# New batch of (non-alcoholic) ginger ale, with brew view.



## thsmormonsmokes (Aug 29, 2012)

I just tossed together a batch of ginger ale last night.  It's non-alcoholic, but since I'm carbonating using yeast and sugar that counts as brewing in my book.  I've modified my recipe from the last batch I made.  I want this one to have quite a bite to it.

Total yield is 3.5 gallons (14 quarts).  Here's my recipe if anyone is curious:

12 oz finely grated ginger root (approximately).

juice from 3 limes

2 TBSP whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 TBSP molasses (I shorted it a tad since I was using Brer Rabbit)

6 2/3 Cup turbinado

1/2 tsp dark ale yeast

Simmer all ingredients except sugar and yeast in 2-3 quarts of water.  Let simmer, uncovered for about 20 minutes.  This will make your house smell awesome.  Then pull from heat and add sugar.  Here's a shot while simmering.  I love this smell.













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__ thsmormonsmokes
__ Aug 29, 2012






Once the sugar is fully dissolved, put the remaining water into your bottling pail.  Pour the wort (I think this would be considered a wort anyway.  Forgive the non-alcohol brewer if I'm using terms wrong) through a strainer to pick out the chunks.  There will be a few chunks that make it through, but that's OK.  I like it when a few chunks make it into the final product because they continue to steep, adding further bite to the finished product.

Meanwhile, get your yeast started in a little water, about 100 degrees.  I usually add a little sugar in with it to get it kick started.  Don't know if this is just superstition or actually does something.  I saw my dad do it as a kid, so that's where that comes from.

The final batch should be somewhere between 100-110 F when you add in the yeast.  Add in the yeast to your bottling pail, then mix it up real good.  I use a bay mixer to diffuse the yeast around as much as possible, and even whip a bit of air into the mix.  Again, I don't know if that step makes a difference or is just superstition, but it's part of the fun.  Then bottle and cap it.

I use a plastic Coke bottle as a tester (not pictured).  Fill it about 4/5 or so, leaving some oxygen for the yeast to work with.  A plastic bottle is useful because you can squeeze it and get a sense for how carbonated it is.  When it is as firm as a Coke you'd buy from the store, it's time to get it out of the heat, or risk exploding bottles.













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__ thsmormonsmokes
__ Aug 29, 2012






One ugly brewmaster:













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__ thsmormonsmokes
__ Aug 29, 2012






When you're bottling, bear in mind that the more oxygen you leave in the bottle, the more carbon dioxide it will produce (as well as alcohol, although this is unlikely to leave anything more than a very small trace).  But they yeast will also multiply more, which can leave you with a  yeasty taste in your final product, so there's a point of diminishing return.  You can see in the clear bottles how much air I try to leave for the finished product.

Once it's bottled, I put it in plastic tubs with a lid that can be clamped down, and put it somewhere it will get hot.  This is important because you will have a bottle explode on you occasionally.  I prefer to contain the glass shards and sticky mess this way in the event of bottle attrition.

It'll all be done in about 3 days based on how hot it's been out here recently.  

Thanks for looking!  I have quite a bit of fun brewing this stuff.  I hope it tastes good.  I'll let you know.


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## rdknb (Aug 29, 2012)

Looking forward to the taste review.  Thanks for sharing the recipe


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## chef jimmyj (Aug 29, 2012)

Thanks for posting the Recipe. This sounds interesting. How intense is the Clove in the finished product?...JJ


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## boykjo (Aug 29, 2012)

awesome.....................


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## scarbelly (Aug 29, 2012)

Great tutorial - thanks for sharing


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## thsmormonsmokes (Aug 29, 2012)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Thanks for posting the Recipe. This sounds interesting. How intense is the Clove in the finished product?...JJ


The last time I brewed, I used the same proportion of clove in a smaller batch.  It didn't stand out a lot in terms of taste, but I think it contributed to the bite on the back end, which is why I included it in the first place.  I brewed that batch a few years ago and just stumbled onto a bottle that hid from me the other day.  After sitting a few years it had a mellow flavor, but a hefty bite to it.  Just how I like it.

The main things I changed this time around were to increase the amount of ginger in the wort (again, I don't know if I'm using that term right).  I love a strong ginger ale/beer that bites you hard enough that you feel it in your eyes.  It's pretty tough to find that on the shelves at the store.  So that's what I was going for on this batch.

And I added in the cinnamon stick.  I think that will be a good flavor addition, but I'm wondering if I got too cutsie about it.  I might want to get back to basics with the next go around.


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## atio (Aug 30, 2012)

Love the blue growlers!  Those look sweet!  Thanks for sharing


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## thsmormonsmokes (Sep 1, 2012)

Well, I cracked open the tester just now. It's got some pretty serious carbonation. It bites. Hard.  Love that. 

As for the cloves, I think I'll go another direction the next time I brew. I like the spice note it contributes, but it's just a shade too strong. And then there's that sort of numb feeling it leaves in your mouth. I'm not wild about that, but I don't hate it either. It's not a terrible addition, but it's kind of a distraction from the rest of it so it's getting the axe next time. 

