My ginger beer hasnt started to ferment yet oh yes it has

[GaryG]

I was making some ginger beer. 1/2 kilo of sugar, 1kg root ginger, lemon, lime, half red chilli, some chilli powder and ginger powder. I used wilko wine yeast, but it hasnt started to ferment. I done this yesterday, but nothing. Can this be rescued. Should I make a yeast start up using yeast, sugar, yeast nutrient, then introduce it to the ginger beer.


Thanks Gary.

 

[GaryG]

Update.

I took a reading and the ginger beer is down to 1030 from 1040 so something is going on.

Ill keep it going for another week and take another reading.

Why is the airlock not bubbling.


Gary.

 

[pittsy]

yeah lemon seems to mess things up a bit and it makes a longer lag time , the airlock is just not totally sealed somewhere , i won't worry about that. Good luck. btw how many liters are you making and i would expect it to ferment right down (0998 etc )

 

[GaryG]

5 liters. It tastes very gingers when I licked the hydrometer :thumb:


Thanks for the help.

GAry

 

[GaryG]

Twisted the rubber bung a bit and now the airlock is bubbling away. Must not have been a tight fit. Its not a proper demijohn but a 5 litre water bottle from Asda with a hole drilled out for the bung.

Cider in basement clearing, ginger beer to follow shortly me thinks. :thumb: :


Gary.

 

[GaryG]

Just tasted a drop of my ginger beer. It is gingery and fiery but a bit thin. Something is missing, a kick of some sort. Dont know if it will change as there is still a long way to go.

Gary.

 

[GaryG]

Still bubbling away. Its now at 1010. 4% if i'm correct.


Gary.

 

[pittsy]

best to leave well alone , no peaking , the more you do the more likely it'll get infected . i would leave it be till next weekend (not this 1 coming )

 

[GaryG]

Should I leave it in the warm room or move it to the cold basement.

thanks.

Gary.

 

[pittsy]

whatever temp is wanted from yeast (18/22c most likely) and as constant as possible , yeast are moaning gits they need constant temp at the correct level , if a brew is fermented at 20c constant it may taste good , if same beer is brewed at 18c 1 day 24c another while dropping to 13c at night for example will be a crappy beer .Rule 1 is temp control rule 2 is good yeast , rule 3 good ingredients , rule 4 for me is no sugar unless priming , rule 5 leaving it to ferment and so on for long enough . :

 

[GaryG]

Temp seems to be constant at 21. I keep the room at the same both day and night.


Gary.

 

[GaryG]

This feels as if its been fermenting for ages, but its only 4 days lol. As you can see, Im impatient. Ive not being doing anytging, just looking at it through the bottle :thumb:

The smell from the airlock is delicious.


Gary.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

This feels as if its been fermenting for ages, but its only 4 days lol. As you can see, Im impatient. Ive not being doing anytging, just looking at it through the bottle :thumb:

The smell from the airlock is delicious.


Gary.

I've just made a similar recipe and it has been fermenting 11 days now. I won't even look at it for another week otherwise it will have more chance of spoiling.
I used the same amount of ginger with 1 litre of of Ribina concentrate 1 kilo of brew enhancer and 1 kilo of brewing sugar. As well as other stuff I needed to use up in my brewing cupboard. God knows what it will turn into but it smells great. I'll do a write up if it turns out to be the secrete elixir.:

 

[GaryG]

I just hope it tastes as good as it smells

Keep us posted on the outcome of your recipe.


Gary.

 

[GaryG]

I bottled my ginger beer today. Its very dry with a kick. I never added sweetener to the bottle, just a bit of sugar to carbonate. I'll sweeten to taste in the glass :

Looking forward to when this is ready. How long should I leave it before its ready to drink.


Gary.

 

[Gayle]

2 weeks in a warm place to carbonate it, then two weeks in the cold to make sure the fizz stays in the brew. Then drink. Or, at any point really it can be drunk, but it just won't be as good now as if you left it for a couple of months.

If it was cloudy when you bottled it, you will get a lot of sediment in your bottles as it settles out! I did this with my ginger beer too - if you don't move the bottle it looks beautifully clear now, then you jiggle it a bit and the sediment rises up like an angry duststorm :shock: My friends don't seem to mind though, they say it tastes great anyway (I don't like ginger beer so can't really comment properly on the taste, but the batch that is 8 months old tastes way better now than when it was bottled!) If you've got five gallons then do try to save some for a few extra months and it should be very tasty then.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

If it was cloudy when you bottled it, you will get a lot of sediment in your bottles as it settles out! I did this with my ginger beer too - if you don't move the bottle it looks beautifully clear now, then you jiggle it a bit and the sediment rises up like an angry duststorm

I've used Muntons gold yeast which hopefully should stick to the bottom. :thumb:

 

[GaryG]

Can I add sugar to sweeten in the glass. Its not as if itll stay in the glass long enough to turn to alcohol


Gary.

 

[GaryG]

See when I bottled my GB, there was what looked like a bit of mould on the sediment. I only noticed when I was emptying the stuff down the pan.


Gary.

 

[GaryG]

Well I tasted the GB and I did not like it, but im not a fan of the Crabbies stuff either. My mate loved it. Success :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: