I'm a ginger beer neophyte, but I love the stuff and can't find it in my area. I decided to brew and have two, three gallon glass carboys working(?) In one I used an extract, champagne yeast, sugar and a few bonus ingredients and in the other I made a wort out of ginger root, lemons, limes, gobs of sugar and champagne yeast. Both sit in my kitchen at about 70* F. Both started working immediately with the wort batch taking off like a scalded dog. It bubbled hot and heavy for a solid week then slowed to a stop in just a few hours. Now it is just sitting there where the extract batch is still bubbling merrily, albeit much more tamely, along. Is it safe to bottle the non-bubbling batch? and if so, how do I get it to produce fizz in the bottles? Add more sugar to each?
2 Answers
In malt beer production, we (can) bottle after the primary fermentation, often making a simple syrup of priming sugar to aid CO2 production. You can also purchase “carb tabs” (sugar pills) which have really simplified my life but receive mixed reviews online.
Added sugar will dry out the taste slightly and you probably still have enough sugar and yeast in solution that you’ll eventually have carbonation… eventually.
I’d be curious to learn about the sugars used and the original and final gravities of each solution.
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1Just another tip to add in addition to what Tom has written up is that you will probably want to take gravity reading of your ginger beer. If it stays constant over three days I'd say you are done. You definitely want to make sure it is done if you are bottling in glass. If you are not cautious and fermentation is still continuing the bottles can build up co2 and explode. See more here: homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/…– fthinkerMay 5, 2014 at 2:20
Yes. After the bubble stop you can assume that the fermentation is complete. BUT: wait a few days more, just to be sure.
Taking gravity readings will help you determine if the fermentation is really complete.
I would agree with @Tom on the tablets. They work a charm!
I also have this funky spoon in case of emergencies. I can then just add table sugar to my bottles.
You can also use a bottling bucket, where you add a measured amount of sugar to a bucket, then pour your beer into that and mix it well, and then bottle from there.
OR you can add a few dried grapes (we use Sultanas in South Africa). The yeast will start eating the sugars in the grape and cause secondary fermentation and carbonation. The amount of grapes to use is unknown, so be careful. (The grapes will also swell up again).
OR you can put your ginger beer in a keg, force carbonate, leave for a few days to stabilize and then (using a counter-pressure bottle filler or a "beergun") fill from there, or just leave it in the keg and enjoy on tap.
