# Ginger Beer Recipe



## Wisey (8/6/09)

I bottled a ginger beer this afternoon, it was just a kit + dextrose. 

I tasted it and it just seemed boring and overly sweet (this was unprimed) - I was wondering whether I could use a Dried Malt Extract with a beer yeast for my next one or if anyone has done this could shed some light?

Cheers
Matt


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## Rodolphe01 (8/6/09)

If you search the forum you will find most people add fresh ginger to a kit ginger beer. It probably tastes sweet because the kit is loaded with artificial sweetener, I assume the extra ginger would take this sweet edge off. If I make another ginger beer it will be from scratch with no kit, not a fan of artificial sweetener.

I've done 1 ginger beer and it went like this...

1 Morgans ginger beer kit
750g of light dry malt
200g of brown sugar
750g dextrose
teaspoons of ground cinnamon
teaspoon of ground nutmeg
3 cloves crushed in mortar and pestle
lemon sliced finely
Juice and zest of 1 lime 
25g cascade hop pellets
200g fresh ginger
1 sachet champagne yeast

Method
Coarsely process unpeeled ginger in food processor and empty into saucepan. Add all ingredients (including the yeast from the kit) except ginger beer kit and champagne yeast to the saucepan and add 4 litres of water and boil for 20 minutes. Add the contents of the can and mix well. Place strainer over sterilised fermenter and stain contents directly into fermenter, add ice (lots of it, made from boiled water) and stir vigorously until all ice has melted. Top up to 20 litres with water. Pitch rehydrated yeast at 18˚C. Ferment at 18-20˚C for 10 days. Bottle condition for at least 1 month.


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## PhilA (8/6/09)

:icon_chickcheers: Hi this is one I'm doing now 
5.00kg of pilsner
450gm Munich 
100gm Caramunich 
100gm Melodanoiden 
1cinnamin Stick 
1.25kg Ginger root 
4 lemons 
zest of 2 lemons
6 Cloves 
and I used a ale yeast , it was based on Jeff's recipe mashed @ 65c and so on 
Cheers Phil :icon_cheers:


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## Wisey (14/6/09)

both recipes sound like they are great....


Have either of you run ginger beer through a beer tap? after reading about that bloke that cant get the smell out of his fermentor, maybe it would contaminate the lines?


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## lczaban (14/6/09)

One of the tricks to brewing a GB is adding fresh ginger, especially when using a GB kit to help get some gingery-ness into the brew and to help offset the artificial sweeteners of the kit. Another good addition is to add a thinly sliced, fresh chilli to the brew. The chilli won't be overly dominant in it's own right, but the heat it contributes will help give the GB and ongoing "bite" at the finish that accentuates the ginger flavour.

FWIW, here is my GB recipe. I intend to make up MkII shortly. I still have some bottles of this from when I did this 7-8 months ago, and while the flavour has dissapated somewhat it still has more than enough kick to make people sit up and take notice!  :icon_cheers: 

My GB Recipe 11/1/2009

1 x Morgans Ginger Beer Kit
1 x 500g Fresh ginger
1 x 250g *DARK* Brown Sugar
1 x 1kg dextrose
1 x 750ml Buderum Ginger Refresher Cordial
1 x fresh chilli (sliced thinly with the seeds in)

Grated the ginger and soaked in a bowl with equal parts of Sweet Sherry and Sweet Vermouth (approx. 600ml of each plus 30ml of Lochan Ora) for 24 hours. Combined the GB kit, brown sugar, dex and refresher cordial in 3L boiling water in the fermenter and stirred, then added the grated ginger soak (ginger + all the liquid too), added the sliced chilli and topped up to 23L. SG 1.048. Let the fermenter stand overnight while the yeast starter worked its treat, and pitched the following morning.

