Begone you complicated Ginger Beer recipes!

[TidalPete]

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

 

[Dan Dan]

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?

 

[of mice and gods]

...tough crowd

 

[TidalPete]

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.

 

[chefeffect]

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:

 

[Hyper.Intelligent.Fish]

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.

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.

 

[bum]

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

Ingredients.

 

[benno1973]

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.

 

[chefeffect]

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.

 

[Byran]

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:

 

[Byran]

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!

 

[of mice and gods]

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

 

[Byran]

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:

 

[bum]

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.

 

[of mice and gods]

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

 

[of mice and gods]

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

 

[MCHammo]

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.

 

[EK]

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?

 

[welly2]

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.

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.

 

[Byran]

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.

That's my achievement for the day.

Beer on.
Al

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: