Finally, after over a year of trial and error, I've finally created the perfect ginger beer recipe. I'm still exploring variations, so I'll update it as I come up with them. So far I've encountered a number of problems, including unpleasent bitterness and a starchy flavor. Here is the winning combination thusfar:
#19 Ginger Beer
For each liter:
3/4 liter good hard water
30 grams ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup sugar or 3/4 cup honey
2 tsp lemon juice (or more to taste)
2 inch lemon zest
10 raisins
Bring the water to simmer. Add the sugar (if using), the raisins, and ginger. Pulse with an immersion blender kibble ginger and raisins, or process the ginger and raisins with some of the water in a standing blender first. Simmer at a low temperature (150-200*F) for 15 minutes. Allow to cool (add honey now if using). Add lemon juice and strain into fermenter. Add lemon zest, aerate, and pitch bread or ale yeast. Ferment until the yeast have almost given out, then prime and bottle. Industrially, fermented ginger beer is fermented, pasteurized, sweetened, and then force carbonated. If you like a sweeter beer and don't want to sweeten it in the glass, you could wait for the beer to clear, then sorbate, sweeten, and force carbonate. You can alter the acid level too, depending on how tart you like it. If done right, it has a nice kick, a crystal clear finish, and a more palatable bitterness. Age at least 1 week, but wait too long and it will start to quickly degrade if you're carbonating with yeast.
Now my next project is going to be adding malt and maybe a little hops to this sucker and really taking it up a notch! I'm thinking crystal malt, a touch of caramel malt, and maybe just a little dry hopping with something bright and citrusy.
#19 Ginger Beer
For each liter:
3/4 liter good hard water
30 grams ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup sugar or 3/4 cup honey
2 tsp lemon juice (or more to taste)
2 inch lemon zest
10 raisins
Bring the water to simmer. Add the sugar (if using), the raisins, and ginger. Pulse with an immersion blender kibble ginger and raisins, or process the ginger and raisins with some of the water in a standing blender first. Simmer at a low temperature (150-200*F) for 15 minutes. Allow to cool (add honey now if using). Add lemon juice and strain into fermenter. Add lemon zest, aerate, and pitch bread or ale yeast. Ferment until the yeast have almost given out, then prime and bottle. Industrially, fermented ginger beer is fermented, pasteurized, sweetened, and then force carbonated. If you like a sweeter beer and don't want to sweeten it in the glass, you could wait for the beer to clear, then sorbate, sweeten, and force carbonate. You can alter the acid level too, depending on how tart you like it. If done right, it has a nice kick, a crystal clear finish, and a more palatable bitterness. Age at least 1 week, but wait too long and it will start to quickly degrade if you're carbonating with yeast.
Now my next project is going to be adding malt and maybe a little hops to this sucker and really taking it up a notch! I'm thinking crystal malt, a touch of caramel malt, and maybe just a little dry hopping with something bright and citrusy.
