ginger beer.

[Sue Leurgans]

Melinda and I made ginger beer over the last two days for our next event. We even used the "ginger beer knot"!  

We will see how gingery it is and how well it keeps its fizz.  

Sorry the pics are so large. Whew!

[Malinda Byrne]

We used the recipe Sue found here:  http://books.google.com/books?id=JKBHAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22ginger%20beer%22%20inpublisher%3Apeterson&pg=RA1-PA234#v=onepage&q=%22ginger%20beer%22%20inpublisher%3Apeterson&f=false
and the ginger knot http://books.google.com/books?id=R8dMAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22ginger%20beer%22%20inpublisher%3AGodey&pg=PA267#v=onepage&q=%22ginger%20beer%22%20inpublisher:Godey&f=false
I am looking forward to trying it this weekend. 
Malinda

[NanciG]

This is very similar to my favorite ginger beer recipe.  In that case I do not strain off the sediment the following day and it gives a beverage of about 7% ABV.  Straining it will defiantly leave less sugar for the yeast, although some alcohol will be produced.  I'm going to have to give this one a try.  From past experience this should be a very lemony and refreshing beverage.  I've never understood how you make ginger beer from a real beer to a soda pop.  This makes much more sense.

Thanks so much for posting.

Nanci Gasiel

P.S.,
Where did you find the terrific beer bottles?

[Stephanie Brennan]

  I added this website for fun.      http://www.mrbottles.com/galleryClayBeers.asp
Some of the bottles have the knot still attached.          Nice job!    Stephanie

[Malinda Byrne]

Nanci,
We left out the lemon this time as other reciepts indicated that was acceptable. 
Stephanie ,
Neat site!  Thanks for posting it. 
Malinda- who is waiting for Sue to comment on her bottles. 

[Sue Leurgans]

Malinda- who is waiting for Sue to comment on her bottles.

lol,

Weeell, I made them.  Hence the inconsistent look. My potting ability is intermediate at best. But thanks for the compliment.
 I also like the site of clay bottles! I looked at bottles being offered on Ebay at the time I was throwing them ...though several had already been done, and I am close size wise,  just narrow in general.

[Tom_Nixon]

Thanks for a Godey's recipe and a new knot to the repertoire. (Even Ashley's mighty "Book of Knots" doesn't have that one!) In my own experience, I let the mixture cool to around 90' F. before pitching the yeast, less those little critters suffer terrible deaths by scalding! (Yeast is an animal after all. )

Given the volume of sugar involved, the alcohol content is bound to curl some hair. This is particularly true if you use brewer's yeast. Despite large quantities of sugar, I was surprised that it wasn't all that sweet. How did your's come out?

Nanci G asks:

I've never understood how you make ginger beer from a real beer to a soda pop.

If you use yeast you get alcohol. My understanding is that the soda companies just shoot CO2 into a mixture of ginger sugar and water. (Well alright: high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sodium benzoate, "natural flavors" and caramel colors. yum!)

[hanktrent]

Nanci G asks:

I've never understood how you make ginger beer from a real beer to a soda pop.

If you use yeast you get alcohol. My understanding is that the soda companies just shoot CO2 into a mixture of ginger sugar and water. (Well alright: high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sodium benzoate, "natural flavors" and caramel colors. yum!)

I'm like a canary in a coal mine when it comes to alcohol, so this is something I've paid attention to. Quick-fermented root beers, legally considered "non-alcoholic" today, apparently contain in the neighborhood of 0.5% alcohol or less. Also see here (pdf file on English ginger beer experiment for schoolkids). In other words, you'd have to drink seven to ten glasses to equal one glass of regular beer.

While that would be virtually alcohol-free and unnoticeable to most people unless they drank quarts of it, it's still not 0%, and way out on the fringes, there are still a few people (like me) who notice it. At one event, due to NPS restrictions on public consumption of alcohol, I was at a period picnic where the organizer served non-alcoholic wine. I drank a glass, thinking it was zero percent, and was surprised to start getting a buzz from it, so I didn't have any more. Afterwards, I found out that yes, it was 0.5%, not 0%. (Yes, I notice the alcohol in "old" orange juice and apple cider in the fridge, too.) So, like peanuts or shellfish allergies or whatever, I assume that people like me who are overly sensitive know it, and for everyone else, it might as well be 0%.

True zero-percent alcohol ginger beer was also made in the period: literally soda pop, soda and an acid combined in the glass to make it fizz.

By the way, the bottles, the knots, and the beer all look/sound great in the original post. It sounds like you did a wonderful job! I bet it tastes good.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Sue Leurgans]

I just wanted to add that I did make ginger beer last fall, but knowing  nothing about beverages with yeast, followed a popular blog. It was gingery and fizzy but yeasty too.  When the brew got warm, OH boy was it fizzy!

So, what I noticed is that most (maybe all) period ginger beer reciepts are a 2 day process that allows for one day of fermentation in a large container, then strain and bottle. Which seemed like it would take away the yeast.
  Regarding sugar, based on the blog we added the sugar to the heating water, which I hope keeps it in suspension and did not strain out. The flour sack towel we used isn't sticky, like the sugar is stuck to it.

