Ginger beer

[Schnapps In Derby]

OK, my hydrometer came in the post today (spot the newbie, anyone?) Took a reading from the good barrel, 1.015 which seems to equal about 2% abv. This doesnt seem very strong - does it get stronger once its bottled?

paulsharpe@talk21 com

 

[Beanhead]

Hey guys how strong/hot is this?

I'm more a Ginger Ale guy than Ginger Beer.

Is there anyway I can alter this for an alcoholic ginger ale?

Beans.

 

[Crastney]

sorry for late reply.
I've been away for two weeks.
My ginger beer, mentioned earlier in thread, was probably almost finished, and so I racked it off to another DJ and topped up with filtered water. That was about three weeks ago. it's been sat in our lounge, not exactly the warmest place in the house, but not too cold either. It's probably finished and I'll bottle it this weekend.

I intend to add something fermentable (probably T&L white granulated suger) for a bit of carbonation, and some unfermentable artificial sweetner.

 

[Schnapps In Derby]

Hi Crastney. My first batch (just bottled) was a bit of an experiment. The second, current batch, I've taken more care with - peeled the ginger to hopefully reduce bitterness and made sure i got some champagne yeast rather than wine yeast. How much sugar do you intend to add for carbonation, and at what stage - at bottling (is there a risk of too much pressure?) or just before pouring? My first batch seems to be carbonating slightly in the bottles but its only been 4 days so far.

cheers

 

[Crastney]

I will add sugar and sweetener after a nother racking, before bottling. I'm not sure how much sugar yet, but am not worried about over pressurised bottles - the plastic ones should be able to take it, and I don't intend to add enough sugar to be a worry - just enough for light carbonation.
(as a guess, 1 tsp per bottle, which is about 8g - can call it 10g and still be ok. 8 pint bottles from one DJ, so 80g of sugar, probably bump it up to 100g if measuring it on scales, or just add 8 teaspoons)

 

[Schnapps In Derby]

Crastney, thanks for that. My first batch has been in the bottle a week now. Had a quick sample ('cos I cant stop meddling and the lid had popped off). Very fizzy now, so has fermented the remaining sugar and is back to being quite tart - reckon I'll sweeten again with Canderel. What d'you think?
Going to give it 3 more more weeks before I start drinking. very warming as it goes down, but not so much of a gingery flavour.

New batch needs another week in the bucket, then bottling. Be interested to see how this one differs from the first.

 

[Crastney]

bottled today with 8tsp of splenda and 8 tsp of white granulated sugar.
tasted ok, not too gingery, not too fiery.

 

[bill23]

hi, ive just done a batch, stuck to the original reciepe. ive read that it drier then a nuns ****, so im going to add alot of sweetner. Its bubbling away nicely. Is plastic bottles the way to go if im planning on making it quite fizzy?

 

[alank950]

here is the post ive copied and brewed i used 3 kg made 7% , great stuff
Fiery Ginger Beer 5 gallons also another recipe at bottom of page

1kg Fresh grated ginger
1tsp Cream of tartar
2 lemons
2 limes
2.5kg Sugar
2tsp Yeast nutrient
1 sachet champagne yeast Use S-04 yeast. That's the only one that worked for me

Really quick and easy (and cheap) to do - ginger was donated so very cheap

First i grated the ginger into a large pan

Then added the sliced and squeezed lemons and limes, cream of tartar - topped up with boiling water and simmered for 30mins (lovely smell )

Next i dissolved all the sugar in the ginger liquor and then put everything into the FV and topped up with cold water

The temp adjusted OG was 1045

Dry pitched the yeast......done

Gonna give this a try..has this recipe worked ok for anyone who has tried it or has it been modified in any way.I guess from the posts i will peel the ginger add a few cloves (how many) and possibly add some sweetener if i think it needs it during time..How much sugar will i need to add to 5gallon before priming?..and will the wort need to be racked and strained before bottling or does the bits sink to the bottom.
Also what would be the best yeast to use..i have x3 5g packages comprising champagne yeast,dessert high alcohol and burgundy red..also a jar of youngs all purpose dried yeast..any pectin or tannin?..was thinking of meby adding 300mil of Soda Streams root beer cordial to play with flavours..
Just looking to gather some usefull info before i start, from tested experience..

