# Ginger Beer?



## dane (4/1/03)

I am interested in brewing a ginger beer - probably a slightly alcoholic ginger beer. 

Doc has posted his recipe and he said that it tasted quite good, and as follows :

Beer Makers Ginger Beer kit
Dextrose 800g
Powdered Light Malt 400g
Corn Syrup 200g
CSR Dark Brown Sugar 200g
20.2 litres of purified water
Yeast from kit re-hydrated with nutrient from kit
It came out at about 3% this one.


I would have thought a realy ginger beer would require actual ginger from the plant - rather than just using a kit. Does anyone have a different recipe that I can look at - that maybe has actual ginger in it?

Otherwise what other recipes are people using for a slightly acoholic ginger beer?

Thanks.


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## Linz (4/1/03)

This recipe comes from "Home Brewing the CAMRA guide " by Graham Wheeler.

Pale malt 4kg
Crystal malt 300gm
Goldings hops 70gm(90mins)
Ginger root 30gm(15mins) 

OG 1038
bitterness 30ebu
fg 1009
alc 3.9%
mash 67 deg C
mash 90min
boil 90min

Extract can replace pale malt with 3.450kg of light malt extract

Haven't done it so NO guarantees it works 
only ginger beer I have made was an "Old Fashioned" kit g/beer with 1kg raw sugar instead of the 350gm to the con asks for. The family in-laws say its just like the ones they used to make from root ginger and sugar. I'm still trying to get their reciepe! ^_^


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## kook (5/1/03)

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/facts/200...gerbeer_16.html

That was linked in a thread on OCAU. 

If you used more sugar in the boil (and some LDME or LLME) and transfered it to a fermenter after the boil it might be what you're looking for.


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## Doc (5/1/03)

The recipe I posted doesn't need any more ginger in it as the amount from the Beer Makers kit is plenty IMHO.
However my LHBS does sell a Ginger Beer Booster if you want more of a ginger taste.

Cheers,
Doc


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## PMyers (6/1/03)

Actually Doc, the ginger beer boosters are no longer produced IIRC.

However, most people treat ginger beer exactly like they would normal beer, which is a mistake. Whenever I brew ginger beer I give the fermenter a slight rock just before bottling to get some of the sediment back into suspension. Then before I open each bottle, I invert them several times to mix the bottle sediment through the brew. If you don't do this, and pour the ginger beer like you would your other beer, then you will end up with a rather tasteless fizz-water the colour of commercial lemonade. In ginger beer, it is the sediment that gives it the flavour and zing.

Cheers,
Pete

:chug:


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## Doc (6/1/03)

Well if you want some of the ginger beer booster I'm sure I saw some at the Country Brewer in Thornleigh when I was their just before xmas.

As for my current batch of ginger beer, I added more CSR Dark Brown sugar and more dextrose to make the beer darker and more alcoholic. Took a reading this morning at it is sitting at 6.7%. Bit stronger than I wanted but the colour looks good. 

Will bottle in the next couple of days. Will let you guys know when I sample the first bottle.

Beers,
Doc


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## GMK (9/1/03)

*Ginger Beer Recipee*

Hi everyone, Just made this Ginger Beer up last Night.

Recipee is for a double batch.

2x cans of Beermakers Ginger Beer Kit
1.5kg of light malt
400gms of Dark brown sugar
1kg of Dextrose
3 teaspoons of Cinamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
one lemon and lime thinly sliced
1 x handfull of Cascade hops.
220gms of grated dry ginger..unpeeled.
General purpose Champagne dry yeast.

Make yeast starter. 
Throw all ingredients except cans into large Saucepan with 6 litres of water.....Boil for 20mins. 
Add can contents to fermenter. Strain liquid from saucepan into fermenter. Top up to approx 44 ltrs. Stir in yeast.

Note OG was only 1030. This should give approx 3.5 % when finished.
Will rack after 10 days for a further 2 weeks. Might need to add more ginger or lactose once racked to achieve balance - better taste.

Will let you know how it ends up....


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## dane (9/1/03)

I will be interested to see how this batch turns out!!


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## GMK (2/2/03)

fiscus said:


> I will be interested to see how this batch turns out!!


*Ginger Beer*

We racked the ginger beer 2 weeks ago.
Tasted after racking....it didn't need anything.

Tasted some yesterday from the keg......gassed with nitrogen/CO2 mix.

Very, Very Tasty. 
Not too much ginger so that it is over the top.
Finishes very clean and crisp...no after taste.

I contribute this to the use of the general champagne yeast....makes the finish dry and clean.

All in all, very well balanced, complex, full bodied ginger beer.
Excellent result for first time with this recipee.

