Author Topic: Ginger beer (Read 2360 times)

mrcharly-YHT · « **on:** 15 June, 2020, 11:12:21 am »

Started some last week, just drinkable now.

My life, it is lively! We are having to burb the bottles twice a day.

Fantastic flavour. Beats the socks off anything commercial.

T42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 June, 2020, 05:06:15 pm »

Used to love that stuff - my mum usually had one bubbling away in the larder. I've been threatening MrsT's yeast starter.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 June, 2020, 07:09:33 pm »

Ooh I used to make ginger beer when I was a kid. Got a starter kit from Galt Toys. I remember it being really nice.

SteveC · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 June, 2020, 07:20:00 pm »

My mother made it when I was still in primary school. She probably didn't realise that it was going to be alcoholic. The bigger problem was that the only container she had was about half the size needed, so it came out undrinkably strong. It's not often you find a cold drink which is actually hot!

pcolbeck · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 June, 2020, 07:28:43 pm »

Mmm never really thought about that. I wonder if they would be allowed to sell a ginger beer kit in a toy shop these days? The seventies definitely were a different world.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 June, 2020, 04:33:49 pm »

Quote from: T42 on 15 June, 2020, 05:06:15 pm

Used to love that stuff - my mum usually had one bubbling away in the larder. I've been threatening MrsT's yeast starter.

You don't need a yeast starter.

MrsC made this batch. The starter was just chopped up ginger, sugar and water. Left for about 4-5 days to get going.

Then more ginger, water, cardamon, black peppercorns, sugar; all boiled in a big pan. Allowed to cool to blood-heat and mixed with the starter.

Strain through a cloth and bottle.

Look Around You · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 June, 2020, 07:08:17 pm »

Now this sounds just like the sort of thing my boys would like to make. I will set them to it.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 June, 2020, 04:25:19 am »

Just be careful where you store your bottles. I remember a few of mine exploding when I was a kid. Ginger beer can get quite lively.

citoyen · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 June, 2020, 07:35:31 am »

Slightly OT but my son has just started a batch of tepache - same principle as ginger beer but with pineapple and chilli. He has made it before but while he was at uni, so I didn’t get to try it. Looking forward to tasting it when it’s ready.

T42 · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 June, 2020, 09:57:46 am »

Quote from: mrcharly-YHT on 16 June, 2020, 04:33:49 pm

Quote from: T42 on 15 June, 2020, 05:06:15 pm
Used to love that stuff - my mum usually had one bubbling away in the larder. I've been threatening MrsT's yeast starter.
You don't need a yeast starter.

MrsC made this batch. The starter was just chopped up ginger, sugar and water. Left for about 4-5 days to get going.

Then more ginger, water, cardamon, black peppercorns, sugar; all boiled in a big pan. Allowed to cool to blood-heat and mixed with the starter.

Strain through a cloth and bottle.

As long as you get the right wild yeast into it. I wonder if a couple of organic grapes would help...

Something started fermenting in our kitchen waste-bin a couple of weeks back. The smell was so wonderful we were sorry to chuck it out.

Look Around You · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 June, 2020, 12:33:17 pm »

We had a bottle explosion, it was great fun. Son noticed the bottle expanding so started undoing the lid to relieve the pressure. It erupted all over him. Luckily for my kitchen, and him, he’d taken the wise decision to go in the garden. Also luckily, the neighbours weren’t out when ginger beer went flying over the fence into their garden.

I haven’t laughed so much for quite a while. Son isn’t sure he wants to try again.

T42 · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 June, 2020, 01:08:22 pm »

When I was in first year digs we had a bottle of apple juice that got interesting. We cut a groove halfway up the cork so that it could bleed off the CO2 when we were out during the day, but when we were studying in the evening we would push it down all the way. When it popped we'd knock off and go to the pub. Trouble was that Edinburgh pubs closed at 10 pm in those days, so sometimes it needed a shake...

