# Begone you complicated Ginger Beer recipes!



## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish (12/6/13)

With four small batches of apple cider under my belt I'm expanding into Ginger Beer territory.

But trying to find a simple GB recipe is nigh impossible. To my mind the most simple GB recipe should be ginger, water, sugar and yeast. Right?

But every recipe I see seems to adding more.

Cloves? Why?
Lemons? What?
Cinnamon? Huh?
Limes? Hang on...
Honey? Wait a sec, wait a sec. 
All spice? Now that's just...

Anyway. 

I'm making a version of Chappo's Father and Son special, which seems to be popular, downsizing x 5 for a 5L demijon, skipping the lime (none available at shop), and using regular honey, but I'm worried that without a basic ginger beer without all the frills that I won't be giving myself a base to work on, so my next brew will be the following:

300g Fresh Ginger, chopped up.
400g Raw Sugar
Water
Yeast (Probably bakers yeast, since a lot of other recipes use it, and I don't want to waste good yeast on an experiment.

Any comments are welcome, and I plan to compare the basic no frills GB with the fancy one. 

Thanks,
Fish.


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## bum (12/6/13)

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> With four small batches of apple cider under my belt I'm expanding into Ginger Beer territory.
> 
> But trying to find a simple GB recipe is nigh impossible. To my mind the most simple GB recipe should be ginger, water, sugar and yeast. Right?
> 
> ...


There's not really any comments to make. You'll make the batch. You'll taste why everyone uses other ingredients. They taste good. The thing you're planning on making almost certainly will not.

Good luck with it though.


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## mikec (12/6/13)

Nothing wrong with a bog standard, basic ginger beer, per se. Start with a base and work up from there, I get the logic.
The other ingredients add flavours that are desirable, so by adding them, you'll make a GB that is nicer than the basic GB.
Of course.
I cannot condone using bakers yeast though.


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## treefiddy (12/6/13)

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> 300g Fresh Ginger, chopped up.
> 400g Raw Sugar
> Water
> Yeast (Probably bakers yeast, since a lot of other recipes use it, and I don't want to waste good yeast on an experiment.


Firewater.

I'd love to try using that ginger that's cut into cubes and covered in sugar. Seems more ginger flavour and less fire.

Also, wine yeast is cheap. Why not use that?


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## brettprevans (12/6/13)

Hyper intelligent? Lmao

Yeah start a new thread for a recipe based on an exsisting thread. Fail. 
Didnt bother to read or understand why the ingredients are used. Fail.
U havnet brewed it but slag off exsisting triwd and true recipes. Fail
Bakers yeast used on recipes? I can count on 1 hand. Fail. 
Arrogance. Fail.

There is nothing complicated about the gb recipes on here. If its complicated them u need to learn more. 
Go forth and learn young brewer. 

Ps my spelling. Fail. See we all have room for improvement. 

Oh comments. Ginger water with about 2% alc and no other flavour sounds awful. (Since u havent said how much honey).


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish (12/6/13)

citymorgue2 said:


> Hyper intelligent? Lmao
> 
> Yeah start a new thread for a recipe based on an exsisting thread. Fail.
> Didnt bother to read or understand why the ingredients are used. Fail.
> ...


Um, so yeah. Not sure if I've offended you in a past life or anything, pretty sure I haven't kicked your kids or run over your dog or anything, but you've taken my original post a little too seriously. So, to clarify.

This thread is based on the base recipe of ginger, sugar, water and yeast. I mention the other brew as a comparison. Didn't bag the other brew, indeed mentioned quite clearly that I'm making that one first because it comes so highly recommended. 

Many ginger beer recipes online use bakers yeast, and as such, being a simple, uncomplicated recipe, it will be so. Ridicule if you must, but arrogance look thyself in the mirror. The cider guys are more than happy to discuss the bog standard bottled apple juice, yeast and airlock scenario. I didn't realise that the Ginger Beer guys discussing a bog standard ginger beer recipe would be beneath them. 

Honey forms part of the recipe not being discussed on this thread, which is why amounts were not discussed, but since you insist it'll be 200g. 

Hope this clears things up.

Thanks,
Fish.


