Ginger Porter (extract recipe) - comments/advice?

[lahoski]

Oookay - I am planning on making a porter style beer, with the addition of fresh ginger. Here's the recipe

1100g light DME
100g sugar
200g Medium crystal
100g Chocolate malt

10g Northern Brewer (60 mins)
10g East Kent Goldings (10 mins)

60g fresh ginger grated (60 mins)

OG 1.054
FG 1.013
IBU 28
SRM 25

Final volume: 9 litres

The sugar is to dry it out a little, my current brew has an FG a little higher than expected and a touch sweeter than I prefer.

Has anyone tried anything like this? Also, any comments on ingredient proportions would be handy - if I've over/underdone any of them, please let me know!

Oh yes, and any yeast recommendation would be fantastic - I literally don't know where to start on yeast. I might well totally ignore it in practice but it'd be a great help in terms of building up my knowledge.

Ta :)

 

[wilsoa1111]

well to my AG looks gd, plenty of malt to steep in there (i assume its a partial mash), could prob get away with half as much but more tends to be better :lol: so looks like a gd n
As for yeasts it is very much personal choice-if ur after a do it all yeast that finishes a bit dry( from extract kits as with AG can alter mash temps to change sweetness from there) s-05 works well everytime and a i keep bottle or two of slurry in the fridge or a packet just in case- it doesnt do much for flavour but sometimes thats whats required, if its flavours your after (think bready to fruity) u need a more english ale style like s-04 or muntons these finish sweeter, if after a yeast u can keep reusing time after time via top cropping is gd -so a strain like the liquid yeast london 3 from wyeast (need a decent container size and is supposed to be plum and applly) and on the list could go....

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Might be too late on this......I recommend that you dont use fresh grated ginger, it way too powerful and harsh. Pickled Stem Ginger is a much better product as all the harshness has been removed, leaving the sweet ginger taste.
For future needs, pickle (the correct word is macerate) your own, its cheaper and tastes better, though it does take 12 months

Make up a stock syrup...50% water/50% sugar, boil and simmer for a few mins. Peel and cut up ginger into chunks, add to stock syrup and boil for a few mins. Transfer to a sterile, air tight jar and leave for 12 months. This will keep for years (and I mean, years) Im currently using a batch I made in 1996.

 

[lahoski]

Not late at all - I got a bit delayed so I should be giving it a go in a week or two from now.

Thanks for the yeast advice, I might try splitting the batch into two demijohns and using two different yeasts to compare. I'm still trying to learn what flavours I like and what influences them.

I'll definitely substitute the fresh ginger for stem ginger. I hadn't thought of it but I can see how the flavour of fresh ginger could be a little inappropriate. Plus I love stem ginger so it's a good excuse to get some.

I'd also never thought of making my own either - I've made a few preserves before, mostly vinegar or salt based - but yeah, I think I'll try that so I've got some ready for next year.

Cheers