Brewing Stuff

[Olufanz]

i recently heard rumors that i´m not the only weirdo here fermenting stuff to probably healthy and enjoyable drinks. so i wanted to see who else does what. so as a start i´ll offer a rough ginger root beer recipe which is rather dry  and very spicey:

 

Boil/ sterilize 10L of H₂O

add half kilo of brown or palm sugar (i prefer brown as sometimes the palm sugar, depending on the brand, leaves kind of an off taste which reminds me of soap and wheat)

add juice of 2-4 lemons + zest

talk out a cup for the starter culture and add an ale yeast to the cup when its cooled down

add 1.4 kilos of grated ginger (the whussies should start with half the amont of ginger cause this is really spicey)

let it stand for 12h and add starter culture from the cup

let that whole pot stand for 2-3 days

 

bottle the stuff

will develop nice fizz/head after several days in the bottle

if fizz is nice store it somewhere cool - keep in mind it gets explosive (learn from my mistakes)

 

 

as this contains only 0.5 kilos of sugar this should be non alcholic

if you want it sweeter add more sugar but keep in mind it might get alcoholic and more explosive

 

 

hopefully some of you will enjoy that

eager to hear what else is done by some of you

 

cheers

[gaskarthx]

I don't drink alcohol, but I am interested in brewing beer, just because of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. I am studying microbiology, so that's why I like this haha. 
Last year at science class I brewed gingerbeer too, and I really liked it! I also had to calculate the % alcohol when the beer was done. 

 

I don't know the full recept anymore, but I guess it was something like this.

 

1. Boil 1 liter of H₂O in a beaker.
2. Peel a ginger-root and cut it into pieces with the skin of a lemon (with a knife. You can't cut with the skin of a lemon :l).
3. If the water boils, add the ginger and lemonskin. Also add like 3 teaspoons of lemonjuice and like 50 sugar (it's not bad if you add some more) - Don't add the yeast yet!
4. Cool the water till the temperature is dropped to 40°C (If the water is too hot, you murder the yeast! Don't do that, or I'll find you!)
5. Cover the top of the beaker with a cloth.
6. The yeast has to ferment the sugar, so keep the stuff in an warm area (20 - 30°C).
7. Syphon the beer after 2 days in a bottle, keep the bottle closed for a day. - Warning: There could be a CO₂-production, I won't use a glass bottle, but a plastic one. If you use a plastic one and fill it, squeeze in the bottle till the liquid rises till the rim, because then the CO₂ will have enough space.
8. Carefully open the bottle, like I said, there could be some CO₂ in the bottle. If the beer bubbles a lot, that's a sign that there is too many living yeast cells in your beer - It can be dangerous to drink that! The bottle needs to be closed again, so if there's still CO₂-production, the bottle may explode. You can stop the yeast for fermenting, just by adding a liiiittle sodium medabisulphite (Na₂S₂O₅) <---- Oh... Now I realize not everyone has this at home hahah well, lemme finish this. xD

9. Let the beer rest for a couple days, then it should be drinkable...

I haven't tasted my beer, but I don't know. If it turns out bad, it should taste sweet, because of the sugar. 

I don't want to be the cause of your death, so don't blame me when you got sick or I don't know, this is the way I learned it haha.

[Olufanz]

just to enlarge the list we once tried to make Kvass which is basicly a bread based softdrink drunken in eastern europe through russia. it was freaking explosive and made a huge fountain when opening the bottle. although it wasn´t my taste i want to try a nother recipe sometime. this is roughly how we did it:

 

10L water

0.5 kg dried classic black, dark or rye bread
1 handful of raisins
750g of sugar
1.5 Tbsp of dry yeast

 

so if any experienced Kvass maker could provide me with his top secret family recipe it would be much appriciated. is there any recipe a bit more fancy than that, perhaps adding a different taste to the rather breadish bouqet?

[gaskarthx]

just to enlarge the list we once tried to make Kvass which is basicly a bread based softdrink drunken in eastern europe through russia. it was freaking explosive and made a huge fountain when opening the bottle. although it wasn´t my taste i want to try a nother recipe sometime. this is roughly how we did it:

 

10L water

0.5 kg dried classic black, dark or rye bread

1 handful of raisins

750g of sugar

1.5 Tbsp of dry yeast

 

so if any experienced Kvass maker could provide me with his top secret family recipe it would be much appriciated. is there any recipe a bit more fancy than that, perhaps adding a different taste to the rather breadish bouqet?

 

I don't have any experience with making Kvass. Maybe you can experimentate with some ingredients, like, you could add some mint, ginger or honey - I don't know how it Kvass tastes, and I am not sure if these flavours would fit in there. 

[Olufanz]

I don't have any experience with making Kvass. Maybe you can experimentate with some ingredients, like, you could add some mint, ginger or honey - I don't know how it Kvass tastes, and I am not sure if these flavours would fit in there. 

well good point. honey helps with everything. but i thought of something probably a bit more fruity in taste like cherry or rhubarb juice. well for next weekend there will be more mead brewing - have to see if we can squeeze another kvass in aswell. anyways i´ll let you know of the results

[gaskarthx]

well good point. honey helps with everything. but i thought of something probably a bit more fruity in taste like cherry or rhubarb juice. well for next weekend there will be more mead brewing - have to see if we can squeeze another kvass in aswell. anyways i´ll let you know of the results

 

Yeah, I thought about some fruity ingredients too, but I don't know anything about Kvass xD. What about using lemonskin? I guess that'll make it taste fresh. Or... maybe you can add... peaches? Blackberries? I guess vanilla can be very good too... Oh, mango! I'm not sure if that'd taste good, but I just love mango, so I had to mention it ;p. And if you want to experimentate, why don't you try apple and cinnamon? c:

 

I'd love to know what you used and how it tasted :3.