Next time, might also add the following:

4 hands of rolled oats
4 hands of light rye malt
200 gms of franklin malt 
All steeped for 90mins.....this should make it more complex and increase the alcohol % and make it more full bodied.

Will have to wait and see......Meanwhile, i will have another Ginger Beer.

:chug:


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## dane (2/2/03)

GMK said:


> Next time, might also add the following:
> 
> 4 hands of rolled oats
> 4 hands of light rye malt
> ...


 Are these additions for a 'double batch'?

I am planning on starting this recipe very soon - just want to get my quantities right.


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## GMK (2/2/03)

Fin,

Because this is Ginger Beer, the quantities should be right...

I made a single batch of IPA with 
200gms Franklin, 
2 hands rolled oats
2 hands Light Rye
4 hands of Xtal Malt.

However, i will increase the Light Rye and Rolled Oats next time...will go for four hands (approx 100 gms) of each in a single beer batch - IPA, Killkenny, Dark and Stout. 

This being the second time i have done this, adding oats and light rye malt...i am starting off conservative.
Instead of Franklin Malt, can choose any other light malt that is high in enzymes.


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## PMyers (3/2/03)

Update on the above post regarding Ginger Beer Boosters...

... Pacific Brewing, the company behind Jads Ginger Beer and the afore mentioned Ginger Beer Boosters, will be ceasing production on their ginger beer lines in the next few months. I am unsure of an exact date, but we have been unable to order the boosters since Christmas, and the kits will go off the market VERY soon.

Cheers,
Pete

:chug:


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## Doc (4/2/03)

Well I cracked the first bottle of my second batch of ginger beer on Sunday night.
Yummmmm.
After my first batch that came out at 3%, I wanted this one to be a darker colour and more alocholic.
Darker it is and weighing in at 6.3%.
I tastes fantastic too.

Beers,
Doc


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## Juan Antonio Hernandez (25/2/03)

what did you add to raise the alco level so high......


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## Doc (25/2/03)

an extra:
200g dextrose
100g powdered light malt
200g csr dark brown sugar

that and the final gravity was lower (prev. 1014 now 1008)

Cheers,
Doc


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## Juan Antonio Hernandez (27/2/03)

GMK started your ginger beer double batch today..... only did 23l but still looked smelt and tasted great..... i also added some honey and left out the lemon (only because i couldn't get 1) now i have to wait unfortunately.... looks like a great drop.... i just added a champage yeast called LALVIN EC-118.... just wondering if that will be okay...it says selected in champage regions so i assume all will be okay....anyways thanks for the recipie now wanna start a merry berry..... how has that batch come of age...???? :chug:


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## PMyers (28/2/03)

EC-1118 is an excellent yeast for a dry wine as it is more attenuative than generic ale yeasts. It should help get the F.G. down a little lower due to this. It is a very good yeast and will ferment neutral so it shouldn't give off much in the way of taste differences.

Cheers,
Pete

:chug:


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## dane (28/2/03)

GMK said:


> *Ginger Beer Recipee*
> 
> Hi everyone, Just made this Ginger Beer up last Night.
> 
> ...


 Just about to head up to the local HBS to get the goodies for this batch GMK.

My mate (Juan Antonio Hernandez - have to congratulate him on that nick) started it last night and he said it have be bubbling away furiously!!

Looking forward to it  

Will keep you all informed and post any findings/results :chug:


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## fergiej (6/3/03)

After reading about these great ginger beer recipes I decided to give an achoholic one a go (I had made soft drink versions before). After mixing it up and taking an SG, I decided to add more sugar for a bigger kick  . 

Well, I've just tried my first one and it was shocking, way to sweet :blink: . I had a FG of 1.000.

Should I leave this longer to condition? (4 weeks now). 

Has anyone else had this problem?

I would like to get this right and if I can't save it I will try again.


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## dane (6/3/03)

My current batch is WAY to sweet as well - it has been in bottles for about a month now - I will just leave it to see if it changes much - i doubt it.

It seems that whatever sugar levels are specified just stick to those.

i will hopefully get time to try GMK's version this weekend - been too busy to put it on.


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## GMK (7/3/03)

Juan Antonio Hernandez said:


> GMK started your ginger beer double batch today..... only did 23l but still looked smelt and tasted great..... i also added some honey and left out the lemon (only because i couldn't get 1) now i have to wait unfortunately.... looks like a great drop.... i just added a champage yeast called LALVIN EC-118.... just wondering if that will be okay...it says selected in champage regions so i assume all will be okay....anyways thanks for the recipie now wanna start a merry berry..... how has that batch come of age...???? :chug:


Hi Juan,

Update on Merry Beery.

