The Perfect Bundaberg Ginger Beer Clone!

[drsmurto]

I don't like the sounds of this recipe. All you're doing is trying to ferment the sugar in a cordial. "Backlane Brewery" did a few experimental brews using Coke, Passiona etc. and I think Seth had a crack too. All turned out pretty average at best.

I doubt it's "The Perfect Bundaberg Ginger Beer Clone" too, being dry and not sweet; you'd be better off using a kit designed for brewing purposes IMO.

I've brewed a ripper GB (thanks Doc!) but it tastes nothing like Bundaberg and I believe anything fermented to produce a reasonable alcohol level will yield a result vastly different to the non-alcoholic BBGB.

I agree NRB. Bundy GB is a super sweet drink. Fermentation converts sugar to alcohol so any sugar you put it will be gone by the end of fermentations.

there are only 2 methods i can think of (no doubt there are more) to make a fermented drink sweet that doesnt involve mixing post fermentation.

1. Artificial sweeteners.
2. Lactose or any other non-fermentable sugars.

I dont like either option so i accept my GB is dry and add lemonade post fermentation if i want it to be sweet, more often than not i dont.

my 2 c.
DrSmurto

 

[FazerPete]

there are only 2 methods i can think of (no doubt there are more) to make a fermented drink sweet that doesnt involve mixing post fermentation.

1. Artificial sweeteners.
2. Lactose or any other non-fermentable sugars.

If you are kegging, then there's a third option of adding a sugar syrup to the keg. As long as it's kept cold, it won't ferment so it retains it's sweetness.

I do this all the time and it works a treat.

 

[Prawned]

Here is mine after 5 days in the fermenter.







SG is down to 0.096, and its still going strong by the looks of it. Its really cloudy, but i dont mind its GB after all :beerbang: Taste kinda like BBGB, Cant wait to drink the final product.

 

[FazerPete]

Its really cloudy, but i dont mind its GB after all :beerbang: Taste kinda like BBGB, Cant wait to drink the final product.

Don't wait for it to clear because it won't. I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks.

 

[petesbrew]

Gotta love my mum, as much as she annoys me.
She dug out of her cookbooks her 30 year old ginger beer recipe she used to make for us as kids.

Shall give it a crack once my fermenters are empty, then once I know it's good, i'll attempt to alcoholise it!
(who knows it probably already was!) :blink:

 

[0M39A]

I've got a few homebrew ginger beer recipes that i used to make a while back that i can dig up if you want.

the kind that you need to make a "plant" up first, and the yeast comes from sultanas

 

[Blackfish]

...I'll probably have a stab at the thai beer again some time, with galangal this time. The trick is the chillies too, it's hard to get the balance right. They wouldn't be essential though. Pm me a reminder if you want to know how much of stuff I put in, I don't think I have it here...

Cheers

Ben

Ok, Inspired by this thread and a wander down the 'freaky lane' of my local fresh fruit & veg markets I decided to experiment with Galangal in a ginger beer.

Send in the clowns...


Galangal on the left & ginger to the right here.

Its a relative of Ginger with a different, milder flavour WIKIPEDIA
I cook a mean Prawn Laksa with this stuff, it IS quite a different flavour to the ginger we know, almost floral aroma.

That said, I really like the ‘bite” of a HB GB so I wont be chucking the traditional ginger all together, I am settled on 1/3 Galangal and 2/3 Ginger as a starting point to see if it works.

Recepie (based loosely on Brissybrew’s published elsewhere)

250g Fresh Grated Galangal
500g fresh grated Ginger root
1 cinnamon stick
8 cloves
1 lemon, juice + a few scrapes of zest
1 Lime (anything is good with lime) juice + a few scrapes of zest
2kg raw sugar
500g LDME
US 56
5L water (for Boil)
~10L water (in fermenter to total vol 18L)



STEP1 Grate ginger. I am lazy and seeing its only 9.30pm and SWMBO is JUST gone to bed, I break out my little friend OSKAR the ancient, noisy, angry blender.



STEP1.5 OSKAR enjoyed the ginger but the galangal is quite a bit more ‘fibrous’ Those damn asian roots nearly killed him!



Assembled, ready to go

Step 2 COMBINE everything and go for the boil. I needed 2 pots to dissolve all the sugars. I will break out the big AG pot next time and go for a boil volume of about 10L


60min boil

On a whim I added 200g spare ginger at 30mins for ‘aroma’



Step 3 Strain into fermenter, chill if you must, and pitch a hydrated US56 sachet



OG was 1044, by morning it was chugging like a train.

Now, 4 days on, gravity is around 1012 Think I will rack it before bottling at the weekend.

Initial tastes are encouraging, you can taste the floral Galagal without missing out on too much ginger bite. There is still a fair bit of sweetness but I think this will dry out after the secondary finishes. It is also quite a bit clearer than I expected. Certainly lighter in colour than the kits I have done in the past.

Seems to be a few GBs on the go at the moment, ‘flavour of the month’ almost. Good stuff, will post the finalverdict when it comes out of bottles in 2 weeks.

FHG

 

[Prawned]

here is my GB now, it taste bloody fantastic! Very low on fizz and kicks like a mule!

 

[Enerjex]

gday prawned, what is the alc % of the brew you've done? Also has it retained any sweetness or is it dry? and how's yours going fhgwgads? quite interested in making a nice alcoholic ginger beer.

 

[Prawned]

gday prawned, what is the alc % of the brew you've done? Also has it retained any sweetness or is it dry? and how's yours going fhgwgads? quite interested in making a nice alcoholic ginger beer.

Im not sure what the alc % is, but its gotta be kinda highish.. Its rather dry, and has a good ginger bite too it. Next time i will be sure to add the real ginger as well