-NOVICE ADVENTURES IN BREWING-

Hi Brewers!

For those of you that don’t know us, we’re Joce and Sharm. We’ve been friends for over 30 years and

have had many crazy adventures together. And now, after more than 2 years of working at the Lager

Land shed together and still never having made a beer, we felt it was probably time for us to put our

money where our mouth is, to put the brew in brewers, to take the step from long time lurkers to

first time brewers, to get down to business and actually ferment...something.

And so, the Lager Land Ladies Have-A-Go Series was born.

First brew on our NOVICE ADVENTURES is MORGAN’S GINGER BEER!

Day 1.

After cleaning all of our equipment with sodium percarbonate and getting our ingredients in order

we were ready to start. It was then we hit our FIRST STUMBLING BLOCK. The lid.

Now, we’re capable women in our forties. We both have university degrees and have put together

some of the most complicated Lego sets you can buy. So we should be able to take off a lid, right?

Yeah, no.

We struggled with it for several minutes. Laughing ourselves silly in the staff kitchen at the

absurdity, absolutely refusing to ask Dave for help before we rummaged around in the toolbox for

reinforcements. AKA - The flat-head screwdriver.

Which brings us to our FIRST HANDY TIP for NOVICE BREWERS.

So, lid off...yeast retrieved...it was all systems go.

Following the instructions on the tin we put 2 litres of hot tap water (not boiling) in a 5 litre jug. We

used a can opener to open the tin, poured the contents in the water, then stirred. Simple.

NEXT STEP...Sugar.

We chose to add 1kg of BROWN SUGAR to our ginger beer, instead of dextrose, for the hint of

caramel/molasses flavour we’d get in the end. And instead of using one of our popular GINGER

BOOSTERS for an EXTRA FLAVOUR KICK we decided to go with EDWARDS ESSENCES - Ginger Kisses & Cream from our essence selection. Why? Because no one buys it and we have a ton of it. Not sure why because it smells and tastes really good. And even though it says cream, it really didn’t matter

to the ferment. (So, GINGER LOVERS might want to get on board and give that one a go. And then

let us know what you think.)

Once the brown sugar and essence was fully dissolved and stirred in well we added the mix to our

empty 30L fermenter. Then topped up the fermenter with tap water to 20L.

This was where we made our FIRST MISTAKE. The yeast.

Following along with the instructions we added the yeast and the yeast nutrient, then stirred.

Easy peasy.

Then we screwed the lid on the fermenter, pushed the s-bend bubbler into the lid of the fermenter

and congratulated ourselves for a job well done. (Cue the smiles and high-fives.)

Then we read the rest of the instructions and both said CRAP! (Or words to that effect.)

We had added the yeast but the temperature of the fermenter was 32 degrees. As per the

instructions the yeast should be added between 22-30 degrees. We weren’t sure if this was disaster

stations yet or not but we’d done it. There was nothing we could do but wait and see what

happened.

FYI, all was not lost...yet.

At this point we were all done with part 1 of the process. Dave checked our work and it was then

we realised our SECOND MISTAKE.

We hadn’t put any water in the bubbler. Yes, we’d put it into the top of the fermenter empty.

And yes, even we were embarrassed.

Another problem solved, we checked the starting gravity. 1033.

It was time to leave the ginger beer overnight to see if the yeast worked or not.

Day 2.

The gravity reading had gone down to 1020.

Success! The yeast is working.

But the bubbler hadn’t started bubbling. Hmmm, weird.

Day 3.

Next gravity reading - 1011.

It appears to be fermenting but still no bubbling.

Day 4.

Gravity reading is down to 1005 and the fermentation is officially done.

And the bubbler hasn’t bubbled the entire time.

Potential reasons why...

The lid on the fermenter wasn’t on tight enough to cause a full seal and the gas from the

fermentation was slowly escaping.

Or...

Due to the 20L brew being in a 30L vessel there was still fermentation but there wasn’t enough

pressure to force the gas released through the bubbler.

Either way it worked, so moving on.

1st Taste test.

Even warm and straight from the fermenter our ginger beer was tasty. We were concerned it would

be overly sweet due to the brown sugar but there was a really smooth tang from the ginger and the

essence we added. It had a pleasant after taste that sat on the tongue.

What is the ABV? (Alcohol By Volume)

Our trusty online brewing calculator concluded 3.94%.

Not bad for a ginger beer.

Next step.

Dave kegged it for us to age for a bit. Bottling your brew is also a good choice, depending on your

preference and available equipment.

1 week later – 2nd Taste test.

The sweetness from the brown sugar is steadily coming through more. Still a good kick of ginger

and a nice after taste on the tongue.

2 weeks later.

We put it on tap on the kegerator to enjoy the fruits of our labour.

Final thoughts as we pour a drink over the Lager Land lunch table...

The first couple of glasses we pulled were a bit cloudy but still tasted fine. The third was clearer.

The ginger flavour is definitely prominent and tasty, but not overpowering. Not sure we’d drink

more than one glass of it in a sitting unless it was cut with lemonade or mixed it in a cocktail but

overall we were happy with the process and the flavour.

All in all Morgan’s Ginger Beer was a good choice for the inaugural outing of the Have-A-Go series.

All up it will cost you less than $30 to make 20L and is simple to do. Really, just a bit of mixing then

you can almost set and forget it to a large extent. Just check on it intermittently once fermentation

has started.

This would be a great one to make with the kids, just follow the non-alcoholic instructions and it’s

like a tasty science lesson at home.

And if you’re thinking, this is great and all but what am I going to do with 20L of ginger beer?

We agree with you. 20L is a lot.

But don’t forget, a good brew is meant to be shared. Family, friends and neighbours will all appreciate a taste, or three. And once it’s kegged or bottled it will get better with age. You can easily store it so you don’t have to drink it all at once.

Or...You can cook with it.

Be sure to check out our upcoming Facebook post about cooking with your home brew ginger

beer. Think lamb, spices, dough...yum!!!

Until next time, brewers.

Joce & Sharm