why oh why would anyone make ginger beer? waste of good sugar and water

[spotarama]

i just made a batch using the brigalow can,about 18L water instead of the 21L it recommends, the recommended brown sugar and extra grated ginger
as i hate ginger in all forms except in food i only made it for others and they pronounce it to have the correct taste but after 3 weeks in the bottle its still not fizzy
i wouldn't have thought the changes i made to the recipe would have affected the gaseousness of the finished product, just the taste and strength ( i think it was going to work out some where in the 6 - 7 % from the hydrometer numbers)
any ideas anyone?
to be honest i still think my drunk mates will consume it but it would be good to have some idea for next time

 

[onemorecell]

i hate ginger in all forms

probly not a good idea making ginger beer then...

if you do make it again, try this https://wellnessmama.com/8942/ginger-bug/

 

[Maheel]

cool weather may have slowed your bottle fermentation
back in the day my bottler GB took a while to get fizzy when it was cooler temps

did you put sugar in each bottle ?
what size bottles and how much sugar each when bottling ?

i used to make heaps, the friday night crew would come over and smash it, never chip in for brews and then call me a cheap *** HB'er....
one funny night one guy suggested "ill be right to drive" got out of his chair and fell over and had to crawl off to the couch.... GB had caught up with him

 

[Drewgong]

I just brewed my first ginger beer 2 days ago i hope it turns out ok
2kg fresh peeled ginger
3 whole lemons
3 whole limes
3 whole chillis
3kg of dextrose\light malt
started with 15 litres of water at a rolling put all the ginger lemons limes and chilli through the blender and turned it to pulp added to the boil let boil for 20mins added dextrose/light malt at flame out. Poured it through a hop spider into the fermenter added water till 21 litres and pitched champagne yest when cooled.
How does this sound?
im hoping it turns out at least drinkable

 

[MHB]

why oh why would anyone make ginger beer? waste of good sugar and water

Well because if you get it right it tastes F'n Amazing!
Mark

 

[Hangover68]

I just brewed my first ginger beer 2 days ago i hope it turns out ok
2kg fresh peeled ginger
3 whole lemons
3 whole limes
3 whole chillis
3kg of dextrose\light malt
started with 15 litres of water at a rolling put all the ginger lemons limes and chilli through the blender and turned it to pulp added to the boil let boil for 20mins added dextrose/light malt at flame out. Poured it through a hop spider into the fermenter added water till 21 litres and pitched champagne yest when cooled.
How does this sound?
im hoping it turns out at least drinkable

How did it turn out ?

 

[Drewgong]

How did it turn out ?

**** lol.... lemons and limes are a bad idea its all i can taste with a chilli after taste. And i cant get it to hold carbonation

 

[Flash_DG]

probly not a good idea making ginger beer then...

if you do make it again, try this https://wellnessmama.com/8942/ginger-bug/

There is so much wrong with what she does in that link, what she makes is not a Ginger Beer Plant at all.

 

[onemorecell]

thank you for that very insightful & useful post.

 

[peterlonz]

If you get the recipe right GB can turn out well.
Not everyone wants to swig beer, wives & young kids enjoy GB, but of course you need to not overdo the ABV if kids will be drinking.
I can offer my recipe which works, but is made to suit my tastes, so it's a quite strong Ginger flavour, that tends to bite the back of your tongue.

 

[Ferment8]

I would like to see your recipe @peterlonz
I have been making the powderkeg recipe and quite enjoy it. I have an all grain ginger beer going at the moment, due to be kegged tomorrow. I would like to find the best i can so i can keep brewing it. The missus really likes ginger beer and i don't mind it either
Cheers

 

[nifty]

If you are into all grain or extract, have a read through this -
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ginger-ale-3rd-place-2009-hbt-bjcp-comp.141080/

I make a variation of this blokes all grain recipe and it is, as Mark says, F'n Amazing. You wouldnt know you were drinking an all grain beer, not sweet but not too dry either. My last recipe came in at 6.9% and could have done with a bit more of a ginger bite but was a very drinkable drink, though it did sneak up on you a bit if you had too many. Even my missus liked it and she hates beer.

cheers
nifty

 

[peterlonz]

Happy to provide my recipe & notes.
Lets hope I can do this file upload success fully.