Recent content by JezzaUK

First things first, I would suggest starting off with a relatively small batch - as a tester. I remember my first batch, it was very hot, minimal sweetness as it fermented dry, wouldn't clear properly and had a yeasty flavour to it. Friends joked and laughed and suggested that I never try it...

I've heard about this... But not sure where to start. Do you know of any threads/stickies which talk through it? I'm pretty limited on space in the freezer too - fridges & freezers in the UK are tiny compared to the US & other parts of the world. Top that with living in central London...

Dinnerstick is a big fan of GBP, but must say I've never tried it, but plan to at some point in the future. Anyway, have a look at this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f95/alcoholic-ginger-beer-input-request-231212/ I have a brew bottled at present. Used Splenda for sweetness, but...

I added Splenda to a batch of alcoholic ginger beer recently. Have a look over on the Soda forum for exact details on how much I added... I could taste the Splenda a little, and will be looking for an alternative next time. Heard Sorbitol can be good, but never tried it and don't know measures...

Ok, finally got round to bottling last night. Not got a FG for you as pointless as I forgot to take a reading after adding the Splenda. Taste wise - well rounded but with a good kick from the chilli and ginger. Pretty smooth and clear. You could taste the Splenda a little though. Not a lot...

Just took the OG of the juice. It's 1.038... Pretty low really. Pitched some 71B to see how far it will go, but I'm thinking that we are going to need some more fermentable sugars. Thinking honey may be the best shout to compliment the pear. Taste wise, the juice is fairly smooth. Trying to...

Thanks truckjohn. Appreciate the feedback. My juice is direct from the farm, and I spoke to the farmer himself. It is bottles from the crop last Autumn - so it is pure juice - not from concerntrate. Therefore I am optomistic on the tast outcome. He has said that come September/October...

Hi All, I'm planning on making a Perry (as it is known over here in the UK) - or probably Pear Cider over in the States. I found this link which gives a bit of history, and some useful pointers http://www.nottinghamcamra.org/Cider.htm One thing to point out from this link is that it...

Right - definitely will give it a miss til I've got some proper beer bottles. Missus would go spare if I covered the kitchen in ginger beer!

Ha ha. Been there before, and can sympathise! Main thing as you say is taste being ok, but sounds as though it may be an issue with GBP. I use 1 litre grolsch type bottles, so guess I might have a problem with the rubber seal. Going to give this batch a go as planned for the time being, but...

Take it that you used the plant again? Good drinks never hang about long! I poured mine out of the fermenting bin in to a big pan through a fine mesh bag, so have removed all the "bits". I'm contemplating letting mine settle to rack off any excess lees - bit like you would for mead/wine, but...

I've got an alcoholic ginger beer on the go where I've been contemplating similar problems. I've gone on the basis to target the ABV I wanted and gave enough sugar to hit it. Then back sweetened with Splenda. Plan on priming with sugar for carbonation when bottling. Check out the thread in the...

how did the heat pasteurising work out by the way?

Update: SG 1.004 Taken out all the lemon, ginger and chilli. Put in to 4.5 litre demijohn with airlock after adding 35 grams of Splenda to the mix. Dissolved Splenda in warm water before adding to mix. Tasted trial batch to upscale the amount of Splenda. Suspect that there is a little more...

Update: Racked off lees today - about 1/2 inch. SG reading was 1.000, so pretty sure I've hit FG now. Gives it about 10.5% SBV, which sounds about right. Tasting notes - Good nose of honey. Taste is quite harsh with the alcohol at the moment. Body is (as you would expect) pretty much like...