Ginger Bug/Ginger Beer Plant Fermentation Question

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

HunterAnderson

New Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2020
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hello,
I have been researching methods to try and make ginger beer at home and have seen that most recipes require making a ginger bug or buying a ginger beer plant. I am Muslim and thus am strictly opposed to consuming any kind of alcohol and was wondering if the ginger beer plant fermentation process produces alcohol. I have been getting mixed results from my research. Just to be clear I want a final product with 0% alcohol (not alcohol free by FDA standards).
Also if there is ethanol produced then is there anyway to make a 0% alcohol ginger beer?
Thank you!
 
Any fermented liquid can contain "some" alcohol... that's just a natural by-product of fermentation with yeast. I've measured the ABV in my ginger beers at about 1/2-1% between various batches with a hydrometer but have never felt an alcoholic effect from them.

I would hazard a guess that, so long as you don't leave the brewed batch of ginger beer out to ferment at room temps and carbonate with CO2 injection; it would not contain any measurable alcohol.
 
I've never tried making ginger beer, but perhaps you could make it per normal convention and try and remove the alcohol after. Could heat it up to the boiling temperature of ethanol and gas it off like the distillation process. Not sure how that will impact the flavors of anything you produced to begin with, but that's one way to strip out all the alcohol. Then after that, force carbonate it in a keg with CO2.

I'm curious as to why even bother making ginger "beer" to begin with? Why not just make ginger juice?
 
Back
Top