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## bum (12/6/13)

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> The cider guys are more than happy to discuss the bog standard bottled apple juice, yeast and airlock scenario.


I feel like you may be confusing the cider guys with the hooch guys.


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## mondestrunken (12/6/13)

So I made a ginger beer (~3%) with mostly Coopers DME, some dextrose (what?!!) just to lighten the body, and around 50g of ginger chopped up and put in the boil, fermented with US-05. Is that simple enough?

It's not too bad at all, but next time I would at least double the amount of ginger, and probably brew it so it could be drunk in summer, as it's not much of a winter drink...


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## mondestrunken (12/6/13)

Also, wouldn't the bakers' yeast be a relic from days gone by when decent yeast wasn't readily available?

I don't see how using bakers' yeast makes the recipe any simpler.


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## professional_drunk (12/6/13)

go for it dude. A simple recipe is a good place to start from. Come back and tell us how it turned out.


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## Liam_snorkel (12/6/13)

Next up: "a guide to brewing with ginger"


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## Byran (12/6/13)

I remember years ago an old dude I met was making ginger beer at home and just used some plain old raisins in the fermenter. I think it was to get the wild wine yeast. It brewed, it tasted good. Pretty simple.........


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## Brewtus (12/6/13)

I have had a few goes with making GB and tried using malt to give it body, even a few hops to bitter it. I even did a dark malt GB. The problem I found is because there is no hops (my goes excluded) in basic GB and the yeast rips out all the sweetness, it is very dry and unbalanced. Thats why people add spices and such to balance the flavour. I added lactose to one bacth to sweeten it up but 500g just made a small impresion. Also 2 cloves in 20l is plenty. maybe start with one. I have since been distracted doing AG.

Good luck but don't expect much of a result with just ginger water sugar and yeast.


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish (12/6/13)

Byran said:


> I remember years ago an old dude I met was making ginger beer at home and just used some plain old raisins in the fermenter. I think it was to get the wild wine yeast. It brewed, it tasted good. Pretty simple.........


I've actually heard this before. It might be an interesting experiment small scale...


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish (12/6/13)

mondestrunken said:


> Also, wouldn't the bakers' yeast be a relic from days gone by when decent yeast wasn't readily available?
> 
> I don't see how using bakers' yeast makes the recipe any simpler.


My local shop doesn't sell brewing yeast, the nearest homebrew store is about a 20 min drive away, while shop is 5 min walking distance. Simpler as in I don't need to go anywhere to get special yeast, and experiment wise it's something that most people would have.


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## bum (13/6/13)

Have you got any trub from a batch of beer?


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## Deep End (13/6/13)

You could always mail order some yeast, then you dont have to go anywhere; except the letterbox. Hell, inbox me your address and I'll post you a spare packet of brewing yeast I have lying around!
I'm all for free speech and experimentation, but the Chappo and son recipe does not look like anything I would let pass my lips in a hurry, you might consider adding some lemon juice or something to it. 
If you want some cheap ginger beer you'd be better off buying a brigalow can of ginger beer and following the instructions, thats simple and easy too. Just saying


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish (13/6/13)

Deep End said:


> You could always mail order some yeast, then you dont have to go anywhere; except the letterbox. Hell, inbox me your address and I'll post you a spare packet of brewing yeast I have lying around!
> I'm all for free speech and experimentation, but the Chappo and son recipe does not look like anything I would let pass my lips in a hurry, you might consider adding some lemon juice or something to it.
> If you want some cheap ginger beer you'd be better off buying a brigalow can of ginger beer and following the instructions, thats simple and easy too. Just saying


 The Chappo recipe has both lemon and lime in it, along with cinnamon and honey.


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## Deep End (13/6/13)

Ok, well the ginger, sugar, yeast and water one, is the one that sounds a bit ordinary. Anyway whatever makes you happy I guess.


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## fletcher (13/6/13)

forgive me if this is off topic, but these sorts of threads interest me.

if people don't want to make something as best as it can be, or as nice tasting as it could be, then what sort of feedback is sought apart from 'cool, go for it'?

what else, apart from 'why don't you use X, Y, Z instead' could this thread get? is it acceptance that this endeavour_ isn't _a waste of time that's wanted?

i can't think of any comment to give apart from, good on you, try it out, the recipe sounds as though it will come out terribly; but you'll be the best judge of that.


