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  1. #1
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Brewing alcoholic ginger beer.

    Being rather fed up of drinking crappy alcohol in LoS (to say nowt of the bastard chemicals), for the last year or so i have been experimenting with brewing, enjoying various levels of success. Without doubt my best results have been from beer kits imported by friends, but this supply route is erratic at best, so i decided to try and produce a brew made entirely of stuff available locally, including all the equipment.

    I'll break the thread into 4 parts; the preparation and initial fermentation, bottling, getting it down your neck, and most importantly, things to do differently next time.
    Far from being an expert on this, i am very much a novice, testament being that out of four brews i've started, only 2 (prior to this ginger beer) have survived to the 'drinking it' stage.

    The first criticism is that the yeast i used is not available locally, but by looking on the net it seems that any yeast will do the job, so if anyone has or does try it, let us know.

    It can't be stressed enough about cleanliness, so clean everything that will come into contact with any stage of the process. For this purpose, i use a baby-bottle sterilising solution from the local chemist. It's supposed to be non rinse, but i use plenty of clean water to rinse it off, just in case.

    The quantity of ginger beer i made was 16 litres, and here are the ingredients that went into the pot. The recipe is my own, based on scouring the net.

  2. #2
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    Marmite the Dog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke
    The first criticism is that the yeast i used is not available locally, but by looking on the net it seems that any yeast will do the job, so if anyone has or does try it, let us know.
    Bread and beer yeasts are essentially the same, just a slightly different strain as the bread yeast will impart more of a yeasty flavour to the brew.

  3. #3
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    looking forward to the rest of this.

  4. #4
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    INGREDIENTS

    0.5 Kg Fresh root ginger (grated).
    3.0 Kg Brown sugar.
    200g Honey.
    2 oranges.
    2 lemons (being Thailand, more accurately- limes).
    1 cinammon stick.
    1 star anise.
    1 clove.
    Yeast.



    Method

    Put all of the ingredients (except the yeast) into a big pot, and top the pot up 'till about threequarters full with water. Bring to the boil, boil for a further 20 minutes, turn the heat down and simmer for about an hour, with the lid on.


    Gordon Ramsey bollocks.


    Now leave it to cool down a lot, i added cold water at this stage to speed it up a bit.
    When it's cool enough to handle, sieve the stuff through either a clean old t-shirt or something similar, i used a Thai tea strainer (like a sweatty sock with a metal ring around the top).
    Sieve it into your fermenting bucket which should already contain the remainder of the fresh water not used in the boil.
    Slosh it around a lot because at this stage you want plenty of air in the liquid.


    Almost ready.


    Meanwhile, proof your yeast. This shows whether or not the stuff is healthy or not.
    This is the yeast i used, but as said earlier, i think any yeast will do a job, and the proofing applies to whatever yeast type you use.


    Muntons finest.



    If you use dry yeast, sprinkle it onto a bit of warm water for 15 minutes, then add a few tablespoons of the liquid from your fermenting tub, cover with polythene, and wait untill(hopefully) the yeast has started to froth a lot - about 15 minutes.


    From this..........



    .......to this in 15 minutes.

  5. #5
    The Pikey Hunter
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    ^^ I assume the delay in posting the rest of the instructions is caused by withnall having a sip of his latest brew and as a result has gone to have his stomach pumped?

  6. #6
    splendid and tremendous
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke
    0.5 Kg Fresh root ginger (grated). 3.0 Kg Brown sugar. 200g Honey. 2 oranges. 2 lemons (being Thailand, more accurately- limes). 1 cinammon stick. 1 star anise. 1 clove. Yeast.
    Is this a cry for help of some description. I think the closet door just swung open..

  7. #7
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    So, your yeast is working, pour it into the fermenter and give the whole lot a thoroughly good agitation - the more air the better.
    Put the lid on, seal with electrical tape, insert your airlock, place in a dark place, and sit back and drink chang for a few more weeks.


    Prior to sealing with red electrical tape - colour optional.



    The equipment, although not sophisticated, seems to do the job, and was all purchased locally.
    A plastic bucket (supposedly suitable for foodstuffs) with lid. Drill a hole in the lid into which you can shove a length of plastic tubing (or a rubber bung mounted airlock if you have one).
    Plastic tubing this is what i use as an airlock, about a metre in length, fed in through the drilled hole into the airspace between your brew and the lid, the other end fed into a jam jar full of water.
    The tubing also doubles as a siphon in the bottling process.



    I waited for 3 weeks before bottling, more about this in the improvements section later.

  8. #8
    splendid and tremendous
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    Heterosexual Non-beastialitists tend to brew gear like this..


  9. #9
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog
    Bread and beer yeasts are essentially the same, just a slightly different strain as the bread yeast will impart more of a yeasty flavour to the brew.
    Gotta agree with that.



    Quote Originally Posted by Gerbil
    I assume the delay in posting the rest of the instructions is caused by withnall having a sip of his latest brew and as a result has gone to have his stomach pumped?
    Transferring photos is a bitch.

  10. #10
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by somtamslap
    Heterosexual Non-beastialitists tend to brew gear like this..
    That's why there are so many opticians in Thailand.

  11. #11
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    I need a rest.
    This is a real pain in the arse - photobuckets gone down, and i've just lost all the last script off a post.

  12. #12
    splendid and tremendous
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke
    and i've just lost all the last script off a post.
    It's lovely when that happens, isn't it.

  13. #13
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    hi mate, can you give us some specifics on the volumes of water? You said fill your pot to 3/4's full, but we don't know how big the pot is etc... How much cold water did you add?

