Homebrew Ginger beer issue

[HaydenR]

Hi I'm fairly new to homebrewing and currently have a ginger beer in the fermenter.

It's not made from a kit, the recipe I used is
1kg of ginger
5kg of sugar
Juice from 3 lemons
23L of distilled water
5g Morgan's ginger beer yeast

Got the recipe from a guy from YouTube but didn't add as much sugar and he used champagne yeast I think.

Issue im having is my OG was 1.080, and even after a week of fermenting, its still 1.080. I can only assume the yeast is doing its thing as the fermenter was bubbling away pretty much within an hour and has continued ever since. When I take a sample for hydrometer readings the brew is carbonated already.

Does this sound like an issue with the yeast not being able to produce a high alcohol content?

 

[TwoCrows]

Yeast breaks down Sucrose first into glucose and fructose. I think you need more yeast at the start to achieve this. You may need yeast nutrient as well to help them out.

 

[cds_001]

Yeah. Agree with TwoCrows. For that amount of fermentable sugar atleast 2 yeast paxks would be required.

 

[HaydenR]

Thanks for the replies,
I added another 5 grams or Morgan's ginger beer yeast after a week on fermentation as I figured I had nothing to lose. Fermentation seemed to pick back up as my SG dropped from 1.080 to 1.060. It seems to have stalled again as I've taken readings the last 3 days and it hasn't budged.

I've attempted to restart fermentation by swirling the contents inside and adding heat as its been under 10 degree nights here lately.

The airlock seems to still be as active as ever so I don't know whether to just wait and see what happens or add another 5g of yeast totalling 15g.

Any further advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[YAPN]

I think that if you have had airlock activity for two weeks or more than everything is going OK. It's just your gravity readings that are wonky. What are you using to measure gravity?

 

[HaydenR]

I think that if you have had airlock activity for two weeks or more than everything is going OK. It's just your gravity readings that are wonky. What are you using to measure gravity?

I use a hydrometer. I normally take a sample, give the hydrometer a spin as I drop it in and I'll take a reading a few times to make sure I'm not getting a false reading. I've been consistently getting 1.060 on the dot for the last 3 days.

 

[YAPN]

I've had dodgy hydrometers before. Some people don't use them. If I had this issue with a brew I'd wait for airlock activity to stop, taste test and bottle.

 

[justmat]

Ginger beer can be a hard one to get a healthy ferment since the nutrient content is so low. . It’s a good idea to treat ginger beer like mead or hard seltzer. Adding a source of nutrient such as Fermaid-O, a DAP and trace mineral blend, yeast hulls or something similar can help. Personally I think adding nutrients in a staggered approach gives the best results, basically add small amounts of nutrient a few times throughout fermentation.
The other thing to consider is pH, since you’re mainly using sugar and not malt extract the ginger beer will have a pretty low buffering capacity (depending on your water source). Yeast that has to chew through more sugar will produce a larger pH drop than a fermentation with less. I’ve had strong(ish) hard seltzers of about 7%ABV that have stalled out because the pH dropped to like 2.8 before. You can bring the pH back up by adding chalk, potassium carbonate or baking soda, just keep in mind the baking soda can make it salty pretty quick. A final pH of like 3.5-4.0 is where I’d shoot for if possible.
I’ve not used the Morgan’s yeast before but the champagne yeast in the original recipe is an absolute beast and can ferment through some pretty stressful ferments with ease, but giving the yeast the best chance at thriving is always a good way to hedge your bet.
The temp probably isn’t helping anything either, I’d grab a heat belt or heat pad from your LHBS and try keep it a bit warmer to keep the yeasties nice and active

 

[TwoCrows]

I am enjoying Apple cider with Ginger cordial (Buderim). Store bought apple juice and used S-04 English yeast, ferments a bit sweeter than champagne yeast.
Just add the ginger cordial before pouring cider.
Tastes great.
Super easy to get the ginger flavour and desired sweetness.

 

[Paddy Melon]

Hi Guys, interesting thread and I'd like to ask a question about brewing ginger beer. Given the amount of solids that go into the fermenter can these be placed into a bag and left in the fermenter during the fermentation process. I was hoping to reduce the solids issue. Or is there another way to filter out the solids. I'm preparing for my first GB brew and am a bit nervous at this point. Any help is appreciated.

 

[HaydenR]

Ginger beer can be a hard one to get a healthy ferment since the nutrient content is so low. . It’s a good idea to treat ginger beer like mead or hard seltzer. Adding a source of nutrient such as Fermaid-O, a DAP and trace mineral blend, yeast hulls or something similar can help. Personally I think adding nutrients in a staggered approach gives the best results, basically add small amounts of nutrient a few times throughout fermentation.
The other thing to consider is pH, since you’re mainly using sugar and not malt extract the ginger beer will have a pretty low buffering capacity (depending on your water source). Yeast that has to chew through more sugar will produce a larger pH drop than a fermentation with less. I’ve had strong(ish) hard seltzers of about 7%ABV that have stalled out because the pH dropped to like 2.8 before. You can bring the pH back up by adding chalk, potassium carbonate or baking soda, just keep in mind the baking soda can make it salty pretty quick. A final pH of like 3.5-4.0 is where I’d shoot for if possible.
I’ve not used the Morgan’s yeast before but the champagne yeast in the original recipe is an absolute beast and can ferment through some pretty stressful ferments with ease, but giving the yeast the best chance at thriving is always a good way to hedge your bet.
The temp probably isn’t helping anything either, I’d grab a heat belt or heat pad from your LHBS and try keep it a bit warmer to keep the yeasties nice and active

Hey mate thanks a heap for the information. I'm definitely going to give that a to on the next batch I try. Lots of things I didn't even consider when it comes to brewing so I'll have to study up a bit more I think haha.

Cheers

 

[cedric]

Ginger beer can be a hard one to get a healthy ferment since the nutrient content is so low. . It’s a good idea to treat ginger beer like mead or hard seltzer. Adding a source of nutrient such as Fermaid-O, a DAP and trace mineral blend, yeast hulls or something similar can help. Personally I think adding nutrients in a staggered approach gives the best results, basically add small amounts of nutrient a few times throughout fermentation.
The other thing to consider is pH, since you’re mainly using sugar and not malt extract the ginger beer will have a pretty low buffering capacity (depending on your water source). Yeast that has to chew through more sugar will produce a larger pH drop than a fermentation with less. I’ve had strong(ish) hard seltzers of about 7%ABV that have stalled out because the pH dropped to like 2.8 before. You can bring the pH back up by adding chalk, potassium carbonate or baking soda, just keep in mind the baking soda can make it salty pretty quick. A final pH of like 3.5-4.0 is where I’d shoot for if possible.
I’ve not used the Morgan’s yeast before but the champagne yeast in the original recipe is an absolute beast and can ferment through some pretty stressful ferments with ease, but giving the yeast the best chance at thriving is always a good way to hedge your bet.
The temp probably isn’t helping anything either, I’d grab a heat belt or heat pad from your LHBS and try keep it a bit warmer to keep the yeasties nice and active

i've only done a couple of Powderkegs so far.
as for PH, i didn't seem to have a problem.
but one solution is to add some oyster shell ( AKA chicken grit from pet shop suppliers)
these shells will do nothing unless the PH drops below about 4.
but when the PH drops, the acidity will dissolve the shells, releasing calcium carbonate (chalk)
and stabilizing the PH.

 

[cedric]

Hi Guys, interesting thread and I'd like to ask a question about brewing ginger beer. Given the amount of solids that go into the fermenter can these be placed into a bag and left in the fermenter during the fermentation process. I was hoping to reduce the solids issue. Or is there another way to filter out the solids. I'm preparing for my first GB brew and am a bit nervous at this point. Any help is appreciated.

i just chuck everything in TBH.
i always wonder if the solids will have enough contact with the brew if held in a hop bag.
anyway, what sinks sinks, what floats is skimmed off and the rack tube is fitted with a bazooka like mesh to stop any other bits.

 

[Paddy Melon]

Thanks Cedric, I was wondering the same thing about the contact. I intend to do my first GB tomorrow Following Hayden's Recipe above but using Champagne yeast instead. Hopefully It will be a winner with the wife otherwise back to the drawing board.