# Ginger Beer



## sponge (4/2/08)

Hey everyone

If i was to make a ginger beer using a kit, extra fresh ginger, lemon, cloves, cinnamon (ie. the normal additives you would add to a ginger beer to make it taste better and spicier), and was to add around 1.5kg of raw or brown sugar, would it be worth my while to replace some of the sugar with the liquid malt extract to try and give the ginger beer a bit more body then if i was to use all sugar?

Also, which fermentable would be good to use if i wanted to keep some sweetness to the ginger beer (not bundaberg sickly sweet) or would the sugar and malt extract combo be enough? if i remember correctly, it was lactose which didnt completely ferment and left behind some sweetness, but im always up for being corrected...


cheers, sponge


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## beernography (4/2/08)

Funny u should mention this, I have been pondering this over the last few days.. I have just ploughed through my first alcoholic GB made from a Brigalow kit, lemon juice and fresh ginger with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, plus the recommended amount of white sugar. 

It came out OK but no bite and a very weak ginger taste. I reckon the can itself would be shithouse, and next time I'd use 700g of ginger (I used about 300g I think) and more cinnamon.

I bought some lactose [topic="19686"]just before it fermented[/topic] but was too late to add it. I tried it and it's just barely sweet. I would consider adding 300g to the next brew - I'd be tempted to add the entire half kilo I have but I am not sure if adding so much lactose is a great idea. Sometimes after swilling milk I feel queer in the guts and don't want to risk it for a whole brew. 

I also think 1/2kg of LME would do it good on top of the sugar for a whole brew.

Bear in mind I've only done 2 lots of GB before ;P


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## sponge (4/2/08)

ok good, so it was lactose which didnt fully ferment. and thumbs up for the LME? double giggity

well i might give a GB a go tomorrow with it being such crap weather here. 

i was thinking.....

Ginger beer kit
750g-1kg fresh ginger
2 lemons - zested
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
500gm LME
1-1.5kg brown/raw
maybe 500gm lactose
possibly premium ale yeast (safale)???

would it be worth investing in a premium yeast or just sticking to the package yeast? which did you use for your preview brews and how did they turn out?


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## dataphage (5/2/08)

sponge said:


> ok good, so it was lactose which didnt fully ferment. and thumbs up for the LME? double giggity
> 
> well i might give a GB a go tomorrow with it being such crap weather here.
> 
> ...



For a recipe I did a while ago I used 1.1 kg fresh ginger, a bit of dried (50g or so) a bit of lactose, all light malt extract malt for fermentables, juice of 3 lemons and maltodextrin for sweetness (witha bit of lactose). A good addition is also a vanilla pod split in half and scraped out into the pot, thi really adds to the smoothness of the thing.


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## dataphage (5/2/08)

Forgot to add: I used S-04 for the last (13l) batch of this I did and because of the high flocculation you can bottle condition and pour a perfectly clear ginger ale off the sediment. 

The ginger tends to hide the yeast flavour characteristics so I went for temp tolerance, speed of fermentation and sedimentation. Worked very nicely!


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## beernography (5/2/08)

That recipe looks doable to me Dataphage. I'll be putting down something very similar next GB day  Give it a crack and let us know how it turns out. 

I just used the yeast that came with the kit, don't know enough about em to go the extra mile and it was GB so I must admit it doesn't get the same loving care as beer


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## EK (5/2/08)

I would recommend using the Coopers or Morgans Ginger Beer kits they have a superior taste to the Brigalow kits. I find that the Coopers or Morgans kits by them selves are a hit with anyone of my friends who try my brews. In fact people are usually happy to try my beers, but almost bowl me over to get to the fridge if I tell them there is Ginger Beer.

EK


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## beernography (5/2/08)

Orly? I tried the Cooper's one first time round, admittedly it was less shit than Brigalow. Will go morgan's next time and post about it!


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## EK (5/2/08)

Bear in mind they are kits...not an 'all grain' version of a ginger beer. 

I do quite enjoy the Coopers and Morgans kits, but personal taste being what it is...

Admittedly, I would like to improve the Ginger beers that I make, I just haven't got around to it. 

