How much fresh ginger to add to a gallon

[user 211287]

Since i always have some fresh ginger on hand and i love ginger ale, i must try some in a cider. I do like a strong ginger flavor.

I thought i might start by making a weak syrup using 2 cups of water, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 2-4oz of fresh ginger. Boil the water, dissolve the sugar and add the ginger. Turn off the heat shortly after adding the ginger and let it completely cool. This should sterilize the ginger and tame some of the "raw" flavor.

Im thinking of using Nottinghams ale yeast, FAJC added to the juice in just a 1 gallon test batch. The ginger flavor will most likely be dominant at this point.

 

[Whatsgoodmiley]

I've never brewed a cider but I've used ginger in an IPA. I found this resource (I assume it refers to 5 gallon batches but it doesn't specify):

http://www.nchomebrewing.com/beer-ingredient-profile-ginger-root/

It discusses adding ginger to boil vs. just tossing it into secondary and how much to add at a time.

The idea with experimenting is the same as when you did it in college: add small amount, see how it tastes, then incrementally increase the amount. That being said, I think every part of your plan is spot on (I can't vouch for the yeast, I don't know it). I'd go ahead and split the difference and use 3 ounces of ginger.

Another thing: Keep in mind that adding brown sugar will impart molasses or maple syrup qualities to the taste of the cider. If you want more ginger taste, replace some of the brown sugar with white sugar.

Let us know what you do and how it turns out!

 

[m00ps]

I would definitely go with fresh ginger root over powdered or some other form

I don;t make cider, but i've used it a few times in beers like saisons. I found that 4oz sliced and added at flameout worked very well for a 5.5gal batch. Flavor was upfront, but not too prominent or preventing you from perceiving the yeast esters and malts.

Im guessing for a cider you may want it a bit stronger. I'd do 1oz per gallon. You can always add some more using a tincture or something in the fermentor

 

[Whatsgoodmiley]

Im guessing for a cider you may want it a bit stronger. I'd do 1oz per gallon. You can always add some more using a tincture or something in the fermentor

That's a great point. I didnt think you'd be able to add ginger flavor postboil without adding the raw spiciness of the ginger (boiling the ginger tames the flavor as OP mentioned), but I hadn't considered the fact that you could just prepare another boiled ginger solution to add the fermenter if it didn't have enough ginger flavor to it.

 

[user 211287]

50/50 brown and table sugar Total 1/2 cup

Add same amount of ginger (4oz) to the boil but only add half the syrup to the primary. Reserve the rest if needed.

This sounds like a safer route. If its a bit strong i can always use it for pork marinade. I would love for this to work and try to bottle carb with some FAJC. I bought 2 1liter Grolsch bottles just for that experiment. Carbonated ginger cider sounds awesome.

On a side note, i have fresh lemon grass also. It adds a nice citrus aroma to a tea and soups. Not sure if it would come through in a fermentation or not. It contains only tiny amounts of Vitamin C.

 

[Whatsgoodmiley]

One last note:

I used this site to find out that 1/2 cup of sugar is only going to be about half a pound of sugar.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html

In conjunction with this calculator, (it's probably not as accurate since I'm not using it for its established purpose) I found that will give you about 1 gallon of just slightly over %2 ABV cider.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/allgrain-ogfg/

If you were to upgrade that sugar amount to 1 cup you should expect around 4-5% ABV.

I also used this calculator to find that if you want a good amount of fizziness (a little more than a pale ale), you could add a little over 1 ounce of table sugar when bottle conditioning.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

If it's TL/DR, it's because took Adderall and caffeine to do my schoolwork and I'm not doing my schoolwork.

 

[mx5red]

I have made a few batches of Ginger beer, ranging from ~8oz fresh grated ginger to one with 40oz. All 5.5 gal batches, added at end of boil.
The smaller amounts were very good, especially with lemon and vodka as Moscow mules, but the batch with 40oz was way too strong for us and I think upset my stomach.
As usual, YMMV.

