Need advice on how to stop Ginger Beer fermentation

[gauravh]

Hi,
I have been making Ginger Beer using Ginger Bug for a while now. I had started making it during the lockdown and I'm currently making batches of 7-8 litres for myself, family & friends. We all love it! I would now like to build a brand and take this forward commercially.

I am using 1 litre PET bottles (good glass bottles not available here) to ferment for about 48 hours which provides a very good amount of carbonation, which we prefer, and a very mild alcoholic taste. Then I refrigerate to halt/minimise further fermentation.

I am facing the following hurdles and would be grateful if anybody could help.
1. After this 2 day fermentation is complete, how can I stop further fermentation so that long term storage without refrigeration is possible?
2. Is there a way to ferment/carbonate ginger beer in a larger container and then bottle without losing any of the carbonation?
3. Also, I noticed that when using 1 ltr. bottles, by the time I reach the last 200-250 ml of the drink, it loses most of the carbonation which is not as enjoyable. How can I solve this?


Thanks in advance.

Regards

 

[Jag75]

Never made ginger beer but the only way I know how to stop fermentation is to pasteurize. Of course that messes up your carbonation though.

You could use metabisulfate and sorbate. It won't stop fermentation but it really slows it down. Ive done this with mead. I dont know how it works with carbonated liquid , as my mead wasn't carbed.

I think your best option is to pasteurize , then keg , carb and then bottle. This way also gives you the ability to have on tap as well.

 

[gauravh]

I think your best option is to pasteurize , then keg , carb and then bottle. This way also gives you the ability to have on tap as well.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I'm a bit confused about this.
Do I pasteurize first? Won't this kill the yeast?

 

[Jag75]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I'm a bit confused about this.
Do I pasteurize first? Won't this kill the yeast?

Yes, thats why I said it messes up your carbonation. You wouldn't be able to bottle prime.

 

[Velnerj]

I've never made ginger beer but I'm guessing you add sugar for fermentation and for some sweetness.....
In order to ferment carbonate and maintain sweetness the processes are tricky....

You have to ferment it out first, meaning you'll need less sugar than usual, then pasteurize, then back sweeten in a keg and carbonate. If you want the drink in a bottle you'll have to tap from the keg into the bottle usually using some device to offset the pressure and foam...

The other option is back sweetening at serving then you don't need to pasteurize but it's not a commercially viable option.

 

[hotbeer]

There is a process to bottle already carbonated beer. I can't quite remember the name of it. In fact I've seen the equipment to do so sold on some of the homebrew websites.

So if you aren't wanting any fermentation or need to control the total ABV, then pasteurizing and then doing something like the keg folks do to carbonate their beer will probably be what to look for. Then get some of the pressurized bottling equipment.

 

[DuncB]

Keeping it simple I'd let the fermentation finish, you'll have dry ginger beer then and uncarbed. Then backsweeten with something like Monk Fruit extract ( no nasty taste with this stuff), once happy with the sweetness of your flat Ginger beer bottle it and add priming sugar to the bottle. Dose ascertained using one of the calculators on brewersfriend for example. Then the GB will ferment that little bit of sugar to make fizzy ginger beer.
Remember that more fermented sugar is more alcohol so you might need to start with less sugar as it's all going to ferment.

I pressure ferment mine to dry, backsweeten and then use a counter pressure bottle filler, but this is more complex and expensive way of doing it.

 

[tld6008]

Why cant you pasteurize after carbonation? I read a thread on making Malzbier and that's exactly what they did.
A few days after bottling the author opened a beer a day and when carbonation was adequate he pasteurized in a 140f (or so) water bath.

 

[gauravh]

I've never made ginger beer but I'm guessing you add sugar for fermentation and for some sweetness.....
In order to ferment carbonate and maintain sweetness the processes are tricky....

You have to ferment it out first, meaning you'll need less sugar than usual, then pasteurize, then back sweeten in a keg and carbonate. If you want the drink in a bottle you'll have to tap from the keg into the bottle usually using some device to offset the pressure and foam...

The other option is back sweetening at serving then you don't need to pasteurize but it's not a commercially viable option.

At present, I'm adding in all the sugar and then bottling for fermentation+carbonation before refrigeration. Guess, I'll need to research about back sweetening and quantities. Thanks for the help.