Well, it is extreemly nice. It has some tartiness due to the logan berries and raspberries and nice pick colour.
Very refreshing on a hot day. 
However, no idea what the alcohol % is.
It took a marathon..brewed over 4 weeks. This is the story.

After first initial racking, 10 days in primary, tasted beer. Not enough fruit colour or flavour. Boiled/lanced another 250 gms approx of berries, added to secondary fermenter. Started bubbling ferociously again. Left 10 days. Racked again. Still not enough fruit flavour. By then i had run out of home grown fruit. 

What do i do now.

Off to the supermarket and bought 2 x 250gm jars of four berry fruit spread - 95 % fruit - blackberries, blue berries, black & red raspberries.
Added this to the wort. Again started bubbling...left a week racked again.
Tasted wort...now it was nice. Added some Gypsum...soften tartiness and 1/2 hand full of cascade hops....Left for another week.

Bottled into stubbies....it is not the sort of beer you would do a session on..but different and nice. 
Next time i will use more fruit initially and wait for the logan berries to go black instead of picking them red....might do a black loganberry stout????


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## Trev (7/3/03)

Now I've just put down my first Ginger Beer as well, albeit a very simple one. I just used one of the JADS kits with 1kg of liquid light malt instead of sugar.

What surprised me though was the very small volume of the kit. It's just a few hundred ml, very strong ginger tast and all but obviously not a lot of fermentables.

I then had a close look at the packaging and realised that it is artificially sweetened.

The SG reading was only 1014 and the kit say that it finishes at about 1005. I guess that will be a few points higher because I used LME rather than sugar yielding say 1007. All up I'll only have an alcohol content of maybe 1.5% including the priming!

This is supposed to be an Alcoholic Ginger Beer?

Am I missing something (other than my regular AA meeting)?

Trev


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## Doc (7/3/03)

Sounds right. 
That is what happened to me too. With my first batch I had actually added more than they suggest and only got 2.9%. That is why my second one I changed the makeup a bit but overshot and got 6.5%. 
Although the more alcoholic one is smoother and the missus likes its better.
I was hoping that by making is stronger it would last longer, but that theory has already been blown  

Doc


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## PMyers (12/3/03)

It's official! Jads ginger beer is no longer in production and will dissapear entirely from the shelves VERY shortly.

As for the artificial sweetener used in ginger beer it is important to remember something. Ginger has by nature a very sour/bitter taste and it must be sweetened somehow to make it more palatable to drink. Remember that most of the ginger beers on the market are dual purpose. That is they are intended to make either an alcoholic or a non-alcoholic drink. If the concentrate were sweetened with sugar, then it would no longer make a non-alcoholic drink. If it were sweetened with lactose, then all the lactose intolerant people out there would not be able to enjoy it (That is to say, they might enjoy DRINKING it, but they certainly wouldn't enjoy the rest of the evening). Therefore the only option left is to use an artificial sweetener in order to make the beverage more palatable. 

The reason behind the label stating it is "Low Joule" is a simple marketing tactic. The product falls under the low joule category, and since low joule is a commercial gold mine, any company worth its salt would leap at the chance to advertise this fact on their product.

Cheers,
Pete

:chug:


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## Trev (12/3/03)

Thanks Pete, I realise why now.

Never mind, next time I'll use more LME to raise the Alchohol %. And I now see exactly what you mean about 'Marketing' the Low Joule aspect :angry:

Trev


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## Snow (3/4/03)

PMyers said:


> Actually Doc, the ginger beer boosters are no longer produced IIRC.
> 
> However, most people treat ginger beer exactly like they would normal beer, which is a mistake. Whenever I brew ginger beer I give the fermenter a slight rock just before bottling to get some of the sediment back into suspension. Then before I open each bottle, I invert them several times to mix the bottle sediment through the brew. If you don't do this, and pour the ginger beer like you would your other beer, then you will end up with a rather tasteless fizz-water the colour of commercial lemonade. In ginger beer, it is the sediment that gives it the flavour and zing.
> 
> ...


 Pete,

does your answer here mean you don't rack ginger beer to secondary, and just bottle straight from primary, so you can get more sediment in your bottles? I just put down GMK's recipe last night and it smelled and tasted great as it was going into the fermenter - I wouldn't want to turn it into "tasteless fizz-water"!

Cheers - Snow.


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## Doc (3/4/03)

I don't rack my ginger beers and they come out great.

Cheers,
Doc


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## Snow (3/4/03)

Doc said:


> I don't rack my ginger beers and they come out great.
> 
> Cheers,
> Doc


 How long do you ferment them for, Doc? I assume 2 weeks is the go?

- S.


