise it. NASA might not be so understanding this time.

Perhaps next time you could think about doing an all grain ginger ale? Basically made like a normal ale but using lots of ginger.

[Tony01]

Nah.. ferment out all the way and add sweetner, doesn't matter what it is providing it isn't fermentable. I've had bottles over two years and they still taste great.

It also makes a great mixer for gin ... just don't plan to operate any heavy machinery after. Or light, or walk, talk or try to appear normal in any way.

[booldawg]

Let us know how it goes. The recipe looks sound. I tried adding lactose as its not fermentable but it didnt really help. Fermenting all the way out isnt the end of the world. If its too harsh just lemonade top it in the glass!

The only things I'd change is using jif lemon juice rather than the real thing as the rind/zest can be harsh. Lime juice works as well.

Also to get the most out of the ginger; Freeze it beforehand and defrost overnight. This will burst all the lovely oil fibres and really realease the ginger oil.

worth remembering the ginger tang will fade out pretty quick so drink sooner rather than later!

[oneilldave]

Also to get the most out of the ginger; Freeze it beforehand and defrost overnight. This will burst all the lovely oil fibres and really realease the ginger oil.
!

Sound advice, will do this next time! I will ferment out to s close to 1000 as possible, then, and see how it goes. I don't mind a dry finish, as long as the ginger is strong in taste. And yes, I could always top it up with lemonade if necessary, which is a good idea as it would make an ideal ginger spritzer thing (for the ladies). I will try and avoid walking, talking and generally making sense when I try the first few bottles!!

I will add sweetner (thanks, Tony01) and hope that the flavour doesn't dropout too quickly. A dark storage area might be a good idea as well.

I'll let you know how it goes when I bottle, which won't be until Sunday the 13th of June because on Saturday afternoon I'm off to a beer ex in Thurrock. If anyone's going from here let me know.

All the best,

Dave.

[chris20]

We had a similar recipe but just sugar, ginger root and lemon, to stop it becoming really dry we just continued to add sugar for a few weeks in a demi john to the point where the yeast couldn't take it no more and stopped fermenting but we think it probably got to about 14% so not really a beer!

[Wolfy]

An electric fruit juicer works great for extracting ginger juice.

Depending on what is in your yeast nutrient you may also consider adding DAP, since your ingredients will be lacking in many things that yeast needs for healthy fermentation.

If you want to back-sweeten the end product you'll need to use something unfermentable, lactose would work well (just sweeten to taste as you bottle).

[oneilldave]

An electric fruit juicer works great for extracting ginger juice.

Depending on what is in your yeast nutrient you may also consider adding DAP, since your ingredients will be lacking in many things that yeast needs for healthy fermentation.

If you want to back-sweeten the end product you'll need to use something unfermentable, lactose would work well (just sweeten to taste as you bottle).

Sorry, Wolfy, new to the brewing from scratch game ... whats DAP?

I will probably back-sweeten, as suggested, so I can bottle a drink that won't pop my bottles. Is there anything I can use to not only sweeten, but maybe enhance the flavour?

I used an electric magimix style chopper to break up the ginger, the I boiled it for about 20 to 30 minutes with the sugar to extract flavour and to sterilise it.

14%, Chris20? Phew! Now that would be lethal with whisky, eh?

Just to keep you up to date, the hydrometer reports that it is down to just under 1050 as of last night (Tuesday), where it started at just slightly over 1070 on the previous Saturday. So that's 3 days and it's showing a drop. I will check again tomorrow night (Thursday) and see how much further it has progressed. Smells lovely, by the way, ginger and lemony.

Dave.

[brainwave]

If you want to give it a little more "character" I've found adding a chilli or 2 helps develop a warmer, tangier taste without causing any discomfort (either end!) but please be sure to remove all the seeds as they not only create too much heat but also have the tendency to sprout.

[Wolfy]

Sorry, Wolfy, new to the brewing from scratch game ... whats DAP?

I will probably back-sweeten, as suggested, so I can bottle a drink that won't pop my bottles. Is there anything I can use to not only sweeten, but maybe enhance the flavour?

One of the most critical elements for good yeast fermentation is Nitrogen (in the form of Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN)).
DAP (diammonium phosphate) is commonly used in Wine and Mead making to provide the Nitrogen required since Wine Must and Mead (unlike Beer Wort) are often lacking.
To confuse things more, 'yeast nutrient' may or may not contain DAP, sometimes it is a mixture of various things and has DAP, other times it is more like Yeast Hulls (dead yeast) and if so adding some DAP might help the fermentation.

A number of people use 'ginger cordial' to sweeten and enhance the flavour (and often use less raw ginger too).
This is the kindof stuff I mean:http://lakeland.scene7.com/is/image/Lak ... ?$normal2$

I'm not sure what Elder flowers taste like, but Chili, Cinnamon, Lime are popular additions to GB.
In addition you may like to try using (Dark) Brown Sugar, the theory being it is less refined gives a little more character.