FG 22/1/2008 0.996 Alc/Vol : 7.0%


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## PhilA (14/6/09)

Hi Wisey 
No I bottle mine so no troubles there and the fermenter will smell of ginger for a while but i"m airing mine out for a while then may
rinse out with vanilla then wash and sanitize as normal , with my recipe the ginger burn is real nice :beerbang: 
Cheers Phil


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## mattcarty (14/6/09)

Wisey said:


> both recipes sound like they are great....
> 
> 
> Have either of you run ginger beer through a beer tap? after reading about that bloke that cant get the smell out of his fermentor, maybe it would contaminate the lines?




hmmmmmm this sounds bad, i have a ginger beer in a keg at the moment waiting to get hooked up next time i have a free tap should i rethink this? i dont like the idea of ginger flavoured beer (sorry blue tongue brewery but your ginger flavoured lager is a miss for me)

any more info regarding this would be appreciated before i hook up the ginger beer

thanks
carty


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## claymen (14/6/09)

matt carty said:


> hmmmmmm this sounds bad, i have a ginger beer in a keg at the moment waiting to get hooked up next time i have a free tap should i rethink this? i dont like the idea of ginger flavoured beer (sorry blue tongue brewery but your ginger flavoured lager is a miss for me)
> 
> any more info regarding this would be appreciated before i hook up the ginger beer
> 
> ...



I had problems getting the smell out of the fermenter but in the end a lot of washing got it out. to be honest the taps should be fine its the lines that may get contaminated however if you flush it and use some decent keg and line cleaner you really shouldnt have too much of a problem. Your lines should also be of a quality not to catch any material anyway as excess turbulence would result in some frothy beers 

Overall I don't think there is too much of an issue.


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## Barley Belly (14/6/09)

My latest recipe put down 1/5/09 is

Coopers GB Kit
1kg Raw Sugar
1kg LDME
1 x 750ml bottle Buderim GB Cordial
Fill to 22ltr
US05 Harvested Slurry
OG 1044
FG 1014

An extra 500g of LDME added to this recipe from my original, gives it that sweeter "non-alcoholic ginger beer" taste but still 4.4%
May add some fresh ginger to my next incarnation

Might actually have a couple watching the footy this arvo


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## mattcarty (14/6/09)

Claymen said:


> I had problems getting the smell out of the fermenter but in the end a lot of washing got it out. to be honest the taps should be fine its the lines that may get contaminated however if you flush it and use some decent keg and line cleaner you really shouldnt have too much of a problem. Your lines should also be of a quality not to catch any material anyway as excess turbulence would result in some frothy beers
> 
> Overall I don't think there is too much of an issue.




sweet thanks mate, will give it a go and see what happens.

cheers
carty


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## claymen (14/6/09)

finners said:


> My latest recipe put down 1/5/09 is
> 
> Coopers GB Kit
> 1kg Raw Sugar
> ...



I was thinking about using 2x Coopers tins and 1kg of Dextrose with some extra fresh ginger (250-500gm) and see how that goes. The two tins should give plenty of nutrients for the yeast to go nuts on although I will be adding a little bit of nutrient from my LHBS just to make sure. I've never tried the coopers one but I have done a Brewcraft GB. I felt it didn't have the full ginger punch that I wanted so the second one I added more ginger and it was a lot better. Although still not quite right for what I wanted. In any case the coopers ones were cheap on special at the supermarket maybe $15-20 for the two tins and the dextrose I already had. I'll be using a Safale US-05 yeast which a few people had suggested to use instead of the crappy under tin yeast.


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## Sir Cursealot (14/6/09)

23 L water
450-600g ginger root, coarsley chopped
17 cups sugar
4 lemons, sliced
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 packet champagne yeast



Boil as much of the water as will fit in your largest pot.

Squeeze in lemons and add squeezed bits.

Add ginger root and cream of tartar.

Add as much sugar as you can if there's room.

Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes.

Put remaining sugar, if any, in fermenter. 

Pour water mixture over.

Add remaining water to 23 letres and cool to lukewarm.