Keeping it simple I'd let the fermentation finish, you'll have dry ginger beer then and uncarbed. Then backsweeten with something like Monk Fruit extract ( no nasty taste with this stuff), once happy with the sweetness of your flat Ginger beer bottle it and add priming sugar to the bottle. Dose ascertained using one of the calculators on brewersfriend for example. Then the GB will ferment that little bit of sugar to make fizzy ginger beer.
Remember that more fermented sugar is more alcohol so you might need to start with less sugar as it's all going to ferment.

I pressure ferment mine to dry, backsweeten and then use a counter pressure bottle filler, but this is more complex and expensive way of doing it.

Can I use regular sugar for back sweetening as ingredient availability is as issue here in India? How do I keep the ginger beer very low in ABV? Sorry for the newbie questions.

So if you aren't wanting any fermentation or need to control the total ABV, then pasteurizing and then doing something like the keg folks do to carbonate their beer will probably be what to look for. Then get some of the pressurized bottling equipment.

I'm guessing this will not work with naturally carbonating ginger beer right?

 

[gauravh]

Why cant you pasteurize after carbonation? I read a thread on making Malzbier and that's exactly what they did.
A few days after bottling the author opened a beer a day and when carbonation was adequate he pasteurized in a 140f (or so) water bath.

Pasteurization will not affect/spoil the carbonation right? Could you by any chance point me to the thread? Thanks a ton.

 

[hotbeer]

So if you aren't wanting any fermentation or need to control the total ABV, then pasteurizing and then doing something like the keg folks do to carbonate their beer will probably be what to look for. Then get some of the pressurized bottling equipment.

I'm guessing this will not work with naturally carbonating ginger beer right?

What won't work? The pressurized bottling equipment?

I guess that depends on what naturally carbonated is to you and your customer. However if you carbonated it with yeast in something other than a bottle, isn't that still naturally carbonated?

So a keg, a big pressure vessel or what ever you want to let it naturally carbonate in, then pipe it to the pressurized bottling equipment.

One of your statement in the OP that threw me a little is your need to stop the fermentation. I was only imagining that as a way to make certain you don't exceed some limits for ABV or ABW. So maybe explaining toward what end that is for.

But regardless whether you can stop the fermentation, you can naturally carbonate it and pressure bottle it.

Is this supposed to be a no alcohol ginger beer?

 

[DuncB]

@hotbeer

I think it's meant to be a low alcohol as possible. In my childhood we just used to mix up the ginger beer ingredients boil etc cool and add the yeast then the only sugar was the priming dose in each bottle. Sealed them up and left them hoping we'd got the priming right.
The OP is in India so difficult it seems to access artificial sweeteners that could go in with priming dose and not be fermented.
@gauravh
Yes you can just use plain sugar to prime with, the only way to sweeten the ginger beer with sugar without a pasteurising stage would be brew it as I mention above then when done chill pour and add some sugar syrup or make the ice cubes with sugar water ( not too much otherwise the ice cubes won't freeze).
I bet your ginger is a lot cheaper than ours is, currently about 14 dollars a kilo ( US ) so a crazy price.
Once you have worked out how much sugar you need then seek an artificial sweetener and try the equivalent in your brews.
Another option to add sweetness is Vanilla this would be worth experimenting with as well, you might like the combination.

 

[Beekeeper]

Why cant you pasteurize after carbonation? I read a thread on making Malzbier and that's exactly what they did.
A few days after bottling the author opened a beer a day and when carbonation was adequate he pasteurized in a 140f (or so) water bath.

Will need to switch to bottling in standard pressure-capable glass bottles instead of PET for this process. The pressure inside each pre-carbonated container will be quite high when brought up to 140F.
Wear goggles and sleeves when near or handling the heated bottles, use a metal container with a lid for the water bath.

 

[gauravh]

What won't work? The pressurized bottling equipment?

I guess that depends on what naturally carbonated is to you and your customer. However if you carbonated it with yeast in something other than a bottle, isn't that still naturally carbonated?

So a keg, a big pressure vessel or what ever you want to let it naturally carbonate in, then pipe it to the pressurized bottling equipment.

One of your statement in the OP that threw me a little is your need to stop the fermentation. I was only imagining that as a way to make certain you don't exceed some limits for ABV or ABW. So maybe explaining toward what end that is for.

But regardless whether you can stop the fermentation, you can naturally carbonate it and pressure bottle it.

Is this supposed to be a no alcohol ginger beer?

Sorry for not explaining well. Actually I want to market my GB as an all natural, fizzy, probiotic, health drink for all ages (hence, very low ABV so it can come under the non-alcoholic category).