Edit: here is the recipe I've used. The recipe with 40oz was a different one you can find on here if strong ginger is your thing.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=141080

 

[Jaybird]

I would be in the 1-2 oz per gallon range myself to start, just knowing you cant remove any after the fact without adding more cider but you can always add more in other places in the process. I really don't think cider is like beer when it comes to adding flavors as cider is such a simple and delicate flavor profile. You did say you liked a strong ginger flavor so maybe 3 oz per gallon would be in your wheelhouse. I think your recipe looks good though!

Good luck

Cheers
Jay

 

[burauzaa]

I've made this one twice now and I really like it: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=24326

 

[user 211287]

In conjunction with this calculator, (it's probably not as accurate since I'm not using it for its established purpose) I found that will give you about 1 gallon of just slightly over %2 ABV cider.

The sugar is just for the ginger syrup. The cider will be apple juice, about a cup of the syrup and a 12oz can of FAJC.

 

[user 211287]

1/2 gallon Sam's fresh pressed juice
12oz can FAJC
12oz ginger syrup
1/4 tsp FermaidK
Enough Motts apple juice to top off 1 gallon carboy
Nottingham ale yeast

Notes
I did not get much of the ginger pieces in the cider but i did keep them for other uses. They are now a candied type ginger.

First time using Nottinghams. Man does that stuff start fast. It had a beer like head on the cider but has now settled down.

Forgot to get a starting gravity but if its close to my last one made with FAJC upfront it should be right around 1.060

 

[user 211287]

Sample and gravity today. Just ever so slightly above 1.00 but under 1.01. Just a hint of sweetness and the ginger is very noticeable but not over powering.

I think im going to try and bottle carb a 1 liter Grolsch bottle with 3ml of my ginger syrup.

 

[Jonakr]

I like to go as simply as possible. I use 5 gallons TreeTop apple juice from Costco, 3 oz ginger root blended with just enough water to cover, and then boil that. I put the ginger straight in with cool juice, and then at the very end add yeast.

I generally start at 1.050, finish somewhere around 1.005 for about 6% ABV.

With 3 oz ginger root, you can taste it, but still taste the apple, too.

 

[user 211287]

Bottle carbed a 1 liter soda bottle today with 1 tsp of dextrose. Placed it in a sealed 5 gallon pale in case its bursts.

Notes:
I can smell the ginger but its much weaker than the previous sample.

 

[user 211287]

After 6 days, its safe to assume 1tsp of dextrose is quite safe in a 1 liter bottle 3/4 full. The bottle is firm but not nearly as firm as a new 1 liter bottle of tonic water. Im gunna wait till the 10 day mark to inspect and sample it before repeating this in a swing top bottle.

My WAG atm is 1.5-2tsp of dextrose is probably needed for a good "fizz".

 

[user 211287]

Checked the 1 liter plastic bottle again today. Its much more firm so i stuck it in the fridge. There was what looked like a tiny bit of sugar settled in the bottom.

 

[thelema5]

I've done a few experimental test batches of a honey ginger cider which I've finally tweaked to my liking. I settled on two ounces fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated for each gallon of cider. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=583744

The honey helped smooth out the ginger quite a bit, I think, so I might scale it down a bit in a standard cider.

 

[AlexBelinsky]

Since i always have some fresh ginger on hand and i love ginger ale, i must try some in a cider. I do like a strong ginger flavor.

I thought i might start by making a weak syrup using 2 cups of water, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 2-4oz of fresh ginger. Boil the water, dissolve the sugar and add the ginger. Turn off the heat shortly after adding the ginger and let it completely cool. This should sterilize the ginger and tame some of the "raw" flavor.

Im thinking of using Nottinghams ale yeast, FAJC added to the juice in just a 1 gallon test batch. The ginger flavor will most likely be dominant at this point.

hey. maybe this will help. here is the receipe http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2017/01/lemon-ginger-cider-vinegar-infusion/
and if you haven't bought the ginger or and other ingidients for the cider, I can share a discount here with you, I believe it's rather convenient to buy all stuffs online. I've never done the cider with a ginger, so it's interesting idea.