alcoholic ginger beer

[CATpAW Brewing]

hey folks,

 

intending to put down an alcoholic ginger beer for the 1st time this coming weekend. Would like to hear from anyone with a favourite recipe for a 4 - 5% brew.

 

 

 

thanks

[AussieJosh]

I made this as per instruction. turned out really nice....if you want more alc just add twice the recomended amount of raw sugar i say....Or Paul will tell you what to do.

[PB2]

A few people have tried the Ginger Beer recipe with 2kg of raw sugar. For a 20litre brew, this should bump the alcohol content up toward nearly 6%ABV!

[Muddy Waters]

I've done it with with 1.5kg of raw sugar to bump up the alcohol a bit. It was ok but has a harshness to the taste that doesn't sit well with me (and I'm not talking about the bite of the ginger).

 

 

 

In desperation one evening I found that by adding a about 20% pepsi max to the ginger beer it made it more palatable. But of course this dilutes the alcohol.

 

 

 

I've been trying to think of how I can brew it again to about 5% but make it so it is enjoyable on it's own. Maybe different fermentables and some fresh ginger???

[PB2]

I must admit that it's not a brew that I have done much experimentation with :oops:

 

 

 

You could try it with 1 kg of Raw Sugar and 500g of Light Dry Malt.

[Muddy Waters]

Hi Paul - Why is raw sugar recommended for the ginger beer? What does it impart that differs to dextrose or even LDM?

 

 

 

(As my question suggests I really know nothing about what to expect from different fermentables)

[PB2]

I think the idea with Raw Sugar is to give it a little bit of something without increasing the body, like LDME would.

[Muddy Waters]

How do you think dextrose would work in comparison to raw sugar Paul?

[Muddy Waters]

Did you end up doing a GB CATpAW?

 

 

 

If so what recipe did you use?

[CATpAW Brewing]

hey Muddy,

 

yep, put down a ginger beer last weekend. Expect to be bottling tomorrow.

 

Used the following recipe to 20lt:

 

-can Coppers GB

 

-1kg raw sugar

 

- 1 kg BE2 ( for extra body & ABV)

 

- 100g grated fresh ginger

 

 

 

Looks, smells and tastes like ginger beer with a good mid pallete bite from the extra ginger

 

 

 

Got a double Premium Aus Bitter on the go as well, and am exploring the site for inspiration for another single batch to put down this weekend. Maybe an "Areeba Cerveza", an IPA, or another of my world famous "CatPiss" (Lager base, Nelson Sauvin hops & Wyeast 1388)

[Muddy Waters]

Have you had a taste yet CATpAW? If not let us know how it turned out when you do.

 

 

 

I want to do a GB to put aside with my Xmas stockpile but still can't decide what to add to it (apart from extra ginger).

[CATpAW Brewing]

hey Muddy - yep, tried a couple now. I quite like it. It pours well, has a good head and a clean flavour though with quite a spicy, almost chilli back pallet note to it. The extra fermentables and consequential alchohol content (approx. 4.5%) means that it does the trick as well! My only criticism of it is that its a bit too cloudy.

 

 

 

I really don't have any points of comparison though as I couldn't find any alchoholic GBs at my local Dan Murphy's. Remember a mate's old man making it when I was kid, but I was more interested in getting a buzz than I was taking tasting notes.

 

 

 

I'll be doing the same recipe again, though am likely to try and clear it up by using finings and/or chilling it down for a couple of days before bottling

[D-Lock]

Hey muddy, I've done a brew of ginger beer with a kilo of white sugar and added another kilo, 500g at a time over 2 days, turned out so well it was gone within a fortnight (my mates and family loved it as well as me) so i made another batch. the full recipe was only:

 

 

 

one colony west ginger beer kit

 

2kgs of white sugar

 

made to 23L

 

primed with 2 coopers carbonation drops

 

and i let it settle for a month

 

 

 

but as i said i added the 2nd kilo to the brew half at a time over 2 days.

 

no idea what the alc. volume is because the adding of more sugar screws with the hydrometer reading...

[Muddy Waters]

I finally got around to doing a GB last weekend.

 

 

 

Here is my recipe:

 

 

 

Cooper\u2019s Ginger Beer kit

 

500gms LDM

 

1kg dextrose

 

500g Raw sugar

 

250g Ginger

 

1 cinnamon stick

 

10 cloves

 

2 lemons (Juice & Zest only)

 

 

 

Made to 19L

 

 

 

I'm going to leave it another week but did a gravity check and had a small taste. It tastes better than my last attempt (which was as per kit instructions but with the sugar doubled). I'm not sure if the lemons, cloves or cinnamon add anything - Time will tell.

 

 

 

I'll report back with how it turns out.

[PaulC111]

Hi All,

 

I have tried a few different recipes with my GB's.

 

The best so far is also one of the most basic.