Taste - this will approximate the taste of the finished product. If necessary add more ginger or ginger powder.

Dissolve yeast in a cup of the mixture, then stir it back in.

Cover and ferment for 7 days at 18-20c


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## Frank (1/8/09)

Philbrewalager said:


> :icon_chickcheers: Hi this is one I'm doing now
> 5.00kg of pilsner
> 450gm Munich
> 100gm Caramunich
> ...



How did this one turn out Phil? I have not managed to get back to this recipe yet, but intend to for summer.


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## Phoney (1/8/09)

GravityGuru said:


> 1 x 750ml Buderum Ginger Refresher Cordial



Where do you get this from?

Ive searched Coles & Woolies and couldnt find it...


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## Verbyla (2/8/09)

phoneyhuh said:


> Where do you get this from?
> 
> Ive searched Coles & Woolies and couldnt find it...



Go to another coles or woolies store and have a look for it there. I've seen it in all 3 stores near me. 
If you can't be bothered driving around to find it get your groceries using coles online next time and order it through there.

https://www.colesonline.com.au/webapp/wcs/s...esher%20Cordial


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## lczaban (2/8/09)

phoneyhuh said:


> Where do you get this from?
> 
> Ive searched Coles & Woolies and couldnt find it...



It is fairly widely available. This is what you are looking for BTW...

Buderim Ginger Refresher

I tried to paste an image but failed


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## Verbyla (3/11/09)

Anyone ever made a ginger apple beer????
I had a ginger apple softdrink the other day and the combination of the two was delicious!!!

I think i'll put this recipe down in the next few days.

Morgans ginger beer kit
750g LME
500g Ginger Honey(founjd it at a farmers market and thought i'd give it a shot
10-15L Apple Juice(not sure how much yet)
2 Quills of Cinnamon
750g Ginger Root
1 Small Chilli
Safale S-04


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## Barley Belly (3/11/09)

phoneyhuh said:


> Where do you get this from?
> 
> Ive searched Coles & Woolies and couldnt find it...




Should be in the cordial aisle, I've bought it @ Coles, BILO and Woolies


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## Hatchy (12/2/10)

I bottled a ginger beer a couple of weeks ago & then brewed an IPA in that fermenter. After I bottled the IPA (which I reckon is going to be the nicest beer I've made to date) I could still smell the ginger in the fermenter. The IPA certainly didn't taste like ginger though.


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## Pete2501 (12/2/10)

The last GB I made went like this and it was pretty sweet at the end. A lot of people liked the balance though. 

Dark Brown Sugar 2KG
1kg Fresh Ginger frozen and wizzed
2 Lemons
1 bottle 750ml of Bundaberg GB cordial
US05 yeast.


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## richardo (13/2/10)

I'm planning on doing a non-alc ginger beer using a coopers GB kit + fresh ginger and a chilli or 2. may throw in some lime also.

Question is, should I boil up the fresh ginger and chilli and let it steep overnight, or should I just simmer it for 20 minutes or so tomorrow before adding to fermenter? 

And another thing...if I want to ferment out some of it out, can I just bottle half of it (or thereabouts) then leave the rest in the fermenter to brew?


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## bum (14/2/10)

Can't remember the non-alc instructions but it they don't contradict completely then I don't see why not.

As for the ginger boil, I reckon if you let it boil for an hour or so you'll be good. No need to steep.


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## damo_m (20/3/10)

GravityGuru said:


> One of the tricks to brewing a GB is adding fresh ginger, especially when using a GB kit to help get some gingery-ness into the brew and to help offset the artificial sweeteners of the kit. Another good addition is to add a thinly sliced, fresh chilli to the brew. The chilli won't be overly dominant in it's own right, but the heat it contributes will help give the GB and ongoing "bite" at the finish that accentuates the ginger flavour.
> 
> FWIW, here is my GB recipe. I intend to make up MkII shortly. I still have some bottles of this from when I did this 7-8 months ago, and while the flavour has dissapated somewhat it still has more than enough kick to make people sit up and take notice!  :icon_cheers:
> 
> ...