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 June, 2020, 08:31:43 am »

Quote from: Look Around You on 22 June, 2020, 12:33:17 pm

We had a bottle explosion, it was great fun. Son noticed the bottle expanding so started undoing the lid to relieve the pressure. It erupted all over him. Luckily for my kitchen, and him, he’d taken the wise decision to go in the garden. Also luckily, the neighbours weren’t out when ginger beer went flying over the fence into their garden.

I haven’t laughed so much for quite a while. Son isn’t sure he wants to try again.

I initially thought you'd literally had a bottle explode. It can happen.

We use clip top beer bottles; with enough strength it is possible to gradually release the co2. Going to use a demijohn next time, save time.

Had a half a pint of the ginger beer last night. 2 weeks old and it definitely has a mild kick.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 June, 2020, 10:39:11 am »

Can anyone recommend a particular recipe? I quite fancy a bash at this.

What sort of bottles do you recommend? Can you reuse the big plastic ones that lemonade etc is sold in by the supermarkets?

T42 · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 June, 2020, 10:58:34 am »

Don't see why not - people make water rockets with them. Just don't screw the tops down tightly for the first week or so.

Little Jim · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 June, 2020, 11:20:33 am »

I use the 2 litre "Coke" bottles for Elderflower Champagne (which is superb stuff) and that produces a LOT of gas. The bottles will expand a lot and I am careful to keep releasing the pressure but I have never had one split but they do expand so that the base is pushed out, the label slips off because it is so loose when the bottle is emptied and they make a high pitched ring when you tap them. So they do hold a lot of pressure. Just remember to chill very well and open carefully when it is ready to drink.

citoyen · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 June, 2020, 12:13:17 pm »

Maybe use a demijohn with an airlock, then decant it into bottles when it has finished fermenting?

Making it in a sealed container sounds like asking for trouble.

ian · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 June, 2020, 03:46:06 pm »

One of my flatmates in Edinburgh use to make it in our kitchen. Her father was a prison warden, so she was familiar with 'jail juice' concoctions, a cheap familiarity she brought to our boozy little souls.

Anyway, one day a bottle exploded, sending a jet up to the ceiling, where all her clothes dangled from the drying rack.

She smelled like ginger for weeks afterwards. There's worse things to smell of, I suppose.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #18 on:** 23 June, 2020, 04:06:00 pm »

Quote from: citoyen on 23 June, 2020, 12:13:17 pm

Maybe use a demijohn with an airlock, then decant it into bottles when it has finished fermenting?

Making it in a sealed container sounds like asking for trouble.

When I made ale I used to serve it from the demijohn. Usually, I would quaff my ale in company, and 4 pints each is a reasonable evening's drinking. Saves all that hassle of bottling and is much more like an authentic cask ale. I can't imagine drinking a gallon of ginger beer at a sitting.

citoyen · « **Reply #19 on:** 23 June, 2020, 04:11:45 pm »

It would be easy enough to syphon it off into some of your lemonade bottles once it's finished fermenting.

I would agree that drinking a gallon of ginger beer in a single sitting sounds like a very bad idea indeed.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #20 on:** 02 July, 2020, 07:46:43 am »

I'll get Mrs C to share her recipe.

We have a second fermentation going, this time in a demijohn. Avoids spending nearly an hour a day releasing pressure.

It is bubbling nicely, another couple of days and we can bottle it.

citoyen · « **Reply #21 on:** 02 July, 2020, 11:08:29 am »

Quote from: citoyen on 18 June, 2020, 07:35:31 am

Slightly OT but my son has just started a batch of tepache - same principle as ginger beer but with pineapple and chilli. He has made it before but while he was at uni, so I didn’t get to try it. Looking forward to tasting it when it’s ready.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to taste it, as the bottle exploded. To make matters worse, he was keeping it on top of the fridge, so we came down in the morning to find shards of glass and fermented pineapple juice all over the kitchen.

Thank fuck we didn't leave the dog in the kitchen that night...

I think it had actually finished fermenting but he added half a teaspoon of sugar for bottle conditioning. The hot weather probably didn't help.

Author Topic: Ginger beer (Read 2360 times)

ian