 

1 x Coopers Ginger Beer Kit

500gms ORGANIC raw sugar

1 large chunck of ginger shaved (change the size of the ginger to taste it may take a few brew's to find your preference)

1 x large red capsicum.

 

Method:

 

First and simply follow the Cooper's ginger beer kit's instructions.

Get a large saucepan and put enough filtered water in to cover both the capsicum and ginger.

Bring to the boil and add both capsicum and ginger.

leave boiling for approx 5-10 mins, but not too long to take the taste out of the capsicum

Remove and cut capsicum into small squares removing the seeds, add to the fermenter.

Slice the ginger into fermenter I found that resonable size slices works best. (dont remove skin)

Let the boiled water cool enough to add it to the fermenter

 

I left in for about 10 days but check gravity levels.

Bottled and left for a further 21 days

 

Has an amazing bite after taste that your pallett will scream for more.

 

 

[PaulC111]

Hi Guys,

 

Correct me if i'm wrong but have been doing quite a bit of reading up on sugar levels vs yeasts's...

 

from what I have found adding more sugar to the stanard yeast does nothing to the alcohol levels, it just makes it sweeter!!

 

The chemical reaction between the yeast and the sugar gives the alcohol levels, so from what I have read the yeast can only reach a level of alcohol which is almost pre-set in the yeast's structure.

 

To achieve higher alcohol levels a differnet yeast is required.

 

Hope it helps. Let me know

 

Cheers

[PB2]

Yeast metabolises sugar (glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, etc.), creating CO2, Ethanol (alcohol) and other bi-products.

 

Add more sugar and produce more alcohol...

 

THE CATCH - alcohol is a toxin to yeast, so as yeast chews up the sugars and the environment becomes more toxic, the yeast becomes stressed and may perish. Different yeast strains have different levels of tolerance to alcohol.

[LukeM1]

I just made an alcoholic ginger beer, intending a 5% abv just like you're wanting!

I used the Coopers Ginger Beer can with 2kg dextrose (not normal raw sugar)... The can instructions say for an ABV of around 3% use 1kg sugar/dextrose, so by doubling it should give about 5%.

I went into a specialist brewing store to get the dextrose and ask questions, and the guy said to make it as per instructions, but with 2kg dex and a final volume of around 18L.

 

I did this and now it has been fermenting for about 7 days. I had a taste of a sample I took for testing and it actually tasted really good! That was only at about 4 - 5 days fermenting.

 

I'd say just stick with Coopers GB can + 2kg dextrose/sugar and you'll be right. Just let it ferment down enough before you bottle (use a brewing calculator and your hydrometer to measure alc level, which means you MUST get the Original Gravity before fermentation)

 

Here's a good brewing calculator you can use to calculate alcohol: http://www.brewcraft.com.au/wa.asp?idWebPage=9616&idDetails=117

[petert1]

G,day

have just brewed and bottled a brewcraft alcholic g-beer,

using 2xbuderim ginger beer cordial concentrate to replace the dextrose content.final gravity was 1010.body was good and flavour

rich with ginger.put carbo drops in for secondary fermentation.will update on finished product down the track.cheers

[PB2]

I'm often left with the question, "where do I draw the line when people post about competitor's home brewing products?"

 

I think the answer lies with the thought, "the Brewers Guild is about discussing making our own beverages. If we use something other than a Coopers brand, C'est La Vie..."

[Luke]

Maybe I shouldn't post any more of my all-grain recipes......

I shall now call them Coopers inspired brews!

 

[PB2]

Post your recipes Luke - it's all about the beer!!

[GaryF1]

Howdy all, I'n new to the brew site, but I guess well experienced in the art of adding adjuncts to beer.

As stated previous 'Thorough Sanitation' is one you cannot ignore, i.e. are your hands clean for a start, we are talking surgeon stuff here.

Anyway, my recipe for a 'Ginger Beer'.

Can of Coopers Lager

1 kg Dextrose.

375 g Crystaline, sugared Ginger.

Make up lager as per usual, but toss in the Crystaline Ginger, staright from the plastic bag - it's sterile, sugar is a good bug killer, especially the bugs that can ruin a brew.

When bottling, the ginger lumps tend to drop the bottom of the fermenter and may block the siphon hole. You may have to shove them out of the way with a clean spoon/fork etc.

The result is a beer, with a 'gingery' taste. Some find nice, some a tad sweet. I like it, Dad, not so much. Ages well (drier)

Cheers

Gaz

 

[BrettV]

tried it with the coopers ginger beer can, 500g of raw sugar and 500g of dextrose, with about 100g of grated ginger root boiled in some water for about 10 minutes. turned out really nice, sweet and refreshing, perfect for summer!

[RickK]

I make mine in 60 ltr batches. 3 cans of Coopers GB, 6 kg of raw sugar, 25Gms dried ground ginger. Top up to 60 ltrs. I love it and all my mates do too. A staple at my house [joyful]