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Alcoholic ginger beer - recipe suggestions for first batch

  • 05-07-2012 9:05pm
    #1
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    I´m hoping to make some alcoholic ginger beer in about two weeks time and need a definitive recipe that I can use for the first run.

    I want to make about 20 litres and achieve an ABV of about 4%, without using a kit.

    It seems relatively easy to make it from first principles of brewing, not to mention much cheaper, but I´d like some tips on how to make it.

    Is yeast the best way to achieve this level of fermentation? I´ve been reading about ginger beer plants and kefir water grain versions but these seem to be only mildly alcoholic.

    Should I go with spray malt? Can anyone recommend any more ingredients to give it more flavour?

    What has worked for you?


«13

Comments

  • #2
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    Easy Peasy.


    The recipie i would use is as follows:

    2kg of fresh ginger root

    2kilos of sugar or malt extract

    10 lemons

    Champagne yeast


    Chop and boil the ginger in 2 litres of water.

    Dissolve the sugar in your fermentor in boiling water

    Add your lemons

    Add the ginger and boiling water

    Top up to 20 litres untill the mixture is "blood temperature"

    Pitch your yeast

    Cover.

    Leave it two weeks to ferment then strain it into a secondary vessel(preferably with a tap)...prime the mixture with sugar,leave it to settle a few days then decant it into bottles.

    Simples!


  • #3
    calvin_zola
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭calvin_zola


    do you add the lemon juice or the 10 lemons choped whole


  • #4
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    calvin_zola wrote: »
    do you add the lemon juice or the 10 lemons choped whole

    You can do either..some people report that the lemon skins give it too much "zest" whereas other people like it like that.


    I personally like the skins as the juice from even 20 lemons doesnt look like much in a 20 litre brew.

    A recipie like this is all about experimenting..you could make say 10 litres with the skins and the other 10 without and see which your prefer.

    Likewise you could make some with sugar and some with spraymalt,some people like to add cinamon or cloves..the posibilities are endless and it costs peanuts to make.


  • #5
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    Fantastic, this is exactly wat I was looking for.

    How much dextrose should I add for bottle conditioning?


  • #6
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    Ravelleman wrote: »
    Fantastic, this is exactly wat I was looking for.

    How much dextrose should I add for bottle conditioning?


    Batch prime it in your secondary..i'd say 100g of sugar mixed with warm water chucked into the brew should do it...again is all about experimenting.


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  • #7
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    Thanks, I'm really looking forward to this now!


  • #8
    calvin_zola
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭calvin_zola


    Degsy wrote: »
    You can do either..some people report that the lemon skins give it too much "zest" whereas other people like it like that.


    I personally like the skins as the juice from even 20 lemons doesnt look like much in a 20 litre brew.

    A recipie like this is all about experimenting..you could make say 10 litres with the skins and the other 10 without and see which your prefer.

    Likewise you could make some with sugar and some with spraymalt,some people like to add cinamon or cloves..the posibilities are endless and it costs peanuts to make.

    I'm going to make this in the next week or so. Thanks for the info


  • #9
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    That's similar enough to the recipe I used for mine. There was a call for some powdered ginger in mine too. Ended up a bit spicy for my liking. My own rule is 10g of sugar / dextrose at priming time per litre for a nice fizzy drink. Adjust downwards according to your taste (I like very fizzy).


  • #10
    Westwood
    Registered Users Posts: 535 ✭✭✭Westwood


    I used this today.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/11/nigel-slater-classic-ginger-beer-recipe

    pretty simple and doubled ingredients for a 5 litre plastic water bottle size fermenter. I boiled everything and added molasses sugar and will let cool for 24 hours till tomorrow and then will sieve into the fermenter and pitch yeast. leave for 2 weeks and bottle condition depending on size of bottle for a small batch like this 5 litres. Ill prob use 500ml bottles with half teaspoon in each.


  • #11
    sharingan
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭sharingan


    Ravelleman wrote: »
    Fantastic, this is exactly wat I was looking for.

    How much dextrose should I add for bottle conditioning?

    The same as for any beer, a level teaspoon for every 500ml bottle.


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  • #12
    sharingan
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭sharingan


    Ravelleman wrote: »
    I´m hoping to make some alcoholic ginger beer in about two weeks time and need a definitive recipe that I can use for the first run.

    Is yeast the best way to achieve this level of fermentation? I´ve been reading about ginger beer plants and kefir water grain versions but these seem to be only mildly alcoholic.

    Should I go with spray malt? Can anyone recommend any more ingredients to give it more flavour?

    I make a lot of alcoholic ginger beer, and I have also made it at very high strength (over 10% with unrefined cane sugar and spraymalt) and made it into wines (still and sparkling) with honey. Its a fun platform for experimenting.

    You can make it as cheap as can be with plain sugar (~€1-1.50 per 5L) but it responds very well to using better fermentables. I like my ginger beer to have a beer consistency so I favour using spraymalt in it. Its the priciest way to make it, but it is good and full of flavour. However I tend to make it around 5-5.5% ABV, in future I will make it weaker as it is normally drank chez moi after the pub. This also makes it a bit cheaper to make.

    I have good success with mixing spraymalt and unrefined cane sugar with it, this is another way to keep the costs down or bulk it up cheaply.

    I use a potato/vegetable peeler to zest the lemons, I don't add the pith. I use a food processor to blend the ginger into a pulp and then boil that. I strain the result into the fermenter and bag the pulp and lemon peel into a closed muslin bag and add it to the fermenter (you dont want ginger pulp clogging up your siphon or bottling tap).

    Also consider making beer with pure honey, especially those really interesting strong flavoured honeys.


