# The Perfect Bundaberg Ginger Beer Clone!



## maltedhopalong (15/5/07)

I hope the title got you interested enough to have a read. The only problem is, I haven't done it yet.... and since I'm currently brewing a ginger beer and have to put a few more beer batches down for my upcoming batchelor party, I won't get around to tryingn it for a little while, so here's where you come in!

I will give you the recipe for the perfect Bundaberg Ginger Beer Clone (Alcoholic) and you can tell me how it went!

Go to Coles (haha, I just noticed this.... err... your local supermarket) and buy "Bundaberg Ginger Beer Cordial" it tastes EXACTLY like Bundy Ginger Beer. In fact, don't bother buying bundy ginger beer bottles anymore, just a heap of homebrand soda water and some of that cordial, it's PERFECT.

It mixes one part cordial to four parts water and has 60g of sugar per 100mLs of cordial. So for a 22.5 Litre batch of alcoholic Ginger Beer, you pour in 4.5L of Bundaberg Ginger Beer Cordial (it comes in 750mL bottles, so you will need 6). This gives you at least 2.7Kg of sugar (any workarounds you can come up with? Maybe try the DIET cordial? I don't know what it tastes like, that's all.) so you will need quite a bit of yeast.

My suggestion is a champagne yeast, and maybe some nutrient? Maybe a few packets of yeast? Even a "turbo" yeast????

It's gonna be some LETHAL ginger beer!!!


So there you go, fill 'er up with water and pitch your yeast and let it ferment.

When it's finished, the yeast will have fermented all the sweetness out of it (IMO this will probably make it taste better, I love a dry, hard ginger beer). But you can always add lactose OR if you're into kegging, add 2.7(!!!!!!) kilos of sugar, and SOMEHOW manage to stir it in then keg it and keep it cool to stop the yeast from fermenting it.


So there you go, PERFECT bundaberg ginger beer, with probably something like 13%abv (looking at that, yeah u'll probably need a turbo yeast). 

As I've said, I haven't tried it, so please if you do try it, let me know how it goes. Also, please add your comments regarding sweetening the beer and/or getting the sugar level down at pitching time (what does diet bundaberg taste like?).





FYI:
______________________________________________
750mL GINGER BEER CORDIAL 
Nutrition and Ingredient Information 
Servings Per Package 15
Serving Size 250mls 

Avg per 250mL - 50mL cordial plus 200mL Water

Energy - 521kJ
Protein - < 1g
Fat - < 1g
Carbohydrate
----->total - 31.5g
----->sugar - 31.5g
Sodium - 19mg

Ingredients: cane sugar, water, ginger root, natural flavours, acid (citric acid), yeast, preservative (sodium benzoate), antioxidant (ascorbic acid).
______________________________________________
750mL DIET GINGER BEER CORDIAL 
Nutrition and Ingredient Information 
Servings Per Package 15
Serving Size 250mls 

Avg per 250mL - 50mL cordial plus 200mL Water

Energy - 18kJ
Protein - < 1g
Fat - < 1g
Carbohydrate
----->total - 1.2g
----->sugar - 1.2g
Sodium - 24mg

Ingredients: water, cane sugar, ginger root, natural flavours, yeast, maliac acid, preservative (sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate), sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose) antioxidant (ascorbic acid), stabilizers (xanthan gum, guar gum).Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine
_______________________________________________


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## DJR (15/5/07)

Don't use turbo yeast in something that isn't distilled, it tastes like crap

I think the benzoate/sorbate might present a bit of a problem for yeast


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## maltedhopalong (15/5/07)

What's benzoate/sorbate? and how did it get in my brew!

bloody kids, get off my lawn!


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## Rod (15/5/07)

I have used the cordial in my bulk priming

did not effect the carbonation


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## maltedhopalong (15/5/07)

Really? you think the yeast won't eat the sugar in the cordial?


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## albrews (15/5/07)

maltedhopalong said:


> I hope the title got you interested enough to have a read. The only problem is, I haven't done it yet.... and since I'm currently brewing a ginger beer and have to put a few more beer batches down for my upcoming batchelor party, I won't get around to tryingn it for a little while, so here's where you come in!
> 
> I will give you the recipe for the perfect Bundaberg Ginger Beer Clone (Alcoholic) and you can tell me how it went!
> 
> ...


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## maltedhopalong (15/5/07)

hi, this seems complex, or i am still half asleep.

could you simplify the recipes as to quantities, 
it sounds interesting and i would like to try the recipes.

cheers , alan
_________________

Hi Alan, short answer - fill your fermenter with 6 x 750mL bottles of Bundaberg Ginger Beer Cordial and water (up to 23L) at around 25 degrees.

Add teh yeast and let it ferment until SG drops to between 1.000 and 1.009

Then you bottle as normal with the optional addition of some sweeteners.


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## maltedhopalong (15/5/07)

I know what you're saying now, preservatives.

My current ginger beer has one bottle of cordial in it and it's severely inhibiting the fermentation. So 6 bottles are a no-no.

