This is the video I used for the recipe / ideas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-j8aVckXIQ
This is what I actually did
Put 25 l of 80 cels LONDON tap water into a fermenter, I recall adding AMS about 20 ml to get to ph 5.5 added to FV 1kg of white granulated sugar, 1kg amber , 1kg dark.
Left overnight with lid tightly om to cool, aiming for 26 cels.
If you want a drier beer use more white sugar and less dark sugar, calculated abv would be 4.6%
Og = eff x weight (kg) x HWE/ vol
HWE of 368, for white sugar being 100% fermentable
HWE = 232 dark being 60% (HWE= 368x0.6=232),
HWE=294 amber , assumed it would be 80% fermentable (HWE=368x0.8=294)
so og=368+232+294/25l= 35.76 so ogx0.129 = 4.6% abv (as already accounted for efficiency of yeast)
Zested 3 lemons and 1 lime, put in a bag, then juiced the lemons & lime (discarded the rest)
Slowly macerated the 1.5kg ginger in my slow macerating juicer, put fibres in same bag as the lemon zest
Put all the juice into the FV and a whole red scotch bonnet pepper in the muslin bag with the zest and ginger fibres and dropped that into the FV.
Pitched a 11g packet of gervin yeast (champagne was suggested but you;d have to back sweeten , beer yeast will not ferment all the sugar so left with a nice sweet ginger beer)
I did look up how to grow a ginger plant , but didn't have enough time to do that, although it was simple enough to do
The ginger beer fermented in 6 days ie 2023-09-12, OG 1.038, FG 1.020 , abv 2.3%
I racked into a 5 gl barrel and a couple of 1l bottles + 0.5l bottle, primed with 8g/l of dark sugar , kept it in a warm place for removal of off flavours.
I was drinking the barrel bersion 2 days later (day 8 i.e. 2023-09-14) it was served up at a party by Day 10 i.e.23-08-16, and it was perfect, had an amazing head when poured!
BEST DRINK I'VE MADE THIS YEAR! and I've made a few great beers!
I COULDN'T STOP DRINKING IT!
