Ginger Beer recipes: What's your secret?

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Having recently moved to the country I thought I'd try my hand at the obligatory process of brewing my own home grown Ginger Beer. I'm yet to try the first batch (due for first sip next Monday ) and I have already modified the feeding of my "bug" which now produces lovely big bubbles and a wonderful heady aroma , but I'd like to know what others are doing to grow their "bugs" and share a few secrets as to the final bottling recipe.


Here's mine;
Bug/Plant:
1.5 cups of water (tank), 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of ground ginger. Feed with 2 teaspoons of ginger every day for seven days. After 7 days it's ready (assuming of course it starts to bubble and I don't have to start over again)

Bottle the Brew:
2 cups of sugar, disolved in 10 cups of boiling water and then 20 cups of cold water (makes about 10 750ml bottles). Add well strained juice of 4 lemons. Strain juiced from the bug through a cloth and then add to the water/sugar mixture. Bottle and let stand for 14 days. Halve plant and start again with water and ginger.

Now I found this method a wimpy on the bubbles so for the second batch of Bug, I've modified my feeding to 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of ginger for 10 days to try to strengthen the mix. I also had a sip of the previous water/sugar/bug juice mix before bottling (who doesn't ) and it seemed a bit...well...insipid. I like a GB that scratches the back of the throat on its way down The problem now is I've got the next batch of Bug ready to go and no bottles to put it in. Guess I'll just have to halve it and start again until I have enough bottles.

What's your secret?

[Suzy_A]

What's this got to do with Astronomy?

1) Use proper beer or wine yeast, not bread yeast or whatever is floating around in the air at the time.

2) Add a tiny bit of chilli...

3) Bottle in plastic bottles only - wanna see my 2" scar from using glass bottles?

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

What's this got to do with Astronomy?

After a hard days yakka and I'm sitting under the stars while my camera is imaging, there is nothing like a nice cold glass of GB. Of course unless it's the middle of winter and then I'll settle for tea.

Use proper beer or wine yeast,

Only one of the recipes I've looked at mentions yeast.

Bottle in plastic bottles only - wanna see my 2" scar from using glass bottles?

I'm using the original Bunderburg GB bottles and have then stored well away from anything delicate, like my body. But, yes I agree plastic would be better. Guess I'll just have to drink some of that horrible stuff they call "soft" drink. Yuck!

So care to share the specifics of your bug and brew Suzy?

[rmcpb (Rob)]

Yep, use a white wine yeast available from any good brewing shop

[matt]

Ahhhhh.....a tiny bit of chilli...!!!

I always thought there was a little 'spice' in the flavour of ginger beer but wondered how it was achieved.

I really enjoy ginger beer. So will be keeping a close eye on this thread.

Thanks in advance to everyone who offers up their recipes.

Good thread, Ponders

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I lost the taste for alcohol about 2 years ago (funnily enough when I gave up smoking ) and GB filled the space wonderfully. Now its my preferred drink of choice.

[leon]

We tried that once Paul and obviously didn't strictly to the recipe. most of the bottles exploded, luck we had them stored in the shed.

Leon

[Nightshift]

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

What's your secret?

A gorgeous volumptuous red head and a can of Fosters.

[acropolite (Phil)]

Oooh Paul.... home made ginger beer, I haven't tasted that since I was a kid. The sad thing is that our kids don't like Ginger. We have a jar of crystallised ginger in the pantry, it goes very nicely with hot tea in place of a biscuit and HRH Liz frequently uses ginger in stir fries. I might have a bash at your recipe since I'm almost qualified as a country resident....

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

Haven't had a real ginger beer in a long time, just the Bundaberg stuff from the supermarket. Ginger is great in cooking, try it on fish sometime, yummy.
The crystal stuff is very nice dipped in chocolate to

Bill

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

@ acropolite.

If the thread becomes popular maybe we can talk Mike into making it's own forum

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by Suzy_A

What's this got to do with Astronomy?

1) Use proper beer or wine yeast, not bread yeast or whatever is floating around in the air at the time.

2) Add a tiny bit of chilli...

3) Bottle in plastic bottles only - wanna see my 2" scar from using glass bottles?

everything Suzy - i enjoy having a chat to Paul at 2 in the morning having a ginger beer at Astrofest

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I'd forgotten all about that, and it was damn cold at the time as well. From memory we had to put the ginger beer in the freezer to warm it up enought to drinK.

