Alcoholic Ginger Beer

[beejay]

I want to make an alcoholic ginger beer, and have been googling etc... trying to find recipes, and in the end have looked at that many different options that I have completely confused the %^&* out of myself!!!

Can anyone tell me, if I make a good ol' fashioned GB plant (the one I used to make with my mother when I was a kid used dry ground ginger) and use brewers (or champagne??) yeast instead of bakers yeast, and add extra sugar to it, will that make it alcoholic?

If not, can someone please tell me a simple way to make it?

Thanks!!

[Kevnlis]

Yes that will make it alcoholic. Though I am sure it will taste nothing like you remember

[beejay]

Yes that will make it alcoholic. Though I am sure it will taste nothing like you remember

Thanks Kev
How much do I increase the sugar? Double??
Also what is the difference between brewers & champagne yeast?

[Kevnlis]

Increase the sugar to hit your target ABV. I would suggest using Dextrose rather than white table sugar. Also I would add half a kilo of Lactose to add some body and sweetness, make sure you dissolve it real well though as it can be a PITA!

[beejay]

Increase the sugar to hit your target ABV. I would suggest using Dextrose rather than white table sugar. Also I would add half a kilo of Lactose to add some body and sweetness, make sure you dissolve it real well though as it can be a PITA!

Ok.... so this is where I got confused before.... How much sugar do I need to hit my target ABV??? How do I work that out?
Also where do I get dextrose & lactose?

Thanks.

P.S. what's PITA?

[Kevnlis]

You can get all of that stuff at your LHBS. If you give us a target ABV we can work it out for you.

PITA= Pain In The Arse

[beejay]

lol at the PITA bit haha I'm so slow sometimes

I guess I would be aiming at aroung 4-5% ABV. Not too much more than that, would like to enjoy the drink not pass out after the first one haha

[Kevnlis]

4% sounds like a good start. I would suggest a 1.5 kilo tin of amber malt, 750g of dextrose, 500g lactose and 1 kilo or so of Ginger.

Also if you age the ginger in the bottom of the fridge for 1 month it will turn out better for some reason, I also like to put it in the blender and whip it up and then freeze it for a week or so before use. Age for at least 3 months as they can be pretty harsh at the start!

[beejay]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot and see how it goes!

[rwh]

Here are my ginger beer resources:

Ginger beer from scratch (a whole thread discussing it).
Easy Ginger Beer, Hard Ginger Beer [pdf] - Liquorcraft.
Ginger blush
My first Real Ginger beer

Simple Coopers Ginger Beer
Can Coopers ginger beer
1Kg Brewing sugar
500g honey
Coopers packet yeast

[scanman]

Plenty of good ginger beer recipes on this forum, some are brilliant and have done them myself, so can't claim any recipies myself.
Do a search, and I am sure you will find a few easier ones to do, before you go down the path of ginger plants.....
I have yet to make a ginger plant for doing ginger beer myself, but from what I read on here they are the bee's knee's.

[shehanaaz]

There are two ways of making ginger beer. The first consists of shredding ginger root and boiling it up with water and sugar. The second involves making a ginger 'plant' which can be re-used time and time again. This makes a batch once a week.
--------------
shehanaaz