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## TidalPete (13/6/13)

Have a go at this recipe from my files. Never made it myself but it's on my (Very long) to-do list.
Any adjuncts you aren't happy with just delete\modify them. 

View attachment AAAA 4.7% ABV Ginger Beer.docx


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## Dan Dan (13/6/13)

TidalPete said:


> Have a go at this recipe from my files. Never made it myself but it's on my (Very long) to-do list.
> Any adjuncts you aren't happy with just delete\modify them.


That looks like a goer. I made a ginger once, had a list of ingredients as long as my arm. Turned out super sweet, was ok when mixed with a dash of lemonade, but some people loved it. Where did you get this recipe?


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## of mice and gods (13/6/13)

...tough crowd


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## TidalPete (13/6/13)

Dan Dan said:


> Where did you get this recipe?


No idea Dan Dan.
Can't remember what I had for breakfast & looking forward to the Queen's telegram email ITNF.


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## chefeffect (13/6/13)

It would appear unless you have close to 10,000 comments on this forum you cant ask questions with out copping crap, maybe that's the key to getting 10,000 comments bash the new dudes lol h34r:


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish (13/6/13)

fletcher said:


> forgive me if this is off topic, but these sorts of threads interest me.
> 
> if people don't want to make something as best as it can be, or as nice tasting as it could be, then what sort of feedback is sought apart from 'cool, go for it'?
> 
> ...


Well, I guess any sort of feedback is good. Maybe from someone who's tried it before, or from anyone with an opinion. I'm still fairly new, so even someone saying "Hey, that won't work. You forgot something obvious" is a bonus.

I guess the other point is how do you tell if something is "as nice tasting as it could be" (ignoring the fact that everyone's taste is different) unless you have tried the worst it could possibly be to compare it with. Maybe it's the Ginger Beer equivalent of childbirth, or worse the Ginger Beer equivalent of VB. But on the other hand if no-one here has made it, then no-one here can judge it. 

RIght?

Fish.


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## bum (13/6/13)

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> "Hey, that won't work. You forgot something obvious"


Ingredients.


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## benno1973 (13/6/13)

Ok, my 2c.

I've brewed Chappo's GB, and several variations. It rocks. The spices add subtle flavourings, and it really is worth the extra ingredients. 

But, I get what you're trying to do, which is start with a base and work up. Personally, I'd start with Chappo's and adjust, but each to their own.

I've made ginger beer from a homemade ginger bug, which is essentially just sugar, water, grated ginger and the wild yeast that come with the grated ginger. It's ok, had a bit of a funky taste, and I would drink Chappos over it any day. But it was good on a hot summer's day, wasn't too alcoholic, and it tasted like old style ginger ale.

My suggestion would be just 1 thing... spring for some decent yeast if you can. Ginger, sugar, honey, water - they're all good ingredients, decent ingredients that belong in a ginger beer. Bakers yeast isn't, and you'd hate to spend all that time doing the experiment, to find out that it's ruined by the yeast. It only takes one crappy ingredient to make it taste like shit.


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## chefeffect (14/6/13)

Kaiser Soze said:


> But, I get what you're trying to do, which is start with a base and work up. Personally, I'd start with Chappo's and adjust, but each to their own.


I would agree, when I first started AG I assumed I could just make up the recipes and make a great beer, I started off with a SMASH and then some wheat beers. I then made some Pale Ales all from my own noggin, they where far from great, being a chef that's how I cook, but it took years of cooking other recipes to become good at my own. I now approach beer and cider the same way, I am still far from making great beers from my own recipes but that will come with experience. The best way I learnt was with Doc Smurto's Golden Ale, I basically brewed this beer 10-15 times in a row changing one ingredient at a time, basically substituted the yeast, or crystal, used water profiling, etc. etc. I now have a version of that beer which has become my APA which I love, basically because I have changed the original so many times I worked out how different yeast created a different mouth feel, attenuation, flocculation, so on and so forth. So I would agree 100% start with Chappos and make adjustments its a great way to learn and you wont be flying in the dark, adjusting multiple ingredients would be to difficult to discern what flavour changes each ingredient imparts, so start slow and brew it a dozen times, eventually you will have your own recipe.


