Ginger beer and HDPE fermenter

[Clinch]

I am wanting to make some alcoholic ginger beer but have heard that the ginger will permanently taint the fermenter. Has anybody experienced this?

 

[Hangover68]

not true.

 

[Eddy Monsoon]

Not that I've ever noticed

 

[Mooroolbark_Mick]

My suggestion is to buy another plastic fermenter and use it exclusively for ginger beer. That’s what I did after my first ginger beer brew.

 

[Hazah]

I have had turbo yeast washes and the colony west ginger beer kits leave behind flavours in the cheaper plastic fermenters before - it’s definitely a thing.
If you really want to splash out you could look at one of the PET fermenters as they don’t seem to have issues or you could just get a $15 handy pail from the big green shed drill a hole in the lid and whack an air lock and grommet in it and you will be good for under $20. If you really want to get flash you can put a tap on it

 

[Luxo_Aussie]

I've made half a dozen ginger beers, never had the following batch have any gingery-ness. Just give it a good clean afterwards with PBW or Oxi and you'd be good to go!

 

[Narapoia]

I have had turbo yeast washes and the colony west ginger beer kits leave behind flavours in the cheaper plastic fermenters before - it’s definitely a thing.
If you really want to splash out you could look at one of the PET fermenters as they don’t seem to have issues or you could just get a $15 handy pail from the big green shed drill a hole in the lid and whack an air lock and grommet in it and you will be good for under $20. If you really want to get flash you can put a tap on it

Hmm, interesting. I had a two batches earlier this year with strong off flavours (Definitely not ginger) that were brewed immediately after a batch of AG ginger beer in the same fermenter. I put it down to either an infection or potentially not de-chlorinating sparge water. First brew definitely more affected than the second one.

In your experience was it ginger flavour that pulled through or did you get a different impact on subsequent brews?

 

[Hazah]

Yep it was definitely an off flavour (sort of like a background note)that went through the subsequent batch and I put it down to something from the ginger beer that had leached into or out of the HDPE fermenter, it was hard to put my finger on what it was exactly - going back over my notes the second batch didn’t have as much of the same flavour but it was still there.
FYI the batches after the ginger beer where both Australian Sparkling Ales - I have brewed them dozens of times and it was the only time I have had this happen - I have a dedicated bucket for ginger beer and haven’t had a problem since.

 

[Clinch]

Thank you all for the replies to my post. It seems that a fermenter exclusively for ginger beer is the answer.

 

[Narapoia]

Yep it was definitely an off flavour (sort of like a background note)that went through the subsequent batch and I put it down to something from the ginger beer that had leached into or out of the HDPE fermenter, it was hard to put my finger on what it was exactly - going back over my notes the second batch didn’t have as much of the same flavour but it was still there.
FYI the batches after the ginger beer where both Australian Sparkling Ales - I have brewed them dozens of times and it was the only time I have had this happen - I have a dedicated bucket for ginger beer and haven’t had a problem since.

Thanks for the reply - that's really interesting and lines up almost exactly with my experience earlier this year. The first batch was blonde ale, a style I've made dozens of times without issue and couldn't really match the issue to the descriptions of common off-flavours, the next one was the same, just less pronounced.

Oh well, looks like I have a dedicated Ginger beer fermenter now as I currently have a new batch of AG ginger beer on the go - so this was all very timely. Been looking at a stainless steel fermentor so will call in a bday present from Mrs. Narapoia.