Ginger Beer Plant

[Liam Callaghan]

Anyone have a good ginger beer plant that they would share?

I've been asked to make some GB for Mrs C after tasting Mikes from Brewers Coop at the xmas do.

I am putting down an alcohol free one shortly using a kit and Bryans easy carbonating method but I'd be keen to have a go at making them from scratch and having a look at them using a 'bug' or ginger beer plant.  Apparently its better to use one that is mature and tried and tested...  A bit like sourdough by the looks.

Happy to cover cost of postage and your time of course

L.

[jt]

Low or no alcohol ginger beer appeals, I'd be interested in hearing more.
I've not made from kits, but tasted a couple of kits straight to instructions and they were pretty bland.
Made a few small batches of ginger beer, mixed up in the bottle and they've been ok but I wouldn't mind working on a decent low or no alcohol recipe to fill a keg for the family

[Liam Callaghan]

I'll let you know how this one turns out, should be ready for next weekend when I will be sporting the hangover of all hangovers :p

[dean fisher]

I have made a few kits and your right they just taste bland I wouldn't recommend it

[Hillman]

Ginger beer plant is awesome. I had one back in the States, but didn't bring it with me for obvious reasons. You can buy it on trademe, or this guy in England ships it worldwide. The catch is that once you have it it demands constant upkeep -- you really don't need to make a keg of it as you are making a fresh batch of it every five days. But it's the best way of making it, if you can keep up with the pace.

Oh, it's also not alcohol free -- there is fermentation involved, which produces a small amount of alcohol, though not enough to be considered "liquor" for the purposes of the Sales of Liquor Act.

[Liam Callaghan]

I don't mind the constant upkeep, I can probably share that with the neighbours or palm it on Mrs C...  Yeah right haha!

I'll order some and see, might hit you up about looking after it if thats alright?

Not bothered about the alcohol content, I seem to like the stuff :p  Using Bryans non alcoholic method atm which loads a full keg and is super easy, just interested in how to make it traditionally.  Never made a low alcohol beverage apart from tea.  My liver might find it a struggle...

[Hillman]

I can definitely give you advice, but it is very straight forward.I used the method from this guardian blog. Lemon juice, sugar, grated ginger wrapped in cheese cloth, and cream of tartar. I always used bottled water because it was only 89c a gallon in Pittsburgh, and it needs to be chlorine free, but I think you add the lemon juice to the water before the plant it removes it. I also dissolved the sugar in some of the water as per bulk priming, just because it was easier to get into the growler I was using and didn't sit at the bottom of the vessel. I don't know if that made any difference to the process overall though. 

Also, I never bothered with sanitization or anything, and it turned out perfect every time. You'll need to experiment with how long you leave it to ferment and then to carbonate (don't prime it, btw, there's still plenty of sugar). Five days and five days in 330ml bottles worked for me. More than five days fermenting made it too dry, and more than five days carbonating could produce some real gushers.

[Bryan Livingston]

Mikes was modified and definitely alcoholic!!!!

[dean fisher]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/food-beverage/other-beverages/... for ten dollars I'm gonna get one to give it a go

[Liam Callaghan]

Damn straight!  For $10 I am in too!

Yeah Bryan, Mikes was definitely built with a kick, very very drinkable though!  I have been pestered since Ruth drank it.  No need to rush these things.

Tempted to try making my own as well now, maybe with a little belgian yeast...

[Hillman]

If you guys live near each other you don't need to buy two. If it's real ginger beer plant then it will double in size with each batch and you can share it.

[martin w]

i'd never heard of GBP before so i've just been doing a bit of reading,the trade me link doesn't appear to be the right stuff,it should be a jelly like substance apparently,i found this info below-

The yeast was Saccharomyces pyriformis (meaning pear shaped sugar fungus) and the bacterium was Brevibacterium vermiforme (oxymoronically - short bacteria shaped like a worm). The bacteria form a jellified mesh in which the yeast cells reside. But they were not just cohabiting – they formed a symbiotic relationship as do fungi and algae to form lichens. The yeast excrete alcohol and the bacterium consume it, allowing the yeast, which can tolerate only low alcohol concentrations, to continue to thrive

searching around for info on how to make it comes back with lots ofrecipes using bakers or brewers yeast,how different would it be? it'd be worth a side by side comparison if you can get hold of real GBP!

[Hillman]

There's also this one on trademe, which might or might not be the real thing. That's why I linked to the English guy above -- trusted source and all that.

For what it's worth, here is an image of my first ever batch. Best ginger beer I've ever tasted, if I say so myself.