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## Doc (3/4/03)

Here are the details on my last batch of Ginger Beer which is fantastic.

Here is my Super Appeasement Ginger Beer recipe.

Beer Makers Ginger Beer kit
1kg Dextrose
200g Corn Syrup
300g Powdered Light Malt
200g Powdered Dark Malt
400g CSR Dark Brown Sugar

19.7 litres water

Rehydrated the kit yeast with the kit nutrient.
Pitched at 26deg and fermented at 20 deg.

Primary fermentation only (16 days).
OG 1052
FG 1008
6.5% alcohol.

It is a nice brown colour and nice and smooth. Funnily enough there isn't the hint of alcohol you would expect either. The corn syrup gives just enough sweetness too.

Cheers,
Doc

PS: Tonight I crack the 7.3% cider that was tasting fantastic when I bottled it.


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## disconnected (7/4/03)

Doc said:


> Here is my Super Appeasement Ginger Beer recipe.
> 
> Beer Makers Ginger Beer kit
> 1kg Dextrose
> ...


 this sounds like a good and fiarly simple recipe for a newbie like me to try....

i might give this a go for my next batch, thanks!


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## Snow (7/5/03)

GMK,

I just tasted my first batch of ginger beer, made exactly to your first recipe. Bloody marvelous! It tastes great and has a well balanced aroma, sweetness and ginger bite. A little tip: it's a great mixer for Wild Turkey 

I think next time, might add a bit more LME and maybe a little crystal for colour, just to see what happens! Or would crystal malt make it too sweet?

Cheers - Snow.


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## therook (7/5/03)

Was this Doc's recipe Snow.

Rook


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## GMK (7/5/03)

snow...

Next time add some light Xtal....250gms....

And do some Dry Gingering in the secondary...

150gms of freshly grated dry Ginger added to the secondary ....

Thanks for the feedback.

You are the fourth person who has made and liked my recipee...
Did you add the spices ?


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## GSRman (7/5/03)

GMK: do you add the cans? or just leave them out? reading your recipe it doesn't say where it goes?


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## Snow (8/5/03)

Yeah, I added the spices, GMK, and they sure made a difference. Not overpowering, but they add complexity to the brew. 

- Snow


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## GMK (8/5/03)

GSR Man

I added the cans Beer Makers Ginger Beer to the fermenter....


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## GSRman (8/5/03)

i thought it might have been a subtle witty joke...


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## GMK (8/5/03)

GSRMan..

Must have been way too subtle and not that witty........


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## Doc (14/5/03)

I heard a rumour today that the Beer Makers Ginger Beer kits were about to be dis-continued.
I know that Pete was saying the Jads one were as well.
I also heard a rumor that Morgans were going to start producing a Ginger Beer kit.

Do you Country Brewer boys have any firm info?

Cheers,
Doc


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## GMK (13/2/04)

Ginger Beer Recipee

I have some requests to make some BGB - Barossa Ginger Beer.
I will be using the recipee i posted earlier in this thread and "Dry Gingering" in the secondary...

Any tips/feedback/enhancements from the guys who have made Ginger Beer based on my initial recipee...


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## Doc (22/2/04)

Doc said:


> Here are the details on my last batch of Ginger Beer which is fantastic.
> 
> Here is my Super Appeasement Ginger Beer recipe.
> 
> ...


Cracked a couple of bottles of this years brew of Ginger Beer using the Super Appeasement Ginger Beer recipe.

It delighted all again.

If anything it is still a little sweet. It will mellow with longer aging. Having just finished the previous batch (12 months old) that was wonderfully smooth and still tasting great.

Beers,
Doc


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## GMK (22/2/04)

Doc

why dont you use any spices or fresh grated ginger in the secondary...


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## Doc (22/2/04)

Two reasons.
One I don't secondary my ginger beer.
And two I can't really be arsed. 

It isn't for me really and they all like it as it is. If it ain't broke don't try and fix it. 

Doc


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## Rod (23/2/04)

This recipe is KISS

I have made three batches and all were good
Beermakers Ginger beer with 1kg Dextrose , ferment as usual , place one piece of raw ginger in bottle , diameter to suit bottle and about 2 to 3 cm long, I cap of Buderim Ginger Beer cordial ( from supermarket). I bulk primed and used 120gm caster sugar , lower to take into account the Ginger cordial . The cordial has some preservative , but not enough to prevent carbonation . Mature about 4 months in the bottle.

Rod


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## JasonY (17/2/05)

Well with selling the house & all the associated crap that comes with it I have not been able to spare a w/end day for a brew  decided to finally throw a ginger beer down.