The cinnamon stick was an experiment this time, and I like it. That was a good call. 

But as for the rest of it, I really like it. It's very strong on ginger, as I'm sure you could imagine. But that's what I was going for. I'd like it have just a bit more tartness, so I may squeeze some lemon or lime in when I'm drinking it. 

Anyway, I'm going to let it finish today, then into the fridge tonight. I'm probably flirting with losing a bottle or two, but I want to make sure it's at maximum carbonation. Plus I'm about to dry rub 3 pork butts for a church youth activity next week to smoke through the night tonight, so I won't have fridge space until that smoke starts. Expect to see Q view of that one also.


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## thsmormonsmokes (Sep 2, 2012)

Remember what I said about risking bottle attrition?  We lost two.

One while still brewing:













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__ Sep 2, 2012






And one just after putting into the fridge:













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__ thsmormonsmokes
__ Sep 2, 2012






So as I was upstairs starting to prepare a couple of butts, I heard a really loud sound.  Like someone had dropped something in the house somewhere.  No joke, maybe 2 minutes earlier I had moved several of the root beers from the garage to the fridge.  So I head downstairs to see that a root beer had blown up.  Apparently it blew up with enough force to blow the refrigerator door wide open.  I'm glad this didn't happen while it was in my hand.  Is this something that happens often with home beer brewing?  It seems like every time I brew a batch we lose a bottle or two.  Luckily this one just blew out the bottom:













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__ thsmormonsmokes
__ Sep 2, 2012






Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying my ginger ale tomorrow after it's good and cold.  My testers so far have been pretty encouraging.  I'm loving the color of it.













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__ thsmormonsmokes
__ Sep 2, 2012


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## ski302 (Sep 27, 2012)

This looks great! Quick question. Do you happen to know if this recipe scales down well? I live in a dorm with limited space, so I am only interested in making about a gallon at a time.


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## fpnmf (Sep 27, 2012)

Thanks for sharing!!

It looks great!


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## roller (Sep 27, 2012)

Interesting


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## diesel (Sep 27, 2012)

Dude.. great post.  And thanks for the recipe. I will be all over this.  

God speed.

Aaron.


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## smokinhusker (Sep 27, 2012)

Great post! How was the ginger ale after it got good and cold?


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## txhawghunter (Sep 28, 2012)

I know this thread is 4 weeks old. With the amount of sugar you are using, needed for sweetness I assume, you might try 2 liter plastic bottles.  They can withstand more pressure than glass.

Don


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## thsmormonsmokes (Jan 7, 2013)

Bump!!

So I've let this batch sit in the fridge for a few months now.  I had some friends in town over Christmas, so I cracked open a couple of growlers from this batch.  It was the first I'd tasted since about one week after I brewed it.

The flavor was incredible.  I even drank the dregs from the bottom out of one just to see what it tasted like.  The dregs of the root beer we'd brew as a kid were absolutely disgusting.  They just tasted like pure yeast.  But because I used raw ingredients for this, I think I get a lot of fine materials that make it into the bottle that you wouldn't get when using root beer extract.  So by the time you're down to the dregs, you're drinking a mixture of yeast, ginger root, and everything else.

Anyway, short story long, it was AWESOME.  Lots of fizz on the front end.  Make your eyes hurt kind of fizz.  And by the time the fizz dies off, the ginger and other spices kick you in the back of the throat.  And then you're left with a cool burn feeling in your stomach when all is said and done.  And through all that, the taste is pretty awesome (assuming you like ginger, that is).  And it is actually pretty soothing feeling in your stomach when you're done.

So apparently letting this age some gives it time for the flavors to blend together and even out.  It was worth the wait.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jan 8, 2013)

> So apparently letting this age some gives it time for the flavors to blend together and even out.  It was worth the wait.


We brew root beer, ginger ale, beer and hard cider. Like smoked cheese letting them age and mellow out is a key step. We just cracked open some cider that has been mellowing for about 6 months. It was a day and night difference to the ones we had months ago! Your ginger ale recipe sounds good!


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## linguica (Jan 8, 2013)

Here is a recipe that i use to make a ginger syrup concentrate that i mixed with soda water in a 8 to 1 ratio. it has a very strong ginger bite to it. Recipe is from Ming Tsai.
[h3]Ginger Syrup[/h3]
Makes about 4 cups   
[h3]Ingredients[/h3]
2 cups sugar

2 cups fresh ginger, cut into 1/8-inch slices (about 2 large hands)

2 cups water
[h3]Directions[/h3]
In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine sugar, ginger and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until syrupy and reduced by half, about 40 to 45 minutes. Strain ginger pieces out and reserve syrup.

(Trick:  toss dried ginger in sugar, bake at 200 degrees until dried thru, about 4 hours and voila-ginger candy)


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## humdinger (Jan 8, 2013)

That's impressive mormon. Nice job.


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