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## Byran (14/6/13)

I love Ginger beer Fish. Fucken brew the shit out of it and then, if it sucks, make another one, modify the recipe. Enjoy the brewing experience and experimenting that makes it oh so fun. And disappointing......... But mostly fun. Haha :drinks:


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## Byran (14/6/13)

bum said:


> There's not really any comments to make. You'll make the batch. You'll taste why everyone uses other ingredients. They taste good. The thing you're planning on making almost certainly will not.
> 
> Good luck with it though.


I guess its wrong to think a simple ginger beer would not taste ok? I thought it was ginger beer. Not Ginger cocktail of multiple ingredients that is brewed to suit specific taste guidelines and such. But if people have made a bullshit good GB then they are going to tell you to do it that way!
I think keeping it super simple then adding to that recipe would be a good way to start?

Oh but bakers yeast is for bread. ..........And brewers yeast is for.......... 
Use a dry packet of US05 or something. Its cheap, easy to get. (You know the internet? Its pretty useful these days) And its easy to use.
It has a clean flavour which is probably good. :huh:
Im getting keen to make ginger beer now!


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## of mice and gods (14/6/13)

So I guess I shouldn't have put Tandaco bakers yeast in my JAO then


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## Byran (14/6/13)

Nah man its just the way that they produce a certain flavour. For a JAO it could be good? Or not. Just try and assess the results. :beerbang:


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## bum (14/6/13)

Byran said:


> I guess its wrong to think a simple ginger beer would not taste ok? I thought it was ginger beer. Not Ginger cocktail of multiple ingredients that is brewed to suit specific taste guidelines and such.


OP himself notes that _every_ recipe has additional ingredients. There is a very good reason for this.

It is the same reason that we don't _eat_ ginger on it's own.


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## of mice and gods (14/6/13)

Byran, that was my point bro. Horses for courses hey?


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## of mice and gods (14/6/13)

I mean I'm all for fancy yeast to make my beer better but if a dude wants to experiment with bread yeast, why should OP be heckled down? Granny's granny didn't have Wyeast/Fermentis yeast when she made her Ginger Beer, and I bet you wouldn't call you're great great grandmother a dickhead?

Oh and I just realised that the correct time to use the acronym 'OP' is when you don't remember the name of the person who actually posted originally and can't be fucked scrolling back.

That's my achievement for the day.

Beer on.
Al


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## MCHammo (15/6/13)

Opinion of a relatively new brewer. I've made half a dozen or more batches of ginger beer now over the last year or so. I first went looking for recipes online. I found many, but none were exactly like I wanted (and somehow I hadn't heard of AHB, and the searches never brought it up). So I started from scratch. I took what looked good from different recipes and started my own. 

My first recipe was much like your own. Ginger, Raw Sugar, Baker's yeast, juice and zest from lemons or limes, and that was it. It tasted alright, but it wasn't what I wanted. I played with the ratios of ingredients and it was a little better. Then I switched to US-05 yeast. That gave the single biggest improvement to the recipe to date, and it's not terribly expensive.

Then, I did a bit more searching around, talked to the guys at the local homebrew store, found this place, and my recipe has changed a little again. The latest brew was bottled a few days ago. I substituted some of the sugar for extra light malt extract, added a few hot chillies, and subbed a bit of fresh galangal for some of the ginger as an experiment. 

Basically what I'm getting at is feel free to start with that base. See what it tastes like. It may not be horrible like some have suggested, but it will need some improvement. If you come up short, try playing around with the quantities of ingredients. If you feel you need to add more to get a greater depth of flavour, take inspiration from some of the other recipes floating around, because those ingredients have been proven to work well. My recipe isn't as complex as the others (yet), but it's constantly evolving, as I get it closer to my own tastes. But do yourself a favour and grab some US05 yeast and taste the difference next time. Do this one thing, if nothing else.

