Brewing Ginger Beer

[John Brown]

Hi,

I'm hoping to try brewing ginger beer and maybe hedgerow berry wine this summer.

Does anyone know where I can buy Demi-john Bottles and brewing kit from.

I've not seen any on my travels so far.

JB

[Tancrède]

Our local caviste supply stores sells 5 gal (or so) dustbin type receptacles of food-quality plastic which are ideal for ginger beer  -  I daresay yours will too.

They also sell 5 l and 10 l cubitainers, cheap as chips, which I use for making sloe gin, vin de noix, and ratafia of wild cherries, and I suppose they would be equally good for what you have in mind.

Also bungs, sulphur, varieties of plastic tubing, etc. etc.

[Théière]

Ha Ha Ha, real ginger beer in a cubi, run for cover!!! It has to be a demijohn, bottles use to explode years ago when I made it. Oh and be very careful easy to get a black eye of a cork leaving a bottle at high speed.

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Théière"]Ha Ha Ha, real ginger beer in a cubi, run for cover!!! It has to be a demijohn, bottles use to explode years ago when I made it. Oh and be very careful easy to get a black eye of a cork leaving a bottle at high speed.[/quote]

The french use plastic bottles.[:)]

[Tancrède]

[quote user="Théière"]Ha Ha Ha, real ginger beer in a cubi, run for cover!!! [/quote]

If that is directed at me, I suggest you read my post again.   [Smiley face.]

[Théière]

[quote user="pachapapa"]

[quote user="Théière"]Ha Ha Ha, real ginger beer in a cubi, run for cover!!! It has to be a demijohn, bottles use to explode years ago when I made it. Oh and be very careful easy to get a black eye of a cork leaving a bottle at high speed.[/quote]

The french use plastic bottles.[:)]

[/quote]

Maybe the British stuff is more potent [:)]

Ginger beer made in a dustbin? I used to have a small ginger beer plant in a large jar which was fed ginger and sugar. A small quantity was taken and put into bottles with more sugar where it fermented into the finished product under considerable pressure. It gave my uncle a black eye when a cork popped out. In a dustbin, how does that work?

[Tancrède]

[quote user="Théière"]easy to get a black eye of a cork leaving a bottle at high speed[/quote]

You're not a shooting man, I hope…

[quote user="Théière"]In a dustbin, how does that work?[/quote]

Ginger Beer

2 gals boiling water           

2 gals cold water           

2 kilos granulated sugar       

50 gr cream of tartar

rind of 4 lemons

juice of 4 lemons   

yeast

4 oz fresh root ginger

Beat the ginger vigorously with a mallet.  Pare the rind from the lemons. 

Mix the ginger, lemon rind, cream of tartar and sugar, in a five gallon container, with the juice of the four lemons, and let it draw for a few hours. 

Add the 2 gallons of boiling water and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Add the 2 gallons of cold water to the hot mixture, which will have the effect of rapidly cooling it to near blood heat.   [This is merely to save boiling a large quantity of water merely to have to wait for it to cool again]. 

When it reaches blood heat, add the yeast.  Cover the vessel with a cloth and leave in a warm place.

The mixture will ferment vigorously for a day or two.  Strain and bottle when the fermentation has almost (but not entirely) ceased. 

Beer bottles with crown corks are by far the most suitable.  If you use other (e.g. champagne) bottles, the corks will need be tied down.

[Théière]

Crikey Gengulphus, sounds like you make it on an industrial scale.

Found a similar receipe to how I used to make it (small scale) so I only produced a couple of bottles at a time.

http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/ginger_food_ginger_beer_plant.html