Workarounds? Maybe ferment some coopers be2 and yeast then add cordial at keggin time? bottlers are stuffed...


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## drsmurto (15/5/07)

People use apple juice to make cider that contains preservatives. It works no problems. 

My suggestion is to take an SG test to see if it has dropped since you pitched the yeast. If it has, let it go. If not, pitch another yeast.


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## 0M39A (15/5/07)

DrSmurto said:


> People use apple juice to make cider that contains preservatives. It works no problems.
> 
> My suggestion is to take an SG test to see if it has dropped since you pitched the yeast. If it has, let it go. If not, pitch another yeast.



I always thought it was stressed that if you were going to use bottled juice for apple cider, that you found a preservative free no additive type one.


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## Prawned (15/5/07)

I have one going at the moment, It only has about 200ml of the cordial in it though.. can smell it very clearly though. It has only been in the fermenter for about 24 hours, and fermentation took off within 3 hours, its sitting on about 21c. 






Ingredients were - 

1 Coopers ginger beer kit
500gm raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
200ml bundaberg gb cordial
12L water
Safale US-56 yeast


From the picture, it looks like it is going fine and smells quite good too.. Just have to home the preservative in the cordial doesn't kill the yeast.


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## grinder (15/5/07)

DrSmurto said:


> People use apple juice to make cider that contains preservatives. It works no problems.
> 
> My suggestion is to take an SG test to see if it has dropped since you pitched the yeast. If it has, let it go. If not, pitch another yeast.


 preservatived apple juice destroyed one of my ciders. I now only use preservative free juice


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## maltedhopalong (16/5/07)

If anyone gets a chance to try this, let me know.

My recommendation, get LOTS of yeast as it probably won't multiply in this environment.


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## drsmurto (16/5/07)

Do a google search for TURBO cider. Preservatives in juice wont stop fermentation, granted, they may not help it out but with some yeast nutrient you can overcome it. 

As always, fresh is better but 15L of fresh juice isnt exactly cheap.


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## tarlox (16/5/07)

why don't you just brew it yourself you [email protected]#ker!


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## maltedhopalong (16/5/07)

Righto, sit down grandpa, stop shouting at the TV.

In answer: I would if I didn't have 23L of brew in my fermenter right now. Please excuse me, I thought this was somewhere I could draw on others' experiences, my mistake.


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## NRB (17/5/07)

I don't like the sounds of this recipe. All you're doing is trying to ferment the sugar in a cordial. "Backlane Brewery" did a few experimental brews using Coke, Passiona etc. and I think Seth had a crack too. All turned out pretty average at best.

I doubt it's "The Perfect Bundaberg Ginger Beer Clone" too, being dry and not sweet; you'd be better off using a kit designed for brewing purposes IMO.

I've brewed a ripper GB (thanks Doc!) but it tastes nothing like Bundaberg and I believe anything fermented to produce a reasonable alcohol level will yield a result vastly different to the non-alcoholic BBGB.


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## wambesi (17/5/07)

Did this up the other month:

Coopers GB can
1 KG CSR Raw Sugar
500g Coopers Brewing Sugar (leftovers - only reason added)
1 sml Lemon (juiced)
1.5L Bundaberg GB cordial

25 days in the bottle now and tastes pretty good, first one I made.
It somehow carbonated slightly in the fermentor though, and then went nuts when I added the drops to each bottle, extremely over carbonated but still very nice ginger beer.

Had no troubles with fermentation that I noticed, should have gone lower maybe but did enough!


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## NRB (17/5/07)

wambesi said:


> It somehow carbonated slightly in the fermentor though, and then went nuts when I added the drops to each bottle, extremely over carbonated but still very nice ginger beer.



Try adding the drops to the bottle before filling, it'll stop the problem you describe.


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## wambesi (18/5/07)

NRB said:


> Try adding the drops to the bottle before filling, it'll stop the problem you describe.



Maybe I worded that bad, when I tasted it doing the SG reading it seemed slightly carbonated, then it went nuts when I bottled it - onto the drops.  
I probably should have realised and changed it to one drop per bottle, oh well. Bloody nice though.


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## drsmurto (18/5/07)

NRB said:


> I don't like the sounds of this recipe. All you're doing is trying to ferment the sugar in a cordial. "Backlane Brewery" did a few experimental brews using Coke, Passiona etc. and I think Seth had a crack too. All turned out pretty average at best.
> 
> I doubt it's "The Perfect Bundaberg Ginger Beer Clone" too, being dry and not sweet; you'd be better off using a kit designed for brewing purposes IMO.
> 
> I've brewed a ripper GB (thanks Doc!) but it tastes nothing like Bundaberg and I believe anything fermented to produce a reasonable alcohol level will yield a result vastly different to the non-alcoholic BBGB.



I agree NRB. Bundy GB is a super sweet drink. Fermentation converts sugar to alcohol so any sugar you put it will be gone by the end of fermentations. 

there are only 2 methods i can think of (no doubt there are more) to make a fermented drink sweet that doesnt involve mixing post fermentation.

