Windsor Yeast In A Ginger Beer?

[Mr. No-Tip]

I put my first ginger beer down earlier this year, all ginger, with honey and dex fermentables. No kit involved. I used Nottingham and it finished way lower than I'd hoped....1.001. Very dry and high in alcohol.

I decided to try a Copper Tun kit this time, and I do have the option of adding some lactose to keep it sweet, but I thought yeast choice might also be a factor, so....

Does yeast attenuation behave the same for a simple sugar brew as it would for an all grain beer? If so, arguably Windsor should leave a sweeter ginger beer? Might it leave it too sweet? I doubt a 1020 ginger beer would be all that refreshing on a hot day.

I realise I am comparing it to a home made recipe without any lactose, so maybe a kit with some lactose would be ok with a more normally attenuative yeast...

 

[hobartbrewer]

I put my first ginger beer down earlier this year, all ginger, with honey and dex fermentables. No kit involved. I used Nottingham and it finished way lower than I'd hoped....1.001. Very dry and high in alcohol.

I decided to try a Copper Tun kit this time, and I do have the option of adding some lactose to keep it sweet, but I thought yeast choice might also be a factor, so....

Does yeast attenuation behave the same for a simple sugar brew as it would for an all grain beer? If so, arguably Windsor should leave a sweeter ginger beer? Might it leave it too sweet? I doubt a 1020 ginger beer would be all that refreshing on a hot day.

I realise I am comparing it to a home made recipe without any lactose, so maybe a kit with some lactose would be ok with a more normally attenuative yeast...

Have you considered a sweet and high in alcohol variety? Bakers yeast or bread yeast tends to hit the lowest threshold of around 12-14% . If you add enough sugar for 18% alcohol and use such a yeast you should have a sweet and high alcoholic drink. Most beer yeasts tend to hit the same limit I believe.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Have you considered a sweet and high in alcohol variety?

I get that pretty well from my JAO mead....has it's place, but I am definitely looking for something around 5% for a summer GB though.

 

[super_simian]

Does yeast attenuation behave the same for a simple sugar brew as it would for an all grain beer?

AFAIK, no. Any yeast from Windsor to US05 will chew through simple sugars no worries, and not finish 'till there's nothing left. They only start behaving differently once longer chain sugars are in the mix. There's no real safe way to create a sweet, bottle carbonated fermented beverage of any kind.

I make "low-alcohol" GB with ginger beer crystals from the UK, and it works, but I still bottle in PET, keep refrigerated once carbonated and consume quickly. It is very, very nice 'tho, even better than Bundaberg GB IMHO...and the lactic bacteria component is good for the guts!