Hi There, I am going to try and do this one today did you use the yeast from GB Kit?​


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## damo_m (20/3/10)

damo_m said:


> Hi There, I am going to try and do this one today did you use the yeast from GB Kit?​


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## Wolfy (21/3/10)

damo_m said:


> Hi There, I am going to try and do this one today did you use the yeast from GB Kit?


If you look in other similar threads - or do a search - you'll notice that a number of people have obtained good results using the kit-yeast.
GB usually has other ingredients and flavours which will mask anything that they yeast will do, so yeast choice is not really critical.

However, since the quality of the kit-yeast and especially its storage since date of manufacture is IMHO somewhat questionable, I prefer to use a yeast (such as US-05) that has come from a reliable vendor and has been stored 'correctly' in the fridge etc.


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## lczaban (21/3/10)

Wolfy said:


> If you look in other similar threads - or do a search - you'll notice that a number of people have obtained good results using the kit-yeast.
> GB usually has other ingredients and flavours which will mask anything that they yeast will do, so yeast choice is not really critical.
> 
> However, since the quality of the kit-yeast and especially its storage since date of manufacture is IMHO somewhat questionable, I prefer to use a yeast (such as US-05) that has come from a reliable vendor and has been stored 'correctly' in the fridge etc.



Hi Damo,


I did use the kit yeast in my first couple of batches, but I have also used US-05 with success in my latest GB batch. I don't think the yeast selection (either the kit yeast or US-05) makes too much difference in the outcome. Getting a fresh kit will mean that your chances of getting a viable sachet of kit yeast is enhanced though. I do know that an alcoholic micro-brewery GB uses US-05. Go with what you are comfortable with!

Probably the key thing is to make sure you use the yeast nutrient. GBs are not known to be yeast-friendly, so having some nutrient/enzyme to help kick things along is pretty key to making sure you get full attenuation and avoid any dreaded bottle-bombs.

Good luck!


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## Dazza88 (13/6/11)

Tonight i put this one down, thought i would revive the thread. Hopefully some of it will be around for summer. 

Thai Ginger Beer

1 Coopers GB can
500 g brown sugar
1kg Coopers Brew Enchancer 2

250g Fresh Ginger
100g Lemongrass (from vege patch - yay)
1 chilli with seeds 
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp mixed spice
5 g of coriander seed freshly crushed
5 g of Nelson Sauvin flowers (pointless?)
750g of golden pash tetra pak juice (sitting around from cider exp that didn't happen, drank a glass to make sure tasted good, it did)

Sugar, Lemongrass, Ginger and chilli boiled for 25 minutes. Spices, juices and hops in at 10 minutes. Filled to 20L, two packets of coopers kit yeast (GB kit best before 05/11, had another fresh one spare).

OG 1.048
FG - wait and see


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## Tanga (18/6/11)

Ooh - passionfruit juice? I made a cider with passionfruit juice that ended up tasting like fruity lexia. Not a good look. I'll be interested to see how lemongrass ends tasting in a GB.


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## Dazza88 (18/6/11)

One litre of passionfruit in twenty litres of gb probably added mostly just sugar. The lemongrass was a guess. The hydrometer sample tastes good, nice chili bite.


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## agnewbie (18/6/11)

Claymen said:


> I had problems getting the smell out of the fermenter but in the end a lot of washing got it out. to be honest the taps should be fine its the lines that may get contaminated however if you flush it and use some decent keg and line cleaner you really shouldnt have too much of a problem. Your lines should also be of a quality not to catch any material anyway as excess turbulence would result in some frothy beers
> 
> Overall I don't think there is too much of an issue.



Adding very late to the post but I've always got a ginger beer coming out of one of the three taps on my kegerator (the ladies love it ) and I've never had a frothing problem or any problems getting the lines clean for a different brew.


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