making ginger bug but it didnt show up after 4 days

[imcool]

hii,
I watched 20+ youtube videos and started ginger bug to make ginger beer , now even after 4 days there is no bubble in the jar, the outside temperature for last 4 days was -1 to 15C, inside house is 20C, i am feeling disheartened as this is the first time I am trying homebrewing,

I put 250ml water and 2 teaspoon ginger and 2 teaspoon sugar in distilled water and just let it sit the first day and then added 1 TSP sugar and ginger on day2,day3 and day4.
This is how its looking at day4
I grated ginger with skin, i did not take the skin away
please advise what to do?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hi, welcome to HBT!

Have you had it at 20°C the whole time?

The process you described looks reasonable although distilled water isn't ideal, and a little bit of acidity would help.

Capturing microbes is fairly simple. Go outside and grab some leaves, flowers, bark, anything non-toxic and stick it in your little concoction for 15-20 minutes. You'll have growth within 24-48 hours.

i am feeling disheartened as this is the first time I am trying homebrewing,

Home brewing is a great hobby. Using wild yeast is a real niche; the vast majority of home brewers and pro brewers use commercial yeast because of the predictability it provides.

 

[day_trippr]

There might be something specific about the ginger wrt "native" lacto/yeast, I don't know.
But this is an interesting reference - that may have a hint as to why the OPs "bug" did not take off...
https://zerowastechef.com/2015/06/10/ginger-bug/
Cheers!

 

[imcool]

Hi, welcome to HBT!

Have you had it at 20°C the whole time?

The process you described looks reasonable although distilled water isn't ideal, and a little bit of acidity would help.

Capturing microbes is fairly simple. Go outside and grab some leaves, flowers, bark, anything non-toxic and stick it in your little concoction for 15-20 minutes. You'll have growth within 24-48 hours.

Home brewing is a great hobby. Using wild yeast is a real niche; the vast majority of home brewers and pro brewers use commercial yeast because of the predictability it provides.

gENIUS!!!! i will do that right now, thanks a ton, I really appreciate it.


Edit : sorry I forgot to mention in OP that I added lemon juice in it today,

 

[imcool]

Hi, welcome to HBT!

Have you had it at 20°C the whole time?

The process you described looks reasonable although distilled water isn't ideal, and a little bit of acidity would help.

Capturing microbes is fairly simple. Go outside and grab some leaves, flowers, bark, anything non-toxic and stick it in your little concoction for 15-20 minutes. You'll have growth within 24-48 hours.

Home brewing is a great hobby. Using wild yeast is a real niche; the vast majority of home brewers and pro brewers use commercial yeast because of the predictability it provides.

Excuse me, I have one more question, will adding the stuff from backyard still give a ginger bug or it will give something else in ginger bug, like a backyard yeast? or is ginger bug a wild yeast as well.
Thanks

 

[RPh_Guy]

Pretty much any wild culture will be a mix of various kinds of yeast, bacteria, and molds. I would simply call it a wild microbe culture, regardless of it's source. It can be used the same.

If you can avoid mold growth you'll be in good shape.

 

[imcool]

Pretty much any wild culture will be a mix of various kinds of yeast, bacteria, and molds. I would simply call it a wild microbe culture, regardless of it's source. It can be used the same.

If you can avoid mold growth you'll be in good shape.

Comparing both photos, looks like its going darker but no bubbles or yeast so far.


after 2 days, still same, I also kept in oven which was heated and then turned off. i kept it all night, day in a turned off heated oven. not hot only warm.

I put leaves, bark, tulip petals for 30minutes 2 days ago and nothing at all.
Please check photos i just took

I kept a cloth like that on it all the time since day1.

What I should do? what to add? please help,

 

[day_trippr]

From the article I linked earlier...

"Use organic ginger. In the US, non-organic (I refuse to call it conventional) ginger may be irradiated. Irradiation kills the naturally occurring yeasts and lactic-acid bacteria on the ginger which ferment it. Only once have I made a ferment that showed zero signs of life after several days: pickled ginger. I read about irradiated ginger later and realized I must not have used organic ginger. "

Cheers!

 

[RPh_Guy]

@day_trippr
Even if the ginger were sterile and he also managed to grate it while maintaining sterility... there would have been lots of wild microbes on the stuff from outside.

@imcool
Soooo.... Either
- It already fermented and you missed it somehow. A hydrometer is indispensable.
- It's too acidic. Microbes become significantly inhibited under pH 3.2-ish.
- There was some kind of preservative on the ginger.
- You accidently pasteurized it. FYI all the wild captures I've done fermented perfectly fine around 20-22°C, there's no need to heat it above room temp.

 

[day_trippr]

Just quoting an article - did you read it? - which from here seems on point until proven otherwise...

Cheers!

 

[RPh_Guy]

I did read it. Ginger sitting on the shelf or basket or whatever in the store wouldn't be sterile; it would pick up all kinds of microbes. Radiation wouldn't stop that from happening but preservatives would.

 

[day_trippr]

C'mon, preservatives on ginger root? It's an antimicrobial that's been used as a preservative since God was in diapers

Cheers!

 

[RPh_Guy]

That begs the question: Why would a manufacturer/distributer irradiate it?

The radiation idea also doesn't explain why the medium still won't grow microbes.

 

[Miraculix]

I did read it. Ginger sitting on the shelf or basket or whatever in the store wouldn't be sterile; it would pick up all kinds of microbes. Radiation wouldn't stop that from happening but preservatives would.

That's of course theoretically true, but they often spray the ginger with chemicals that kill everything that lands on it.

For a ginger bug, it's really necessary to use organic ginger.

Also, there seems to be a certain yeast that can be found mostly on ginger and you want that one. At least this is what I read...

 

[RPh_Guy]

they often spray the ginger with chemicals that kill everything that lands on it.

Exactly my point.

 

[day_trippr]

Which....brings us all back to "organic ginger root"...

 

[imcool]

ok, where to get organic ginger?