  • #13
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    Completely forgot about my latest batch of this stuff with the result that it was almost 4 weeks in the primary..i have to say i never tasted anythinng like it,absolutely delicious.

    The colour is deep brown and there's a lovely taste of ginger and not just an overriding lemon flavour.

    My conclusion from this batch is the longer you leave in the fermentor the better it will be(by a long shot!).

    I'm gonna make another batch this week using spraymalt instead of sugar,it cant help but make it even better imo.:)


  • #14
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    Hmmm, where can I get champagne yeast?

    Also, where can I get 2kg of ginger without remortgaging the house?


  • #15
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    Ravelleman wrote: »
    Hmmm, where can I get champagne yeast?

    Also, where can I get 2kg of ginger without remortgaging the house?


    The yeast you can get online from homebrewcompany.ie...buy loads coz you're paying a fiver for delivery.

    Ginger is available in all larger tescos and its really not very expensive,mine cost about a fiver for a few big chunks of it.


  • #16
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Ravelleman wrote: »
    Also, where can I get 2kg of ginger without remortgaging the house?

    Asian shops are the best spot for a large amount like that. Lidl have recently started selling ginger at around half the price that tesco charge.


  • #17
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    Khannie wrote: »
    Asian shops are the best spot for a large amount like that. Lidl have recently started selling ginger at around half the price that tesco charge.


    Izzat so?

    Interesting..must check that out!


  • #18
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Yeah, I thought tesco were a rip for the oul' ginger.


  • #19
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    That's what I figured. There's a Lidl near my house so I'll check it out there. I'll get the champagne yeast in the home brew shop in Rathmines. I imagine they have it there.


  • #20
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Pretty sure that shop in Rathmines has closed. :(


  • #21
    engrish?
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭engrish?


    Khannie wrote: »
    Pretty sure that shop in Rathmines has closed. :(

    It has.
    Ravelleman wrote: »
    That's what I figured. There's a Lidl near my house so I'll check it out there. I'll get the champagne yeast in the home brew shop in Rathmines. I imagine they have it there.

    Ebay!

    http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Lalvin-Champagne-Yeast-EC-1118-Homebrew-/180821641837?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item2a19cf4a6d

    The fiver per delivery on homebrewwest is a killer.


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  • #22
    Ratsathome
    Registered Users Posts: 218 ✭✭Ratsathome


    The Beer Club HQ
    Next Door Off Licence
    Sundrive
    Dublin 12
    they sell homebrew stuff online or over the counter


  • #23
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    engrish? wrote: »
    The fiver per delivery on homebrewwest is a killer.

    Use teh delivery charge to get a few other things..if you're making ginger beer get some spraymalt instead of sugar,a hydrometer or some kit or other.


  • #24
    engrish?
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭engrish?


    Degsy wrote: »
    Use teh delivery charge to get a few other things..if you're making ginger beer get some spraymalt instead of sugar,a hydrometer or some kit or other.

    Yeah usually try to do that alright but I'm sometimes missing just one thing then I have to do a whole new order!


  • #25
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    What kind of OG should I be looking for here?


  • #26
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    engrish? wrote: »

    http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Lalvin-Champagne-Yeast-EC-1118-Homebrew-/180821641837?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item2a19cf4a6d

    Managed to get the last sachet of this in Next Door Off Licence as Ratsathome mentioned. Cheaper too! But thanks for the tip.

    For anyone that's interested, they also had Cooper's kits but they seemed quite pricey.

    Also, any kind of Asian market is the best bet for buying ginger. Aldi was €6.60/kg, Superquinn €4.50/kg and the Asian shop I tried was €3.30/kg. I also bought noodles while I was there. A good call.


  • #27
    engrish?
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭engrish?


    Degsy wrote: »
    Easy Peasy.


    The recipie i would use is as follows:

    2kg of fresh ginger root

    2kilos of sugar or malt extract

    10 lemons

    Champagne yeast


    Hey - I am going to make this at the weekend. I am going to make it in a 1 Gallon carboy. Shound I divide everything by 5 to get 4 litres? That would give me .5l space for the head etc. Do I still use an entire sachet of yeast?

    So:

    0.5kg Fresh Ginger Root

    0.4kg Muntons Spraymalt (Medium is all I have) or 0.4kg Dextrose?

    2.5 Lemons

    1 Sachet of Champagne Yeast

    Would that work or should I make a change?


  • #28
    engrish?
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭engrish?


    engrish? wrote: »
    Hey - I am going to make this at the weekend. I am going to make it in a 1 Gallon carboy. Shound I divide everything by 5 to get 4 litres? That would give me .5l space for the head etc. Do I still use an entire sachet of yeast?

    So:

    0.5kg Fresh Ginger Root

    0.4kg Muntons Spraymalt (Medium is all I have) or 0.4kg Dextrose?

    2.5 Lemons

    1 Sachet of Champagne Yeast

    Would that work or should I make a change?

    Can anyone help me out here? Hoping to buy the supplies today!


  • #29
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    engrish? wrote: »
    Can anyone help me out here? Hoping to buy the supplies today!

    That looks fine..you should get a nice strong brew from that!

    If anything you could make up to 10 litres with those ingredients,i would say chuck in a kilo extra of sugar and another 4 lemons though.


  • #30
    engrish?
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭engrish?


    Degsy wrote: »
    That looks fine..you should get a nice strong brew from that!

    If anything you could make up to 10 litres with those ingredients,i would say chuck in a kilo extra of sugar and another 4 lemons though.

    Deadly - thanks!


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  • #31
    Degsy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,397 ✭✭✭✭Degsy


    engrish? wrote: »
    Deadly - thanks!


    Get going then and let us know how you get on!:)


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