1. Artificial sweeteners.
2. Lactose or any other non-fermentable sugars.

I dont like either option so i accept my GB is dry and add lemonade post fermentation if i want it to be sweet, more often than not i dont. 

my 2 c.
DrSmurto


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## FazerPete (18/5/07)

DrSmurto said:


> there are only 2 methods i can think of (no doubt there are more) to make a fermented drink sweet that doesnt involve mixing post fermentation.
> 
> 1. Artificial sweeteners.
> 2. Lactose or any other non-fermentable sugars.


If you are kegging, then there's a third option of adding a sugar syrup to the keg. As long as it's kept cold, it won't ferment so it retains it's sweetness.

I do this all the time and it works a treat.


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## Prawned (18/5/07)

Here is mine after 5 days in the fermenter.










SG is down to 0.096, and its still going strong by the looks of it. Its really cloudy, but i dont mind its GB after all :beerbang: Taste kinda like BBGB, Cant wait to drink the final product.


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## FazerPete (18/5/07)

prawned said:


> Its really cloudy, but i dont mind its GB after all :beerbang: Taste kinda like BBGB, Cant wait to drink the final product.


Don't wait for it to clear because it won't. I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks.


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## petesbrew (30/5/07)

Gotta love my mum, as much as she annoys me.
She dug out of her cookbooks her 30 year old ginger beer recipe she used to make for us as kids.

Shall give it a crack once my fermenters are empty, then once I know it's good, i'll attempt to alcoholise it!
(who knows it probably already was!) :blink:


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## 0M39A (30/5/07)

I've got a few homebrew ginger beer recipes that i used to make a while back that i can dig up if you want.

the kind that you need to make a "plant" up first, and the yeast comes from sultanas


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## Blackfish (30/5/07)

bconnery said:


> ...I'll probably have a stab at the thai beer again some time, with galangal this time. The trick is the chillies too, it's hard to get the balance right. They wouldn't be essential though. Pm me a reminder if you want to know how much of stuff I put in, I don't think I have it here...
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Ben




Ok, Inspired by this thread and a wander down the 'freaky lane' of my local fresh fruit & veg markets I decided to experiment with Galangal in a ginger beer.

Send in the clowns...



Galangal on the left & ginger to the right here. 

Its a relative of Ginger with a different, milder flavour WIKIPEDIA
I cook a mean Prawn Laksa with this stuff, it IS quite a different flavour to the ginger we know, almost floral aroma.

That said, I really like the ‘bite” of a HB GB so I wont be chucking the traditional ginger all together, I am settled on 1/3 Galangal and 2/3 Ginger as a starting point to see if it works.

Recepie (based loosely on Brissybrew’s published elsewhere)

250g Fresh Grated Galangal
500g fresh grated Ginger root
1 cinnamon stick
8 cloves
1 lemon, juice + a few scrapes of zest
1 Lime (anything is good with lime) juice + a few scrapes of zest
2kg raw sugar
500g LDME 
US 56
5L water (for Boil)
~10L water (in fermenter to total vol 18L)




STEP1 Grate ginger. I am lazy and seeing its only 9.30pm and SWMBO is JUST gone to bed, I break out my little friend OSKAR the ancient, noisy, angry blender.





STEP1.5 OSKAR enjoyed the ginger but the galangal is quite a bit more ‘fibrous’ Those damn asian roots nearly killed him!




Assembled, ready to go

Step 2 COMBINE everything and go for the boil. I needed 2 pots to dissolve all the sugars. I will break out the big AG pot next time and go for a boil volume of about 10L



60min boil

On a whim I added 200g spare ginger at 30mins for ‘aroma’




Step 3 Strain into fermenter, chill if you must, and pitch a hydrated US56 sachet




OG was 1044, by morning it was chugging like a train.

Now, 4 days on, gravity is around 1012 Think I will rack it before bottling at the weekend.

Initial tastes are encouraging, you can taste the floral Galagal without missing out on too much ginger bite. There is still a fair bit of sweetness but I think this will dry out after the secondary finishes. It is also quite a bit clearer than I expected. Certainly lighter in colour than the kits I have done in the past.

Seems to be a few GBs on the go at the moment, ‘flavour of the month’ almost. Good stuff, will post the finalverdict when it comes out of bottles in 2 weeks.

FHG


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## Prawned (24/6/07)

here is my GB now, it taste bloody fantastic! Very low on fizz and kicks like a mule!


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## Enerjex (24/6/07)

gday prawned, what is the alc % of the brew you've done? Also has it retained any sweetness or is it dry? and how's yours going fhgwgads? quite interested in making a nice alcoholic ginger beer.


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## Prawned (24/6/07)

Enerjex said:


> gday prawned, what is the alc % of the brew you've done? Also has it retained any sweetness or is it dry? and how's yours going fhgwgads? quite interested in making a nice alcoholic ginger beer.




Im not sure what the alc % is, but its gotta be kinda highish.. Its rather dry, and has a good ginger bite too it. Next time i will be sure to add the real ginger as well


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