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  • Ginger Ale

    I have been asked to brew a Ginger Ale. Has anyone had experience with ginger in beer? Any help/suggestions are appreciated.

    Thank you.

  • #2
    I have made beer with ginger in it before. I think the key is using a couple additions, and a couple of types of ginger, in the process. The first thing that will really be your friend is a cheese grater attachment for a Robot Coupe - if you have a kitchen, it is a great tool to have there, too - just obviously clean the crap out of it before you use it for beer, because cheese is the mortal enemy of beer.

    First, I believe that ginger is best in a pale ale, as an IPA will blow the ginger away, and the taste of the ginger really pops in a lighter beer, not to say you might not get good results in a darker brew, but I think the ginger would get a little lost.

    Anyway, to start, in the mash I included a pound of fresh grated ginger (here is where the cheese grater comes in very handy). Then I had some crystallized ginger on hand for the boil. I added it at about five minutes out to allow it to dissolve. The real stuff isn't cheap, but it makes a lot of different. I believe I used a half pound pound per barrel (not enough). Then I went back to the fresh grated stuff, and did ab out 2.5lbs per barrel in the whirlpool, in a mesh bag. The stuff turned out really good, although not as gingery as I would have expected for how much I used. I would maybe suggest upping the numbers I gave you.

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    • #3
      I use fresh chopped ginger basically like hops, ie some boiled long, some near end of boil, some in hopback (when that's available.) Total use around 1.5#/bbl, weighted towards the late additions, gives a pretty gingery beer.

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      • #4
        Ginger Beer

        We make a non-alcoholic Ginger Beer and have found that using fresh ginger juice is the way to go. Much more ginger flavor than boiling the root itself.

        mtn

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        • #5
          There are also some good flavor companies (Like Star Kay White, Northwestern, etc) that make great extracts. I use Star Kay White Ginger, along with fresh lemongrass, in a light (11.5 Plato) ale. The extract allows me to dial in the exact amount that I want for the post filtration volume. Used in this way it loses no aromatics, which can be a problem with adding ginger pre-ferment. Ultimately, I would say experiment with a few option on a small batch scale and see which results in the beer you imagine.

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          • #6
            I use fresh ginger root along with Meyer lemon in my Saison. 4kg per 14bbl. I chop it into pieces that will fit through the 1.5" port and I put them in a gallon size Ziploc and bruise them with a rubber mallet. I add it to the fermenter right before it finishes out. Around 5°p.

            I buy a big box from the local produce company and process it all at once and freeze it to keep it fresh.

            I have had issues with too much head and foam before on this beer which could have to do with the ginger root. Anyone else experience this?

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            • #7
              Along the lines....

              I've been reading through the responses, and while I see some good methods here I'm wondering, how many of your recipes have that real ginger spice pop you get from soda? I've been searching for a way to do that. I've experimented with higher CO2 volumes, 2.6 can give it more bubbles jumping at your nose without screwing up draught distribution, but you can also get a slight metallicy taste.

              I'm currently brewing on a 7 bbl system and squeezing out 31-35 bbls into a fermenter. I made a Belgian Strong winter warmer with ginger, cranberry, and orange peel, throwing in 3 lbs of powdered ginger in with 4P till terminal, then 3.75 lbs in like a dry hop, bursting CO2 through the bottom every hour for two days before crashing. The beer had excellent ginger earthiness and sweetness, and a little spice at the tip of the tongue. As soon as I crashed it, a lot of the spice dropped out. The ale had wheat in it so I added about 1000 mL Biofine Clear to 32 bbls to drop the smog, and the flavor became very muted, to my pallet, but not to all. I was really hoping to get that nose stinging spice though, like some of the Southern ginger ales I've sampled.

              I'm considering brewing a smaller batch size next round and later boiling down a batch of simple syrup with ginger powder and firing that in towards the end of fermentation. I'm wondering if anyone knows any methods to achieve that sensory experience, Ginger Ale companies wont respond to my emails for sharing details.

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              • #8
                A lot of the ginger spice is in the starchy substance in the ginger. This comes out during juicing, or when boiled. If you crash all of that out, you'll loose that heat. You could try adding some cayenne pepper. I find this to mimic the spice well.

                mtn

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                • #9
                  Is Ginger Ale essentially Root Beer?
                  *pause for laughter*
                  I'll be going now.
                  Justin Crawford
                  Head Brewer
                  Valholl Brewing Co. LLC
                  Poulsbo, Washington

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                  • #10
                    I brew a Blonde with ginger on a regular basis.. We use two muslin bags in the whirlpool containing 12.5kg in each bag giving a total of 25kgs for a 1700L batch. I leave the Ginger in the Whirlpool during the cast.

                    I find it allows the malt base to be present but provides an almost ginger cookie type aroma but without all the crazy heat.

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                    • #11
                      if you want the heat, you've got to heat ginger in a pot of water to boiling, then soak overnight, adding the liquid direct to the fermenter.

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