Ginger Ale - Make it burn!

[Likefully]

And that is how it looks

 

[LymanBrewing]

And that is how it looks

Revive:

So, what recipe did you end up doing?

 

[Likefully]

Revive:

So, what recipe did you end up doing?

1.4kg ginger finely chopped in a mini food processor, which I froze to break the cells. I dropped the frozen ginger in 15l of water and boiled it up with 1.8kg of sugar, a tea spoon of cayenne and some cinnamon.

I boiled for about 30 minutes and then put it in the mash tun for an hour. Then cooled and added about a cup of freshly squeezed lime and lemon juice (I had a cup of each line and lemon juice and mixed them) and into the fermenter.

I used S05 and fermented for 4 days and then bottled it (no priming sugar). After 2 days it was very fizzy and quite burny. It went into the fridge after 2 days.

It dries out as it ages. I think it is best after about ten days.

The next batch I make I may try replacing some of the sugar with honey, which I will add when it is in the mash tun.

 

[Likefully]

I skipped one detail. I added cold water into the fermenter to bring the volume up to 18l

 

[jamesdawsey]

sounds delicious! How does the cinnamon play with the cayenne and the rest?

 

[Likefully]

sounds delicious! How does the cinnamon play with the cayenne and the rest?

I put three crushed sticks in of cinnamon in - i couldn't pick it up. The cayenne adds a lot of kick!

 

[Sandpunk]

I tried brewing up a hot ginger ale, and others may have discovered this already, but the heat that was upfront and punchy when I made the syrup, faded into a background warmth after carbing. Is this a common thing or did I screw something up?

 

[Likefully]

I tried brewing up a hot ginger ale, and others may have discovered this already, but the heat that was upfront and punchy when I made the syrup, faded into a background warmth after carbing. Is this a common thing or did I screw something up?

The timing of the heat seemed to changed as the ale aged, but didn't fade!

 

[jamesdawsey]

So I finally got around to trying the revised recipe that is the result of this thread. Here is the recipe:

3.75 lbs. table sugar
8 oz. cararye (steep 20 min. at 150)
2.5 lbs. ginger (steep with grain)
1.25 cups lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne
Safale US-05

And here are the results:

Delicious. The malt fixes the light body issue. It now feels like I'm drinking more than flavored water. The cayenne completes the lingering burn that I love (which is pretty hefty IMHO). There is one major problem that's an easy fix. Cararye was the wrong malt to use. The flavor of the rye clashes with the lemon/ginger flavors. Next time I will use a C20/C40 malt instead.

Other variations on the list to try:
-"dry hop" with fresh ginger
-steep black tea in fermenter
-make a vanilla version
-make into a black/tan with a chocolate stout (ginger chocolate bar anybody?)
-er... find a way to add bacon... just cuz. It's bacon.