For what it's worth, my latest recipe: (15L experimental batch)
750g ginger (blended in food processor)
250g galangal (blended in food processor)
juice and zest from 2 large limes (my lime tree produces limes the size of lemons. You could use lemons instead)
4 medium sized hot chillies, finely chopped. Don't omit the seeds.
750g raw sugar
500g extra light malt extract
1/2 packet US05 yeast

OG 1030 FG 1006

Boil everything (except yeast!) in ~5L water, strain ingredients through muslin into fermenter, top with cold water to 15L. wrap up ginger pulp in muslin bag and place in fermenter. Pitch yeast, leave for 1-2 weeks until fermenting is complete. Decant liquid into another vessel to bulk prime, then bottle.

I haven't tasted the results yet, as it was only bottled a few days ago, but it tasted pretty good out of the fermenter. Warning: I like my GB dry; this recipe may not be to anyone's tastes but my own.


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## EK (17/6/13)

I remember reading on the JAO thread (quite some time ago) and someone mentioned that the JAO recipe came from a source/country where the recommended particular bread yeast was quite like a brewing yeast. S05 if I recall correctly. Perhaps the JAO thread is worth a search?


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## welly2 (17/6/13)

fletcher said:


> forgive me if this is off topic, but these sorts of threads interest me.
> 
> if people don't want to make something as best as it can be, or as nice tasting as it could be, then what sort of feedback is sought apart from 'cool, go for it'?
> 
> ...


I find sometimes starting from the ground up is useful education. I'm a film photographer and while I was learning to develop and print my negatives, it was a useful process in understanding "how things work" to go over previously covered ground despite there being plenty of information out there that would help me avoid those steps that many others have been through. For me, it was educational to see what effects different developers and different developing time would have on my final negative.

While most of you know from experience that the recipe isn't going to produce a very tasty brew, it could well be a useful exercise for Fish to do this and know where he's starting from before adding other ingredients.


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## Byran (17/6/13)

of mice and gods said:


> h34r: I mean I'm all for fancy yeast to make my beer better but if a dude wants to experiment with bread yeast, why should OP be heckled down? Granny's granny didn't have Wyeast/Fermentis yeast when she made her Ginger Beer, and I bet you wouldn't call you're great great grandmother a dickhead?
> 
> Oh and I just realised that the correct time to use the acronym 'OP' is when you don't remember the name of the person who actually posted originally and can't be fucked scrolling back.
> 
> ...


I did mention previously that I had seen a GB made with just raisins ( wild yeast) and it tasted good.
That is quite old school dont you think? Ha ha
Just offering some advice on a cheap easy way to get cleaner flavours. But bread yeast does have nice flavours. 
Im more concerned about the fusel alcohols, phenolics and attenuation.... which would be harder to predict with a yeast made for making bread as apposed to beer. I love experimenting though Im keen to use bread yeast for an IPA. h34r:


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## fletcher (17/6/13)

i'd like to retract and take back my comment and post, and say 'go for it' to Hyper. go for gold and post your results. i didn't mean to offend. a starting block is a good foundation to build on. if you're determined then you'll learn what works and what you like and build on it.


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## of mice and gods (17/6/13)

Just to throw fuel on the bread yeast fire, I put some us-05 yeast cake in my sourdough culture... I'm looking forwards to seeing the effect on my bread.

I will have to have another look through the JAO thread re s-05, but as has been mentioned here, I think it's a good experiment if nothing else to see what's possible with different ingredients. I've already discovered Tandaco bread yeast can handle at least 10.5% ABV!

And I was just messin with ya Byran 

Cheers,
Al


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish (18/6/13)

I'm thinking now of running two batches side by side (2 x 2L batches). I'll use bread yeast for one, and try a few raisins in the other. 

The more I think of raisins, the more I like the idea. I mean, originally wine was fermented using the natural yeasts on the skin, and I used champagne yeast for my 2nd cider batch, so it makes sense.

I might get a third batch of cider/raisins going too. 

Maybe we should get a separate "brewing with bread yeast" category... for the truly "old school" brewer...