So that's what happened to Dennis. He had been drinking the too cold GB when he started talking to my losmandy mount thinking it was me.

[dannat (Daniel)]

here is a small recipe:
1 cup sugar, 1/4 teasp dried yeast, 1-2 Tblsp fresh ginger, juice one lemon
Use plastic bottle as yeast produce gas & we want to avoid exploding bottles (unless your neighbour has a bigger scope than you & you want him to waste time cleaning)
#Pour the sugar into lean 2L plastic bottle(eg sot drink
#add dried yeast and shake.
#grate the ginger very finely & place in a cup/jug
# add as much lemon juice as you like to the ginger & then add this mix to the bottle.{can add the chilli if you wish}
#fill the bottle with fesh/filtered water leaving two inch gap for the gas to collect(yeast have to breath too)
#give bottle mix to ensure sugar is dissolved
# leave in slightly warm place for 1-2 days to get the yeast wrking
# when the bottle is hard to squeeze, place in fridge
#strain ginger if you wish

courtesy csiro
cheers daniel

[GrahamL]

What's your secret?

sadly paul a bottle budrim ginger mixer ..some ice cubes ..and soda water
stirred and not shaken

my father used to make some nice ones years ago ..I'm sure two of my boys grabbed the wrong bottle once when they were young..and were a little light headed when they were done

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Yummy,I like the sound of that one Daniel. I've been looking for one that uses fresh ginger. But I might swap your dried yeast for fresh brewers yeast if I can get some.

And if you leave it abit longer, what's the alcohol content.

[rally]

Ahhh . . . - this brings back some great childhood memories !

My Grandfather's recipe was similar to the first one (I think)
I recall feeding a big cloudy erupting ginger yeast ball in a preserving jar as a kid at one time.

The only difference I can recall was that we placed two dried sultanas into each bottle at the time it was bottled with some squeezed lemon -
The sultana either replaced the external yeast fermentation process entirely and the mixture was just a sweet gingery mix or it aided the process - sorry I cant remember any more.
There always seemed to be a bit of lemon flesh at the top of the bottle too.

But I will hunt down a recipe from relatives and see if I can make some myself - its still my favourite drink - over everything else

I remember taking some bottles to primary school as a show and tell and spent my recess break cleaning glass shrapnel and a sticky mess from the cupboard and floors when 2-3 bottles exploded overnight !

Rally

[Suzy_A]

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

Only one of the recipes I've looked at mentions yeast.

The GB 'plant' relies on fermentation which produces the 'plant' froth and alcohol and this (the alcohol) is what is necessary to extract the ginger flavour.

The fizz in the final product is also a result of the yeast fermentation and 'real' GB is about 0.5 - 1% alcohol - but unless you drink huge amount, this amount has no noticable effect, sobriety wise, that is.

Some recipes (such as the CWA) call for yeast -usually bread yeast as these are, or were, readily available- to be added. Otherwise it just uses the natual yeasts that are floating around in the air.

If you use a 'real' beer or wine yeast instead, you get a much better tasting GB. It's one of the reasons that Orstrahleehun (and other whines from non-traditional whine areas) taste better (some would say different...) to whines from the traditional whine producing areas such as France, Germany, Italy etc that often use the natural air-borne yeast. Mind you, in these areas the 'natural' yeasts are not really 'natural', rather 'ferals' due to the couple of thousand years of unnatural selection from the vineyards.

As for BB bottles - I would still use plastic fantastic. As far as I know, the BB is sterilised (to kill the yeast) and then artificially gassed to a specified pressure. If you get it wrong, the bottles may explode... believe me - I know from experience what they can do...

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Thanks for the info Suzy, especially about the importance of the yeast. I was expecting much more bubbling with mine and I am getting there, but it is certainly nothing like a froth. I'm off today to get some yeast I guess the % of alcohol will also depend on the amount of sugar used as well.

Now to search out a supply of plastic bottles.

[gmbfilter (Geoff)]

Small to large glass of wild turkey, at random intervals during the process. Absolutely no help whatsoever.
I have tried this recipe several times with complete lack of ginger beer
Good Luck and Good Night