 

[second2none]

Oh my! I used a full bottle of robinsons sugar free lemon and ur recipe and I have to say well done! The ginger taste is spot on!
I put the whole mixture in the slow cooker all afternoon and when i came back the house smelled fantastic!
I added some cayanne peper which i now swear by for ginger beer, but apart from these little changes this have been a fantasic post to follow, so cheers and thanks alot
its so good I'm not even going to tweek the quantites for Version 2.0 :drunk:

 

[Schnapps In Derby]

Hello Alan. Im bottling my batch 2.0 tomorrow - it'll have had 3 weeks in the bucket and fermentation is grinding to a halt now. Peeling the ginger and using champagne yeast seems to have given a less harsh flavour. I also spotted someone saying to add honey, so added half a jar. I strained batch 1.0 before bottling - it stayed cloudy, even after a tiny bit of settling, but was easier to siphon this way, I think. I added a lot of canderel at bottling but its going to need more - it still continued fementing a bit.

Second to none, in what way did you use the Robinson's lemon? And what size bottle? :)

good luck all - heres to being ready for Christmas!

 

[second2none]

The cream of tartar stops it going clear.. thats one of the pluss points coz traditional ginger beer is cloudy.
and the robinsons is basically to give the brew artifical sweetners in the right quantities as well as a lemony kick, it stops it going too dry and bitter
but has to be boiled up to get rid of the preseravtives and the full bottle did nicely for the 5L batch, it just stops u having to mess around with sweetner!

 

[alank950]

The cream of tartar stops it going clear.. thats one of the pluss points coz traditional ginger beer is cloudy.
and the robinsons is basically to give the brew artifical sweetners in the right quantities as well as a lemony kick, it stops it going too dry and bitter
but has to be boiled up to get rid of the preseravtives and the full bottle did nicely for the 5L batch, it just stops u having to mess around with sweetner!

I am trying to make a similar brew to Jeremiah Weed (see link) so i guess i will add a bottle of robinsons summer fruits no sugar version..also root beer concentrate..
From what i gathered it will be best to add this after fermentation and also it needs to be boiled.I will leave this (root brew ,summer fruits) in the wort for 2 weeks to get the flavour, then prime and bottle..going to make 5 gallon so any idea how much sugar i will need for priming?..i guess 1 bottle of summer fruits will be enough and 250 mil of root beer concentrate..Much difference in adding 4kg of sugar instead of 3kg? at the beginning .I dont want to make it to bitter..

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... qxySCKFjUg

 

[alank950]

Hello Alan. Im bottling my batch 2.0 tomorrow - it'll have had 3 weeks in the bucket and fermentation is grinding to a halt now. Peeling the ginger and using champagne yeast seems to have given a less harsh flavour. I also spotted someone saying to add honey, so added half a jar. I strained batch 1.0 before bottling - it stayed cloudy, even after a tiny bit of settling, but was easier to siphon this way, I think. I added a lot of canderel at bottling but its going to need more - it still continued fementing a bit.

Second to none, in what way did you use the Robinson's lemon? And what size bottle? :)

good luck all - heres to being ready for Christmas!

Yea i am adding honey and some spices..nutmeg,cinnamon,clove and raisins or sultanas along with 4 lemons 4 oranges and 2 lime.1 kg of Ginger ,,can add more powdered Ginger if needed after first rack..It wont be ready for Christmas although i will have a taste anyhow..whatever way it turns out i can assure you it will be downed.. :drink:
ps..gonna leave out the cream of tartar as i want it to clear.

 

[Schnapps In Derby]

Hmmm....

Hi all. Just bottling batch 2.0 now. Got it in two buckets of 2.5 gal each. I have to admit Im a bit disappointed - its flat (although I've been releasing gas daily from the lid) and as bitter as ****. just added 55 tsp of canderel and 45 tsp of sugar to get anywhere near a decent taste, although its gingery enough. Seems very watery too, although I included cream of tartar.
Also, I expect quite a bit of the sugar will ferment in the bottle now, so may need to sweeten again, when serving.

Hm. Does flavour change much after bottling? At the mo, its really not a pleasant drink - could really use your help fellas.

 

[alank950]

Hmmm....

Hi all. Just bottling batch 2.0 now. Got it in two buckets of 2.5 gal each. I have to admit Im a bit disappointed - its flat (although I've been releasing gas daily from the lid) and as bitter as ****. just added 55 tsp of canderel and 45 tsp of sugar to get anywhere near a decent taste, although its gingery enough. Seems very watery too, although I included cream of tartar.
Also, I expect quite a bit of the sugar will ferment in the bottle now, so may need to sweeten again, when serving.

