Brewed a Ginger Beer - Tasted Like a Bakers Urinal

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bacchus

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BUT DON'T GIVE UP!

After 32 years on this planet I've learnt that, and thanks to the Interweb you can find places like this and hopefully get some help in achieving what was in your head when you first struck upon the idea.

I'm in North Lincolnshire, am a big fan of food cooking and eating, I really wanted to brew as well, I'm currently living somewhere with 5 fruit trees (3 apple (2 cooking 1 desert), 1 plum and 1 pear) all mature and fruitful. After years of wasting the fruit each and every year I thought this year I'd put it to good use and brew the little devils.

No experience what so ever, no idea, my wife's done some pack brewing in the past, but nothing serious. I thought before I wasted the whole crop by inexperience this year, I'd try a few practice batches, which is where the Ginger Beer came from.

I bought from biggerjugs.co.uk, bungs, buckets, airlocks, my neighbour has about 80 demijohns which he leant me 4. I made up a recipe of 2 gallons of ginger beer (ginger root, sugar, cream of tartar, lemon rind and juice) with a 5g pack of Young's Ale Yeast I bought from eBay.

1st observation - no bubbling. I was using a 33lt fermenting bin with airlock, so I thought maybe as I was only making 2 Gallons of liquid, perhaps there wasn't enough pressure build up. It was in a back room where sunlight doesn't ever touch bar first thing, the temp would of been a steady 17-20 degrees C

After 8-10 days I decanted the bin brew into 2 demijohns for a further week, still no bubbles.

I put the demijohn brew into 2 lt pop bottles with a small spoon of sugar to hopefully fizz it up. Although there was some firmness to the bottles for the 48hrs I left them, when I opened them - no fizz.

I did worry that there was no fermentation which had taken place, but after a pint and a half, I did notice a certain alcoholic buzz, so there's something there.

I want to try to make something again, just to try and iron out some of my mistakes and make something more palatable. I can try the Ginger Beer again, or I thought about some Dandelion and Burdock. I found a recipe on Channel 4 - River Cottage, but it just says "yeast".

Can someone advise some next steps. Should I make the ginger beer again, more volume than 2 Gallons, different yeast/ingredients. Should I try the D&B - which yeast should I use?

At this early stage, I don't mind what I make, it's all in preparation for this Autumn and the apples and pears, so this is all a learning curve for me now - any advice would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I would go for Turbo Cider, just to get the basic steps of brewing. Basically just shop bought apple juice, plus yeast. You can use most types of yeast, but most people go for a cider or champagne one. Do a search on here for Turbo cider, and you should see plenty of recipes. I would keep it simple to begin with, and add no sugar.
 
First thing I would do is get a hydrometer, takes all the guesswork out of if something is fermenting or not.

If you want to have another bash at ginger beer, here is a tried and tested recipe for 1 gallon so you could make in a DJ. It's not mine, but I have made it and its very good :thumb: .

If you want to make more, just scale it up accordingly. I make in 5 gallon batches now I have it to my taste. But here is the 1 gallon version I started with

200g root ginger
1 tsp dried ginger
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp citric acid
400g sugar

1 tsp yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrient ( optional)
1/2 tsp wine tannin
1/2 tsp pectolase

Grate the ginger, put it into a pan with cream of tartar dried ginger and enough water to cover. Boil it up for 30 mins.

Add the sugar and citric acid and dissolve

Top up with cold water, add glycerine, pectolase & tannin. Shake it up.

Check temperature and if all is well pitch your yeast and add nutrient - shake the hell out of it and put a bung and airlock on it.

When its fermented out, sweeten it with Splenda to taste as it will be dry as hell and too thin - this will give you the sweetness and body you want.

Bottle with 1/2 tsp sugar and leave in the warm to carbonate for a week or so. Chill and enjoy!

Have fun
 
hawkinspm said:
First thing I would do is get a hydrometer, takes all the guesswork out of if something is fermenting or not.

If you want to have another bash at ginger beer, here is a tried and tested recipe for 1 gallon so you could make in a DJ. It's not mine, but I have made it and its very good :thumb: .

If you want to make more, just scale it up accordingly. I make in 5 gallon batches now I have it to my taste. But here is the 1 gallon version I started with

....Chill and enjoy!

Have fun

That sounds tip top!

Yeah, I'll defo try that - sorry to sound like a stuck record though, but what yeast?

A typical noooooooobey (god I hate that word... anyway) question, but what difference does it make anyway?

Okay I guess there's your high gain stuff, but cider, ale, champagne, is it just that they're different strengths or is ale yeast "incompatible" with cider?

Thanks fellas
 
I use champagne yeast, works lovely with ginger beer!

But a few questions...
1) How do you know what a bakers urinal tastes of?
2) What is pack brewing - sounds like something to do with girl guides ... and I'm definitely not following that line of thought.
3) biggerjugs.co.uk... is that based in soho? If it is a homebrew shop, I'm going to buy everything from them from this moment.


Sorry ... I've just realised that (and to pinch a line or two from Rowley Birkin QC) I am rather drunk at this time (paraphrase)

hic
:cheers: hey, I'm on holiday!
 
drunk!? at 3:50 in the afternoon!?... what kind of a place is this!?

1) From pure imagination dear fellow, I'd also say a butcher's urinal tastes like pork pie and a stationaires urinal like Tipex
2) I expect my terminology is out here, but the sort of ready mix stuff all in one box (or pack)
3) Biggerjugs.co.uk is indeed a home brew shop (come pornographers) like key cutting and shoe mending, although slightly less disperate.

I like the idea alone of using a champagne yeast for Ginger Beer, so I may chance my luck on that one along with hawkinspm's recipe.

I'm getting quite excited about all this now. I've loved making tasty food for ages now, I must admit home brewing has always had a bit of a stigma for me, all holding your glass up to the window and beards (no offence to anyone of cause... ahem). But now I just think - b*ll*cks, i make food, why not make drink, also I like the whole chemistry bit an'all, tannin, pectolase, nutrient - fantastic, no idea what it all does mind... I can feel another question coming on...
 
bacchus said:
drunk!? at 3:50 in the afternoon!?... what kind of a place is this!?
the best of places .. and I did say I'm on holiday! :D
bacchus said:
and a stationaires urinal like Tipex
:D excellent.. is it white too ...?
bacchus said:
like key cutting and shoe mending, although slightly less disperate.
:rofl: Brilliant!
bacchus said:
and beards (no offence to anyone of cause... ahem).
I'm afraid that is me .. I've turned into a beardie-weirdie :roll:
bacchus said:
I can feel another question coming on...
Bring 'em on ....
Nice to meet you bacchus btw! :D
 
Did you boil the ingredients? Not the yeast that goes in after the the rest cools down. ;)

If you don't boil, you have to use campden tablets to kill unwanted infections. Boiling is better though for ginger, more flavour extracted.

If you didn't boil or CT then most likely the off tastes are from wild yeasts or other nasties.
 
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