Let's talk Ginger Beer!

[the_bird]

Looks pretty good to me. I'm actually kind of intrigued by this; I'm a little light in the spring-beer department, and I've got all of the ingredients I would need for this save the ginger root in stock. If I brew it, I'll probably go a bit heavier on the Vienna (maybe 15% - 20% of the grist), but I'm not sure if that would be better or worse.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I went about 10% on the Vienna to keep things light and focused on the ginger. A little more probably wouldn't hurt.

 

[joaobecker]

What you guys would think about using the T-58 yeast? I think I'm going to try it.

More info about the yeast: http://www.fermentis.com/FO/EN/pdf/SafbrewT-58.pdf

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I'm not a big fan of using a Belgian style yeast for this brew. I think it needs to be crisp and clean. Esters and spicy yeastiness don't appeal to me for this recipe. However, if you try it, please let us know how it comes out.

 

[joaobecker]

Yuri and others,

I've got the malts the recipe asks (Pilsen and Vienna). The hops I've got here are the Galena, Cascade and Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, and the yeast available are S-04, S-33 and T-58.

What can I replace on the recipe, or what can you indicate?

 

[Crayfish]

Hey all,

we tried this partial extract recipe (with help form the folks at Brew and Grow in Chicago):


0.75 lb Belgian Aromatic Malt
1.0 lb Honey
0.5 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine
4.0 lb Extra Light DME powder
1.25 oz Hallertauer (90 min)
0.5 oz Hallertauer (30 min)
3.0 oz Ginger (peeled) Spice
1 package American Ale XL Yeast

We also made a ginger extract using about 5 oz of ginger and 1/2 of a 750 ml bottle of Polish Rectified Spirits (75% EtOH) and slowly heated down to remove most of the EtOH and added this at bottling.

We were aiming for something very spicy-like D&G Jamiacan Ginger beer.

While it is very crisp and refreshing with a decent ginger kick, its not as strong as we wanted. It basically tastes like a light ale with a bit of ginger. I am going to try this again with with more extract and additional ginger in the secondary. OI want it to burn yet have some sweetness.

Of note-we were supposed to dry hop with Saaz but my brewing buddy forgot I'm relatively new to homebrew (about 8 batches) so I can't tell if this would have made a huge difference. Would it have complimented the spice of the ginger? Should I add it next time?

I'll be following this post with interest. Great forums!

D

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Yuri and others,

I've got the malts the recipe asks (Pilsen and Vienna). The hops I've got here are the Galena, Cascade and Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, and the yeast available are S-04, S-33 and T-58.

What can I replace on the recipe, or what can you indicate?

Hallertau is a fairly direct replacement for Tettnang. The S-04 is the cleanest of the strains you mention, so use that one if you want to stay fairly true to the recipe.

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Something I forgot to mention - when cooking with ginger, I like to peel it, then slice it into chunks that will fit into a garlic press. I hold the press over the bowl/pan and press the ginger right into the food. It works really well to extract maximum flavor from the ginger. I plan on doing the same for this beer recipe.

 

[slimer]

I put ginger in my Holiday spiced ale. Mellowed out quite nicely.

Holiday Spice
Specialty Beer


Type: Extract
Date: 11/10/2007
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Slimer
Boil Size: 3.25 gal Asst Brewer: ERock
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Brew Pot (4 Gallon)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: -
Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.50 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 85.25 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 13.11 %
0.13 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 1.64 %
2.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 26.8 IBU
1.00 oz Sterling [7.50 %] (15 min) Hops 10.4 IBU
0.10 oz Cinnamon Stick (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.75 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.00 oz Ginger Root (Boil 12.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.042 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.60 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.90 %
Bitterness: 37.1 IBU Calories: 185 cal/pint
Est Color: 15.7 SRM Color: Color

Steep grains as desired (30-60 minutes)

 

[joaobecker]

Another question: do I use natural lemon zest or dried lemon zest?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I was planning on using fresh lemon zest. There's nothing wrong with using dried zest, but my plan is to use fresh ingredients to keep the flavors fresh and crisp.