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## fletcher (18/6/13)

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> I'm thinking now of running two batches side by side (2 x 2L batches). I'll use bread yeast for one, and try a few raisins in the other.
> 
> The more I think of raisins, the more I like the idea. I mean, originally wine was fermented using the natural yeasts on the skin, and I used champagne yeast for my 2nd cider batch, so it makes sense.
> 
> ...


probably best to wait until you post your results before that kind of category gets under way mate. as many have said, if nothing else, with all due respect, i would use a better yeast.


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## mash head (18/6/13)

Fishy I like your willingness to experiment. Your best lessons learnt are always from your mistakes. Your approach should give you a good insight to why other ingredients are used. Sometimes the best way to learn is to strip something back to basics and start from there.
Take some advice from others though, the bloke before sounded like he has done this already, and said the biggest improvement he came up with was brewing yeast.


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## mr_wibble (18/6/13)

We made ginger beer many times as kids with the only source of yeast being Sultanas.
But we made a "starter" thing first with a bit of ginger + sugar + sultanas, which we called a "plant".

Our recipe *always* had some lemon zest, and/or lemon juice in it.

Sometimes some of the bottles didn't even explode.


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## mash head (18/6/13)

Mr Wibble said:


> We made ginger beer many times as kids with the only source of yeast being Sultanas.
> But we made a "starter" thing first with a bit of ginger + sugar + sultanas, which we called a "plant".
> 
> Our recipe *always* had some lemon zest, and/or lemon juice in it.
> ...


I think I have that recipe, it says after a week your ginger beer plant will be ready mix all ingredients together and bottle. You are sposed to drink it while its still fermenting but sounds like a way to get rid of heaps of bottles to me.


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## Byran (18/6/13)

Mr Wibble said:


> We made ginger beer many times as kids with the only source of yeast being Sultanas.
> But we made a "starter" thing first with a bit of ginger + sugar + sultanas, which we called a "plant".
> 
> Our recipe *always* had some lemon zest, and/or lemon juice in it.
> ...


Thats gold.


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## Airgead (19/6/13)

The ginger plant us like a sourdough culture. It contains the yeast.

The rasins provided sugar and nutrient for yeast growth.
Cheers 
Dave


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## shaunous (1/12/13)

My old neighbour who still visits regularly and brings me his concoctions is a big one for not complicating shit. He hates beer, his a QLD rum drinker, BUT he seen me brewing beer after he moved in next door one day and he wanted in.

So I taught him the basics and he also found an American book in a second hand shop called something like 'GrandDads Brew Cookbook' and he was off. 

He doesn't use bought yeast anymore, he relies like many European Wineries on the wild yeast on the fruit and in his shed, his pounds and crushes it up, throws it in an open bucket , adds sugar and water and let's it sit for a coupla weeks in the corner of his shed, then he bottles and carbonates into soft drink pet bottles and I'm telling you, his apple cider, apple pear cider and his ginger beers are better then any store bought I have had, YES it's a different, fresher, fruitier taste, but it's damn good drinking (you poms who had farm scrumpy would prolly know). Can have big sessions on it were most people have a few ginger beers and are right sick of it.
He brought a heap to my wedding and the word got round and he had people lining up at his campervan around the back of my house getting their glasses filled up.

So if you want to keep it simple and cheap, do it, it does taste good, you don't need ferment control, fancy spices, $8 yeasts, a 4000 post count on AHB and a chemical engineering degree to make good alcohol, YES beer may be different, but these others, go for it.


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## shaunous (1/12/13)

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> I'm thinking now of running two batches side by side (2 x 2L batches). I'll use bread yeast for one, and try a few raisins in the other.
> 
> The more I think of raisins, the more I like the idea. I mean, *originally wine was fermented using the natural yeasts on the skin*, and I used champagne yeast for my 2nd cider batch, so it makes sense.
> 
> ...


It still is in many wineries around the world, including here in GayStaya, just try it.

I worked with Serbians not long ago, they are big on Plum drink and Plum Brandy, guess where the yeast comes from, the skin of the plum and what living in the 200l poly buckets they crush and ferment in. Plum Brandy is their National Drink, like ours is 'Fosters'


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## TimT (1/12/13)

Yeah - there's a classic home recipe for a 'ginger beer starter' or 'ginger bug' that has sugar, some water and lemon juice, and some ginger and sultanas (and/or raisins). You feed it a couple of days until you see bubbling, then you put some as a starter in the bottom of some bottles. Old plastic milk bottles are good (so long as they're reasonably clean) because their shape may distort because of the fermentation but they won't explode. You set some of the starter aside each time to provide a plant for a new bunch of ginger beer.

