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ginger beer

2 days ago i made up a batch of ginger beer.i'll give it a try later today.it is suppose to be an alchohol version of ginger ale with a more powerful ginger kick.i've made wine before but this is my first attempt at this beverage.
any one else here have any experience with ginger beer?
 
I've never made Ginger Beer before but of the dozens of varieties I've seen for sale, none of them are alcoholic. I have seen several recipes that CAN be made alcoholic though. I wonder how it tastes?

Now you need some Goslings - Black Seal Rum so you can make some "Dark and Stormy's".

The best Ginger beer I've ever had comes from A J Stephans of Fall River, MA.
 
My grandmother was Cajun and she grew up in the swamps of LA...her family made pretty much everything..including Ginger Beer...The stuff they made was spice hot and had a good kick to it..

The funny thing about her was she would tell you stories when she was a little girl and having to work the still....while all the older people were sitting around smoking mary jane!!....

She said the first time she walked into a drug store that carried cigs she thought it was so cool how they could roll all joints the same!!
 
I make ginger beer all the time in the summer. Sometimes I go crazy and make a "double-ipa" style ginger beer in that the starting gravity and resulting alcohol content is pretty high. I do back off on the hop additions as the ginger has a bittering effect. What's nice about these high gravity beers is that they age rather well. If the ginger is too strong (I'm always pushing the edge there) cellaring it for a few years makes for a mighty fine beverage. The ginger kick mellows and blends in over time.

One of the better commercially-brewed ginger beers I have tried is Left Hand Brewery's "JuJu Ginger Ale". Every other one I have tried is disappointing compared to what I can brew on my own or compared to Left Hand's. Happy brewing!

Good ginger hint: I used to chop the ginger root but now I shred it in a food slicer. You get much better utilization of the ginger so you need to adjust the amounts.
 
I've never made Ginger Beer before but of the dozens of varieties I've seen for sale, none of them are alcoholic. I have seen several recipes that CAN be made alcoholic though. I wonder how it tastes?

Now you need some Goslings - Black Seal Rum so you can make some "Dark and Stormy's".

The best Ginger beer I've ever had comes from A J Stephans of Fall River, MA.

You beat me to it! My wife and I went on a cruise to Bermuda, and being a huge ginger beer fan, I was completely hooked on "Dark and Stormy's". I'm a huge ginger beer fan in general - but most of my buddies can't stand the stuff. Ginger Beer makes them tear up like they just read some Nicolas Sparks novel.
 
My mouth is beginning to water...

I have always been a fan of ginger ale/beer- from Vernors to Stewarts to the spicier Jamaican brew. They are all good just some "gooder" than others.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
I grew up on ginger ale (Canada Dry, natch) and finally tried Ginger Beer as an adult ... wow, what a difference. Love the ginger kick. Anyone out there who's only tried ginger ale, try this stuff!

Oh, never heard of an alcoholic version ...
 
When I was a lad, many years ago, a batch of my father's ginger beer blew a hole in the shed roof! It had a little too much sugar added to the bottle to orudce the fizz and one bottle exploded and set all the others off. One bottle went through the tatty roof!
 
When I was a lad, many years ago, a batch of my father's ginger beer blew a hole in the shed roof! It had a little too much sugar added to the bottle to orudce the fizz and one bottle exploded and set all the others off. One bottle went through the tatty roof!

Had that happen with a root beer batch. It got way hotter in the basement than I expected and one of the corks that blew went flying through a window and into the back yard.
 
Sam Adams made a special batch of "Revolutionary Era" ales. Alcoholic root beer, George Washington porter, a wheat beer and a ginger beer. The ginger beer was like nothing I ever had. Not quite sure if I'd ever buy it again to be honest but the sampler pack was very cool.
 
Ginger Beer is my favorite. Jamaica's Finest, made by Natrona Bottling Company, is my favorite. Very spicy with a lot of ginger taste. No fake spice from capsicum like others use. All from ginger oil. Mmmmmmm. I always have at least a case on hand. I make Moscow Mules with it. Vodka, Ginger Beer, lime juice. In a copper mug. :thumbup:

Unless this thread is supposed to be around real beer, with ginger in it. I have no idea about that stuff.


Almost forgot. I make my own, too. I saw a recipe online, and I used to make it that way, but it was more like the Bermuda style, more of a refreshing light Sprite type drink. I like my ginger beer to kick me in the face, so I increased the ginger 8- or 10-fold. Just right. My juicer comes in handy for making ginger beer. It's about all I use it for.
 
Hey Ten Roaches,
Have you tried Reed's Extra. It's the best I've had but I've yet to give Natrona a go.
 
Hey Ten Roaches,
Have you tried Reed's Extra. It's the best I've had but I've yet to give Natrona a go.

Yes I have. I actually like Reed's Premium Brew Ginger Ale better than their Extra Ginger Ginger Beer. It tastes like a lot of things, but ginger isn't one of them, in my opinion. I read the ingredients and realized I think it's the honey I taste. Reed's isn't one of my favorites. But I'd drink it if it were in front of me.
 
Oh yeah. For a non-Jamaican style ginger beer, Target's Archer Farms brand is very good. I think it normally runs $4 for a 4-pack. I'm pretty sure it's made with real sugar. It's my favorite non-spicy ginger beer.
 
Well that makes me want to try Natrona all the more. I'll have to find some soon. I should be in PA. sometime in the next few weeks.
 
Well that makes me want to try Natrona all the more. I'll have to find some soon. I should be in PA. sometime in the next few weeks.

Even in PA, it's hard to find. You can only find it in a handful of stores. I can try to ship you a bottle of what I have here. Their bottle caps are tighter than any other screw-off I've come across. I can pack it nicely with packing peanuts and newspaper. I'd just hope you're home or in a warm place when it comes, because it's only 13 degrees or so here, and it could freeze and 'splode on a porch.
 
I tried some ginger beer (non-alcoholic) when I was in Australia. It must be an acquired taste; I thought it was the nastiest stuff I ever tasted.
 
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