Ginger Beer Beer

[fitterhans]

Hi, I am new to the forum and working up to my third brew. I want to experiment with some stuff laying around without using a kit this time but I have a few questions. I am doing a Ginger brew, a kind of beer/soda with the following ingredients:

Can malt extract
1 lemon
1 lime
Cloves
Honey
Cane Sugar
fresh ginger root
Cardamom
Cinnamon stick
bay leaf
Lemon juice
dried ginger
Nutmeg
red chilli flakes
cream of tar tar

1. I have a can of hopped malt extract in the fridge I want to use as a base. I have had this stuff a while. How can I tell if its gone bad? Taste?

2. I have yeast with this can (it's probably bad) so I am going to buy yeast. Would ale be less likely to cause explosions that champagne yeast?

3. I want to do a two gallon batch. Will a can of malt be too much for two gallons? Any fear of off flavors/oxidation if I use my five gallon carboy?

4. If I leave the ginger in the fermenter, any fear it will kill the yeast?

Thanks!

 

[jpowers1]

I must admit, I'm a little scared of your ingredient list. I don't know how to tell if malt extract is good until you use it. I know the stuff darkens with age, but that is about it. Nice to meet another New Yorker, I'm in Syracuse.

 

[fitterhans]

Well, I don't have to use all those ingredients. Think it will be a bit much, eh? I did find out that I want to use ale yeast with malt. I am from upstate NY, near Poughkeepsie. Nice to meet you too.

 

[mastro]

Hi, I am new to the forum and working up to my third brew. I want to experiment with some stuff laying around without using a kit this time but I have a few questions. I am doing a Ginger brew, a kind of beer/soda with the following ingredients:

Can malt extract
1 lemon
1 lime
Cloves
Honey
Cane Sugar
fresh ginger root
Cardamom
Cinnamon stick
bay leaf
Lemon juice
dried ginger
Nutmeg
red chilli flakes
cream of tar tar

1. I have a can of hopped malt extract in the fridge I want to use as a base. I have had this stuff a while. How can I tell if its gone bad? Taste?

2. I have yeast with this can (it's probably bad) so I am going to buy yeast. Would ale be less likely to cause explosions that champagne yeast?

3. I want to do a two gallon batch. Will a can of malt be too much for two gallons? Any fear of off flavors/oxidation if I use my five gallon carboy?

4. If I leave the ginger in the fermenter, any fear it will kill the yeast?

Thanks!

I've made ginger ale on many occasions: lemon juice, ginger root, sugar and water. I tried molasses and brown sugar before, bad idea, really kills the citrus. I'm using EC-1118 right now but normally I use beer yeast and inoculate the next batch with the current, I've done that up to 4 times in a row without problems. With the beer yeast I found it peters out really fast hence the EC-1118.