So I have just laid down my second batch of ginger beer, my first brew since coming home from the winery.
This is a continuation of my first batch which went down so well I had to make some more, the same, immediately.
I am looking for a slightly different flavour this time, so I included more lemon, coriander seeds, some kaffir lime leaves and a whole lot of honey we had in the pantry.
I am just waiting for it to cool so I can pitch the yeast but it already tastes delicious. You can taste all of the ingredients and they seem to be very well balanced. During the boil I tasted continuously and added whatever I thought was necessary, keeping in mind that the hopefully highish alcohol content will provide some kind of sweetness- the same kind you get in a high alcohol stout.
Here it is:
1 kg fresh ginger, grated coarsely with the skin, chilled and then beaten hard in a mortar and pestle
5.5 tbs Coriander seeds, opened and lightly crushed
5 bush lemons - Remove about half of the skin from each and bash this up hard as well
4 kaffir lime leaves (organic ones from my ma's tree!) beaten hard until some of them form a paste
1 tbs ground ginger
5 star anise, one or two of them crushed up a bit
1.5 kg Dextrose
0.5 kg Brown sugar
0.5 kg light dry malt extract
400g bush honey (or any other kind you desire)
1 tsp yeast nutrient (I didn't know really how much to add so I just put some in and guessed. Last time I didn't use any and it worked out fine so I am not worried)
Safale US - 05
Heat about 4l of water to around 60 deg. C and tip in all of the powdered sugars (not honey).
Stir to make sure they are very well dissolved.
Tip in all of the other things (not honey) and stir around. Bring to the boil, stirring almost continuously for about 50 minutes or until you feel it has gone on long enough. You must taste often, and add more ingredients as you see fit, keeping in mind that this liquid will be a very concentrated picture. I needed to add more coriander as I really wanted this flavour to come through. (My ingredients are the corrected versions but they are not exact by any means)
When I was done with the boil I turned it off and added my honey to the still-hot wort. I put it in some hot water for about 10 mins to soften it, as you would do with a can of malt extract.
Pour some cold water into your fermenter and add your wort. I topped this up to 25 l but I just picked a number at random. I'm not too concerned about the final alcohol content so long as the flavour is good.
The temperature came in at about 32 deg C so I put it in a sink full of cold water with some ice blocks.
I will go and have dinner and some beers at Little Creatures now, and then when I come back it should be the right temperature to pitch the yeast. The last two times I used S - 04 and it worked well, this time I will try it's american counterpart just for something different.
Let me know what you think and I will keep you posted on it's development!
EDIT: I forgot to mention, SG: 1042
This is a continuation of my first batch which went down so well I had to make some more, the same, immediately.
I am looking for a slightly different flavour this time, so I included more lemon, coriander seeds, some kaffir lime leaves and a whole lot of honey we had in the pantry.
I am just waiting for it to cool so I can pitch the yeast but it already tastes delicious. You can taste all of the ingredients and they seem to be very well balanced. During the boil I tasted continuously and added whatever I thought was necessary, keeping in mind that the hopefully highish alcohol content will provide some kind of sweetness- the same kind you get in a high alcohol stout.
Here it is:
1 kg fresh ginger, grated coarsely with the skin, chilled and then beaten hard in a mortar and pestle
5.5 tbs Coriander seeds, opened and lightly crushed
5 bush lemons - Remove about half of the skin from each and bash this up hard as well
4 kaffir lime leaves (organic ones from my ma's tree!) beaten hard until some of them form a paste
1 tbs ground ginger
5 star anise, one or two of them crushed up a bit
1.5 kg Dextrose
0.5 kg Brown sugar
0.5 kg light dry malt extract
400g bush honey (or any other kind you desire)
1 tsp yeast nutrient (I didn't know really how much to add so I just put some in and guessed. Last time I didn't use any and it worked out fine so I am not worried)
Safale US - 05
Heat about 4l of water to around 60 deg. C and tip in all of the powdered sugars (not honey).
Stir to make sure they are very well dissolved.
Tip in all of the other things (not honey) and stir around. Bring to the boil, stirring almost continuously for about 50 minutes or until you feel it has gone on long enough. You must taste often, and add more ingredients as you see fit, keeping in mind that this liquid will be a very concentrated picture. I needed to add more coriander as I really wanted this flavour to come through. (My ingredients are the corrected versions but they are not exact by any means)
When I was done with the boil I turned it off and added my honey to the still-hot wort. I put it in some hot water for about 10 mins to soften it, as you would do with a can of malt extract.
Pour some cold water into your fermenter and add your wort. I topped this up to 25 l but I just picked a number at random. I'm not too concerned about the final alcohol content so long as the flavour is good.
The temperature came in at about 32 deg C so I put it in a sink full of cold water with some ice blocks.
I will go and have dinner and some beers at Little Creatures now, and then when I come back it should be the right temperature to pitch the yeast. The last two times I used S - 04 and it worked well, this time I will try it's american counterpart just for something different.
Let me know what you think and I will keep you posted on it's development!
EDIT: I forgot to mention, SG: 1042