Yeast for alcoholic ginger beer

[Jamjar1982]

Hi all. Just about to make another batch of ginger beer and fancied mucking about with it a bit. Just wanted to pick your brains about yeast type. Ingredients as follows (ish as I havnt really worked it all out yet, any input greatly received.)

3 gal water
1.5kg Fresh ground ginger
2kg Demerara sugar
500g Light malt extract
Juice and rind of lemon and lime
Cloves
Pinch of cinnamon

Any thoughts?

Cheers

 

[beechwood]

I normally use wine yeast, something like youngs super yeast would be fine. Other yeasts work too, i have used beer yeast like gv-12 and also chamepagne yeast works well too :thumb:

 

[Fil]

US-05 works well with my fresh ginger brews, thats more like a 5 gallon brew recipe with a target 4-5% alcohol..
and i would use 750g-1kg of ginger 1.5 kg will be strong in a good way , just wash and grate with a cheese grater collecting the juice too.
and a 30-40 minute boil of all the ingredients in 10L+ solution, straining thru a sieve when added to the cold water in the fv.

i dont add cloves or cinnamon but i may now you mention them..

i will also add a tablespoon of dry ginger at the end of the boil before straining into the fv, it does not need cooking..
i also add 1/2- 1 Teaspoon of chilli powder for a lil extra kick too but be carefull with that, i once added a tablespoon and the result needed diluting 50/50 with juice to make it drinkable..

And add a strong mug of tea for the tannin too imho..


fwiw i tend to splurge on 2 x tins of light dme and add 500g of lactose to sweeten tho u can use an artificial sweetener too if you prefer, and it may be best to wait till primary has finished and you can dose any sweetener to taste?

i dont know about 2kg of demerara sugar, it depends on how much of a mollasses flavour it has, if little tghen it should be fine but some dark sugars have quite the mollasses flavour.. I once added a 1lb jar of mollasses to a ginger beer experimenting and it resulted in an overpowering licorice taint that wasnt pleasant..

tho thats just my take, not golden rules..

 

[Jamjar1982]

US-05 works well with my fresh ginger brews, thats more like a 5 gallon brew recipe with a target 4-5% alcohol..
and i would use 750g-1kg of ginger 1.5 kg will be strong in a good way , just wash and grate with a cheese grater collecting the juice too.
and a 30-40 minute boil of all the ingredients in 10L+ solution, straining thru a sieve when added to the cold water in the fv.

i dont add cloves or cinnamon but i may now you mention them..

i will also add a tablespoon of dry ginger at the end of the boil before straining into the fv, it does not need cooking..
i also add 1/2- 1 Teaspoon of chilli powder for a lil extra kick too but be carefull with that, i once added a tablespoon and the result needed diluting 50/50 with juice to make it drinkable..

And add a strong mug of tea for the tannin too imho..


fwiw i tend to splurge on 2 x tins of light dme and add 500g of lactose to sweeten tho u can use an artificial sweetener too if you prefer, and it may be best to wait till primary has finished and you can dose any sweetener to taste?

i dont know about 2kg of demerara sugar, it depends on how much of a mollasses flavour it has, if little tghen it should be fine but some dark sugars have quite the mollasses flavour.. I once added a 1lb jar of mollasses to a ginger beer experimenting and it resulted in an overpowering licorice taint that wasnt pleasant..

tho thats just my take, not golden rules..

Yes Fil, everything your saying is pretty much how I do things. Tbh I didn't really look at my recipe before posting, I was in a bit of a rush... (My bad). I think I usually use 1/2 unrefined golden sugar and half unrefined brown Demerara and aim for something about 6%, anything stronger tends to be too strong/ethanol hot in imo. Tried lactose once and didn't like it, (or messed it up). My notes say I ferment dry and back sweeten with more unrefined Golden brown sugar then bottle condition. Can remember how much yeast I use in the conditioning. I try to be clever and add just a smidge so it carbs then dies without using all the sugar or blowing up the bottle but it never really works 100%. I use PET screw top so I can regulate the pressure if I need too. The brown sugar I feel does help with the flavour. I would never use just white again. You recon a mug of tea? Hmm I'm not sure about that. i take it you mean it is in a brewed mug of tea.. Not a mug full of tea! Would that be for 3 gal? Btw I used to add the cloves and cinnamon before the ferment but since changed my mind and add it when I back sweeten. (Heat with the sugar and brew to make a syrup) but whatever works for you.

Cheers

 

[Jamjar1982]

I normally use wine yeast, something like youngs super yeast would be fine. Other yeasts work too, i have used beer yeast like gv-12 and also chamepagne yeast works well too :thumb:

Hi. Yeah I usually use lalvin ec118 champagne yeast with good results but wondered if there was something else I could try. My recipe includes golden/brown sugar and a bit of LME.

Cheers

 

[Fil]

yes a mug of brewed tea, pop a teabag in a mug add just boiled water and let it sit n cool..
if you use a significant level of malt (extract) then that should have some tannin tbh i cant recall the reason tannin is good, afaik its a common addition to some country wines so someone more familiar with brewing them may fill us in
google spat this out http://beerandwinejournal.com/tannins/

basically some is good

 

[Jamjar1982]

Ok I'll give it a go. Got to get the bugger fermenting properly first. Use lalvin D47 but it wouldn't take. Added nutrients and correct ph... Used lalvin k1 instead and it seems to be a bit slow... Think it's the honey tbh. Some 'non EU blend'. Cheap but a bit **** I think!