Ginger Beer... really need some help!

I'm brewing up a ginger beer next weekend and need some help with the recipe. I haven't found much information searching the forums so I was hoping you guys could help. I'm looking at doing 2 gallon batches in primary and then 1 gallon secondaries for "dry gingering." I figured this would let me play with the recipe a lot without wasting money.

I want to mash high, 60-62*, and use a good percentage of crystal malt to give it some good back-end sweetness. I don't have much experience with high mashes so I'll need some help here too.

I'm really just taking a shot in the dark here so any input is greatly welcomed.


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 2.34 gal
Post Boil Volume: 2.08 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 2.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 2.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 13.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 0.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
3 lbs Canadien 2-row (1.9 SRM) Grain 1 85.7 %
8.0 oz Caramel Malt - 90L 6-Row (Briess) (90.0 Grain 2 14.3 %
2.00 lb Ginger Root (Boil 30.0 mins) Herb 3 -
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 4 -

2 pounds of ginger root in 2 gallons of beer? That's gonna be quite a bit of ginger. Is that your goal?

The only ginger beer I've been a part of was one my brother did recently, and they are just getting good, according to him. I haven't had the opportunity to try one yet. I believe he used a recipe by a guy here named nostalgia, but I could be wrong. If you want to pm my brother to ask him, his handle is funkstrman. Either bounce your thoughts off of him, or have him get you that recipe, and you can look at it for tweaks.

Dumb question, but how do you copy a recipe from BeerSmith to post on here? I have a 1 gal Ginger Beer recipe that I brewed back in July that I would like to share.

Thanks

Chap said:

Dumb question, but how do you copy a recipe from BeerSmith to post on here? I have a 1 gal Ginger Beer recipe that I brewed back in July that I would like to share.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Single click your recipe and right above where you see the brewsheet there will be a pull down menu, just select "plain text." Higlight, right click, copy, paste.

2 lbs of ginger was just a guess and I know it's probably way too much. My friend and I get sick of "ginger beer" (the soda) not having much ginger flavor and being really sweet. We figured we would make our own true ginger beer with tons of flavor and bite and a little sweetness. I may end up reducing the grain a lot to get the abv closer to 3% but starting at 1.045 and ending at 1.022ish should land me pretty low.

Damn that was simple, thanks.

Here is a recipe I made. I chopped the 3oz of ginger in a food processor and added it to the boil at 15 minutes. Initially the ginger was way over the top but mellowed after a month in the bottle. My buddy, who I made this for didn't want much hop bitterness so I only used .5oz of Amarillo. I have 3 left in the beer closet and 1 in the fridge to try this weekend.

Recipe: Skee's Ginger Test
Brewer: Chap
Style: American Amber Ale
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 1.50 gal
Post Boil Volume: 1.13 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 1.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 1.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 14.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 90.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.0 %
4.0 oz Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 10.0 %
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 4 30.8 IBUs
3.00 oz Ginger Root (Boil 15.0 mins) Herb 5 -
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 6 -

I went ahead and cracked open the bottle that has been in the fridge for about a month. It is 7 months old now and most all of the ginger flavor has faded. You can smell the ginger and just barely taste it but if you are looking for massive amounts of ginger flavor and aroma you need to either use a lot more than the 3 oz's I used or don't let the beer age for as long as I have.

BTW it's 2200 (10:00 p.m.) here in Japan... I'm not a morning drinker LOL

I use 2-3 oz in the end of the boil, and 2-3oz in the last week of the fermentation, for 5 gallons. That gives a mild ginger flavor I like.

I make a non alcoholic variety which is just ginger, sugar, lemon and water. I force carbonate or I partially ferment just to get a nice flavor then I force carbonate. Don't know how folks feel about force carbonation around these parts but it does what it does.

I make 3 gallons at a time with about 16 oz of ginger. It would knock you on your backside faster than any of the commercially bottled ginger beers like Reeds or whatever. I was going for something that tasted like real ginger rather than an extract. I think I nailed it.

I'm here poking around for a way to ferment only a partial amount of sugar, like maybe two varieties of sugars, so my yeast can eat one part and I can drink the other. If anyone has any ideas then I'd love to hear about it.

Anyway, if you want my ginger beer recipe then just let me know and I can write it up for you.

12hitcombo said:

Anyway, if you want my ginger beer recipe then just let me know and I can write it up for you.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind seeing your recipe!

3 gallons water
12-16 ounces of fresh ginger root
Juice from 3-4 lemons
3 cups granulated cane sugar (or 2 cups white and 1 cup brown)

Bring water to a boil, add shredded ginger, lemon juice and sugar. Boil high for 25 minutes. Strain and squeeze out mash for extra ginger pulp then cool.

I force carbonate with a CO2 kegging system the next day after the temperature has dropped in a very cold fridge. I pour it off into a keg and get the temperature down to about 38. I just use the kitchen fridge, my wife gets pissed when I freeze our food by accident. Whatever, everyone will have their own preference on how to force CO2.

I have also used champagne yeasts to carbonate - but only to carbonate. I've never tried to make a fully qualified fermented drink. Pitch just 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite variety, pour off into plastic bottles at room temperatures, watch closely until bottles are hard, then drop the temp in a very cold fridge for two days. I don't want an alcoholic beverage, so I have to drink it all in a short time or fear that the bottles will burst in the fridge. My wife gets pissed when bottles burst in our fridge.

I'm just about to order some proper Ginger Beer Plant, a SCOBY from a special source, to try the old fashioned way. http://www.gingerbeerplant.net