Ginger is one of the classic flavourings too. I made a nice wheat beer recently with ginger added - half wheat, half ale malt, threw some grated ginger root in the boil, then when I'd got the beer in the demijohn I added lime zest and mint leaves to provide flavour during fermentation. Worked a treat.


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## Glot (1/12/13)

It all depends on what you are after. If you want genuine old fashioned ginger beer then you need a real ginger beer plant (GBP). You can't make one yourself. You need to buy it or get one from someone else. There is a yahoo group dedicated to it.
However, if you want to make something more simple and similar, I just use a neutral yeast like a wine yeast or champagne yeast, sugar, water. Start off with a couple of cups of water in a wide mouthed jar. Add one teaspoon of sugar and one of dry ginger each day. Cover the jar with some thin cloth like muslin or a handkerchief to stop bugs getting in. After a week, strain or decant off the liquid. Add this to a couple of litres of water, depending on how strong you want it, and add a small amount of lemon juice to taste. Bottle. Store at room temp for a few days. It will continue to ferment. Then refrigerate to stop fermentation. Leave another week or so and drink. Open carefully and over a sink! You can drink it after a couple of days if you want. Unlike real beer, it is pretty uncontrolled and sanitation is healthy but not as important as real beer.
You can reuse the mix settled on the bottom. Just throw half away. Woolies had powdered ginger at half the price to Coles. Catering stores have it in larger bags for dirt cheap.


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## TimT (1/12/13)

Sure you can make a ginger beer plant yourself. You just use the wild yeast that comes from either the raisins or sultanas or the ginger. Plenty of recipes around that recommend exactly that.

Of course, being wild you're not entirely sure *what* yeast you're going to get and some people will end up with a much stronger wild yeast than others, and inevitably there will be a lot of differences between the yeast in one plant and another.

For those who have time enough, and space enough, and enough people to drink ginger beer... might be an interesting experiment, starting off several different ginger beer plants, and seeing what the taste ended up like.

(I heard a story the other day about a bread maker in Japan who used wild yeast to start off her breads, one yeast which came from (I think) rhubarb... and apparently this Japanese bread maker maintained that all the breads she'd made from this starter since had a rhubarb character.)


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## Glot (1/12/13)

A genuine ginger beer plant is a specific yeast and a specific bacteria. They could in theory happen by accident but very unlikely. If you're going to go down the wild yeast road then might as well use a wine yeast and at least have some control. The true GBP dropped away from popularity during WW2. It is a white gelatinous sort of thing. The yeast is low alcohol tolerant but the bacteria feeds on alcohol so they live happily ever after together.


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## shaunous (1/12/13)

If it's worked and still is working for many very very high class wineries, and is working for my rum swigging old neighbour, why complicate it and change things. As I've said to the yeast re-use haters, some home brewers brew for saving a dollar and buying yeast at $5+ packet is a saving.


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## TimT (1/12/13)

_The true GBP dropped away from popularity during WW2. It is a white gelatinous sort of thing. The yeast is low alcohol tolerant but the bacteria feeds on alcohol so they live happily ever after together._

Ooh, a SCOBY! (Symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).

Acshlly one of my brew books (True Brews) has plenty of suggestions for soft drinks made from kefir (it's another SCOBY, the starters are these small granules that - when they bunch up together - look kinda like cauliflower). Presumably working on the same principle.

I'm kinda intrigued now about this old time ginger beer plant. Ginger beer's been around for quite a while so it's a pity these cultures seem to be hard to come by now.


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## Glot (1/12/13)

I was just trying to keep it simple.
I have yet to hear of anyone in Australia selling a true GBP. I only know of 3 ( there was a 4th but not now) in the world that sell it commercially.
I steer away from all those additions. The only thing I might add is a sprig of mint to the glass. Appreciate ginger beer for what it is.


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## Glot (1/12/13)

There is a yahoo group dedicated to it. Search and ye shall find.


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