Melinda and I tasted the "brew" from the large container on day 2 and it was gingery but no fizz. So I added a few grains of yeast (ie 2,3 grains for the small bottles and 5 for the large) to see what happens. We will be tasting this during this weekend and see what we think.      We started with more ginger than the reciept called for, so one of the large bottles I diluted by half, just to see how it tastes that way too.

Thanks for your interest and compliments. More to report later. 

[Sue Leurgans]

Lessons learned.
The bottles sat on the counter for one day b/4 I put them in the refrigerator. It was a 90 degree day and I had visions of bottles exploding and ginger everywhere. 

Should have left it alone. The beer was strong and flat to begin with, but as the event went along it got fizzier and better tasting.  On Monday and Tuesday is was very good. 

Upside -  lost the yeast taste.

Downside - need to let it ferment longer if using a few grains of (champagne) yeast.
  I would prefer less ginger than we used but more than the receipt called for. Maybe double the amount pf ginger in the receipt.

Malinda, what did you think of yours? 
Others who tasted during the weekend, I welcome plus and minus comments.   

[Malinda Byrne]

I'd agree that it improves with time.  I like ginger a lot so the strength of the flavor is fine with me.  I am open to trying with a little less though.  My bottles sat in the basement for three days or so before I got them into the refrigerator.  I'm not noticing any alcohol taste or affects.  It's more like a ginger ale soda that has a bit stronger flavor and a bit less fizz.  We're enjoying it at my house.  I've got about a half a wine bottle left. 
Malinda

[Anna Worden Bauersmith]

I was able to taste the ginger beer a last weekend. I was delighted with the flavor. I love ginger. I would prefer the diluted version for out on a hot day and the full strength on a festive occasion. I think I had it pre-increased fizzies.

[Victoria Pann]

I was one of three judges at our fort's period cooking contest this weekend (Cast Iron Chef!) and one contestant made a gingery/lemony drink.  It was very good indeed.  Refreshing and light, and did not taste like it had much if any alcohol in it.  I'll have to get the receipt from him and see how it compares to yours.

[Sue Leurgans]

Victoria- I would love to know what his version is. 

Awaiting time to make batch #3 and another receipt.   

[Elizabeth]

Hank, between the two of us, we could form a really talented "Evils of Alcohol" tasting committee... I appreciate what goes into making the stuff, but can't drink it myself!

I'm looking forward to the continuing ginger beer reports!

[betsyurven]

I made giner beer two weekends ago for our base ball team.  We had it after a game we played on 4th of July.  Boy was it good!  I don't quite have the knot down though.  It blow its cork several times in the car.  At least I didn't lose the cork.

Betsy

[Sue Leurgans]

We have made batches two and three, almost all of it which has been consumed by our two households, (we think we might be addicts).  We both agree that batch two was fabulous.  We used ~ 4 ounces of ginger to 30 cups of water, added lemon slices, and used just a smidgen of yeast.  We added just a few grains more yeast to each bottle when we bottled it.  Two small bottles received no additional yeast.  They turned out just as fizzy. 

Batch three used frozen ginger, because after batch two the ginger was going soft.  We added a dash of yeast to the same amount of ginger and water.  It ended up being too yeasty and a bit cloudy.  It was also very fizzy, sending corks flying.  I (Malinda) went to open a bottle at the local museum and my cork went shooting four feet away!  Fortunately I was outside, and had been warned.( by me, Sue, as I had Mount Vesuvius when pouring it into appropriate bottles) 

Batch four is forthcoming in the next week or so.  We'll be using less yeast and probably more frozen ginger, as it seems to loose some of it's punch when frozen.   I(Malinda) may need to keep batch four a secret until Zoar so that my husband doesn't drink it all before the event. 

By the way, the smidgen and dash are from a measuring spoon set that has those markings. 

Sue and Malinda, jointly posting while spending time on the Sewing Academy instead of sewing as planned. 

PS Does anyone know if the cream of tartar would significantly alter the taste?  We left that out of batch three, as the only reason Sue could find for putting it in was to prevent the sugar from re crystallizing and we weren't having major problems with that.   

[Elaine Kessinger]

Returning to this thread...

For an event this autumn we are serving Pimm's Cup Cocktail. To make the version we prefer (Pimm's Rangoon) the recipe calls for ginger ale soda-pop. I'm curious about a few things.

1) ginger ale vs. ginger beer from a period standpoint. What are the differences?

2) making this cocktail for 10-20 people at once... would it be possible to use a larger stoneware/clay jug (think "moonshine jug" ) for the ginger ale or do we need to start begging the smaller traditional-sized ginger beer bottles?

3) make my own ginger ale vs. store bought and decanted into period-appropriate containers. Is it hard? Cost effective? Libel to make an afficianado accustomed to modern ginger ale dislike the drink?

For information on Pimm's Cup Cocktail, see here: http://cocktails.about.com/od/atozcocktailrecipes/r/pimms_cktl.htm , or here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimm%27s

[Stephanie Brennan]

  From a modern standpoint commercial gingerbeer tastes very little like ginger beer made with yeast. There are many yeasts currently available on the market.  Using a ginger yeast will yield a better end flavor or so I'm told. For bottling I use a plastic soda bottle that can expand with the increased pressure. I then transfer it over to the crock bottles for the event and keep in a cool place.
                                                                                                    Stephanie