I would like to brew something with the ginger flavor of Bundaberg Ginger Beer but with less 'soft drink sweetness'. That I would give a go if I found an appropriate recipe.

EK


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## Fatgodzilla (5/2/08)

EK said:


> Bear in mind they are kits...not an 'all grain' version of a ginger beer.
> 
> I do quite enjoy the Coopers and Morgans kits, but personal taste being what it is...
> 
> ...




Funny enough, that's the flavour I want - more like the 'soft drink sweetness'. With alcohol !

Just done a Brigalow GB. Thought I'd found a potential secret weapon - Budgerim Ginger Syrup. Found it at Woolies. Just add to soda water the bottles says. Added it to the Brigalow with some sugar. I actually liked the taste of the unfermented wort - Of course, all the sugar sweetness has fermented out, so probably a waste of time. Bottled the brew last week - hope it will improve - still not happy. Might try again but add the syrup on bottling to retain much of the sweetness. Or try some lactose.

There must be a reall killer recipe out there. Maybe I'll try the ginger beer tree idea again - next year. 

Only Coopers I tried I tasted ordinary - not certain but have been told saccharine used for the sweetness - yuck !


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## drag (5/2/08)

For kegging would it be possible to kill of the yeast by heating the fermented fluid and then add suger to the keg?
Or will it not ferment any longer in a 6 degree fridge?


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## EK (5/2/08)

Fatgodzilla said:


> Thought I'd found a potential secret weapon - Budgerim Ginger Syrup.



By any chance do you mean Buderim Ginger Syrup? I hope so...I holiday every now and then in that general area. Yandina, where the Buderin Ginger factory relocated to some years ago, isn't too hard to get to when you are on the Sunshine Coast. I might pick some up when I am there next (though that is not likely to be a while)...might grab some crystalised Ginger as well...hmmm...

EK


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## EK (5/2/08)

drag said:


> For kegging would it be possible to kill of the yeast by heating the fermented fluid and then add suger to the keg?
> Or will it not ferment any longer in a 6 degree fridge?



6 degrees, I would think, would be too low for fermentation to occur. You could always contact the manufacturer and ask them.


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## MHB (5/2/08)

Have a look at the new Brewcraft Ginger Beer Kit.

1.5Kg can of LME
Sachet of Ginger Extract
Sachet of Yeast
Sachet of Sweetener; as I loath all the artificial sweeteners I can leave it out.

The instructions on the package also give some very interesting suggestions including one for a honey ginger that looks interesting.

There won't be enough ginger there, I have already asked Brewcraft to make the sachets of ginger concentrate available separately - until then I will be using some Buderim Ginger refresher and/or some fresh ginger.


As usual - available from all good LHBS and well worth a look at

MHB


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## maltedhopalong (5/2/08)

Earlier today I was on Google and found an Australian online shop that was selling little packets of ginger extract for about $6.50. Now I can't find it again. If I do, I will most certainly let you know.

Edit - Just found a different one: 300mL ginger "booster" for $8.50. Doesn't seem that you can buy online though.... http://www.homebrewinn.com.au/product_ginger_beer.htm


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## maltedhopalong (5/2/08)

Found it: My mistake (above), it's obviously the same thing, it's on sale from Country Brewer.

http://www.countrybrewer.com.au/category61_1.htm


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## Fatgodzilla (5/2/08)

maltedhopalong said:


> Found it: My mistake (above), it's obviously the same thing, it's on sale from Country Brewer.
> 
> http://www.countrybrewer.com.au/category61_1.htm




Anyone know any reason why using grated fresh ginger or grated ginger in a jar isn't a better choice ? Dried ginger ?


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## maltedhopalong (5/2/08)

I've used Fresh Ginger. It gets expensive, I used something like 1kg of Ginger for just one 23L batch.

I put it in a food processor then boiled it in 5L of water and strained the water into the fermenter. Next time, I'll just leave the junk in it, it's been sterilised by the boiling, you could get away with less ginger that way, make sure to strain before bottling.


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## sponge (5/2/08)

Ok, so i put down my ginger beer today.

