Yeast for Ginger Beer

[ballomar]

Hello all,

I'm wanting to make a ginger beer. I made one about 18 months ago and it was disgusting. However, after 18 months in the bottles it had mellowed and was drinkable. I still wouldn't say it was good though!

Anyway, now I'm thinking of making a refreshing one for summer. Using brown sugar as the sugar source and probably looking for alcohol of about 3.5%.

So my question, if I am using brown sugar should I be looking at a wine yeast even if I am aiming at a low alchohol level? Or should I use an ale yeast? Will ale yeasts have trouble with the fructose?

Thanks

 

[Hops_and_Dreams]

I don't know anything about making ginger beer, but Mangrove Jacks list one of their yeasts to use for it, their Workhorse yeast.
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0195/8620/files/MJ_Craft_Series__A5_Yeast_Booklet.pdf?1935

 

[durangokemre]

Try a cider yeast, I've just done one with the mangrove jack M02 yeast, using brown sugar and honey as fermentables. I've also used wilko gervin yeast in the past , that worked fine (in fact it fermented to dryness).

The biggest problems with ginger beer I've found though are lack of body, and a sharp dryness. For body, I've used glycerin, which works well, and using a mix of dme and honey as fermentables (the dme also gave it a bit more of a beer taste). I tend to backsweeten with 6 or 8 splenda per litre if I'm not using dme, and 2 if I am.