Ideally, as you suggested, I would like to ferment+carb in a large vessel which is able to handle the pressure and then directly bottle the GB into 300ml - 500ml glass beer bottles (dunno how this can be done without losing the carbonation) and seal them with crown caps, then stop further fermentation by either pasteurising or adding stabilisers.
Would this be the right way?

Also, I'm not sure if adding preservatives, stabilisers will affect the taste or if I'll be able to market it as a health drink with these added.

Equipment is very hard to come by here in India. Sorry, I'm quite confused as to how I should proceed with this atm but I'm sure I'll figure it out with the help of this amazing community.
Thanks again

 

[gauravh]

I think it's meant to be a low alcohol as possible. In my childhood we just used to mix up the ginger beer ingredients boil etc..

Yes you can just use plain sugar to prime with, the only way to sweeten the ginger beer with sugar without a pasteurising stage would be brew it as I mention above then when done chill pour and add some sugar syrup or make the ice cubes with sugar water ( not too much otherwise the ice cubes won't freeze).
I bet your ginger is a lot cheaper than ours is, currently about 14 dollars a kilo ( US ) so a crazy price.
Once you have worked out how much sugar you need then seek an artificial sweetener and try the equivalent in your brews.
Another option to add sweetness is Vanilla this would be worth experimenting with as well, you might like the combination.

You're right, I want to keep the ABV quite low. This is pretty much how I'm making the GB with ginger bug. Cooking, adding sugar, cooling, adding the ginger bug yeast and then ferment+carb in bottles before enjoying

Correct me if I'm wrong but the yeast needs to be killed at some stage to stop the fermenting right, quite early in my case since i want low ABV? So, adding sugar syrup will start the fermentation which has to be stopped right?

Whoa, your ginger is exorbitantly priced! A kilo here costs about 1.5 USD only, so very cheap.
Vanilla is very expensive here, won't be commercially viable.

Thanks a ton for all the suggestions
TC

 

[hotbeer]

Here is a brief and rudimentary explanation of one type of process...
https://www.midwestsupplies.com/blo...ow-to-use-your-counter-pressure-bottle-filler
Even if it's naturally carbonated, you'll need additional CO2 or something to maintain a constant head pressure as volume of the ginger beer goes down in it's holding vessel.

Note that colder temps of everything used will help minimize loss of CO2 from the liquid to be bottled. Also, though not shown in the drawing, the bottle and filler have a seal between them and are not allowing venting to atmosphere until the bottle is removed from the filler.

Yes, there is probably the expectation that you'll loose some product from foaming depending on fill rate and how long it takes to cap.

 

[DuncB]

@gauravh
The yeast stops working when it has no food left, hence if you bottle directly with only the amount of sugar needed to carbonate it will brew and carbonate in the bottle.
It will be low alcohol because there is very little sugar turned to alcohol and the rest to CO2.
So this method ticks the low alcohol and no more fermentation. The fire goes out if you don't put fuel on it.
However you will have a very dry ( not sweet ) drink with this method.
Not realised before that you wanted to sell it on, the adding sugar or sugar syrup in the glass when you pour it out of the bottle won't work unless you are running a bar.
Hence my interest in you using a Non fermentable sweetener which could go in the bottle at the time of filling and capping.

I'm also concerned that pasteurising will basically kill all of the probiotic goodies, yeasts and bacteria in your ginger beer plant and brew so that it won't really be probiotic anymore. You don't get pasteurised probiotics yoghurt as it has to be living.

The low sugar ferment and artificial sweetener ( although monk fruit and stevia are natural ) method will have the least capital outlay for you as pressure fermenting, counter pressure bottle filling kit over here would cost several hundred dollars for something half decent. You would also need to get CO2 as mentioned above as a consumable.

On another forum an Australian told me Ginger there was twice the price that it is here, I buy it in season and freeze it or use the squeezed extract ( which saves a lot of work ).
This thread has a fair bit about pasteurising and might help your pasteurising decisions.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/bottle-pressure-limits.692238/#post-9106274

 

[gauravh]

@DuncB @hotbeer
Sorry, i've been down with fever for the past few days hence could not reply. Thankfully it's not covid :|

Thank you for taking the time and for all the important information you've provided. It helped clear many doubts and queries.

I'll soon get back to more experimenting as soon as I'm fit and post results and more queries
TC

 

[DuncB]

@gauravh
Get yourself well and keep well.

Here when you need us.