I used....

morgans kit with yeast and enzyme
~700g fresh ginger, sliced into thick rings
2 zested lemons
juice of one of the lemons
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
~200g lactose
~750g LME
~1kg raw & brown sugar (only had about 800g of raw sugar so just used all that and added a little extra brown sugar)
~100g honey

Made to 19L

Yes, I do have a lot of estimations. I don't believe in using scales unless it comes to something you need them for such as baking. ^_^ 

I pitched the yeast quite high at around 26c just because I had soccer training and thought that esters don't really influence ginger beers and ciders the way they do ales and draughts and what-not, so I was not overly concerned with that.

OG was 1036 and tasted deliciously spicy, just the way I was hoping it would be. It was fairly sweet but a lot of that sweetness will get used by the yeast to make the alcohol and CO2. So all in all, I'm quite happy with the way it is at the moment.

Now to just hope it all ferments ok, and the lactose will leave some sweetness behind and the LME will help retain a bit of body to the GB. Fingers crosses...


P.s I boiled the fresh ginger, lemon, half the cinnamon, half the cloves, and all the fermentables for around 20min. I then strained it all (using a sterilized strainer, of course) into the fermenter after it cooled down a bit in an ice bath, and then added the other cinnamon and cloves to the fermenter itself.

How silly of me to forget that information


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## mattemmo (5/2/08)

MHB said:


> Have a look at the new Brewcraft Ginger Beer Kit.
> 
> 1.5Kg can of LME
> Sachet of Ginger Extract
> ...




I just made this kit up last week after the packaging promised me a nice malty finish.

I added 500 LDM, 250 Dex, 250 Malto-Dex 
Lge Tbl spoon grated ginger soaked in 50ml port strained 
Kit yeast
I didn't use the artificial sweetener so to make it was drier. 

When tasted at bottling, I'd have to say there is bugger all ginger flavour, after reading a few peoples recipes I'd add 500gms of fresh grated to this at least or take MHB's advice and use the Buderim Refresher. It was very dry - which I don't mind, it had a nice zing which tasted as if it came from lemons - not ginger. Strange. I'm not sure that conditioning will bring out any extra ginger flavours, previous GB's have tasted pretty much the same at bottling as they do 2 months later. The colour was not to bad, probably a bit darker than a corona. I could taste the malt as well. 

Ever since I tried a GB at Dux de Lux in Christchurch, NZ I've been trying to recreate it. It looked like a lager, had a head like a lager, tasted a lot of ginger and malt. So since I've wondered if it was a ginger beer at all, maybe it was a lager of sorts with ginger through it, as opposed to a GB that had lager characteristics. I guess I was looking for that with the Brewcraft kit. Has anyone tried theDux de Lux GB and know what I mean?

Anyhow if anyone has better luck with the Brewcraft kit let us know...

matt


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## Fatgodzilla (5/2/08)

mattemmo said:


> I just made this kit up last week after the packaging promised me a nice malty finish.
> 
> I added 500 LDM, 250 Dex, 250 Malto-Dex
> Lge Tbl spoon grated ginger soaked in 50ml port strained
> ...





The big problem is we all want a different result but no one seems to find it !

Is a real home brewed ginger beer the modern day Holy Grail ???


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## sponge (5/2/08)

does a real home brewed ginger beer classify making your own ginger root thing? (sorry, I'm not really sure what it is called). my mum was wondering what i was doing when i told her i was making ginger beer and boiling up the ginger and other goodies.

one day I'll have to try making it from scratch by planting the root and trying to make it the old fashioned way. Who knows, maybe all these simple k&k ideas are just no substitute for the original...

All it needs is a little TLC


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## Fatgodzilla (5/2/08)

sponge said:


> does a real home brewed ginger beer classify making your own ginger root thing? (sorry, I'm not really sure what it is called). my mum was wondering what i was doing when i told her i was making ginger beer and boiling up the ginger and other goodies.



Your mum is thinking of this - a ginger beer plant


You need:
50g fresh bakers yeast
300ml water
2tsp ground ginger
2tsp sugar

Method:
Start a Ginger Beer plant by placing 50g of fresh bakers yeast in a jar with about 300ml of water, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and 2 teaspoons of sugar.

Feed the plant each day for the next 7 days by adding one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of ground ginger.

Strain the mixture through fine muslin (keep the sediment) and reserve the liquid. Dissolve 450g of sugar in 600ml of boiling water. When cool, add the juice of two lemons and the reserved liquid and make up the volume to 4 litres.

