Homemade Ginger Beer?

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UncleRusty

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Hey folks, I was wondering if anyone's had any success making a Ginger Beer (soda)? I made Ginger Ale recently with a few pounds of raw ginger, and it tastes like Ginger Soda but doesn't have that dry spicy bite that a ginger beer has.

Are there other ingredients or adjuncts that give it that spicier flavor? I used brown sugar and did not ferment the soda. Some sources I've read indicated that the flavor of ginger beer comes from a mild fermentation, which I'm not opposed to trying.
 
I have made Ginger Beer many times (I like Dark and Stormys in the summer). I use this recipe:
http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/2008/how-to-make-your-own-ginger-beer/
I should note, I don't have a juicer so I run the ginger through my food processor with the grater and the blade, then I line my wire sieve with cheese cloth, put it over an bowl, dump the ginger in, fold the cheese cloth over and put a plate with a can on it to force more liquid out. I buy my ginger at a large Asian grocery so it's cheap enough that I just toss what I don't use.
 
Thanks for the tips and info, guys. I'm going to experiment with adding lemon and lime juice and also citric acid in some test glasses, as I've only added boiled ginger to mine thus far.

I've heard one person mention that depending on how you cook the ginger will effect the flavor which makes me curious about over roasting it prior to boiling it down to an extract, so I may try that next time. In either case I may try a mild fermentation down a gravity point or so with minimal alcohol to see how that affects the flavor.
 
I have used the morganthaller recipe too. I actually got it from PF Changs as they use his recipe.
It is good. I substitute other citrus for variety. Pineapple is good too. I also add herbs (mint or juniper).
I haven't tried roasting it. I juice with a juicer designed to handle ginger and pour off the sediment.
 
I make ginger tea all the time, and have started using my recipe for ginger beer (alcoholic). Not sure how to transfer it to just a normal soda. But here is the recipe for the ginger tea - I guess you would put just enough yeast in it, for just long enough, to carbonate it if you want to use it for soda.

1 gallon of spring water
roughly 3/4 pound of fresh ginger, sliced thin (peel on) - one big finger of ginger should do it
zest and juice of 2 medium-large lemons
4 cups of white sugar

Put the water in a pot with the sugar, turn stove to medium-high (just enough to boil). Stir often to keep the sugar from burning to the bottom until it is dissolved all the way.
Slice the ginger and put it in the water.
zest the lemons and juice them, and put the juice in...do this in the last 20 minutes or so. (You are doing this later in the process than the rest to ensure the lemon flavor stays bright. Boiling it for too long will diminish the brightness)
Let it all boil for roughly 30 minutes or so...less time if you like less spicy ginger flavor...more time if you like more spicy ginger flavor.
Strain and store.
 
torilen said:
I make ginger tea all the time, and have started using my recipe for ginger beer (alcoholic). Not sure how to transfer it to just a normal soda. But here is the recipe for the ginger tea - I guess you would put just enough yeast in it, for just long enough, to carbonate it if you want to use it for soda.

1 gallon of spring water
roughly 3/4 pound of fresh ginger, sliced thin (peel on) - one big finger of ginger should do it
zest and juice of 2 medium-large lemons
4 cups of white sugar

Put the water in a pot with the sugar, turn stove to medium-high (just enough to boil). Stir often to keep the sugar from burning to the bottom until it is dissolved all the way.
Slice the ginger and put it in the water.
zest the lemons and juice them, and put the juice in...do this in the last 20 minutes or so. (You are doing this later in the process than the rest to ensure the lemon flavor stays bright. Boiling it for too long will diminish the brightness)
Let it all boil for roughly 30 minutes or so...less time if you like less spicy ginger flavor...more time if you like more spicy ginger flavor.
Strain and store.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips guys! I've been experimenting with tweaking my existing keg in individual glasses with some extracts I've made, but haven't settled on anything final yet. For this batch I'm playing with adding a bit of black pepper, cayenne, or allspice extracts, and am also playing with some oak chip additions. I'll let you know how it turns out once I decide on what ratio/ingredients taste best.

For the next round I think I may follow your style and go for a straight fermented/alcoholic ginger beer. Does that recipe come out to something similar such as Krabbie's?
 
You quoted my recipe - it makes a ginger beer a whole lot better than Crabbie's.

You mentioned putting some oak chips in it. I actually have pecan wood in the garage that I cook with sometimes. I took a small piece of that and charred it some and stuck it in a small amount of my ginger beer. It is in the fridge, so I doubt it is really doing a lot...but I swear it tastes slightly different. A little sweeter, but not a sugar-sweet...it is a deep sweetness.

Long story short - I think adding oak chips would be a good addition. Makes sure to char them a little bit...it will give some caramelization of the wood sugars and increase the depth of flavor.
 
torilen said:
You quoted my recipe - it makes a ginger beer a whole lot better than Crabbie's.



You mentioned putting some oak chips in it. I actually have pecan wood in the garage that I cook with sometimes. I took a small piece of that and charred it some and stuck it in a small amount of my ginger beer. It is in the fridge, so I doubt it is really doing a lot...but I swear it tastes slightly different. A little sweeter, but not a sugar-sweet...it is a deep sweetness.



