Ginger beer

[CrealCritter]

Day 3 - nice peacefully top ferment going on in there. The bug yeast seems happy chewing though the sugars and producing co2 & alcohol in its wake.

There is a fair amount of sediment (trub) dropping to the bottom already, which is good.

No visual evidence of any secondary infection. Sanitation is #1 rule of thumb when fermenting. So far so good, fingers continue to remain crossed.

 

[CrealCritter]

Day 4 - just beginning to die down. Trub is getting deeper in the bottom, which is good. No visual signs of secondary infection. So far so good. Looking forward to drinking some, I'll most likely bottle Friday. Then I can have a taste test of flat beer.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Cool process! Hope it turns out really tasty!

 

[CrealCritter]

Cool process! Hope it turns out really tasty!

It is kind of a cool process to go from ginger root to fermented drink.

1lb Fresh organic ginger root

Ginger root shredded with food processor

Boil ginger root & 4 1/2 cups white sugar in 1 gallon water for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Add juice of 1 1/2 fresh lemon to pot through strainer.

Pour into carboy through strainer, add 2 gallons water. Shake carboy for 5 minutes to airrate. Add 3 cups strained ginger bug juice. Install bung and airlock. Sit in a dark place that will see no sunlight. Don't touch, cross fingers and let it do what its going to do.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I've never had ginger beer but I am a big fan of ginger flavor...maybe I'll try to find some somewhere and give it a try.

 

[CrealCritter]

I've never had ginger beer but I am a big fan of ginger flavor...maybe I'll try to find some somewhere and give it a try.

If all goes well I would offer to send you a bottle in the mail. But I'm pretty sure with all the shaking during transport it would most likely explode (natural ferment is way different than dead co2 gas injected store bought sodas).

You could make your own in a smaller batch maybe 1 gallon. Just need to start a bug. Then some no rinse steriler, good glass jug, bung and air lock. I would be more than willing to answer any questions you may have based on my limited experience.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Nice of you to think of it - but I'm with you in believing it would not survive transport!

I might give brewing a try - but in the interim I could probably find it locally. Probably nothing like home brewed but it might be worth a chance.

Just did a quick search and my local grocery store carries both a non-alcoholic and an alcoholic variety! Who knew?

 

[sumi]

I think you'll love it @frustratedearthmother

@CrealCritter it's looking good! Next time, add some raisins

 

[CrealCritter]

I think you'll love it @frustratedearthmother

@CrealCritter it's looking good! Next time, add some raisins

Raisins are cheating... They float to the top when the ferment has finished. Ever wondered why they are called raisins? Now you know

 

[CrealCritter]

Day 5 - some notable condensation forming inside the carboy. This is totally expected and means there is alcohol present. Alcohol floats on top of water, where the top feeding bug yeast is present. As the bug yeast produces co2 there is a tiny amount of alcohol within the gas. As the gas hits the side of the carboy, the alcohol collects as a vapor. gravity will cause it to run back down into the beer.

If you look right below the bubbles there is a line of alcohol, might be hard to see in this picture though. Again no visual signs of secondary infection and no off smell when I sniffed the air lock. So far so good