[Olufanz]

Yeah, I thought about some fruity ingredients too, but I don't know anything about Kvass xD. What about using lemonskin? I guess that'll make it taste fresh. Or... maybe you can add... peaches? Blackberries? I guess vanilla can be very good too... Oh, mango! I'm not sure if that'd taste good, but I just love mango, so I had to mention it ;p. And if you want to experimentate, why don't you try apple and cinnamon? c:

 

I'd love to know what you used and how it tasted :3.

oh boy so many ideas there so little time. give some time to conspire with my partners in crime and i´ll let you know of the outcome

[gaskarthx]

oh boy so many ideas there so little time. give some time to conspire with my partners in crime and i´ll let you know of the outcome

 

Hahaha yes, I guess apple and cinnamon are a good combination, even as peaches, blackberries and vanilla. Maybe cherries and raspberries will match too... Oh gosh, if you try one of those, I hope you don't throw up xD. 

[Olufanz]

Hahaha yes, I guess apple and cinnamon are a good combination, even as peaches, blackberries and vanilla. Maybe cherries and raspberries will match too... Oh gosh, if you try one of those, I hope you don't throw up xD. 

dont underestimate that stomach of mine. it takes quite some disgustingness to make me throw up.

[gaskarthx]

dont underestimate that stomach of mine. it takes quite some disgustingness to make me throw up.

 

Hahahahahah okay, let's make it as disgusting as possible, I wanna see how much you can handle! :3

[Olufanz]

Hahaha yes, I guess apple and cinnamon are a good combination, even as peaches, blackberries and vanilla. Maybe cherries and raspberries will match too... Oh gosh, if you try one of those, I hope you don't throw up xD. 

so we decided on brewing stuff.

there are now 3 batches of ginger root beer brewing to see the difference in the sugar of choice. in this case between honey, refined and cane sugar mixed half and half with palm sugar.

 

i ll let you know of the outcome in a few days.

[gaskarthx]

so we decided on brewing stuff.

there are now 3 batches of ginger root beer brewing to see the difference in the sugar of choice. in this case between honey, refined and cane sugar mixed half and half with palm sugar.

 

i ll let you know of the outcome in a few days.

Okay, sounds good.

[EmtHipple]

let's see now, I make several different beverages , one from wild mint leaves that tastes almost identical to a mojito when served chilled, I have made a 7-up like wine( super good if you carbonate it). Mead, who doesn't like a good mead and my fermented simple syrup, just water, sugar and yeast 

[Olufanz]

let's see now, I make several different beverages , one from wild mint leaves that tastes almost identical to a mojito when served chilled, I have made a 7-up like wine( super good if you carbonate it). Mead, who doesn't like a good mead and my fermented simple syrup, just water, sugar and yeast 

hm that sounds interessting.

may i inquire about several proceedures here?

with the minty thingy i guess you made a non alcoholic infusion or did you ferment that?

im also a bit baffeled with the 7up wine. did you ferment 7up? i have seen recipes where people made wine out of coca-cola so i was pondering what your basic ingredient was.

and with the sirup: did you just use water, sugar and yeast or did you ad any flavoring.

espacially here im interested ina as there is elderflower season soon and that also makes a wicked sirup an or liquer

[Ecoban]

My recipe for 20 liters of dark buckwheat beer :

- 4500g of blond malt

- 250g of caramel malt

- 130 g of black malt

- 500 g of buckwheat

 

Mix grain (not too small to have a good filtration)

Put it in 17 L of hot water, and heat it during 1h30 at 68°C (be careful to respect temperature) : you need a tank with a drain tap

Do a filtration of this "sweet liquid"

Heat 5 L of water at 80°C and rinse the mixed grains to get the last sugars

Clean your tank, put the filtered sweet liquid and boil it (100°C) during 1h.

Add bitter hop (for example 20 g of Target hop 13%) at the beginning

Add aromatic hop (for example 13 g Hallertau 4,8%) 15 minutes before the end of the 1h boiling

Add yeast and let fermentation works during 3 at 7 days, at nearly 20°C

 

Do a filtration (remove yeats, hops and all solid matters) by the drain tap

Put the beer in a demijohn to clarify and decant it (wait 1 at 2 months) in a cold place (under 15°C, the best is between 5 and 10°C)

 

Get the beer without decanted matters (yeast)

Add sugar in the beer to reach a 10 g/L concentration

Put it in an hermetic bottle (25-26 bottles of 0,75L) (second fermentation to create bubbles)

Wait 1 month at 20°C (beer is drinkable before, you need 1 week to create enough effervescence (bubbles) beer is better if you wait)

Then enjoy !

 

I expect a beer at 7-8%. You can add sugar before boiling (400g ie 20g/L for 20L gives 1,2% of alcohol).

 

The cost of equipment is not expensive : 150 to 200 €. I buy yeats and hops on internet and get malts for breweries (near to my home)