Want to make tatsy Ginger Beer

[Mike '77]

Well i've never done a brew before - although the cleaned bottles(about 200!) have been on the loft for some time now. I thought for my first brew i would do some ginger beer as i have come very partial to it of late and it makes a nice change to Masrton's/Greene King ales i usually drink.

I have done a thorough search on the site and found lots of different recipes but as a starting point i found this video and thought it was worth a go........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uQ_wks9 ... re=related

seems a straight forward recipe although i would use a better strainer. what's peoples thoughts on her method?

bought about a kilo of ginger only to find the local brew shop shut until the 4th so no yeast to get cracking!

[thedeckking]

The recipe on youtube looks good but it's not going to make a very alcoholic drink. It's more of a recipe for a traditional ginger beer like the ones you get in the shops with an abv of 0.5%. If you want more alcohol you'll need to start with more sugar and brew it in a fv before bottling. The only way to get an alcoholic ginger beer right is to use a hydrometer to keep note of the gravity at the start and when you decide to bottle it. Then the next time you make some you can adjust the level of alcohol by raising/lowering the OG and the level of sweetness by adjusting the FG when you bottle. The trick with ginger beer is you have to bottle it before it's fermented right out (I like it around 1010 but it's a personnal thing) or you'll end up with something really, really dry. Once bottled give it a couple of days in the warm and then get it in the fridge to stop any more fermentation or you may end up with bottle bombs. The tip on the video of using a plastic bottle is a good one, but if you want to play on the safe side you could bottle it all in plastic.
Have a look around the board for other ginger beer ideas, this one is useful: CLICKY

[Mike '77]

thanks for the reply - that was my concern, not being very alcohlic. i did search the site and found a fair few dissapointed GB brews in terms of too dry or bitter but even to me it seemed obvious they were brewing all the sugars out of it.

i pressume you mean fermenting vat when you abbreviate to fv?

so if i allow a longer fermantation in the fv and purchase a hydrometer and bottle at your recommneded gravity i should get something drinkable? also how much more sugar - double?

i did watch the ozzy guys guide................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AclJN2XcmYc

he starts of well but then comes that infocused by constantly sliding off for a drink or smoke and forgetting were he's at making the guide unuseable, the saying any idiot can make something complicated springs to mind!

the brew shop is open again tomorrow so really want to get cracking..............

[thedeckking]

so if i allow a longer fermantation in the fv and purchase a hydrometer and bottle at your recommneded gravity i should get something drinkable? also how much more sugar - double?

I couldn't tell you how much sugar I used as I just kept on adding it and mixing until I got the SG upto around 1080-1090. To get the sweetness you want just keep tasting it as the gravity drops. When you get the sweetness you want that's the time to bottle. Just don't forget it will ferment a little longer in the bottle.
If you can use a FV with a tap try taking a bottle full everytime you drop 10 on the hydro (don't forget to write the FG on the bottle) and give yourself a selection to sample to figure out what sweetness suits you. I did something similar and found friends prefered anything from 1040-1010. Anything less than this seems far to dry. If you find you prefer it to the sweeter end but want more alcohol just add more sugar next time!
The ingredients are all relatively cheap (especially if you're cheeky and see if the supermarket will do you a deal on all the loose bit of ginger people tend to break off) so it's well worth experimenting as much as possible with your first batch in order to figure out what you like.

thanks for the reply - that was my concern, not being very alcohlic. i did search the site and found a fair few dissapointed GB brews in terms of too dry or bitter but even to me it seemed obvious they were brewing all the sugars out of it.

Seem obvious, but as beer brewers it just doesn't seem right stopping a brew early

i pressume you mean fermenting vat when you abbreviate to fv?

Yes

My last tip was given to me by the nice lady at my LHBS. She recommended using champagne yeast as it handles the acidity better and will cope if you want to go for something really strong.

[Mike '77]

your input is much appreciated - i'm heading the brew shop tomorrow, i'll go for the champagne yeast.

I'm going to be doing a 24l brew using 1.5kg of ginger root, plenty of lemons and enough sugar to get my SG were you said. what quantity yeast did you use for what size brew? Which sugar did you use? i've seen in another thread the guy used lactose - any thoughts......

good idea on the tap on my FV , - i was gonna use a one way valve for pressure release (as i alread have one) is that ok to use as an airlock?

[thedeckking]

I'm going to be doing a 24l brew using 1.5kg of ginger root, plenty of lemons and enough sugar to get my SG were you said. what quantity yeast did you use for what size brew? Which sugar did you use? i've seen in another thread the guy used lactose - any thoughts......

good idea on the tap on my FV , - i was gonna use a one way valve for pressure release (as i alread have one) is that ok to use as an airlock?

I've always just used the whole sachet of yeast, it's going to multiply wants it starts eating the sugar anyway.
I tend to use golden granulated in ginger beer, I don't know if it really makes a difference but I've got into the habit.
I'm not sure what one way valve you want to use but it will need to be something that opens under quite low pressure. You don't really need an airlock at all, leaving the lid on loosely will do, it's just to keep any crap from falling in the FV.

[Mike '77]

I'm going to be doing a 24l brew using 1.5kg of ginger root, plenty of lemons and enough sugar to get my SG were you said. what quantity yeast did you use for what size brew? Which sugar did you use? i've seen in another thread the guy used lactose - any thoughts......

good idea on the tap on my FV , - i was gonna use a one way valve for pressure release (as i alread have one) is that ok to use as an airlock?

I've always just used the whole sachet of yeast, it's going to multiply wants it starts eating the sugar anyway.
I tend to use golden granulated in ginger beer, I don't know if it really makes a difference but I've got into the habit.
I'm not sure what one way valve you want to use but it will need to be something that opens under quite low pressure. You don't really need an airlock at all, leaving the lid on loosely will do, it's just to keep any crap from falling in the FV.

sound - i'm starting tonight. the one way valve should be sound, it opens under the slightest pressure. wish me luck! i'll be keeping notes and the mrs likes taking pics so i'll update as i proceed

[SamWise]

I realise this was a few weeks ago now, but the other, safer method is to let the ginger beer ferment out, and then back sweeten it with something non-fermentable (lactose, Splenda, or recently I've been using Tesco's sucralose based sweetener - own label Splenda, essentially). Doing it this way has two advantages. First, you can let it ferment out, so you'll know how alcoholic your GB is. Secondly, you can prime the bottles as you would with beer, and get ginger beer that's as fizzy as you want it to be, without worrying about keeping it in the fridge or creating bottle bombs. I stick mine in the bucket that I use for batch priming, taste and sweeten til I'm happy, then prime it and bottle it. No problems.

[second2none]

I've wreaked a few brews by using artifical sweeteners, be careful of the bitter aftertastes especially when added to already very bitter gingerbeer.
I've been looking at using lactose, have you had any experience with it~?

My last batch of ginger beer I just accepted it was going to be bitter and threw some chilli pepper and canynne pepper into the mix
and really eanjoyed the uncomfort of the firey burn!