 

[joaobecker]

Well, last friday I made the Ginger Beer. And there's now a bit of a party on the primary.

I changed a little the recipe on the lemon and ginger. I put 30% more ginger and 30% more lemon zest. Before I filled the carboy, I tasted it and for my surprise the ginger flavour wasn't strong, so the smell. I think I'll have to add more ginger on the secondary to get what I'm looking for this one.

There's been three days now on the primary, and I think I'm going to let it out the fridge for just a couple days more.

How many ginger should I add on second? I'm thinking between 60 and 80% of the original recipe amount.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

How did you prepare the ginger?

 

[joaobecker]

Yuri,

As I didn't have the garlic press, I boiled one cup of water and blended with the ginger (peeled and sliced). Than I strained it and added the ginger "juice" at flameout.

I drank about a tablespoon of this "juice" and it was very strong in flavour and smell.

How long should I leave this one in primary? I'm thinking about 5 days. Let me know about you oppinion.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Mince the ginger next time rather than just slicing it. Really crush it to extract max flavor. Add perhaps 50% more ginger to the secondary and see how that tastes (you can always add more).

As for the primary, use a hydrometer to check its progress. When it's near finished (1.018 or less), rack.

 

[slimer]

I use a cheese grater when I get the zest of ingredients. It's easy and "minces" it like Yuri says to do.

 

[johnoswald]

ginger beer is traditionally made with or SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast)
did any of yall ever try it in place of just various yeast strains?

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Mince the ginger next time rather than just slicing it. Really crush it to extract max flavor. Add perhaps 50% more ginger to the secondary and see how that tastes (you can always add more).

As for the primary, use a hydrometer to check its progress. When it's near finished (1.018 or less), rack.

Hmmm, I never thought to put the ginger in secondary. I always just slice up the ginger, boil it in water to make a "tea", and add the tea right to the primary (with the ginger slices strained out). I just racked mine to the keg the other day and it tasted great. Adding to the secondary like you described ought to work nicely too.

 

[rowespencer]

SWMBO and I went to PF Chang's tonight, and I had a very interesting ginger beer with dinner. I can't find much info on it, and I'm tempted to believe it's a house blend of fresh ginger and hefeweizen. It was quite cloudy with little head and a very pungent ginger nose. The flavor was dominated by spicy fresh ginger with a cereal flavor that had to be wheat.

I know this is an old thread but I found it while looking for a Ginger Beer recipe. I too fell in love with the ginger beer at PF Changs. I too figured it was a ginger-wheat beer based on the cloudiness and cereal flavor. I was really disappointed to find out it's nothing more than Kirin Lager with a shot of ginger syrup called "Elixir G" (CHEATERS!!!)

I think one of my next batches will be a ginger-wheat though,,,,with a TON of ginger in boil and secondary. I love that spicy heat!!

 

[Edcculus]

This is a pretty long thread, so I didn't read most of it. I have a gingered ale I've brewed twice. Its in my recipes dropdown.

Its a Ginger Pale Ale. Very gingery

 

[rowespencer]

This is a pretty long thread, so I didn't read most of it. I have a gingered ale I've brewed twice. Its in my recipes dropdown.

Its a Ginger Pale Ale. Very gingery

Thanks! I'm still at the extract stage (for now). I'm thinking of just brewing a basic Hefe from LME and gingering the #&$% out of it...

 

[joaobecker]

Long time since I read this post.

Since then, I've brewed a Ginger Ale four times, always like the first time (as the result was even better of what I expected).

I'm using Pilsen and Vienna malt, Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop and S-04 yeast.

If anyone wants to try this recipe, just send me a message so I can send the complete recipe.

 

[joaobecker]

Look who I've got to taste my Ginger Ale:

Yes, Randy Mosher, the writer of Radical Brewing.

And he liked it.