Kit Ginger Beer

[gravey]

I guess the first 2 points are really applicable to adding sugar in general. Both dex and table sugar will lighten and thin the beer, so your points are valid.

I'm not sure if you are 100% correct about the fermentability, but I see I am incorrect about the higher ABV - both dex and table sugar are 100% fermentable, the only difference being table sugar will take longer as the fructose needs to be converted.

When brewing extract, the information I have read still tends to suggest to use dex due to the cidery taste, though this isnt an issue with AG.

Next time I make this ginger beer I'll try table sugar and see if I notice a difference compared to dex, both in ferment time and flavour.

 

[Luek]

I'm thinking I may boil another 500g or so raw sugar in a day or two, chill and add. I'd rather have rocket fuel than mid strength stuff.

What sort of alcohol % can cooper's yeast usually tolerate?

Edit: did a search, best I could find is "most brewer's yeasts tolerate about 10% abv". If true, then that's not a concern.

 

[manticle]

the differences between table sugar and dextrose are well documented.

- less body
- produces a lighter colour
- longer ferment/chance of stuck ferment (unless you invert the sugars yourself)
- results in higher ABV than dex
- can give a cidery taste when used in large amounts (debatable but the info out there suggests you increase your chances of cidery flavours)

Yeasts preferred food is glucose, so why feed it sucrose?

for priming its fine, but personally I avoid it for brewing

Where is this well documented?

Sorry, but I also disagree very strongly with a lot* of what you have written here.

*actually almost all. The bit you suggest is debatable is the only one that has a possible relationship to reality. How does dex give more colour, body or less abv than table sugar, white sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar etc?

Yeast's preferred food? We'd prefer, as brewers, to feed it maltose and a maltose based beer with too much sugar added too early 'may' stall because the yeast loses the ability to digest maltose - a possible explanation for where point 3 comes from but it needs clarification. Sugar doesn't necessarily cause a stuck or longer fermentation period and I'm not sure in that case that dex makes any difference.

 

[bum]

I'm thinking I may boil another 500g or so raw sugar in a day or two, chill and add. I'd rather have rocket fuel than mid strength stuff.

What sort of alcohol % can cooper's yeast usually tolerate?

Edit: did a search, best I could find is "most brewer's yeasts tolerate about 10% abv". If true, then that's not a concern.

I couldn't put a more accurate figure than the one you've already found but I can tell you from experience that the Coopers GB yeast will tolerate alc level higher than what you are talking about.

What I would suggest, however, is that since this is your first one, leave it as is and see how you go for the next one. Your recipe definitely won't come in around the mid-strength mark (be aware that GBs ferment lover than beer so a slightly lower OG still ends up with a higher %). Also, GBs tend to get drunk a bit more like lemonade than beer - headbanger GBs mess you up.

 

[Luek]

Eh, how long should this ferment take? It's still bubbling every minute or two.

I know bubble can pop due to temperature etc. Should I be concerned or just bottle it?