Hm. Does flavour change much after bottling? At the mo, its really not a pleasant drink - could really use your help fellas.

You could have added some flavouring after the first rack when it had finished fermenting (the robinsons and canderel or a cordial) and left it a few weeks to mature before bottling..
What do you mean you have been releasing gas from the lid?..did you not have it fitted with a bubble airlock to let the gas away naturally..

 

[Schnapps In Derby]

hello Alan, thanks for responding.

The Canderel and sugar seems to be helping the flavour, although 100 tsp seems a hell of a lot - thats 100 for each 2.5 gallon bucket. However, I'm going to take your advice and leave 1 bucket to mature a while with the canderel in now. maybe I'll add some non-sugar cordial as well? I'm sure I'll lose a lot of the sugar after bottling, as it carbonates.

It certainly tastes better than batch 1, which has been bottled a month now - very gingery and carbonated, but dry as hell and with quite an aftertaste. I think I'll use it to degrease the car!

What I really need to know is, does flavour tend to improve after some time in the bottle?

Batch 2.1 was 1.046 at first and is now .995 which I make to be about 6.8 abv. Been tasting a lot as I sweeten, so got a bit of a buzz now. :)

And no... no airlock. I'm just throwing it in the bucket with a sealed lid, similar to making elderflower champagne. Thats about as far as my expertise goes. Absolute newbie here.

cheers :)

 

[alank950]

hello Alan, thanks for responding.

The Canderel and sugar seems to be helping the flavour, although 100 tsp seems a hell of a lot - thats 100 for each 2.5 gallon bucket. However, I'm going to take your advice and leave 1 bucket to mature a while with the canderel in now. maybe I'll add some non-sugar cordial as well? I'm sure I'll lose a lot of the sugar after bottling, as it carbonates.

It certainly tastes better than batch 1, which has been bottled a month now - very gingery and carbonated, but dry as hell and with quite an aftertaste. I think I'll use it to degrease the car!

What I really need to know is, does flavour tend to improve after some time in the bottle?

Batch 2.1 was 1.046 at first and is now .995 which I make to be about 6.8 abv. Been tasting a lot as I sweeten, so got a bit of a buzz now. :)

And no... no airlock. I'm just throwing it in the bucket with a sealed lid, similar to making elderflower champagne. Thats about as far as my expertise goes. Absolute newbie here.

cheers :)

How many kg,s of sugar did you use at the beginning?..i assume the flavour will improve over time in the bottle although you would need to be fairly happy with the taste before bottling.I have not brewed this yet but intend to start a batch next week so i am new to it also..If you read my earlier few posts detailing what i intend to add.I will infuse it with alot of flavours and after racking i will add more and leave to mature then prime and bottle..
You could add some spices or as i said some soda stream concentrate..check out utube for some good vids on the subject ...making ginger beer..
ps..you might need to let the gasses escape naturally as that could be creating a reaction and leaving it bitter..
Mine will be drank nomatter how it tastes although tweeking the flavours before bottling should leave it fairly palatable..

 

[Schnapps In Derby]

Hi Alan,

2.5 kg of sugar at the start as in the recipe. I think I'll see how batch 2.2 tastes after a week maturing with the canderel, then maybe add a non sugar cordial or concentrate.

The champagne yeast definitely seems to have produced a more mellow flavour - the ordinary brewers yeast in batch 1.0 was harsh.

good luck alan.

 

[alank950]

Got mine going earlier today with a slightly different recipe

500g grated ginger
1 lemon
1 lime
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp glycerine
454g jar of honey

Boiled up the ginger, lemon and lime. Added the honey at the end. Left to cool and added the rest to the DJ and topped up to roughly 4 litres. SG about 1.030 but couldn't read accurately. The aim is to produce something gingery but not fiery and not too dry. I am not the target audience for the drink so I'll see how it turns out.

Whats the deal with the Glycerine ,does this keep it from being to watery?..If you added 1tsp for 1gal then i will need 5tsp for 5gal.Dont know much about this, i dont want to end up with Ginger jam..lol
Wonder would it be ok to add after first rack when wort is maturing..i guess so?.