Thread: Alcoholic ginger beer

Mrs Shearer says she has made alcoholic ginger beer a couple of times but not very successfully. Its a different process to old fashioned ginger beer as it needs to be fermented like beer in a fermenter (big bucket with an airlock). The yeast tends to use up all the sugar making it pretty explosive in the bottle, No actual explosions but when you take the cap off the whole bottle fountains out quite spectacularly. If she was going to do it again, she says she would use a mixture of fermentable and non-fermentable sugars (dextrose, maltose, maltodextrin and lactose), root ginger and brewers yeast. Might be worth another crack though

How to Make Homemade Ginger Beer

this is how we made it as kids, not that alcoholic but very refreshing

you can buy ginger beer "kits" at homebrew shops. you can make it up to 12% alcohol if that way inclined.

Brigalow Ginger Beer - Your Shout

I am off to buy some ready made now.. It's given me the itch and something to have with the F1 later..

While it's hard for beginner homebrewers to make beer that isn't total shit (kit beer anyway), the ginger beer kits are quite forgiving

Originally Posted by 223nut

Anyone had a go?

Made ginger beer years ago as a kid, last year a mate gave me some of his and it had a definite kick (he reacted to hops in commercial beer).

Roktoy brought along some Macs ginger beer that was rather tasty so thinking of giving it a try, can't be too hard as long as I don't blow the house up right?

Just brew some moonshine and buy a bottle of ginger beer and mix the two, there ya go ginger beer with kick

half ginger beer and half whiskey works good

Have any of you made moonshine and how?

Originally Posted by FatLabrador

Have any of you made moonshine and how?

Yes, all you need is a still a fermenter (bucket) and quite a bit of sugar. A 20% sugar solution will give approx 10 % alcohol by volume. Theproces is as fo making beer but the wash is placed in the still and the fraction that boils between 78 and 95 deg c is collected. This needs to be distilled again to purify and concentrate it collecting the cut boiling between 78 and 82 deg. This will be 150-175 proof neutral spirit and should be mixed 1:1 with water for 80 proof.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Yes, all you need is a still a fermenter (bucket) and quite a bit of sugar. A 20% sugar solution will give approx 10 % alcohol by volume. Theproces is as fo making beer but the wash is placed in the still and the fraction that boils between 78 and 95 deg c is collected. This needs to be distilled again to purify and concentrate it collecting the cut boiling between 78 and 82 deg. This will be 150-175 proof neutral spirit and should be mixed 1:1 with water for 80 proof.

Can't you use a thumper or something so you don't have to run it twice? @Marty Henry where did ya get the still from ?

Stills are legally sold by some home brew shops. Yes you can distill only once but a fractionating column or reflux condenser is needed rather than a simple condenser and the process isnt that much quicker. Stills are also be used for essential oil preparation like lavender or teatree oil by steam distillation if you want futher justification for one.

Yep
Infact i have a brew fermenting over in the shed in my brew chamber as we speak

Yep
Infact i have ginger beer brew fermenting over in the shed in my brew chamber as we speak the more sugar the more %abv
Just don't bottle it before it's completely finished fermentation other wise they blow up yep even the pet ones

If you're going to buy a still for a beginner I suggest a turbo 500 from still sprits a reflux 1st up
A reflux will produce 90-98%abv which is just unflavoured you water it down to 40-45abv and add flavour from a very large range from your home brew store
I run a wash though my mates still a few times per year 8 run 8kg of sugar in a 25ltr wash
Once distilled it's arround 4.5 lts of 92-94 ish abv watered down to drinking abv of40-42 %abv gives me arround 8.5-9 ltrs
Enough to last me pretty much a hole year and thats with some gifted to family as im not a huge drinker I just enjoy brewing


Once you get more confident you can buy a pot still top for the turbo 500 a pot still will allow you to extract flavour from the wash itself ie
A corn mash moonshine or proper whisky wash made from grains

A hole turbo 500 kit every thing you need to make everclear (unflavoured alcohol ) to flavour with concentrate is arround 750
Although www.homebrewwest.co.nz as them very cheap at the moment