Bottle, keep for one week, then, either drink quickly or keep refrigerated as it tends to become livelier with age.

Restart the plant by dividing the sediment into two parts and placing each half into a jar with 300ml of water. You now have two plants to feed as above. If one plant is enough, give one away

But how do we make it alcoholic ??


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## sponge (5/2/08)

Ahh yea thats what she was talking about

She enjoys telling me how much they used to explode when opened and how my homebrew will do the same and wreck her roof.... 

With the making it alcoholic part, is there any yeast left in the ginger beer solution? If not, is it possible to make up a few of these plants using the same method and produce make a larger batch, say 13L and add additional yeast to the brew?


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## mattemmo (5/2/08)

Fatgodzilla said:


> The big problem is we all want a different result but no one seems to find it !
> 
> Is a real home brewed ginger beer the modern day Holy Grail ???




If it is the holy grail I hope it doesn't take me 2000 years to find it. I've only got 45 good years of brewing left in me...


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## drsmurto (6/2/08)

Just a few points to make.

1. Fresh ginger doesnt have to be expensive - asian grocery stores sell it for ~$10/kg.
2. Ditch the kit. If you are adding fresh ginger, various spices and a heap of sugar whats the bleedin point?

Cheers
DrSmurto

p.s. someone asked about soft drink style GBs. My best GB to date was 1kg fresh ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks and lemon + 2kg raw sugar. Champers yeast. Good spicy kick, easy to drink but dry as. Watered down with lemonade a top summer refresher to drink while watching the cricket.


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## SJW (6/2/08)

Anyone used the new Brewcraft kit? It has yeast, nutrient and sweetener. I picked one up and am going to leave out the sweetener for a dryer Ginger Beer. Looks interesting.

Steve


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## sponge (6/2/08)

Good point DrSmurto. So what is actually in a ginger beer kit? I'm assuming some sort of ginger flavouring, maybe some malt.... i wouldn't have a clue what else?

If I was to go about making an 'AG' GB (I'm not really sure if you could classify it as AG, but it always sounds nice B)) would I just up the amount of fresh ginger, spices, and malt (possibly some more raw sugar...)? From a newbie point of view, it always sounds nice saying that you made a GB from scratch. 

Cheers, sponge


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## drsmurto (6/2/08)

I have no idea whats in the kits which is the point.


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## mattemmo (6/2/08)

DrSmurto said:


> I have no idea whats in the kits which is the point.




Steve, I have, read my post earlier in this thread (page 1). Pile in the extra ginger... 

cheers,
matt


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## drsmurto (6/2/08)

mattemmo said:


> Steve, I have, read my post earlier in this thread (page 1). Pile in the extra ginger...
> 
> cheers,
> matt



Re-read your last post. Cant see where you say exactly what the kit contains. You add extra ingredients but the contents of the can is still a mystery - care to enlighten us?


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## braufrau (6/2/08)

sponge said:


> Ahh yea thats what she was talking about
> 
> She enjoys telling me how much they used to explode when opened and how my homebrew will do the same and wreck her roof....



the problem with our mum's ginger beer was it wasn't completely fermented at bottling because otherwise it wouldn't be sweet so if you didn't drink it fast enough .... boom!

Also my mother's plant seemed to mutate over time so the bottles became fizzier and fizzier.
She did this weird ritual where she added a sultana to each bottle and when it floated to the top, that was time to cap!

Anyway, on basicbrewing radio I heard a passing reference to a yeast poison you can add to stop the fermentation half way and then you can store it for awhile.

Anybody know about that?


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## drag (6/2/08)

braufrau said:


> the problem with our mum's ginger beer was it wasn't completely fermented at bottling because otherwise it wouldn't be sweet so if you didn't drink it fast enough .... boom!
> 
> Also my mother's plant seemed to mutate over time so the bottles became fizzier and fizzier.
> She did this weird ritual where she added a sultana to each bottle and when it floated to the top, that was time to cap!
> ...



What about killing the yeast by heating solution up to say 50 degrees


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## drsmurto (6/2/08)

braufrau said:


> <SNIP>
> Anyway, on basicbrewing radio I heard a passing reference to a yeast poison you can add to stop the fermentation half way and then you can store it for awhile.
> 
> Anybody know about that?



campden tablets (Na or K metabisulphite) or ascorbic acid should work. I believe the wine industry uses the latter? Not sure of quantities tho, may have to ask my office mate who is married to a winemaker


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## mattemmo (6/2/08)

DrSmurto said:


> Re-read your last post. Cant see where you say exactly what the kit contains. You add extra ingredients but the contents of the can is still a mystery - care to enlighten us?



DrSmurto, I was replying to SJW's post about whether anyone had made the Brewcraft kit, and I had ,so i was referring him to an earlier post I'd made reviewing it. I wouldn't have a clue as to what's in the can, I tasted the contents, wouldn't be surprised it if was a can of very light malt extract and thats it... very keen to be enlightened also!


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## sponge (6/2/08)

Hey all

I realised I haven't yet thrown out the empty can of goo (Morgans GB) which I made yesty.

Here we go;

Ingredients: Ginger Flavour, Food Acid (330), Sodium Cyclamate (952), Vegetable Gum (415), Sodium Saccharin (954), malt and water added. 
Yeast and Nutrient (under cap).
Sulphites Added

Ok, I wouldn't have a clue what just about any of those ingredients are. I think the next GB I do, I'll do it all from fresh ingredients and use a..... cider yeast? Maybe an ale yeast to not dry it out too much? (I'm not really an expert on different yeasts, or on homebrewing for that matter, anyone feel like en lighting me on the yeast section?) And I don't think I'll bother with dry enzyme either.


Cheers, Sponge


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## drsmurto (6/2/08)

sponge said:


> Hey all
> 
> I realised I haven't yet thrown out the empty can of goo (Morgans GB) which I made yesty.
> 
> ...



So the answer is in - the kit contains....drum roll please..... 4/5ths of sweet FA. Artificial flavour and 2 artificial sweeteners with malt seemingly an after thought.

Ditch the kits ginger beer lovers, fresh ginger, some sugar and.or malt and a sachet of yeast is all you need!


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## sponge (6/2/08)

Thats just what I'm thinking. No more of this tin GB. Would a mix of fresh and canned ginger be alright or does canned ginger contain nasties which may infect the brew? I'm just thinking of what my wallet would be saying to about all that fresh ginger, although, it would definitely be worth the extra $$

As with the yeast, which yeast would be recommended for this?


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## drsmurto (6/2/08)

I think the kits and tinned ginger are a false economy. The tinned/jars of ginger contains preservatives. Find yourself an asian grocery store and buy a kg of fresh ginger. Pick up some spices while you are there, cinnamon sticks, cloves etc. Either add malt or in my case, 2kg of raw sugar. I have tried champagne yeast on too many occasions now and really should branch out. champagne yeast leaves it very dry so try an ale yeast. I have 4766 cider yeast in the fridge i may use.


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## KHB (6/2/08)

DrSmurto said:


> I think the kits and tinned ginger are a false economy. The tinned/jars of ginger contains preservatives. Find yourself an asian grocery store and buy a kg of fresh ginger. Pick up some spices while you are there, cinnamon sticks, cloves etc. Either add malt or in my case, 2kg of raw sugar. I have tried champagne yeast on too many occasions now and really should branch out. champagne yeast leaves it very dry so try an ale yeast. I have 4766 cider yeast in the fridge i may use.





I agree go the whole hog and use fresh ginger, canned will be lacking in flavour. Using fresh will mean you wont need to use as much anyway


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## braufrau (6/2/08)

My mum never added yeast except what was on the sultanas.


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## drag (6/2/08)

DrSmurto said:


> Just a few points to make.
> 
> 1. Fresh ginger doesnt have to be expensive - asian grocery stores sell it for ~$10/kg.
> 2. Ditch the kit. If you are adding fresh ginger, various spices and a heap of sugar whats the bleedin point?
> ...



Have you ever tried leaving the ginger root from the boil in the wort & put it all in the fermenter?


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## sponge (6/2/08)

thats what i was thinking, similar to leaving the peeled apples in the cider i made a couple of weeks ago. they just sat on top of the wort, and because they were boiled initially they had been sterilised. 