Pretty much followed GMK's recipe with the lemon, lime etc, only had about 40g of fresh ginger so grated that and chucked it in. Using a Coppers ginger beer can for it. Don't have any champagne yeast so used the can stuff plus pitched a 1272 I had started for a brew day that never happened on Sun  

Smells pretty good hopefully the taste will match, the OG came in at 1.050! so I diluted to 1.045 (23L) to help the yeast get a lower FG.


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## kungy (17/2/05)

With the Coopers and Morgans Ginger beer cans (which are exactly the same with the exception of the labels) is it possible for the artificial sweetner etc to taste slightly salty once fully fermented. I made the recipe up as GMKs recipe and hoping it improves in the bottle even though the beer is not for me

Will


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## barls (18/2/05)

i make the morgans with a kilo of brewers suger and havent had any salty taste :chug: :beer:


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## THE DRUNK ARAB (28/2/05)

A question on Ginger Beer.

Jo (Mrs Drunk Arab) made up a Morgans GB kit with 1kg of dextrose.
The gravity is down to 1005 so I believe it has finished fermenting.
There is 19 litres and I need to know how much sugar to use when priming as it is going into bottles?
Was going to go for medium carbonation.

C&B
TDA, On behalf of the missus <_<


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## jgriffin (28/2/05)

kungy said:


> With the Coopers and Morgans Ginger beer cans (which are exactly the same with the exception of the labels) is it possible for the artificial sweetner etc to taste slightly salty once fully fermented. I made the recipe up as GMKs recipe and hoping it improves in the bottle even though the beer is not for me
> 
> Will
> [post="45731"][/post]​




I don't think you are right about Coopers and Morgans being the same. They are both made by Coopers, but have a different recipe - at least that's what my contacts at Coopers tell me. They certainly taste different too - the Morgans is far superior, the Coopers i can really taste the artificial sweetner.


As for carbonating, i actually use carbonation drops in my ginger beer, it's the one thing i brew where i really think the "softdrink" carbonation matches the style.


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## barls (28/2/05)

i use the carbonation drops as well


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## Curry (9/5/05)

G'day Guys,

Just about to do my first Ginger Beer.

I have read all through this thread and others and I have decided to give GMK's recipe a go but I do have a few questions if anyone can help me.

I won't be doing a double batch as per GMK's recipe but rather just a single can version, my question is, do I just halve all the other ingredients? It should be noted that I don't mind if the Alcohol percentage rises but I don't want to alter the taste too much.

Forgive me ignorance but I take it that "Dry ginger" is just the ginger root you can buy at the supermarket, am I correct?

Your help would be much appreciated.

Regards

Curry.


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## BrissyBrew (9/5/05)

> I don't think you are right about Coopers and Morgans being the same. They are both made by Coopers, but have a different recipe - at least that's what my contacts at Coopers tell me. They certainly taste different too - the Morgans is far superior, the Coopers i can really taste the artificial sweetner.
> 
> 
> As for carbonating, i actually use carbonation drops in my ginger beer, it's the one thing i brew where i really think the "softdrink" carbonation matches the style.



Well well well.. Somebody told me coopers and morgans are the same (My LHBS). Now that explains it all, my first attempt was using morgans, (I did add 800grams of honey, and 100 DME, plus 50mls of fresh ginger juice) it was amazing. My last two past attempts have not been as good, I have blamed brown sugar, too much malt extract all kinds of things, but sure enough I was using the coopers mix, and if it does have artifical sweetners and the morgans does it probably explains my alergic reactions as well. Artifical sweetners dont settle well with me.


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## Airgead (11/5/05)

BrissyBrew said:


> and if it does have artifical sweetners and the morgans does it probably explains my alergic reactions as well. Artifical sweetners dont settle well with me.
> [post="58249"][/post]​



I have yet to find a kiig ginger beer that my wife can drink as she has a bad reaction to the artificial sweetners.

Has anyone out there tried to make a ginger beer fron scratch? My last effort was (for 20l)- 

4kg LME
230g grated ginger boil gor 60 mins
50g grated ginger boil 10 mins.
800g crystal for body and residual sweetness.

No hops (the missus really doesn't like hops).

It was sort of OK but surprising non-gingery. I suspect I overboiled the ginger and destroyed the flavour. It also came out too 'beery' for her taste.

My next effort will be something like this - 

2.5kg white sugar (or a mix of white and brown for a bit of colour)
1kg maltodextrine (for residual sweetness)
300gr grated ginger steeped for 20 mins in hot (not boiling) water.
Possibly some grated ginger in the secondary as well if there isn't enough ginger flavour.

Any comments/suggestions?


