Brew UK Forum | General Brewing Discussions
Ginger Beer
Hi
Last year I made a batch of Ginger Beer which I got mixed reviews for, basically most comments back were that it was far too dry and most of my friends added lemonade to make it more sweet. can anyone give me any ideas on how to make the brew more sweet straight from the bottle
Cheers
Steve
Responses
Posted 11 months ago by Member
One option is to add non-fermentable sweetners(sugar substitute) but I wouldn't consider this if you can taste the difference between say, coke & diet coke.
You could look into using campden tablets to kill off all yeast activity, and leave behind some sugars, but this gets in the way of your bottle fermentation.
Personally I would make it in small batches and drink within a couple of weeks, before it dries out too much.
Posted 11 months ago by Moderator
You could also add some sweetener in the glass when serving if its too dry, that should do the trick
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 11 months ago by Member
I kind of have this problem with a batch I just made. I followed the recipe from this website but halved everything for a smaller amount. When it came to adding the yeast I Think I may have added a bit too much and now it is very dry and tastes quite bitter.
Fermenting: Nawt.
Conditioning:First Ginger Beer.
Drinking: Way To Amarillo.
Posted 11 months ago by Member
As it's based on sugar. It will just keep on fermenting until it's eaten it all, getting fizzier, drier & stronger. Once it gets to the desired stage you'll have to halt yeast activity somehow.
Keeping it in a fridge would be another way.
Posted 11 months ago by Member
Think I should have done that then and popped it into the fridge after about 8 days. Started at 1.044 and ended up at 0.995. It's now pretty much undrinkable!
Fermenting: Nawt.
Conditioning:First Ginger Beer.
Drinking: Way To Amarillo.
Posted 11 months ago by Member
it will be. mine takes on a very nasty smell and taste just at end of fermentation. but this goes after a week or 2. but it will still be very dry so add sugar to drink. i chill it in a 5 liter bottle first (as much as i want to drink that day) and then add 100-200g of sugar per 5 liters disolved in a little boiling water (i use a mug from dish washer in the microwave for this).
(i also used the recipe from this site and it tastes good, it just leaves out these details)
Posted 11 months ago by Member
can someone confirm: (i dont wanna get into the maths) but is the og-fg x 131 equation good for fermenting below 1.000? my ginger beer ferms down to 0.993 or lower. so i want 1.022 - 0.993 x 131 for just over 4%, right? it accounts for alcohol density at near zero sugar as well as sugar density at near zero, or relatively small, alcohol content, right? and it dont matter if you pass right through 1.0 to hell and back?
Posted 11 months ago by Member
Very many thanks for all the conversation and ideas around this. Just to let you know I made the brew last Summer(Full batch of 40pts) and it kept amazingly well until the last bottle was downed a few weeks back. I think I will do it again the same way to maintain the alcohol content (mine finished at a little below 6%) and just have a bottle of lemonade to sweeten it off if required. I found that the taste of my friends was very very different, the Vicker added a good quantity of lemonade but the Scout Leaders I know loved it straight out the bottle :twisted:.
Next thing is to convince the wife that the house smelling of ginger for a few days is worth while for the end product
Posted 11 months ago by Member
I have just started my first batch of ginger beer using the recipe off this site. It has been a week and I have strained the ginger and lemon out.
Now - this will perhaps seem an odd question, but how do people strain the pulp out - I sterilised a single quilt cover and poured the mixture through it - effective but very messy. It worked very well though.
Do I need to worry about it going too dry - I will be storing it in a pressurised barrel for about 3 months (I cannot see it lasting any longer than that)
Cheers
Ian
Posted 11 months ago by Member
er...i use muslin gauze on a syphone tube which looks no finer than a sieve. yes it will be dry.
Posted 11 months ago by Moderator
Lots of people add a sweetener to a glass when drinking to take the edge off.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 11 months ago by Member
post 7, anyone?
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