Long story short - I think adding oak chips would be a good addition. Makes sure to char them a little bit...it will give some caramelization of the wood sugars and increase the depth of flavor.
Click to expand...


When you do the fermented version, do you ferment all the way to dry, then back-sweeten and cold crash? Or do you just shut it down early?

I'm looking for something my wife will like that I can put on tap in the keezer.
 
I've done both - if you shut it down early, it could come out a bit on the sweet side. I would let it ferment to dry, then backsweeten it...probably with a simple syrup (with more ginger cooked in it, perhaps). Simple syrup is just equal parts sugar and water...cook it until the sugar disappears completely. So, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water...or 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water...you get the idea.

I will say this - you do not want this stuff too sweet. Make sure you taste it good before backsweetening. My last batch actually got messed up...I didn't have nearly enough ginger in it. I had to rebrew and re-ferment. And, I think by rebrewing, it still had a lot of sugar from the first attempt, and something happened that didn't allow it to ferment all the way...I don' know what could have happened. Long story short...it is WAY to sweet. Almost kind of hard to drink if you're really full from a meal or something.

Honestly, though - to let it ferment to dry...if you only do a gallon like I do, then it should only take maybe a week to 10 days. Larger batches...I couldn't tell you.
 
The oak addition definitely seemed to bring out the spiciness in my recent non-fermented ginger ale... I added about 1.5oz of French Chips, and let it steep for a few weeks. I'm going to try doing a fermented ginger beer next as you guys have mentioned. I may play around with making ginger syrup and roasting the ginger this time.
 
I actually toyed with that once...roasting the ginger. I roasted the
lemon, as well. I will say that it does give a nice, deeper flavor.
I would suggest two things.
1 - Cut the ginger in half length-wise, and put it interior up, so
that it gets all the heat and browns the sugars a bit.
2 - If you plan to use the lemon zest...zest them before roasting
them. You just cannot do it after they're roasted. I found that
out the hard way.

I will emphasize again, though - be very careful not to make it
too sweet. I'm drinking some right now...the batch that came
out too sweet...man it is rough.
 
I've used crystallized ginger from Costco. Racked secondary on it. It fermented the sugars on the ginger then let sit about a week. It took about 2 months in the bottle to mellow out but it was great after that.
 
There are no recipes (that I can find) that use malt instead of sugar. There are a few with both hops and ginger. Maybe this summer I can experiment with that. If I use pale ale malt or Vienna, it should only need a half hour boil.
 
I'm sure you could substitute some sort of light malt for the sugar,
if you know the equivalent for the amount of sugar. It would give
it a real beer flavor.

I made mine as it would be for ginger beer from the store...just
ginger, sugar, and water. I may have to try a batch with malt, if
I can find a converter for the equivalent amount.
 
torilen said:
I'm sure you could substitute some sort of light malt for the sugar,
if you know the equivalent for the amount of sugar. It would give
it a real beer flavor.

I made mine as it would be for ginger beer from the store...just
ginger, sugar, and water. I may have to try a batch with malt, if
I can find a converter for the equivalent amount.
Click to expand...

I've never used malt for anything, but maybe you could use this guy's recipe as a baseline? He uses pale malt and some honey.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLi8l_jXLas[/ame]
 
z-bob said:
There are no recipes (that I can find) that use malt instead of sugar. There are a few with both hops and ginger. Maybe this summer I can experiment with that. If I use pale ale malt or Vienna, it should only need a half hour boil.
Click to expand...

Just realised I should have quoted you in reference to my youtube post above ^^

Hopefully you'll see it this way.
 
Here's the recipe I'm still working on in my head. Hasn't been tested yet. (Cara-wheat malt instead of C20 or C40 because I have some already):

Style Name: Experimental Beer
Boil Time: 30 min
Batch Size: 2 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 2.2 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.059
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity: 1.019
ABV (standard): 5.96%
SRM (morey): 9.45

FERMENTABLES:
3.5 lb - American - Pale Ale (80%)
6 oz - German - Caramel Wheat (8.6%)
8 oz - Cane Sugar (11.4%)

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 oz - Ground ginger, Time: 15 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
4 oz - Fresh ginger, minced, Time: 15 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
2 oz - Lemon juice, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safbrew - General/Belgian Yeast S-33 (dry)
 
z-bob said:
Here's the recipe I'm still working on in my head. Hasn't been tested yet. (Cara-wheat malt instead of C20 or C40 because I have some already):

Style Name: Experimental Beer
Boil Time: 30 min
Batch Size: 2 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 2.2 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.059
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity: 1.019
ABV (standard): 5.96%
SRM (morey): 9.45

FERMENTABLES:
3.5 lb - American - Pale Ale (80%)
6 oz - German - Caramel Wheat (8.6%)
8 oz - Cane Sugar (11.4%)

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 oz - Ground ginger, Time: 15 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
4 oz - Fresh ginger, minced, Time: 15 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
2 oz - Lemon juice, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safbrew - General/Belgian Yeast S-33 (dry)
Click to expand...

Nice, I'm looking forward to hear how this one turns out!
 

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