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## Armstrong (11/5/05)

> I don't think you are right about Coopers and Morgans being the same. They are both made by Coopers, but have a different recipe - at least that's what my contacts at Coopers tell me. They certainly taste different too - the Morgans is far superior, the Coopers i can really taste the artificial sweetner.






> Well well well.. Somebody told me coopers and morgans are the same (My LHBS). Now that explains it all, my first attempt was using morgans, (I did add 800grams of honey, and 100 DME, plus 50mls of fresh ginger juice) it was amazing. My last two past attempts have not been as good, I have blamed brown sugar, too much malt extract all kinds of things, but sure enough I was using the coopers mix, and if it does have artifical sweetners and the morgans does it probably explains my alergic reactions as well. Artifical sweetners dont settle well with me.



Coopers and Morgans ginger beers are identical and are actually made by Morgans. 
The only except would be the yeast and nutrient supplied with each kit ... that could explain the differences in results


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## WildebeestAttack (11/5/05)

> It was sort of OK but surprising non-gingery. I suspect I overboiled the ginger and destroyed the flavour. It also came out too 'beery' for her taste.



Sounds like its needs more Ginger.



The Ginger Beer recipe I use is:

1 kg Fresh Ginger
4 Lemons (Juice and Zest) (Can also use Limes)
4 kg Brew Sugar (Sometimes half Dextrose/ half white sugar)
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
Champagne Yeast (Lavlin EC 1118)
20 L Water

Peel and finely chop Ginger.
Take off zest of Lemons (make sure you dont get the white stuff), then juice.

Add Lemon, Ginger, Cream of Tartar and as much sugar as possible in largest pot, with water and boil for 30 minutes. 

Add mix with remaining water (and sugar if any) in a fermenter then Cool (to around 18 C).

Pitch Yeast when cool.


Its a fairly popular drink. I personally find it a little sweet - but it always get drunk. I have to make a batch once a month. It now has its own fermentor as well (the ginger smell can linger into beers).


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## Airgead (11/5/05)

WildebeestAttack said:


> Sounds like its needs more Ginger.
> 
> *snip*
> 
> ...



Sounds good. 1Kg ginger... boy no wonder mine came out a little low in flavour.

I'll give that one a try.


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## NRB (12/5/05)

Don't the yeast need malt to multiply etc? I guess you pitch a fairly large starter?


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## WildebeestAttack (12/5/05)

NRB said:


> Don't the yeast need malt to multiply etc? I guess you pitch a fairly large starter?
> [post="58788"][/post]​




I just throw a small sachet of yeast straight in. No starter. (I do starters for all my beers). I don't know about needing malt, just nutirents of some sort. I guess there is enough in the lemon and ginger. I suppose some malt would help things along. Anyhow, it works for me. Champagne Yeast is mighty tough stuff.


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## Curry (14/5/05)

Hey Guys,

Well 3 days into fermenting GMK's recipe and it appears that fermentation has finished already. I am basing this on:-

1. No bubbles from airlock (water has equalized in airlock);
2. I got an OG of 1.039 and currently is 1.106 which gives the 3.5% GMK states.

My concern is that this has happened too fast - only 3 days. I will take another reading tomorrow to confirm that it has actually finished. The kraeusen that I got was about 2" high and the fermentation was very active - half the water got ejected out of the airlock.

Does this sound okay or normal to you guys? I am just concerned it happened to fast and it should be noted that this is my first ginger beer.

Thoughts

Regards

Curry


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## sosman (14/5/05)

WildebeestAttack said:


> The Ginger Beer recipe I use is:
> 
> 1 kg Fresh Ginger
> 4 Lemons (Juice and Zest) (Can also use Limes)
> ...


My take on this (ymmv):
- I prefer to use tartaric (or citric acid) rather than cream of tartar.
- 1 kg of ginger should be plenty - I last used only 240g for a 12L recipe and it was quite gingery - I also puree it with the stick mixer.
- My starting gravity is quite a bit lower and after trying champagne and ale yeast, I prefer ale.
Having said all that, if it works for you then no need to dick around with the recipe.

My recipe is at ginger beer. Next time round I would make a big starter and use some malt in the recipe. Also I might leave some of the acid additions till after fermentation.


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## WildebeestAttack (14/5/05)

My take on this (ymmv):
- I prefer to use tartaric (or citric acid) rather than cream of tartar.
- 1 kg of ginger should be plenty - I last used only 240g for a 12L recipe and it was quite gingery - I also puree it with the stick mixer.
- My starting gravity is quite a bit lower and after trying champagne and ale yeast, I prefer ale.
Having said all that, if it works for you then no need to dick around with the recipe.

