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just read this thread and luckily for me i got some root ginger on saturday so i now have 25gs of it infusing. If this is as good as it sounds then i am gonna grow a ginger tree lol

Does anyone know how long this keeps for if you don't drink it first of coarse?

The last lot I made lasted a couple of days before the family got to it but then we forgot about the last bottle, I'm sure it would have been great, lasted around a week before it exploded , you are warned!!!!

Ok, I have bottled mine in plastic bottles. Is that safe and if so how long before i can drink it? It smells gorgeous

Safe to drink at anytime. Will improve with age but store in the fridge if you don't want it to explode.

I'm racking up 5 gallons of the stuff (but I used a ginger beer plant as opposed to just yeast - gives it a slightly bitter taste) tonight. I'll be giving it out to drink on Saturday.

ok, mine just tastes like a watered down lemon wine. Can't taste the ginger at all??? Any idea's why. I used fresh root ginger.

Did you bash the ginger well? and let it steep for a good 24-48 hrs?

I think i bashed it a bit hard, it split into pieces. yes i steeped it for about 50+ hours. The lemon i used was massive though, the biggest i have ever seen

Craig - I scald my ginger first in boiling water for a couple of minutes, strain, leave to cool then grate. Tie up in muslin bags and dump in the brew during fermentation for about three to five days depending on how strong I'm making the brew.

Thanks Tim_n, I will give that a go. my just tasted like the ginger was tight giving away its flavour

I tried another batch with the grated ginger, wow what a taste. i tested it on 10 work mates and everyone loved it. i have another batch fermenting now.

Stonehead wrote:25g root ginger, bruised (just bash it with a rolling pin but don't crush it)
500g sugar
25g cream of tartar
One lemon (juice it, then grate the rind off it)
4.5l of boiling water
1 sachet quick yeast

Put the ginger, sugar, cream of tartar and lemon rind in a large bowl, and pour the boiling water over them. Leave to infuse until cool.

Add the lemon juice and stir. Rehydrate the yeast in warm water with a little sugar in it, and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl with muslin and leave in a warm place overnight (two nights if you're brave).

Strain off the liquid and bottle. Drink after 48 hours.

If you want to stop the fermentation, leave the ginger beer to ferment in the bowl for two days as described, then stir in half a Campden tablet dissolved in warm water. Leave for a few minutes, then bottle. This results in a flat ginger beer, so pep it up with a dash of soda water when you serve it.

This is what I've been drinking tonight.

Stonehead

PS Make sure you use fresh ginger root - making it with powdered ginger is vile.

I had a go at making some ginger beer for the children over the weekend, and it came out more like old fassioned cloudy lemonade with a hint of ginger. I dont know what it did wrong Saying that the children still loved it

Today I'm going to have another go an use brewing yeast to see if this helps, or possibly make a plant. Not sure what to do

Cheers stony, I'll see if this recipe cracks it for me. to date i am a failure at brewing ginger beer.

I think the problem you are having is not nearly enough ginger!

Try this recipe
Ginger Beer Recipe

Ingredients

300g Ginger Root Dependant on Taste, Grated

500g Sugar

2 Lemons

1/4 Tsp. Cream of Tartar

1 Pkt Champagne Yeast

Approx 4.5 ltrs of bottled water (or tap water dependant on your water)

Instructions

Sanitise and rinse all equipment

Boil as much water as you can get in your stock pot, grate 1 of the lemons rind (avoiding pith) then throw in the peel and squeeze in the juice of the two lemons

Grate the ginger (skin too) and throw in along with the cream of tartar

Add sugar and reduce temp to simmer for 30 mins

Add 60g of sultanas to the fermenter then pour the liquid on top and fill up to 4.5ltrs with water. Once cooled to fermentation temp sprinkle the yeast on top

Cover and ferment until complete (usually 5-7 days)

Bottle in strong glass bottles adding 1/4 tsp of priming sugar to each

If you wish to make larger batches then adjust the ingredients accordingly. This will make a drink of approx 6% abv. Reduce the sugar if you want to lower the abv.

Open with care as they can be a bit lively.