Brew UK Forum | General Brewing Discussions
The fermenting process
Before I started my first ale brew recently, I made a batch of ginger beer using a kit which comprised a sachet of yeast and a packet of ground ginger. Lovely stuff it was, too. However, I was assured that the result would be non-alcoholic (which was true) but I am wondering why that should be the case, given that yeast and sugar start the process off. Isn't alcohol always produced as part of the fermenting process?
Planning: Best of British Ale, Another Tweaked Wherry
Fermenting: Woodforde's Nog
Conditioning: EDME Irish Stout, Highland Heavy Ale
Drinking: EDME Irish Stout, Highland Heavy Ale
Fermenting: Woodforde's Nog
Conditioning: EDME Irish Stout, Highland Heavy Ale
Drinking: EDME Irish Stout, Highland Heavy Ale
Responses
Posted 10 months ago by Moderator
Er.... yes.... I thought so too. You would need to know the recipe to give an accurate answer, but as far as I know, yeast munches sugar and turns it into alcohol and CO2, unless of course you have a very clever strain of yeast which has bottled all the alcohol and spirited it away for a party at a later date. Did you have to add sugar to the recipe? and what was the Starting Gravity and the Final Gravity?
Planning: - To get some more brews on now the weather's a bit cooler
Fermenting: - Ginger Beer experiment
Conditioning: - A normal bitter with Styrians
Drinking: - All of it!!
E-mail: arnyfris@gmail.com
Posted 10 months ago by Moderator
Yep, I must know about this kit. Sounds too strange, if it uses yeast and sugar then its gonna produce alcohol. If it just uses yeat then its gonna produce gingerbeer with no point of adding the yeast!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 10 months ago by Member
Well, it's a kit made by Tobar, which is widely marketed in catalogues like Hawkin's Bazaar, which is aimed at children. The instructions are at http://www.tobar.co.uk/doc/ginger_beer.html. Maybe it does ferment but then it gets so diluted to be effectively alcohol-free. The makers confirmed that the result is non-alcoholic and it certainly didn't affect my children who drank it.
Fermenting: Woodforde's Nog
Conditioning: EDME Irish Stout, Highland Heavy Ale
Drinking: EDME Irish Stout, Highland Heavy Ale
Posted 10 months ago by Admin
Yeah that an old skool ginger beer recipe, I think its called a ginger plant when you feed it up like that.
There won't be any alcohol as the hot water will kill the yeast before the bulk of the sugar is added so it won't ferment and will just be a sugary, gingery drink.
Sounds quite nice.
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