My recipe is at ginger beer. Next time round I would make a big starter and use some malt in the recipe. Also I might leave some of the acid additions till after fermentation.
[post="59057"][/post]​[/quote]


Pretty similar recipes. I should add mine is very gingery. I also reckon you could use less ginger if you blended it up. I just leave it in thin slices so I can remove it. Hell, it comes out that pungent I could probably re-use it with the next batch. 

Citric Acid would be good to take the edge off the sweetness. I'm not trying to overpower it with Lemon or Lime - so will give that a try and see how the punters respond.

Any recommendations on Ale yeast? I only have wyeast 1272, 1762 and 1084, but would give it a crack some time.

I'm also planning on adding a bit of malt to the next batch. 

(I'm always playing around with the recipe, I just haven't given it any radical overhauls - besides, some of the punters are now making their own, so the basic recipe is always being done by some one)

:excl: One more recommendation - use plastic bottles. This brew builds up a lot of pressure. I've even managed to blow out a couple of soft drink bottles. It could be potentially lethal in glass.


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## sosman (15/5/05)

WildebeestAttack said:


> Pretty similar recipes. I should add mine is very gingery. I also reckon you could use less ginger if you blended it up. I just leave it in thin slices so I can remove it. Hell, it comes out that pungent I could probably re-use it with the next batch.
> 
> Citric Acid would be good to take the edge off the sweetness. I'm not trying to overpower it with Lemon or Lime - so will give that a try and see how the punters respond.
> 
> ...


I have used citric, tartaric, even phosphoric acid. I haven't brewed a ginger beer since I acquired a pH meter but I suspect part of the reason for slow fermentation I have observed is low pH, hence my recommendation for possibly adding at the end of fermentation (at least partially).

I have only used dried yeast in a ginger beer but I reckon the 1272 would go well. I am likely to try something a bit crazy next time like a wheat yeast (eg 3068).

Agree on the plastic bottles.

BTW when I puree the ginger I don't bother removing it. The grated stuff was a clog fest, but maybe I should have removed it before the ferment.


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## TidalPete (15/5/05)

[/quote]
Has anyone out there tried to make a ginger beer fron scratch? 
[/quote]

I found this on the web somewhere (can't remember where). It is remarkably similar to the ginger beer recipe that my grandmother made when I was a little fella in the 50's. Haven't got around to trying it out yet, but it looks good.

GINGER BEER PLANT (BUNG) 

Put in vessel (not metal) - we used a large peanut paste jar with a crochet doily over it! -

1/2 cup sugar
1 dessertspoon ground ginger
juice of 1 lemon
1 pint water

Stand 3 days. Pour off half water and feed for 10 days 
1 teaspoon ginger and
1 teaspoon sugar

Note: Use tank water to start a bug if town supply is heavily chlorinated. It may take a couple of 'feedings' of 1 week to get the bug strong enough to be worth your while. Just halve the bug (throw the other half away) and renew as below.

BEER
Dissolve 4 cups sugar in 3 cups boiling water.
Strain bug through cloth (I used 2 thicknesses of muslin) and squeeze well.
Add juice from bug to sugar mixture.
Add juice 2 lemons, 25 cups cold water and bottle. (I used beer bottles, metal spring caps).

RENEW BUNG
Keep 1/2 bug left in the cloth (give the other half to a friend)
Put it back into the jar and add 1 cup warm water, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons ginger.
Feed with 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger for 1 week.


Good luck.


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## Airgead (16/5/05)

Has anyone out there tried to make a ginger beer fron scratch? 
[/quote]

I found this on the web somewhere (can't remember where). It is remarkably similar to the ginger beer recipe that my grandmother made when I was a little fella in the 50's. Haven't got around to trying it out yet, but it looks good.

GINGER BEER PLANT (BUNG) 


Good luck.  
[post="59124"][/post]​[/quote]

I've seen a couple of recipies like that floating around on the web. I'll have to give it a go some day.

Cheers
Dave


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## Sleepy (7/6/05)

Hi guys,

Have just joined the forum. Brewed a ginger beer on Sunday (couldn't wait for GMK's recipie on Monday):

1 X Can Beermakers Giner Beer
1 X kg dextrose
2 X teaspoons of fresh crushed ginger (quickly boiled)
1 X juice of lemon
Yeast and nutrient from can
good sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon

My brew is bubbling very very slowly (once every 20 - 30secs) considering it is only the second day of primary fermentation. Is there a problem?

Also, is it ok to add some dry malt and brown sugar now?

Cheers


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## kungy (7/6/05)

"My brew is bubbling very very slowly (once every 20 - 30secs) considering it is only the second day of primary fermentation. Is there a problem?"

