Ginger Beer brewing sugars

[Bonenose]

Hi all,

I have been pondering a ginger beer for some time (just one on the long list of to do's) and have been somewhat inspired by the Galangal beer thread so thought it was time to have a crack.

I have 2kg of Marris Otter doing nothing that I thought I might use as a base then top up with brewing sugars of some description. Options as I see it are sugar be it white, raw, brown etc., Coopers brewing sugar or Brew Enhancer no.2 which Woolworths appear to stock, or a combination thereof.

Initial thinking is maybe a kilo each of brewing sugar and BE2 but have never used any of these (or normal sugar) so not sure what results to expect.

Also not sure on quantities for the ginger would like it strong and looking at getting a kilo or fresh ginger and maybe 250g or so of galangal for some extra flavour. Have plenty of Kaffir lime leaves, fresh limes and lemon grass so will probably throw some in as well.

Basic recipe would be
2kg Marris Otter
1kg Brewing sugar
1kg Brew enhancer no.2
1kg ginger
250g Galangal
juice of 1 or 2 limes
couple of Kaffir lime leaves and possibly a little lemon grass
Chilli or two may end up in there as well.

Rather broad question but any feedback on quantities types of sugars etc. much appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[aster1]

I would ditch the grain, save it for a beer recipe, unless your after a ginger flavoured beer as opposed to a traditional ginger beer.

Google a ginger beer from scratch recipe such as:
http://www.thehopandgrain.com.au/brew-ginger-beer/ and follow those.

Probably dont need the lime/lemon juice, just boil the kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass (both chopped fine) in about 1 litre of water for 5 mins then toss it into your fermenter followed by the brewing sugars, this not only santises the lemon/limes it also releases the oils (flavour) from the leaves and the hot water helps dissolve your brewing sugars.

If you want a drier style GB just use dextrose as the fermentable sugar, if you want a sweeter GB then use brewing sugars/blends or even 100% LDM (light dry malt). For an even sweeter style use LDM + 200g of lactose.

Lastly 3 things ive learnt doing GB,
Buy your ginger from asian grocers, they tend to be much cheaper than woolies/coles.
Grate the ginger than freeze it, freezing breaks down the cell walls releasing all the goodness.
Anthing the GB touches it will leave a taint, once a fermenter or PET bottle is used for GB it is only good for GB there after! Unless of course you really like a ginger flavour in all your homebrews...
Goodluck!

 

[Bonenose]

Sadly somewhat limited on ingredients I believe I can get Coopers brewing sugar and brew enhancer no.2 that's all I can find anywhere so not much option there. Was tossing up with the grain, was going to add it to another recipe and make an IPA then thought maybe throw it in a ginger beer

Buy your ginger from asian grocers, they tend to be much cheaper than woolies/coles.
Ginger is from the markets so locally grown, cheap and good quality.

Anthing the GB touches it will leave a taint
Will use a spare fermenter, was wondering if something like that would occur.

Cheers for reply

 

[peterlonz]

My GB which was strongly ginger flavoured left no taint in my plastic fermentor.
Grating is messy, suggest use a food processor, then freeze in cupcake molds, make more than you expect to need, it keeps well frozen. I found a short 15 minute boil was still useful for both extraction & for sanitation.