Doing this would allow more of the ginger and spices to come out in the finished product, and u probably wouldn't have to use as much as if you were to just boil them at the start and strain it off. If it has all been sterilised from boiling then there should be no problem leaving them in the wort from what I would be thinking....


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## beernography (7/2/08)

Both my batches of GB I have not bothered to filter the wort, even before bottling and had no problems with chunks or the foul taste. One bottle was the bottom of the fermenter and it was dicey, but the rest have been tops. One lot i grated, the other I chopped and boiled and I recommend chopping a) less work B) less dirty musty bits of ginger floating round. 

And on that note I'm off to bed, got the fuckin boss riding my conscience and I'm not even at work yet


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## sponge (7/2/08)

Haha, good stuff son

So did you use a kit for those GB's, or did you use all fresh ingredients?


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## dataphage (7/2/08)

drag said:


> Have you ever tried leaving the ginger root from the boil in the wort & put it all in the fermenter?



Yes I have and it doesn't quite drop out of suspension in the way you'd hope so you end up with 3 inches of ginger & yeast slurry at the bottom of the fermenter! I did all kinds of experiments getting to a decent ginger beer recipe. I've written up online the first decent success with a fair few pictures if you're really interested:

http://www.dataphage.com/2006/07/great-gin...experiment.html
http://www.dataphage.com/2006/07/great-gin...t-bottling.html
http://www.dataphage.com/2006/08/great-gin...t-drinking.html

I have actually refined the recipe a bit since this, using maltodextrin in place of all that lactose etc. I've found that straining the wort through a grain bag into the ferment and letting the full grain bag drip into the fermenter for a while makes your life a lot easier later.


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## drsmurto (7/2/08)

I strain the boiled ginger and spice solution thru a fine sieve to keep it out. With min 1kg per 20L batch ginger flavour/aroma isnt an issue. I have played around with malt extract and even steeping crystal malt to get the extra sweetness in. Maybe carapils will get a run next time. 

As for chopping i put the ginger thru a food processor, skin and all. Boil that for an hour with spices etc and then dissolve sugars at flameout. 

I had considered boiling up some ginger and adding it to secondary for some extra aroma, or even adding ginger late in the boil. Old ginger is very strong, i leave it in the fridge for anywhere between 1 and 3 months and it really ramps up the bite but the aroma disappears so have played around with combo of fresh and old ginger. 

A good ginger beer is something i have been experimenting with for more than a year now.


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## SJW (7/2/08)

> As for chopping i put the ginger thru a food processor, skin and all. Boil that for an hour with spices etc and then dissolve sugars at flameout.



Hey Dr. If I am just using the Brewcraft kit (as I have bought it) is there any need to boil up the Ginger? As I wont be doing a boil, just warming the can of goo up prior to dumping in the fermenter. I was just going to grate 500g of Ginger, skin and all into the fermenter?

Steve


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## sponge (7/2/08)

just a heads up. you probably want to boil the ginger before placing it into the fermenter to kill off any bacteria which is on it to not risk infecting the brew


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## drsmurto (7/2/08)

As others have noted, the kit dont pack much flavour punch so you need to boil the ginger to extract the flavour. And to sanitise it as sponge said.


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## maltedhopalong (7/2/08)

While on the topic, I've always wondered what products could be used to give it body without going overboard on the malt flavour?


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## sponge (7/2/08)

Well, from what my readings have told me, maltodextrin helps to retain some body in brews but is maltodextrin pretty much just a mix of malt and dextrose? (im only guessing at the from the name)


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## drsmurto (7/2/08)

Maltodextrin isnt fermentable, it adds body to beer.


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## minxster (10/4/20)

maltedhopalong said:


> I've used Fresh Ginger. It gets expensive, I used something like 1kg of Ginger for just one 23L batch.
> 
> I put it in a food processor then boiled it in 5L of water and strained the water into the fermenter. Next time, I'll just leave the junk in it, it's been sterilised by the boiling, you could get away with less ginger that way, make sure to strain before bottling.


Did you end up doing that batch leaving the ginger in the fermenter? If so, how did that go on taste? How much ginger did you end up using then?


cheers


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