Blackberry Ginger Pale Ale - a good or terrible idea?

Hello all,


I"m very new (just bottled very first batch) but the wheels in my head are already turning.

For my next batch, I got the Ginger Pale Ale kit from Austin Homebrew.

The description on the site says its a subtle hint of ginger and I want it to be a little more prevalent. So I"m going to buy a fresh ginger root and just add another 1-2 ounces or so on top of what's included in the kit and throw in a couple shavings in the fermenter.

Is that a good idea you think to bring up the ginger flavor a little?


Also...it crossed my mind to throw a few blackberries into the fermenter as well.

Does that sound even remotely like a good idea or do you guys think that'd be gross?? I can't really make up my mind on that.

Any feedback would be much appreciated, thanks.

I think a quick rundown of the recipe would be helpful in telling us what the blackberries and ginger are up against.....I think it could be decent in a kolsch or a blonde, but it may clash with some american hops.....then again, cascade can have an almost mango like presence.

more detail please....

Good call, sorry about that. Again, very new to the hobby.

According to the instructions in the kit, I'm deaing with this:


- Grains: 1/2 lb 2-Row Malt & 1/2 lb Crystal 60 L Malt
- Extract: 7 lb Extra Pale Extract
- Hops: Northern Brewer (1 oz) and Cluster (2 oz total added at diff times)
- 1/2 oz ginger root



I searched some others ginger recipes on here and see ppl tend to use at least 1-2 ounces, some use even more. That's why I want to add some of my own.

The blackberries though is my main question.


Hopefully this helps, thanks.

I'm not a big fan of fruit beers, however the combo of Ginger & Blackberry sounds good. Would certainly make a great soda so why not beer? I'd probably give it a shot. Ginger strength is very variable so going by ounces can be very misleading as some types are much more pungent then others. I'd go with what they provide on your first attempt and adjust if you make it again.

Hey guys. I don't mean to bump this up unjustifiably but I'm sill looking for some feedback on this.

Brew today is tomorrow!


Thanks

I'd probably pick one or the other. But what do I know. I guess I just like to know what each weird ingredient imparts to a beer before I start combining. That way if something really weird, really off pops up you might be able to figure out what it's from.

I think if I was brewing this I would likely not use any late addition hops, or only use a small amount of something delicate (noble type like hersbrucker or styrian goldings) at the nose end. I would also keep the IBU's around 20-24 just because the point is to let the fruit/ginger come through. Don't make em fight for a place on the palette!

I have heard that candied ginger (the kind that comes in little plastic tubs at grocery store) retains the best flavor and gives the brewer the most control over the outcome (chop it coarsely and add to secondary....taste occasionally to read proper amount and bottle or keg when done)....good luck.

I did brew this mid-last week and after reading up about adding fruit/other ingredients into the fermenter...I'm looking for some feedback.


As recommended by someone up above, I did cut done the late addition hops a little bit...but not completely.


Now I don't even own a secondary fermenter yet and I didn't know the popular belief to only add fruit to the secondary...I should've researched a little more. This was only my 2nd batch ever.

So in the primary, I did add 3-4 small sliced pcs of the ginger root (in addition to what was added to the boil...which was only about an oz) and about 7-8 fresh blackberries that I punctured with a knife to get the juices running.

I wanted to keep the blackberries small as I wasn't sure how'd this turn out.

My 2 questions are:

1. Is the small amount of blackberries going to pretty much turn out pointless? If so...not a big deal as I should still have a good Ginger Pale Ale hopefully.

2. Was it a big no-no to add the ginger pcs/blackberries immediately to the primary??


Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks all.

I have seen recipes where people add 4 pounds of strawberries for a 5 gal batch, so I'd guess you have a Ginger pale ale.