No problem there. There could be a few factors why it isn't bubbling to fast. ie not the most viable yeast, tad to cold etc

You could add some dry malt and brown sugar now if you really want too. Problems that you may face though is oxidation, the problems of actually getting it to dissolve would be a big one, and mixing it and not compromising sanitation of your beer. 

I would suggest you don't do anything, and chalk it down to experience. Leave it for next time. Instead you could try priming (if you bottle) with malt.

Will


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## SpaceMonkey (28/7/05)

Been looking over this thread with some interest and thought some of you might be able to offer a bit of advice on re-creating a drink that I'm pretty fond of. It's an all naturally brewed ginger beer made in NZ by Phoenix, it's sold as a soft drink although being brewed it does contain around 0.9% alcohol. Its main characteristics are 1: a really strong fresh ginger taste (it's really good if you've got a cold!!) and 2: the fact that it's naturally sweetened using honey so it lacks the overpowering sweetness of the big commercial soft drinks and has a really nice honey taste to it. I'd love to try and approximate something close to it, although a bit more alcohol (say in the 4% range) would be nice. I'm only a novice so was thinking of starting with a kit and maybe adding a few enhancements, what would the best wa to add the extra ginger, honey and alcohol be? I was considering boiling up some malt, then dropping maybe 200gm of crushed fresh ginger and a jar of liquid honey into the boil just long enough to kill any nasties in them and adding the whole lot to the wort with the kit. Any suggestions? Does anyone know of any all-natural (or close to it) kits?


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## barls (28/7/05)

the country brewer kit is pretty good, easy to make and very gingery


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## yard glass (11/11/05)

hey guys,

This one is a mixture of a couple of recipes that i found.

Brigalow GB
Fresh Ginger 300gm ( finely grated )
Dex 600gm
Maltodex 400gm
Lemon Zest 2
Lemon Juice
Ground Nutmeg 1 tbsp
Brown Sugar 2 tbsp
Golden Syrup 2 tbsp
Ginger Powder 3 tbsp
Honey 2 tbsp
Cloves 2
Cinnamon 2'' stick
Champagne Yeast 10gm
supplied Nutrient

Bring 1.5lt water to boil
add dex, maltodex and fresh ginger, boil for 20min.
@ 20min add everything else except the Kit, Cloves and Cinnamon and boil for further 10min.
@ 30min add Kit, Cloves and Cinnamon, boil for further 10min.

Strain and top up to 22lt. I used filtered water.
Pitch @ 25* Cel.

This smelt and tasted awesome out of the bucket.

One question I have for you blokes that have used the EC-118 yeast.

How long can I expect this to take before it brews out ? Temp @ 24* approx.

One post I read earlier mentioned 16 days.
thanks 
yardglass


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## Charlie (12/11/05)

I made a batch from a real simple recipe:

1kg of ginger root (minced in a food processor)
4 lemons (sliced)
a couple of kilos of raw/brown sugar

I boiled/stewed the ginger root and lemons for around an hour in about my largest stock pot (aroudn 15L). Then mixed in the sugar until it disolved, and poured it into my fermenter, topping up with water (which was chilled). It ended up around 26 deg C, and I used a spare Cooper kit sachet I had lying around. There was a load of gunk at the bottom of the ferementer which made it hard to siphon off, so I would probably filter it out next time.

Turned out quite nice (I thought) really nice and gingery, but a little dry and not sweet enough for SHMBO. What sweet stuff could I through in instead that won't get fermented away - molasses ? golden syrup ? any other adjunct spring to mind ?

Next time I might add a chilli or two to the boil to give it a bit of a kick !


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## yard glass (12/11/05)

hey charlie,

ever use the EC-118 Champagne with it?

How did it go ?


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## Charlie (14/11/05)

No ... I've only made the one batch so far .... will that give it a sweeter taste ?


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## AtwoZ (25/10/07)

Made a half batch and tried my first one today - beautiful. Great job GMK. Has a great subtle ginger taste, reminds me of Port Dock Brewery's Ginga - much better than a standard kit ginger beer. 

I used a different yeast though (sorry, can't remember particulars).

Cheers GMK, well done.


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## drsmurto (26/10/07)

GMK said:


> *Ginger Beer Recipee*
> 
> Hi everyone, Just made this Ginger Beer up last Night.
> 
> ...



After comments in a certain brew comp at a certain regional show i am looking to better my GB  

Normally use ginger plus raw sugar and some spices - comments suggested its a tad thin.

So - tomorrow i will be reclaiming the kitchen for brewing, partner thought that AG meant i brewed outside.....

1.5kg ginger
1 kg LDME
1.5 kg sugar (combo of raw and dark/dememera)
0.5kg caramalt
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
2 lemons or 1 lemon, 1 lime
champers yeast

Cheers
DrSmurto


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