This weekend I put on two new batches:
| Mangrove Jacks Apple Cider (5.6% ABV) “The Bec Brew” |
| To make 23 Litre Brew have on hand: * 1 x Mangrove Jacks Cider Kit * 600 grams lactose * 1000 grams dextrose to lighten body and increase ABV The kit contains all the sweeteners and apple flavors Before Bottling At the dry hop stage, add all of the liquid sweetener/flavoring |
| The Ginger Beer (4.8% ABV) “The Curie Concoction” |
| NOTE!!! * Refrigerate the Ginger and Apple for 24 hours soaked in brandy before starting the boil – no need to sanitise, as it gets pasteurised! To make 23 Litre Brew have on hand: Before the Boil: * in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of brandy, soak the ginger and apple for 24 hours in the fridge For the Boil * 1 x Brigalow Home Brew Ginger Beer Kit (includes yeast and nutrients) * 500 grams maltodextrin * 1500 grams dextrose * 500g lactose * Boil for at least 10 minutes After the boil, to be added in the pasteurise/steep step: * 200g of sliced/grated ginger, (soaked in brandy overnight) * 1 x Pink Lady Apple, thinly slices (also in the brandy overnight – didn’t have smitten) * 3 x Tablespoons of Vanilla Extract * 1 x Heaped Table Spoon of Molasses (about 1/4 the jar, honestly, I’m now out of molasses, can’t buy it at coles) * Added in some clove spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, about a teaspoon each. Before Bottling At the dry-hop stage, add 8tsp of Stevia. Do not overdo it! |
I used some lukewarm water (20 degrees) and yeast nutrient to start both yeasts, and pitched both worts at 28 degrees.
One of the fermenters has the Plaato on it, the other just a regular airlock with my more reliable temperature sensor. Because the wort volumes are the same, they should broadly heat/cool enough for one temp sensor to control them both.
The idea with these brews is to see if I can accurately re-create the original receipes; this ginger beer has got to be one of my favourite drinks ever.
The SG of the cider was: 1.056, expected FG of 1.013
The SG of the ginger beer was: 1.050, expected FG of 1.013
I should be able to check the gravity on the weekend of the 30th and see whether they are ready for bottling.
As a note, there was a mixup with the initial sweeteners, and the cider sweetener went into the beer, and the beer sweetener went into the cider, but they’re both 5.5g of a stevia like sweetener, so I expect they’re probably the same – just different brands, but this might mean a different end result
Update: 09/02/2022
The Cider is at 1.016 @ 22 degrees, and is about ready to go. Just as a note, however, it’s still very dry, despite having the ginger beer sweetener go in to it. It may need some more stevia.
The Ginger Beer is at 1.019 @ 23 degrees, still has a bit of a “too sweet” taste so I think there’s too much sugar, and needs a little more time.
It’s been 23 days of pretty warm weather, so I’m surprised it’s not finished fermenting. I suspect that the fruit has absorbed some of the alcohol or is affecting the gravity in some other way.
I’ve checked the old diary, and the gravity readings are actually about right – last time the GB was at 1.018 with a similar taste, and we decided to bottle it a few days later, so we’ll bottle it this weekend.
Update: 14/02/2022
Bottles are all bottled – 69 Ciders (Nice!) labelled with either a “C” or no label on the cap and 70 Ginger Beers, all labelled with “GB” on the cap. Two are on my desk so I can watch them clarify, but should be carbonated by end of feb, and drinkable by mid march.
Update, some time later
The bottled ginger beers were still fermenting and had pressure problems. All of them were overgassed and some blew up! So I had to throw the whole batch out for safety. A shame! Now we know; 1.018 is still too high. I will need to wait for longer next time.