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I have made my 3rd, 4th and 5th Ginger Beer brews today! The first one was a success, the second one I ruined it (used honey for fermenting and sweetening but didn't think it out properly) but now I have made a 3rd, 4th and 5th brew!

The problem is, I have made about 2.8 liters twice and one brew with 25 liters!

As you can see, that's about 31 Liters of ginger beer. I have heard they can stay in the fridge for 3-4 weeks if bottled correctly. Is there any way to extend that duration? Can it be frozen? And for the final question, can I remove the yeast in some way, before or after bottling?

To summarize:

  1. How long is the duration that I can store it, without it going bad?
  2. Can it be extended? Eventually by freezing?
  3. How do you deal with the yeast? Do you let it be in the bottle? Shake before drinking?
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  • When you say "Ginger Beer" do you mean a sweet ginger beverage with only a small amount of alcohol, or a beverage where most of the sugar has been converted to alcohol, or an Ale flavoured with ginger, or ...?
    – Kingsley
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 3:12
  • Yeah it is a mixture of ginger, sugar and water.
    – OG-TRTA
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 11:51

1 Answer 1

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I'm assuming you made a pseudo soft-drink Ginger Beer, where it's mostly a sweet beverage, and yeast is primarily used to bring carbonation (and only incidental alcohol).

The problem you will have is over-carbonation, the ginger beer will not "go bad". The yeast will continue consuming the sugar until none is left, or the amount of alcohol it produces is self-toxic. Bread making yeast will typically get to about 14% AbV before this happens, wild yeast (like from a "ginger bug") probably somewhat less, and Champagne yeast ~ 19%. If you dislike alcohol, and a less-sweet flavour, then sure, it's "bad". But during fermentation the yeast is creating alcohol, lowering the pH, and removing oxygen. This makes a fermented beverage fairly inhospitable to other micro-organisms. It will keep well.

The big issue is whether the vessel the ginger beer is sealed in can take the excess carbon dioxide pressure. If the bottles are glass, then this is a dangerous situation. You can mitigate this by periodically venting the excess gas from the bottles. But if the bottles are already gushing out, then it's a problem already - if your bottles are glass be really, really careful (at least wear eye protection). With PET bottles, the risk of flying bottle-shards is mitigated.

The yeast will not stop in the refrigerator, just slow down a little. Freezing? Freezing should stop fermentation, but it will not kill the yeast. You could try bottle pasteurisation and perhaps preservatives (like potassium sorbate, etc.) to stop fermentation - use techniques as if you were making apple cider.

If you like the taste of the yeast, it's no problem to mix it up into the beverage. But for a clearer product, all you can do is cool it down, and wait for the yeast to settle out - then pour carefully.

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  • Thank you very much. I know about the exploding bottles, I havent had it happen to me, but I have heard about it. I burp my bottles when I fill them into bottles. To check carbonation and to avoid bottle explosions. Yeah I use glass bottles with the "patentlid" thing, I don't know what they are called in English.
    – OG-TRTA
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 11:54

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