  14. #14
    sabaii sabaii
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    They sell Vodka in 7-11

    I tried brewing bacardi once, when it's all ready you will convince yourself it's pretty good, then your friends, until they tell you what it really fukkin tastes like

  15. #15
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by somtamslap
    It's lovely when that happens, isn't it.
    No.



    Quote Originally Posted by alwarner
    can you give us some specifics on the volumes of water? You said fill your pot to 3/4's full, but we don't know how big the pot is etc... How much cold water did you add?
    This was to make 16 litres.
    I set the 16 litres aside in one of those big water bottles, so whatever i used in the boiling etc was subtracted from the original 16 litres, so this way it doesn't matter how big your boiling pot is.
    I added enough cold water so that the liquid didn't burn me when i was filtering through the tea-strainer, as i used my hands to squeeze the last drops of "oomska" out of the solids being filtered out.

  16. #16
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    I used to make Ginger beer when I was a kid! my parents did not realise it was alcoholic

    Just the yeast (originally from a friend), add tepid water, sugar and powdered ginger

    wait until it stops fermenting

    decant and drink

    get headache

    each time you made it you had to halve the yeast as it grows; give it to a friend

    here is a link to something similar

    The REAL ginger beer recipe!

    they guy insists the Ginger beer Plant is not yeast, but it is, originally grown on ginger root
    Last edited by DrAndy; 12-11-2011 at 12:54 PM.
    I have reported your post

  17. #17
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    cheers, will give this a go next week.

  18. #18
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Right onto bottling (again).

    Bottling.

    After 21 days, with trepidation i pulled off the electrical tape and moved the fermenters lid to one side, dipped in a sterilised scoop and took a sample.
    {Many moons ago i went to a vineyard in Greece, and they let me sample some wine before it was ready for bottling}. This brew tasted very similar to that - unready/young wine. No hint of sweetness with a few bubbles in.

    The fermenter was lifted onto a table, the plastic tube lowered into the brew, and the other end given a quick suck to start the siphoning process - as soon as the brew started to come through the siphon, i folded it to stop it pouring, and snipped off the last inch or so to stop contamination of the brew as it was bottled.


    Sophisticated bottling technique.



    The bottles i used were Singha water bottles 0.75l
    I didn't sterilise them, as they were factory sealed containing drinking water, and this has caused no problems in the past.
    I lined up the empty water bottles, and carefully put 1 teaspoon of white sugar into each one before i started filling. (More about this in the improvements section later).
    I tried to keep the end of the siphoning tube below the level of the brew in the bottle to prevent air from entering the mixture.



    The reasons i use water bottles as opposed to previously used fizzy pop bottles is because they are a real bastard to sterilise properly. As long as you screw the lid down tightly on the water bottles and keep checking them you should have no problems.
    Have a look at this photo below. They are identical bottles, but the secondary fermentation in the bottle has caused the build up of carbon dioxide, which we want for the fizz, to start to expand the dimples in the water bottle. There are dimples in the bottom of the bottle as well, which means when the pressure is building up to dangerous levels the bottle falls over.


    A potential bomb.






    If they are getting a bit bloated, release the pressure by opening a fraction of a turn to let the excess gas out and then retighten the cap.

    Store your bottled brew in a dark place (in this case a disused freezer), pop in a ginger cat, and leave for another 2 weeks MINIMUM whilst you once again savor the delights of Chang.


    Mmmmmmm.........close the lid?

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke
    If they are getting a bit bloated, release the pressure by opening a fraction of a turn to let the excess gas out and then retighten the cap.
    that is important as they can explode due to continuing fermentation

  20. #20
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrAndy
    that is important as they can explode due to continuing fermentation
    I know a bloke who survived several of Her Majesties requests to visit war torn lands intact, only to lose an eye through negligence on the exploding beer bottle front.
    On a brighter note, Cyclops is doing well as a purveyor of fine monacles.

  21. #21
    splendid and tremendous
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke
    and leave for another 2 weeks MINIMUM
    Does this mean we have to wait 14 whole days for pictures of the aftermath? You know, pregnant cats and stuff like that..

  22. #22
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke
    For this purpose, i use a baby-bottle sterilising solution from the local chemist. It's supposed to be non rinse, but i use plenty of clean water to rinse it off, just in case.
    err bloke perhaps you need to think this through just a tad more ,

    there IS a reason for non rinse and you are 100% correct that cleanliness is the biggest factor in any brewing project .

  23. #23
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by somtamslap
    Does this mean we have to wait 14 whole days for pictures of the aftermath? You know, pregnant cats and stuff like that.
    Well, untill next Friday, which will see the official donation being made to the customs and exercise department, made in full, and pictured in glorious technicolour, but filmed in black and white for the authentic look of how people used to brew their own before the state intervened and swapped petroleum products from far distant lands for naturally produced goods for the benefit of those that couldn't benefit from fuck all other than making their own products from stuff that wasn't made from petroleum products that have a finite supply but an infinite demand. Yes.

  24. #24
    splendid and tremendous
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    ^ Are you sure you haven't just inadvertently drunk half a dozen litres?

  25. #25
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bettyboo
    too many speedos pics on this thread... ...I'm not coming back to this thread cause somewhere on the cyberverse will be Socal and Paps whacking one off to all the speedos...
    Betty, please come back to this thread.
    It was a one off reference to all things ale, the speedo thing was a bit of a throwback to the Germanic side of the brewing industry.
    The fish was a red herring.

    Just to prove how positively manly, and not at all speedo orientated this whole thread is, here is a song about beer.


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