# Ginger Beer With Bite



## Wally3178 (4/2/11)

Hi Guys,

I am brand new to 'Non Beer' Brewing and thought that, as I have a huge love of Ginger, I would try to brew a GB that bites the mouth that drinks it.

I found what appears to be a good recipe which has, amongst other things, 500g of fresh ginger, Buderim Ginger Marmalade and 11 sliced up long chillies; I assume that they provide the 'bite'.

My question is, the recipe does not mention yeast. Should I add yeast? If so would a T-58 be suitable? I usually brew my beers at 15 litres volume to give me better flavours and a higher alcohol percentage, can I do the same with GB and maybe cut the chillies back to 9? And finally, when I bottle beer, I use 500ml glass bottles with two priming drops per bottle, should I do the same with GB?

Your advice would be very much appreciated.


Mike

PS If anyone is interested, I can post the recipe that I am going to use.


----------



## manticle (4/2/11)

Definitely need yeast. There's a few thread in this section on GB and yeast use. I think US05 is popular but the threads will give more info.

Check the ginger beer from scratch no kit thread by chappo and alsos ee if you can find Gravity Guru's powderkeg GB recipe - both have had good reports and should talk about yeast choice.


----------



## mwd (4/2/11)

Go easy on the chillies or you will get a vegetable quality which is not too nice. If you can get Thai style Birdseye chillies I think 3 or 4 might be enough for 15litres.


----------



## katzke (4/2/11)

I had a Ginger beer a few years ago that had so much ginger in it that it was like eating raw or candied ginger. He must have grated the ginger as it was floating in the beer when I poured it out of the bottle.

I will see if I can get contact info for him and get the recipe. Not sure how well he keeps notes.

If you want a ginger beer with bite that was one to try.

Have I used the word ginger enough?


----------



## bum (8/2/11)

More ginger = more bite.

A little chilli underneath the ginger will highlight the bite but it is very easy to turn that into a burn - more ginger is safer, IMO. Obviously there's no reason not to make a hot one if that's what you want just be aware the "bite" is totally different.

Yeast choice is less important with GBs than with any other fermented product - especially an aggressive GB like the one you're going for. It is still very important to manage the ferment well to avoid off flavours but the often subtle differences between some yeasts can be lost in a GB (obviously there's all sorts of yeasts that might be noticed in a GB but these are less likely to be used here, in all probability). Unless I've got some slurry ready to go I just use the lid yeast - works fine for this application (just, as always, make sure that yeast is pretty fresh - ditch it if not). 

Your usual priming method should be fine, just make sure it is fully fermented out first - common trap for new GB brewers. GBs take longer and can ferment much lower than beer.


----------



## Wally3178 (8/2/11)

Hi everyone,

Sorry I have taken so long to acknowledge everyone's invaluable contributions to my GB brewing question, it's not that you're not appreciated or that I'm an ignorant sod, but rather I've been up in QLD helping friends to dig the mud out of their home.

I must say, it looks to be a bit more difficult to brew a successful GB than a standard brew like Chimay Blu but I'm determined to give it a go taking all your advice into account.

Katzke, I would like to see your friends recipe and I'll hold off on my brew until I see it; I've send you a PM with my email address.

Manticle, I will heed your advice and use a US05 yeast, I don't usually use the lid yeast and don't see any point in starting now.

Tropical Brews, I suspect you're right about too much chilli so I will cut down, might just use one of those small Thai Chillis the first time and adjust it later in the next brew.

Bum, I'll be sure and brew it out and not bottle until the activity has stopped, then use two drops to each 500ml bottle....that should do the trick.

One other question though, does the brew become too dry? Can I sweeten it with a little non-fermenting sweetener such as Lactose?

Cheers and beers,

Mike


----------



## bum (8/2/11)

If there's a kit in your recipe then I would omit the lactose for the first one. If not and you don't want it bone dry then lactose is pretty much a must (keggers excluded, of course). Depending on your yeast choice a scratch GB can ferment out into the high 0.900s. They can be extraordinarily dry - even kit GBs can get down around that low but, in my experience, they do finish slightly higher.


----------



## _HOME_BREW_WALLACE_ (8/2/11)

Chimay Blu said:


> One other question though, does the brew become too dry? Can I sweeten it with a little non-fermenting sweetener such as Lactose?
> 
> Mike




Some times it can become too dry. Lactose is definetly the way to go to sweeten. i wouldnt add any more than 100g's though.


----------



## brettprevans (8/2/11)

manticle said:


> Definitely need yeast. There's a few thread in this section on GB and yeast use. I think US05 is popular but the threads will give more info.
> 
> Check the ginger beer from scratch no kit thread by chappo and alsos ee if you can find Gravity Guru's powderkeg GB recipe - both have had good reports and should talk about yeast choice.


The 2 threads mentioned here are about all u need read on Ginger beer. Yeast ingredients, chilli, backsweetening etc. Pretty much all covered. Chaps from scratch recipe is awsome (I tweaked it a little).

As for backsweetening, if ur not kegging then lactose is ur best bet


----------



## Effect (24/2/11)

I was just thinking of making up a ginger beer. However, I don't want to use any lactose to keep the beer sweet. Even though I will be kegging it and can easily just backsweeten it with plain sucrose, I was wondering what you all thought about using a good whack of carapils in it, say 15-20%? Or maybe making a hybrid ginger beer with a kilo of malt mashed on the stove to give it some body?

Keen to hear your thoughts.

Cheers
Phil


----------



## bum (25/2/11)

Never done it but I remember reading a thread here where someone did it and was disappointed - not that that means much, I suppose, he might have been weird. Does make me think of the Bluetongue Ginger beer though (and I'd rather not, if it is all the same). 

If I was kegging and wanted a GB to be sweet I would just keg it when it tasted right in primary and keep the bugger cold.


----------



## SuiCIDER (25/2/11)

Easy on the chillies, I used one for a 20L and it almost overpowered it. A good thing to use after fermentation if you didn't get it right and don't want to waste it is some ginger refresher from Coles or somewhere similar.


----------



## mkstalen (25/2/11)

Has anyone used Stevia to sweeten up a Ginger Beer?


----------



## brettprevans (6/3/11)

stienberg said:


> Has anyone used Stevia to sweeten up a Ginger Beer?


Dont thinknive read anyone using Stevia in GB. Search for Stevia and ull get the results. A few people have talked about using it in other things

As for backsweetening with any ingredient, if ur not kegging your going to get bottle bombs as tge sugar will ferment. Unless u kill the yeast but that requires a non natural chemical to kill it off. For those not wanting sulfates etc in their beers because of the effects it can have on health


----------



## Harry Volting (6/3/11)

After searching for the ultimate ginger beer recipe for almost 10 years I now brew a basic low IBU pale ale (mostly using second runnings) and keg with half a bottle of Stones Green Ginger wine.
No artificial sweeteners, no weapons of mass destruction and easily repeatable. 2 litre PET bottles with a carbonator cap go well at parties.
The Social Co-ordinator loves it and encourages me to brew more.
You gotta be happy with that. 

Later
Harry


----------



## Liberate88 (19/3/11)

I made a ginger beer a while ago, I added a whole grated ginger root to the kit. 
I just had one tonight, its so gingery you can feel it 10 minutes after a glass. Though a very refreshing drink on a warm summers day... good luck!


----------



## TmC (29/3/11)

jennimajor said:


> I realized this site is in serious need of a home brewing thread. I've been brewing for almost two likes to brew, or if anyone is interested i'd be more than happy to instill a little advice. of quality home brew. from there on, you pick yourself up a copy of "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing...


 :blink:


----------



## brettprevans (29/3/11)

jennimajor said:


> I realized this site is in serious need of a home brewing thread. I've been brewing for almost two likes to brew, or if anyone is interested i'd be more than happy to instill a little advice. of quality home brew. from there on, you pick yourself up a copy of "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing...


Spam/person trying to drive traffic to that website. Dont click on the link.


----------



## TmC (29/3/11)

citymorgue2 said:


> Spam/person trying to drive traffic to that website. Dont click on the link.



Too late


----------

