Ginger Beer

[Dan]

Does anyone here have a recipe or process for a succesful non alcohol ginger beer using root ginger?

I started a couple of weeks ago with a kit, threw it in the kettle and added some lemons and about 100grams of root ginger for 10 minutes, 150 grams of sugar chilled decanted pitched the dry yeast supplied and bottled.

It came out ok, quite lemony with only a hint of ginger even with the additions, very mild, but quite drinkable.

Last weeks one was no kit, 1.3kg's of root ginger, a few lemons and water, enough honey to carbonate a projected 25 litres.
I boiled half of the ginger for 30 mins and boiled the other half for 10 minutes, chilled decanted pitched wyeast 1968 yeast and bottled 25 litres.

Its taking along time to carbonate, its fiercely gingery but thin and tasteless, like water with ginger in it, not a good outcome, im wondering how to leave residual sweetness to balance the ginger.
Ive read about these ginger beer plants, kinda like a yeast starter, it seemed unnecessary to me, when ive got gear to boil and ale yeasts to condition.

Any ideas?

[Stu McKinlay]

I've thought about it before and imagined that I'd do as per your second effort (create a watery low alcohol fermented ginger beer, around 1%abv) but then add a load of sugary water to the mix at kegging to up the sweetness. As long as the keg is kept cold, there is no need to filter or pasteurise.

i've not got close enough to making it to research any further.

i'm still trying to source freshly juiced (and unadulterated) apple juice for a summer cider...

[jt]

There's a bloke - Andrew ???? - over Carterton way, called Mela Juices I think.
He's often at the market by Moore Wilsons at Tawa

[Steve Baker]

Plant a tree? We've just put in an apparently traditional cider variety called "Slack my girdle". Now just have to wait 3 years for it to fruit...

[Rusty Chch]

One of my mates has just planted one of these!

This thread is awesome for information http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?t=64821

[Steve Baker]

Thats some good info.

One thing I was wondering, can I get the juice out just by whizzing them through a juicer? Or will this flavour be inferior to an old-school press?

[Rusty Chch]

no worries doing it like that. It's a bit of a pain and to make aenough to brew with will take a few hours.

A friend and I made 40l of juice using a bucket, a drill with a blade attached and a borrowed fruit press.

[denimglen]

Saw plans online somewhere for a DIY press.

A car bottle jack, some plywood and a big collection bucket. Would be awesome to make if you did enough ciders/fruit wines to warrent building it.

[Rusty Chch]

I'd be keen to give it a go. I guess if you made it well enough it'd last forever

A lad at work has mentioned that he's got a few pear trees so we're going on a perry making expedition in March...watch this space

[jt]

Nope, only recipe I've got came from the Chc Press for a 1.5 litre bottle.
I've tasted the Brewcraft kit, with & without enhancements and I'd be interested in something better too

[Dan]

Hmmm, so im wondering how store bought ones have a fuller flavour, and the kit one too, it fermented out in the bottle but retained sweetness etc.
Maybe they put lactose in it, it may be a solution to this.

[Soren]

The kit ones probably have some sort of artificial sweetener that doesnt ferment or maybe lactose as you say. The bought ones are probalby cooled, filtered AND pastaurized before being sugared up and force carbonated... If you are able to do this at home, that might be the way to go.
I don't know anything about brewing ginger beer, but does it actually have to ferment? Couldn't you just skip the yeast, put the "wort" straight in hte keg and force carbonate it?

[denimglen]

Can't help but if you find a good recipe I'd love to know. I could imagine myself KO'ing a keg of GB pretty quick.