Started me Ginger Beer Brew

[Mike '77]

i'm about to read the gravity - if its down to 1040 i'll bottle 7 litres, do another 7 litres at 1035 and another 5 at 1030. i'll bottle the rest at 1020. if any dont taste sweet enough i'll add some lactose when bottling. i will leave for 2 days in a very cold fridge before sampling - although if its down to 1040 tonight i no doubt will drink the plastic test bottle when its carbonted as long as its not too late, knowing my luck i'll be up all night babysitting the bottles!

[taity]

hi
i made my 1st batch of ginger beer .was due for bottling but found it could do with a bit of lime added. so i have added 3 limes to 18 ltrs and will bottle on tue wed (taste comparison with shop bought defo taste limes in the gb)

[Mike '77]

^^ your 100% right that lime is a great compliment to ginger - they always go well together. i often drink the shop bought GB with a slice of lime. i used plenty of lemon and zest to the brew and their is stll a hint of it when i tasted it yesterday. providing this brew turns out well i'll do the same again but add limes as opposed to the lemons to compare taste. as tis is my first go i went with the simplest recipe - but plan on refining the recipe until i get the one i want by making smaller batches with cinnamon added and so on.

i've decided against priming the bottles as its not needed as pointed out to me earlier - sample equipment is sterilising now so will be testing gravity v soon

[taity]

good luck keep us updated love reading about these

[Mike '77]

not long took a sample - reading was 1045 so looks like it should be down to 1040 tomorrow sometime. took a lil taste and it's still really tasty - better than the Frank's bottles of GB Netto had for a quid a go last month.

i will experiment with whole pimento and cinnamon sticks in very small amounts to enhance the ginger and possibly whole nutmeg - bay leaf may be worth a play with as well.

[taity]

thought about nutmeg but not sure

[Mike '77]

thought about nutmeg but not sure

woundnt try it powdered - saying that i wouldnt use any powdered spice. they are much more subtle when used whole as you wouldnt want to taste it dirrectly. i would a small brew of each once i know what FG tastes rigth to me.

[taity]

well thats me gb all bottled up tastes good so far defo needed the limes also back sweetend with asda brand sweetners till i got the right taste in drum then bottled next 24 hours could be explosive lol

[Mike '77]

well i've not long tested the brew again - the gravity was down to 1038. i've bottled 6 litres - and left next to the FV. used a plastic bottle to test when hopefully carbonated then i'll wack in a outside fridge that sits a 2 degrees C so fingers crossed no bombs. had a lil taste and things look good.

[Mike '77]

checked the fridge - no bombs! but if i left them in the warm would they srart to ferment again? bearing in mind the fridge thermo is saying 1 degrees C.

took about 4 1/2 hrs for the plastic bottle to go hard - although the plastic sits warmer than the glass bottles so not confident of the carbonation i was looking for, we shall see!

there is a fair bit fs sediment in the bottles so i need to rethink the process over again as i would prefer to make something clearer so the brewing process needs a lot of refinement.

[Mike '77]

well i cracked open one of the bottles - i was right, not quite enough carbonation. its not flat by a long shot but something has gone slighly wrong. there are plenty of bubbles in the glass and you can taste the fizz but it needs more. on a plus note it tastes very well and is more than quaffable. there's a nice ginger hit but not overpowering - sweetness is pretty spot on and the amount of lemon was pretty spot on. i am going to bottle some more tonight and leave them longer to carbonate - a bit of priming sugar may help?

overall i'm pleased that i have something that is pleasant to drink and for a 1st brew they only way is up!

some input needed over the caronation issue but i'mpressuming they could have gone another hour in the warm - or does that fact that my fv was 55-60 litre but only containing 23l?

as i originally collected all me empties for doing a AG brewbut never got around to it - so making the GB in a more proper brewing may produe th product we all want? a crabbies (albeit less sweet) that can actually get you pissed without drinking 8 pints or addind wodka to it or whisky. but in my familt we say the only thing you add to whiskey is whiskey!

[thedeckking]

Glad to hear it's going well. To improve the carbonation I think it's a simple case of longer in the warm. I was thinking more 1-2 days than a few hours, but this is where the plastic bottles come in handy. They should be absolutely solid before they go into the fridge.

If you're nervous then wait until the bottle are hard, put them in the fridge for a day or 2. The bottles should then be softer again as the Co2 will have been absorbed into the brew. Put them back in the warm for a bit longer until they're hard again, then back in the fridge.

[oneilldave]

I used very nearly the same recipe at the start of this thread, but used honey instead of sugar. I also left the ginger bits, and the lemons, in the fermenter for the whole brew period to give the brew some extra body. It worked as the ginger left you with a very warm glow and the lemons added a nice aroma and gentle zing in the background. However, I fermented it out to 1001 which gave me over 9% in the end, so it was rather dry. I didnt mean to do that, I just waited too long to check the gravity. But it was very drinkable, and indeed it was very quickly drunk.

Next time I will bottle at 1020, and then leave for a couple of days to fizz up, then store cold until falling over is required!

Dave.

[Mike '77]

thanks guys, you was right - hadnt left long enough! i left the next lot about 20 hours and its fizzy! well chuffed - got another 5 litres to bottle which should be around 1020 or a bit below. gonna get the next lot on with a few tweeks to the recipe - but in the menatime i plan on getting some more tackle together and trying doing this liks an AG brew - replacing the hop boiling stage with the ginger.

but i am well pleased - very nice now its fizzy, not thin neither.

lessons learned, dont add the sugar to the ginger while its cooking as the ginger absorbs a fair bit of it. i wouldnt leave the ginger in the FV for the same reason. substitite 2 of the lemons for an orange. small cinnamon stick would improve spice flavour and probably substitute the remaining lemons for lime. dont add the juice until the ginger is strained. rack from FV to DJ to reduce sediment and use 100 micron filter before bottling. also probably start with a lower SG and brew out to 1010 and back sweeten with non fermentables with enough enough remaing sugars for the fizz?

[Gordonmull]

Made a hasty U-turn with my latest batch of ginger wine to go for GB instead after reading this thread. About 30 hours in the warmth and 18 hours in the fridge, bottled between 1030 and 1040. Tasting good! Nice and fizzy, if a bit sweet for SWMBO and I's tastes.

New 5 gal batch has now got the yeast pitched.

100g ginger, 1 lemon, 2 limes blended and boiled with 1kg sugar and 4L water.

Left to cool overnight, topped up to 5L and pitched yeast. Fingers crossed.

OG 1090, will bottle at 1020 - 1030 this time and see how that goes. Next time I'm using 750g sugar as i want it drier and around 5%.

What amazed me was the 2 day conditioning time! That would take weeks with real beer.

Anyway thanks for the inspiration mike!