antiphile Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Hello to all. I have a few questions regarding an Alcoholic Ginger Beer that should be ready to bottle in 3 days or so. I read quite a few threads, and settled on a recipe between JoshM4's (post #32) and CodenameJames' (post #33) on this thread. The way I did it was: a. Slice most and grate some of 150 g fresh ginger and place into an infusion bag with half a small bottle of Masterfoods powdered ginger. b. Add to 5 litres cold water and slowly heat to approx 80C c. Stir regularly and maintain heat for about 20 mins. d. Turn off heat, allow to cool to approx 60C, add 1 packet Coopers BE2 and 750 g Organic Raw Sugar and stir to dissolve. e. Put in fermenter, add a kit of Coopers Ginger Beer and top to 19 litres at 23C, and pitch yeast. f. Remove infusion bag at start of Day 4. OG was 1.039, and decreased as follows: Day 3 = 1.028, Day 6 = 1.011, Day 8 = 1.007, Day 10 = 1.004. Thinking it won't go much lower now, it looks it will be about 5.1% after secondary fermentation in the bottle. It still has quite a sweet taste, but I'm hoping that will reduce after a few months in the bottle. However, it really has a full flavoured ginger taste with a bit of a bite that I really love. But here are my questions: (1) I was surprised at the alcohol level, and I know next time to probably fill it to 23 litres to reduce it. But for pure interest only (and I promise I won't do it this time) but can you add extra water after most of the primary fermentation is finished or would this just give it "watered-down" taste? (2) It is rather cloudy at the moment, and I read on this page (in Tip 5) that some people use gelatin to act as a flocculant. I'd be using it in the primary fermentation vessel if it was any use to reduce the cloudiness prior to bottling. Has anyone tried this and is it recommended or best avoided? Cheers Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 With regards to (1), you can definitely add water to the beer post fermentation. Lots of breweries do this; high gravity fermenting and dilute post fermentation. Just make sure you boil and cool the water first and be sanitary. I don't know much about gelatin so I will leave that to someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Hi Hairy (and everyone else, of course) Thank you so much for your answer regarding adding extra water if needed. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone else here knew that already, but for a thickhead (like myself), sensible answers don't come easily. I'm sure I'll be likely to need to use the info with upcoming brews. The other item of interest was using gelatin as a flocculant. I bit the bullet and gave it a try. From the local supermarket I got a packet of McKenzie's Gelatin Leaves (I should have probably got the gelatin powder though I think). In about 500 mls cold water in a saucepan I soaked 2 gelatin leaves for 5 mins or so. I then turned the heat on low, stirring contimually until the gelatin dissolved. The temp prob got to 25-30C then it was taken off the heat and left for about 10 minutes. It was then poured over the top of the fermenter contents (a very cloudy ginger beer at FG). I went back about 2-3 hours later and was stunned! The top half was so incredibly clear in contrast to the lower half I couldn't believe it. Using a very fine strainer, I took off most of the floating yeast and left it overight. The next day, the whole height of the beer column was really clear with almost no cloudiness at all. There was again quite a thick layer of yeast etc floating on the top, and a rather thick layer as a sediment. I carefully siphoned off as much clear brew into a secondary vessel (old fermenter) and bottled from there. There seems to be no difference (after the gelatin was added) in the taste, viscosity or specific gravity. However, just as a possible word of caution, it may give a slight taste in more delicately flavoured brews - but I'm only guessing here. I added extra ginger to this one to give it a really nice bite, and couldn't detect any difference. I'm really quite hopeful this batch will be very drinkable in a few months! Thanks again, Hairy! Cheers Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 No problems Phillip. I didn't help much with your problem though. As I said, I don't know a lot about gelatin but it sounds like you have it under control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules01983 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Hi, The Coopers ginger beer kit I brewed and bottled last month (Nov) is very cloudy, tastes overly sweet and has barely any fizz. It was in the fermentation vat for about 2 weeks until the SG dropped and the airlock bubbling slowed to almost nothing. I added half a level teaspoon of sugar per pint bottle when bottling and kept the bottles warm for a further 3 weeks before moving into a colder store. I opened a bottle today but there was barely any fizz. The taste is OK, very sweet but not yeasty despite the cloudy appearance. Any suggestions on what I've done wrong and can I save the brew? Thanks in advance. Jules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Yes, cloudy and sweet are good descriptors of our Ginger Beer - it contains a sweetener called "Sucralose", which is not fermented by the yeast. Take no notice of the airlock - it tells fibs. As for the fizz level - half a tspn per pint bottle sounds a bit under-primed. How many ml are your pint bottles, US or Imperial pints? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules01983 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Bottles are 568ml imperial pints. I did wonder if there was a non-fermentable sweetner involved, very glad it's not saccarin or aspartame! I have emptied all the bottles into a fermentation bin again for a second bout of fermentation and will rebottle with a larger primer dose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramjet Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 ...very glad it's not saccarin or aspartame! Google it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules01983 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 pouring it down the drain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 pouring it down the drain! It's the only Coopers product I would not brew. Not a fan, at all, of chemical sweetners. Sorry PB2 - long time lover of Coopers though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules01983 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I specifically went down the home brew route to avoid as much chemicals as possible. I am fed up of waking up feeling like I've been on a bender after only a pint or two. The artificial sweetner was a disappointing discovery. Guess I'll stick to home made cider, nothing but apple juice and yeast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Out of respect, I've never commented in a Ginger beer thread in the whole time I've been on the forum. Why do people still make this crap? I've tasted the stuff, & good versions of the stuff, & I still don't get it. There is beer, & wine, & spirits, that have distinct differences, but seem to fit in as a recognized piece of the alcohol puzzle. I don't know where this stuff fits in, I never have. It's like a bizarre cold stir-fry liquid mixed with an ordinary beer in a drink. Each to their own though (as disgusting as it is!). Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Ginger beer has it's place but I agree it is rarely a really good drink. At best it turns out ok. I have tried multiple variations with fresh ginger, chillies, cloves, etc. etc. and it only ever turns out ok. As I always say though, a slug of lemonade or pepsi or similar make it perfectly drinkable...it is always hangover inducing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 I have a spare f v and have considered knocking up a batch of Ginger beer , Does the none alcoholic version work out any better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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