Ginger beer plants

[Oneiroi]

BOGOF Ginger plant starters at http://www.gingerbeerplant.net/shop.php for the next err...2 hours :/

Apparently they're genuine oldschool 'plants' but can't vouch for them yet. Just ordered a couple to find out

 

[peebee]

It's good stuff! I'd recommend giving it a go. Having two packs gets you up to speed (4L a week) quicker than waiting for it to grow (but grow it will, just have lower output to start).

But I did start to doubt the alcohol content of the finished drink (the bugs the yeast is in symbiotic partnership with are supposed to see off the alcohol). I've given up now being lazy and having to get a new batch on every week (to keep the "yeast" going - not a lot of work though). I've started brewing <1% beers (e.g. "Nanny State" clone) for my Government advised "abstention" days.

(5 minutes left!).

 

[Fil]

Is buying a dry starter culture any quicker than starting a fresh plant? its a lot more expensive..

 

[Oneiroi]

@Fil my understanding was that it can be challenging to create a traditional healthy plant with the right yeast/bacterium makeup

and sounds good peebee, looking forward to give it a go! not sure how long I'll last though, infamously bad at remembering to do things regularly.

 

[Fil]

in my limited experience using bakers yeast and a daily feed, (live yeast can be bought from sainsburys bakeries)
the few plants i have started have all worked well without problems.

your traditional Ginger beer is intended to be drunk early when both the ginger and sweetness are strong and the yeast have only conditioned the brew rather than performed a complete primary fermemntation, so i would suggest the flavour impact from yeast and other beneficial microlife is far less than with a beer intended to ferment out to FG.

If your planning an alcoholic ginger beer i would suggest you consider selecting an ale or even a wine/champagn? yeast for the qualities you desire, and at least a partial malt component to the sugars. My own preference is for a stovetop boil of lme, lemons (peel and juice) and 750g-1kg of fresh ginger, adding a teaspoon of chilli and tablespoon of dry ginger to the end of the boil into the FV before liquoring up to 5gallons,, i ferment with an ale yeast s-04 @ 19c for 6 days before a crash chill and kegging.. (dont confuse measures for dry ginger and chilli, i did Once!!)

 

[peebee]

Here's a bit...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger_beer

The "plant" or GBP is responsible for the unique flavour. Although I did used to ferment for 5-6 days before bottling (perhaps some priming - 1/2 what goes into beer), leaving it out for a day or two, then sticking in a fridge. I still used to create some pretty "volcanic" bottles.

With GBP comes responsibility. Don't get it wet and don't feed it after midnight ... (hang on, me notes have got a bit muddled, ah, here we are) ... don't leave the ginger beer unbottled for long (a week max.?) or the GBP starves and you need it for making more. It can be put to sleep by draining it well and popping it in the fridge (for a week or two?), but will probably need a "recovery" brew (comes with instructions) to get it ready for brewing again.

 

[brumbrew]

I've been thinking of making some ginger beer this coming weekend. So is a GBP like the SCOBY found in kombucha? As I've made gallons of that in the past

 

[peebee]

I've been thinking of making some ginger beer this coming weekend. So is a GBP like the SCOBY found in kombucha? As I've made gallons of that in the past

It is a quite different "SCOBY". I should have mentioned above - it has an aerobic element so don't use an airlock (I use cotton wool). And keep any sort of preservative well away.

 

[brumbrew]

It is a quite different "SCOBY". I should have mentioned above - it has an aerobic element so don't use an airlock (I use cotton wool). And keep any sort of preservative well away.

I wonder if I used a SCOBY and let it run a few times if it would 'turn' into one?

 

[peebee]

They are a very different species pair (of lactobacillus and yeast). See https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2008/07/ginger-beer-plant-101.html. But you can ferment tea with GBP and make ginger beer with kombucha "mother" (apparently). I believe kombucha is more acid and "acetic"? Apparently GBP is all anaerobic so what I said above about airlocks aint true - still wouldn't use an airlock though. More acid = less alcohol? Perhaps I should have used kombucha for my abstention brews?

 

[mgrds]

Nothing deep or mysterious about this as the lactobaccilus and the yeast that creates the the scroby or ginger beer plant are both naturally present in the ginger roots.
So just make your starter with root ginger NOT with dried ginger - and ensure you don't sterilise it with boiling water when making the starter.
You can sterilise later batches you inoculate with the starter or plant

Its the same principle you use making sourdough bread - you get best results with a starter created from the natural bacteria and yeasts on the ingredients you use.

Please remember too that with ginger beer you are not conducting a fermentation to dryness so most subtleties are masked by the sugars and this is the flavour people expect (though I often do ferment out cos I like a dry alcoholic ginger beer - so i condition in a barrel and ferment it out to dryness) but traditional ginger beer was usually served sweet and young and with very little alcohol !

Vessels are traditionally left semi open or plugged with cotton wool to encourage a more aerobic fermentation - that produces more gas and less alcohol and faster growing stronger colony in the short fermentation period.

Mark

 

[peebee]

Nothing deep or mysterious about this ...

He's lying, or else trying to hide the truth from everyone.

Expect out-of-body experiences. Thoughtful conversations with alien lifeforms. And remember to leave room on your Christmas list for your GBP.







The BOGOF offer appears to still be live (until "next Tuesday", but no specific date any longer). However, I'm having a bit of a nightmare with the (new?) Web site at moment.

 

[brumbrew]

So pulverized ginger root and cooled sugar syrup should ferment itself?