Want to brew ginger beer

[rockthecasbah121]

I am contemplating brewing a ginger beer that would have a similar taste to a dark and stormy. I've been searching the forum for more specifics but wanted to run my potential process by everyone for tips and corrections.

Basic recipe for 5 gallons:
4 pounds fresh ginger
5.5 pounds corn sugar
3 cups pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
D-47 Lalvin yeast
5 teaspoons yeast nutrient
5 gallons water

I want to add Vanilla, cinnamon, clove, and allspice to mimic the spiced rum flavor, but am unsure of the amounts. Also, should I bother adding peptic acid and acid blend as if it were apple cider?

Should I let fermentation finish and back-sweeten or should I try and leave some residual sugars. I would like it to remain relatively sweet.

I would also like to carbonate in bottles but am worried about the potential of them exploding. I could always do the plastic bottle as a gauge and then heat the bottles in water to kill the yeast. Any thoughts on in-bottle carbonation? I was thinking I would use carbonation tablets.

 

[Adam_Selene]

I am contemplating brewing a ginger beer that would have a similar taste to a dark and stormy. I've been searching the forum for more specifics but wanted to run my potential process by everyone for tips and corrections.

Basic recipe for 5 gallons:
4 pounds fresh ginger
5.5 pounds corn sugar
3 cups pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
D-47 Lalvin yeast
5 teaspoons yeast nutrient
5 gallons water

I want to add Vanilla, cinnamon, clove, and allspice to mimic the spiced rum flavor, but am unsure of the amounts. Also, should I bother adding peptic acid and acid blend as if it were apple cider?

Should I let fermentation finish and back-sweeten or should I try and leave some residual sugars. I would like it to remain relatively sweet.

I would also like to carbonate in bottles but am worried about the potential of them exploding. I could always do the plastic bottle as a gauge and then heat the bottles in water to kill the yeast. Any thoughts on in-bottle carbonation? I was thinking I would use carbonation tablets.

I don't know dark and stormy, a couple practicle sugestions though.
Use honey if you got it. 2.2lb or 1 kg per 12L A good starting point at least.
Peel the ginger. (the skin makes it taste like dirt) Scrape it with a spoon. Sounds dumb, but it's way easyer than useing a knife. Ginger early in the boil results in the HOT ginger taste, late in the boil, the crisp "ginger ale" taste.

If your worried about bottle conditioning, use plastic bottles. Sqeez the bottles, if they are rock hard, crash them in the fridge.

Cheers.
--Adam Selene

 

[rockthecasbah121]

I don't know dark and stormy, a couple practicle sugestions though.
Use honey if you got it. 2.2lb or 1 kg per 12L A good starting point at least.
Peel the ginger. (the skin makes it taste like dirt) Scrape it with a spoon. Sounds dumb, but it's way easyer than useing a knife. Ginger early in the boil results in the HOT ginger taste, late in the boil, the crisp "ginger ale" taste.

If your worried about bottle conditioning, use plastic bottles. Sqeez the bottles, if they are rock hard, crash them in the fridge.

Cheers.
--Adam Selene

Honey in replacement of the sugar or a combination of the two?

I am interested in the hot ginger taste, so I'll add the ginger early. I couldn't really find any nutritional facts online regarding ginger beer, but does something like crabbie's have high or low residual sugar? Ginger beer is such a different taste I can't really tell the final sugar content I should be aiming for.

 

[Adam_Selene]

Honey in replacement of the sugar or a combination of the two?

I am interested in the hot ginger taste, so I'll add the ginger early. I couldn't really find any nutritional facts online regarding ginger beer, but does something like crabbie's have high or low residual sugar? Ginger beer is such a different taste I can't really tell the final sugar content I should be aiming for.

As a replacemant for the sugar. This is "non-alchaholic"? What I described above is sort of like root beer. You use only enough sugar so that the fineshed bevarage is a little sweet, but also nicely bottle conditioned. Provided that you arest the bottle conditioning in time by puting the bottles in the fridge. 1Kg of honey in 12-19L will acomplish that.

Adam Selene

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

There is a Ginger Ale recipe in the Spiced beer recipe forum here that's won some awards...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/ginger-ale-3rd-place-2009-hbt-bjcp-comp-141080/

Ive made it a total of 3 times i think now, its damn good.. Its basically just a blonde or other light beer that is heavily spiced with fresh ginger.

 

[rockthecasbah121]

There is a Ginger Ale recipe in the Spiced beer recipe forum here that's won some awards...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/ginger-ale-3rd-place-2009-hbt-bjcp-comp-141080/

Ive made it a total of 3 times i think now, its damn good.. Its basically just a blonde or other light beer that is heavily spiced with fresh ginger.

Thanks. I think I'm more interested in doing it without any malt, so I guess I'm looking at more of a ginger wine.