sunburn ginger beer
brewed: 06/06/2016
pitched: 06/06/2016
bottled/kegged: 20/06/2016
subsequent batch info: never again. it was terrible.
ingredients:
980gm coopers ginger beer kit
1kg light dry malt extract
750gm demerara sugar
150gm fresh ginger
1.0 pkg American West Coast Ale (Lallemand/Danstar #BRY-97) Yeast
0.5 tsp yeast nutrient
process:
batch size: 19L
steps: n/a
mash: n/a
boil: 5L boil with malt extract, sugar, yeast nutrient and ginger added for 5 mins. topped up in the fermenter to 19L
chill method: n/a
ferment temp: 17c
d-rest: 20c
chilled: 0.5c
estimated OG: approximately 1.040
actual OG: 1.042
estimated FG: 1.005-1.010
actual FG: 1.012
estimated %abv: 4.5-3.3
actual %abv: 3.9
ibu: n/a
brewing notes:
16/05/2016 - i've been toying again with brewing this beer. i keep forgetting about it then changing the recipe ever so slightly each time. the most recent change is using the mangrove jack's dark ale yeast instead of something neutral and american. this is to hopefully get some plum and dark fruit notes into the flavour profile. i'm also considering bumping the gravity ever so slightly too.
05/06/2016 - putting this one together today and decided to go back to using an american ale yeast. i want to test this first and see how it goes.
06/06/2016 - woo hoo! put this brew on tonight. all in all took about an hour to chop up the small amount of ginger, boil stuff and pour it all into the fermenter, set the fridge to temp, and clean up. admittedly, the initial temperature was 31c so i waited a good few hours for it to come down before pitching but still. very stress-free. would never go back to kit brewing full time but i was intrigued after tasting other brewer's ginger beers and have never made one so thought, why not!? i increased the dememara sugar also to bump up the gravity (aiming for 1.040) and was surprised to find it just slightly over. can't wait for it to ferment. might even bump up the ginger and the burn factor and pop in some chili and more ginger once fermentation has finished.
11/06/2016 - just did a gravity check and it's going slowly. only down to about 1.026-8 or so now, so i've bumped up the ferment temperature to 20c to hopefully finish it off. had a taste and it's quite nice albeit noticeably sweet. fingers crossed it dries out a bit and continues to ferment.
17/06/2016 - tested tonight and it's down to 1.012. after 6 days this beer should be finished fermenting - particularly at the higher temperature of 20c. it's tasting quite nice and bitey with just enough hotness in the throat to warrant another sip. i'll cold crash it and keg it soon.
tasting notes:
20/09/2016 - this beer has been in my keg since the above date and as yet, has not really improved much. when it was very early it had potential but since then it's just been way too twangy and bitey for me to be bothered brewing again. not that it was much energy as it was a kit brew, but even with strict temperature control and sanitation, you can still tell a kit beer from a mile away. not impressed and won't be making this one again any time soon if at all.
18/10/2016 - it's still in my keg (goes to show you how long it's been since i've brewed!) and it's still very average. i could go so far to say it's not as harsh and bitey as it once was, but it's still not an overly enjoyable flavour. it's a noticeably 'fake' ginger flavour.
brew day / beer pictures:
pitched: 06/06/2016
bottled/kegged: 20/06/2016
subsequent batch info: never again. it was terrible.
ingredients:
980gm coopers ginger beer kit
1kg light dry malt extract
750gm demerara sugar
150gm fresh ginger
1.0 pkg American West Coast Ale (Lallemand/Danstar #BRY-97) Yeast
0.5 tsp yeast nutrient
process:
batch size: 19L
steps: n/a
mash: n/a
boil: 5L boil with malt extract, sugar, yeast nutrient and ginger added for 5 mins. topped up in the fermenter to 19L
chill method: n/a
ferment temp: 17c
d-rest: 20c
chilled: 0.5c
estimated OG: approximately 1.040
actual OG: 1.042
estimated FG: 1.005-1.010
actual FG: 1.012
estimated %abv: 4.5-3.3
actual %abv: 3.9
ibu: n/a
brewing notes:
16/05/2016 - i've been toying again with brewing this beer. i keep forgetting about it then changing the recipe ever so slightly each time. the most recent change is using the mangrove jack's dark ale yeast instead of something neutral and american. this is to hopefully get some plum and dark fruit notes into the flavour profile. i'm also considering bumping the gravity ever so slightly too.
05/06/2016 - putting this one together today and decided to go back to using an american ale yeast. i want to test this first and see how it goes.
06/06/2016 - woo hoo! put this brew on tonight. all in all took about an hour to chop up the small amount of ginger, boil stuff and pour it all into the fermenter, set the fridge to temp, and clean up. admittedly, the initial temperature was 31c so i waited a good few hours for it to come down before pitching but still. very stress-free. would never go back to kit brewing full time but i was intrigued after tasting other brewer's ginger beers and have never made one so thought, why not!? i increased the dememara sugar also to bump up the gravity (aiming for 1.040) and was surprised to find it just slightly over. can't wait for it to ferment. might even bump up the ginger and the burn factor and pop in some chili and more ginger once fermentation has finished.
11/06/2016 - just did a gravity check and it's going slowly. only down to about 1.026-8 or so now, so i've bumped up the ferment temperature to 20c to hopefully finish it off. had a taste and it's quite nice albeit noticeably sweet. fingers crossed it dries out a bit and continues to ferment.
17/06/2016 - tested tonight and it's down to 1.012. after 6 days this beer should be finished fermenting - particularly at the higher temperature of 20c. it's tasting quite nice and bitey with just enough hotness in the throat to warrant another sip. i'll cold crash it and keg it soon.
tasting notes:
20/09/2016 - this beer has been in my keg since the above date and as yet, has not really improved much. when it was very early it had potential but since then it's just been way too twangy and bitey for me to be bothered brewing again. not that it was much energy as it was a kit brew, but even with strict temperature control and sanitation, you can still tell a kit beer from a mile away. not impressed and won't be making this one again any time soon if at all.
18/10/2016 - it's still in my keg (goes to show you how long it's been since i've brewed!) and it's still very average. i could go so far to say it's not as harsh and bitey as it once was, but it's still not an overly enjoyable flavour. it's a noticeably 'fake' ginger flavour.
brew day / beer pictures: