First batch of ginger beer tastes... bad

[mjbrooks]

Hello,

I recently bottled my first batch of ginger beer brewed from a ginger bug, and today I opened the first bottle to see how it turned out. It was powerfully, overwhelmingly gingery, and under-carbonated. But there's also this funky taste and odor that is just... bad somehow. I am a practiced sourdough baker so I'm used to yeasty fermentation smells, but this just doesn't taste quite right to me. I am not that familiar with fermented ginger beer, so I'm not sure if this is normal, but rather than take any chances I poured out the bottle.

I am hoping someone might be able to help guess the most likely problem. I roughly followed the recipe and procedure from here, summarized below:

- Built ginger bug by daily feeding of 25g ginger + 2tbsp sugar over about 5 days. Kept on counter, loosely covered. Stirred frequently.
- Brought to a boil 0.75 gallons of water, 385g brown sugar, and about 350g of ginger (after running through food processor)
- Kept on low heat for about 30 minutes, then cooled to room temperature over a couple hours (covered).
- Stirred in about 150-200ml of ginger bug liquid.
- Strained and bottled in sanitized flip-top bottles and kept at about 70 degrees for 2 days, before refrigerating and then opening the first one.

Things I think might have gone wrong:
- I think the ginger bug had a hint of this bad flavor even before I mixed up the batch, so maybe it is just a bad culture. I figured that was natural, since it is basically plant matter that's been sitting in water at room temperature for days. But perhaps not?
- I didn't have a fine mesh for straining the liquid into the bottles, just a double-screen sieve, so there is quite a lot of solid material suspended in the ginger beer. I don't know if this might introduce off flavors somehow.
- Could using brown sugar instead of white make the flavor extra pungent?
- I had intended to add lemon juice and zest but forgot, which might have altered the acidity slightly and provided a fresher flavor, I imagine.
- I wasn't very careful about sanitation while building the ginger bug (I reused the same spoon to stir, and taste, while building it). I was assuming that the culture should pretty much be able to take care of itself.

Super appreciate any tips and pointers. Thank you!

 

[Beermeister32]

Is this your first batch? Simplify things and start out with a simple apple cider.

Carbonating takes from two to four weeks before refrigerating. Also cider needs about 3 months aging to get really good.

Not sure what you did, sounds like a dumper. Like most things in life, start with the simple, build towards the complex.

Don’t contaminate your brew with a spoon from your mouth. You are contaminating your batch with bacteria.

Cider is easy. Get your process down with the cider before moving on to the weird stuff.

 

[mjbrooks]

Yes, my first batch. From what I understand this is very different from a typical beer process, and it actually seemed pretty straightforward to me since you ferment and carbonate in the bottle. No need for multiple vessels and equipment. The trade-off is lack of precision I suppose. I haven’t looked up cider recipes but really ginger beer was what I wanted to make.

I have definitely seen plenty of recipes recommending fermenting no more than 4-5 days for this process or you end up with a dry ginger beer and maybe too much gas buildup for your bottles. I’m giving the rest of the bottles another day or two just to see if they build up some bubbles, though I expect they will still taste bad.

 

[mike022]

Congrats on your first brew. I too started with ginger beer before moving into all grain brewing. As for your off taste, it could be a few things. First I find the the yeast has a major impact on your final taste. Since you are basically capturing wild yeast you could have captured a few strains that just do not go with your pallet. I would taste the bug to see if the off flavors are present. Secondly, with a young bug some of the flavors may just have not developed enough. Keep feeding until the bubbles are very active. The smell should be very yeasty but not funky.

Also one tip for carbonation. Always fill at least one plastic bottle and use this to feel the carbonation level. When I used my bug it would very greatly on the number of days needed (normally 3 no more than 5) before refrigeration. The plastic allows you to know if the carbonation is moving slow and you can leave the bottles out longer. Also the temperature makes a big difference. So monitor and document so you can adjust in the future.

Best of luck, ginger beer is so good when done right.

 

[mjbrooks]

Thanks for the tip about the plastic test bottle. I've been monitoring my bad batch to see how the carbonation develops. Today it is definitely fizzier, but still under where I'd like it to be. Just the slightest fwoop when I popped the top on the bottle. The taste improved a bit as well, but still not great. I agree, I think the bug may not have been ready. I filtered it into a new jar and restocked it with ginger, some fresh water, and sugar this evening, along with a couple milliliters of lemon juice. I'm hoping this will help give the yeast a leg up.

 

[kevin58]

I've made this a couple of times and it comes out really nice.