17 replies to this topic

[Noontime]

Do brewers yeast react the same way to kmeta and sorbate as wine yeasts? I'm going to make a ginger beer and was trying to figure out how to get it sweet. My first thought was to use a very low alcohol tolerent yeast that would die off at 6% or 7%, but I can not find any information on dry yeasts (or any other) that have low tolerance. So then it occured to me that I back sweeten wine all the time. So can the same technique be used for beer? Just let it ferment out, then add kmeta and sorbate, then back sweeten?

[MtnBrewer]

I've never tried this but I can think of no reason it wouldn't work. You could also cold-crash the yeast, which won't kill it but will make it go dormant. However, if this blows up in your face I had nothing to do with it. :huh:Normally the way brewers make things sweeter is by 1) mashing at a higher temperature, 2) using more crystal/caramel malt, 3) using a less attenuative yeast or some combination of all three.

[DubbelEntendre]

I'd try cold crashing, or using Lactose as a non fermentable sugar to keep the sweetness up.

[zymot]

The ginger beer (Cock & Bull from England) I have had is non-alcoholic.Checking Bevmo, the first 3 or 4 brands of ginger beer are listed as "soda pop." Wikipedia say ginger beer "is rarely produced as an alcoholic beverage." So you do not have to ferment to make what most people call ginger beer.If you kill the yeast, how are you going to get carbonation? If you do not kill the yeast, how do you get the yeast to eat some (to create carbonation) but not all of the sugar (so it is sweet)? I have no safe or reliable advise regarding a way to avoid bottle bombs. This comes up regularly with people wanting to make root beer. The only safe and sane solution I have seen is zero yeast and forced carbonation Every other method relies on balancing too many variables such that no the beverage is not too flat, a gusher, or a bottle bomb.zymot

[Noontime]

Thanks for the replies guys. My original plan was to find a dry yeast with low tolerance, but I couldn't find any information on an appropriate yeast, and as Zymot said...way too many variables anyway. So then I was thinking of force carbonating, but now I don't think I want to buy the equipment needed. So now I think I'll just brew some up and make simple syrup and just combine them in the glass.We have a gluten free household, so we like to try having different things around and experimenting. The gluten free beer is TOUGH and will take a few years of experimenting to get a few good recipies (hopefully). But in the mean time I'm trying to try a few other things.Thanks again.

[zymot]

Thanks for the replies guys. My original plan was to find a dry yeast with low tolerance, but I couldn't find any information on an appropriate yeast, and as Zymot said...way too many variables anyway. So then I was thinking of force carbonating, but now I don't think I want to buy the equipment needed. So now I think I'll just brew some up and make simple syrup and just combine them in the glass.We have a gluten free household, so we like to try having different things around and experimenting. The gluten free beer is TOUGH and will take a few years of experimenting to get a few good recipies (hopefully). But in the mean time I'm trying to try a few other things.Thanks again.

There are some small scale seltzer bottle type carbonation products. Most use the small CO2 cartridges. You do not have to all out with corny kegs, kegerators, CO2 tanks, hoses and all the other stuff.On Amazon for ~$100.00 you can get a 2 qt seltzer bottle & 100 CO charges. That should last you for a while.Seltzer Bottlezymot

[BrewerGeorge]

Beer doesn't react well to the sulfur in Kmeta or NaMeta. Tastes bad.

[Noontime]

Beer doesn't react well to the sulfur in Kmeta or NaMeta. Tastes bad.

Good to know. Do you know what it is in particular that reacts with it? If it's something in the grain then it may not be a concern for me.Thanks.

[MyaCullen]

Beer doesn't react well to the sulfur in Kmeta or NaMeta. Tastes bad.

good info George thanks

[dondewey]

Sweetening in the glass is the best idea. Then you can focus on making the beer without any compromises and then just sweeten to taste.

[zymot]

Sweetening in the glass is the best idea. Then you can focus on making the beer without any compromises and then just sweeten to taste.

How would you carbonate it?

[Noontime]

How would you carbonate it?

Ferment it out and carbonate in the bottle the same way I would any other beer. Then sweeten to taste in the glass. Should work.

[zymot]

Ferment it out and carbonate in the bottle the same way I would any other beer. Then sweeten to taste in the glass. Should work.

Sounds like a plan. I am glad I asked.zymot

[Stout_fan]

Ferment it out and carbonate in the bottle the same way I would any other beer. Then sweeten to taste in the glass. Should work.

Does the phrase "Nucleation sites" have any impact to this discussion?

[Genesee Ted]

I would think yes, but I have never tried to add sugar to my glass of beer. I have however made many thousands of gallons of beer batter. And I can say that adding very fine powder (corn starch, flour, especially baking powder due to another reaction) to beer and stirring makes a lot of foam. Although Kosher salt doesn't seem to be a problem. So when back sweetening, I would use a coarse sugar. It may be fun to mess with a few different sugars to see how the different tastes work with the pop. A friend of mine raves about this drink called the Moscow Mule that is vodka, ginger beer, and a twist of lime served in a copper mug. He says the acid in the lime reacts somehow with the copper, but I don't recall the effect. But he did say it gets you wasted

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Does the phrase "Nucleation sites" have any impact to this discussion?

I think this makes sense - once the beer is chilled in the keg though I don't see why some kind of sweetener couldn't be added. You'd just have to be careful to not add too much...

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Does the phrase "Nucleation sites" have any impact to this discussion?

Just make a simple syrup. Should go into solution without foaming.Another option would be to bottle it with a non fermentable artificial sweetener. I personally hate artificial sweetener, but its an option.

[BrewerGeorge]

I think this makes sense - once the beer is chilled in the keg though I don't see why some kind of sweetener couldn't be added. You'd just have to be careful to not add too much...

No matter how cold it is, adding a powder to a keg is a recipe for disaster. Trust me, you won't be able to get the bail closed fast enough.

Just make a simple syrup. Should go into solution without foaming....

Simple syrup was going to be my advice, too.