Coopers Ginger Beer - with added battleships.

[DaveK]

I hope its OK to discuss non-alcoholic brews here. I did a Cooper's Ginger Beer kit (the non-alcoholic version) a few weeks ago and its now technically ready to drink.

It tastes lovely, but I have huge, battleship-sized chunks of yeast floating around in the bottles still. I've been drinking it anyway, but its a bit off-putting for others.

Is it normal, or have I done something wrong at some stage? Any advice appreciated!

 

[Dutto]

Hmmm. Sorry, but more information is needed.

1. What was the recipe?

2. How did you manage to make "non-alcoholic" ginger beer using yeast? (Alcohol and CO2 are the two products of yeast eating sugar.)

I have very few fastidious friends :whistle: but for the delicately minded I guess you could always pour your ginger beer through a sieve or a muslin cloth to catch the lumps.

I make very low-alcohol Bourru which is fermenting wine juice. Bottom fermenting yeasts eliminate surface yeast clumps so it looks better in the glass. You might like to try that as a solution. :thumb:

 

[peebee]

Hmmm. Sorry, but more information is needed.

1. What was the recipe?

2. How did you manage to make "non-alcoholic" ginger beer using yeast? (Alcohol and CO2 are the two products of yeast eating sugar.)

I have very few fastidious friends :whistle: but for the delicately minded I guess you could always pour your ginger beer through a sieve or a muslin cloth to catch the lumps.

I make very low-alcohol Bourru which is fermenting wine juice. Bottom fermenting yeasts eliminate surface yeast clumps so it looks better in the glass. You might like to try that as a solution. :thumb:

I'm not commenting about the "Coopers" stuff, but presume it's a "traditional" ginger beer. I make non-alcoholic ginger beer with a yeast (for the government prescribed alcohol abstention days), but don't have clumps of it like in the photo - it all settles to the bottom. So answering from my experience:

1: Water, ginger, sugar (100g per litre), cream of tartar and lemon juice (1/2 lemon per litre).

2: "Non-alcoholic" is perhaps a bit of a fib, but very low alcohol (<1/2%). The yeast (a member of the Saccharomyces family) does indeed produce alcohol, but is intolerant to it and it would kill it. Fortunately it formed a symbiosis with a bacteria that turns the alcohol to acetic acid (vinegar, not in quantities that you can obviously taste).

The bacteria forms the yeast into gelatinous clumps (also known as "bees") but you do get a bit of yeast that seems to be "free-floating" and settles like normal yeast.

Some of the gloopy yeast and bacteria mix (the so-called "ginger beer plant") is saved from each batch to start the next. It can be strained out just using a fine sieve.

You can get the yeast from here if a bit suspicious about the "Coopers" stuff.
http://www.gingerbeerplant.net/. When I was a lad you'd get it from someone down the street, everyone had a "ginger beer plant".


(EDIT: Just to answer what "Terrym" posts next: Ferments in 4-5 days, in bottles for 3-4 days, then into the fridge with it before the bottle explode! Doesn't keep for many weeks. Of course, I might be describing something completely unlike the Coopers stuff?)

 

[terrym]

It could be that it is still fermenting, especially since there are bubbles around the yeast clumps, and that means the yeast wants to move about.
If its like 'ordinary' beer it could take anything up to five weeks from bottling before the yeast has properly settled, according to the yeast used.
So leave it longer is my suggestion to see if the yeast drops. You could also try putting a few bottles in the fridge which usually helps the yeast drop.

 

[terrym]

When I was a lad you'd get it from someone down the street, everyone had a "ginger beer plant".

I remember that too :thumb:
I used to make ginger beer years ago, but used bakers yeast, since that was more generally available. You could even buy fresh bakers yeast from small bakers. I thought that's what most folk used. The 'plant' that people generated probably built up some bacteria along the way.
I guess the special bacteria/yeast combination that you use now is a modern phenomenon since folks are more savvy about food and drink and there is opportunity to buy starters over tinterweb.

 

[peebee]

I remember that too :thumb:
I used to make ginger beer years ago, but used bakers yeast, since that was more generally available. You could even buy fresh bakers yeast from small bakers. I thought that's what most folk used. The 'plant' that people generated probably built up some bacteria along the way.
I guess the special bacteria/yeast combination that you use now is a modern phenomenon since folks are more savvy about food and drink and there is opportunity to buy starters over tinterweb.

I think you are right. The "ginger beer plant" did spontaneously generate, it is after-all a "wild" yeast/culture. I know bakers yeast would get used (parents back then would have been pretty naïve about chucking alcohol down their kids throats) but the wild cultures certainly existed - I remember "bees" and "bees wine". And the flavour is pretty distinctive, possibly because it has that touch of acetic acid in it?

 

[DaveK]

Hmmm. Sorry, but more information is needed.

1. What was the recipe?

2. How did you manage to make "non-alcoholic" ginger beer using yeast? (Alcohol and CO2 are the two products of yeast eating sugar.)

I have very few fastidious friends :whistle: but for the delicately minded I guess you could always pour your ginger beer through a sieve or a muslin cloth to catch the lumps.

I make very low-alcohol Bourru which is fermenting wine juice. Bottom fermenting yeasts eliminate surface yeast clumps so it looks better in the glass. You might like to try that as a solution. :thumb:

It was a kit and the yeast was included. You're dead right though - there is alcohol but < 0.7% abv (which apparently can be classed as non-alcoholic). You can make the same kit alcoholic by adding sugar and leaving it primary rather than bottling after a couple of hours.

These are the instructions as per Cooper's website, but they don't list the precise ingredients unfortunately. http://store.coopers.com.au/recipes/index/view/id/1/

Thanks for all the comments, I am indeed using a tea strainer to pour it and that's working just fine (in fact for myself I'm just drinking it, chunks and all. I just wondered if there's a trick I've missed or any way to pretty it up a bit for the squeamish.

 

[terrym]

I just wondered if there's a trick I've missed or any way to pretty it up a bit for the squeamish.

If you are in Burton-on-Trent (where I came from) you will fully understand my suggestion to 'geritdaanyu' :wink:

 

[DaveK]

If you are in Burton-on-Trent (where I came from) you will fully understand my suggestion to 'geritdaanyu' :wink:

Haha. I'm actually up the road a bit in Swad - but I understood that perfectly

 

[terrym]

Haha. I'm actually up the road a bit in Swad - but I understood that perfectly

My old dad's family came from Gresley.
Or, as folks used to say, 'ovver yon faylds and up pit bonk'.

 

[peebee]

... there is alcohol but < 0.7% abv (which apparently can be classed as non-alcoholic). ...

Not in the UK! This is what Brewdog have to make clear on their "Nanny State" labels. It is 0.5% alcohol, which is considered alcohol-free in some parts of the world, but not the UK. I think alcohol-free implies <0.05% here.

0.7% would be considered "low-alcohol" (which I think includes up to 1.2%).

I should figure out if my ginger-beer (at <0.5%) is suitable for a government recommended "no-alcohol" day. I'm probably cheating :smile:

 

[Dutto]

.............

2: "Non-alcoholic" is perhaps a bit of a fib, ................

Er .... how about "downright lie"? :lol: :lol:

BTW I have never brewed whatever "the Coopers stuff" is as I gave up all thoughts of brewing ginger beer after witnessing the "ginger beer bombs" catastrophe that my Mum brewed when I was about fourteen!

I can recommend Bourru though if you want a "low alcohol" day! :thumb: