30A Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
Curbside Claw Ginger Beer
ABV6.0% OG1.057 FG1.015Grain bill
| Gladfield Light Lager Malt | 2.2 kg | 36.7% |
| Gladfield American Ale Malt | 2.2 kg | 36.7% |
| Gladfield Wheat Malt | 1 kg | 16.7% |
| Gladfield Golden Oat Malt | 0.4 kg | 6.7% |
| Gladfield Toffee Malt | 0.2 kg | 3.3% |
Adjuncts
| Fresh ginger (chopped) | 820 g @ 10 min |
| Crystallised ginger | 200 g @ 10 min |
| Brewing sugar | 250 g @ 10 min |
| Yeast nutrient | 2 g @ 10 min |
| Whirlfloc | 1 g @ 10 min |
Hop schedule
| Hop | 60 min | 30 min | 10 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nectaron | 15g | 15g | 30g |
Yeast
| LalBrew Windsor Ale | 1 packet |
Water additions
| Calcium Chloride | 4 g |
| Magnesium Sulfate | 2 g |
| Calcium Sulfate | 1 g |
Tasting notes
2024-10-15
Fermentation profile
Gravity
Temperature
About This Beer
An all-grain ginger beer with a layered spice approach: boil additions, a late ginger and chilli charge into the fermenter after fermentation, and a sweetener adjustment. The base beer was built to support the ginger rather than compete with it.
A light clean base of Light Lager and American Ale in equal parts, wheat for body and slight haze, Golden Oat for softness, and a touch of Toffee for warmth and colour.
Nectaron gives background bittering across three additions, subtle at these rates and complementing the ginger rather than fighting it.
The ginger
The main charge is 820 g of fresh chopped ginger plus 200 g crystallised at 10 minutes, with a separate extraction recirculated through the hop basket to filter solids before transfer. Brewing sugar at 10 minutes for fermentability.
Then post-fermentation at day 15: chilli powder, ginger powder and sweetener dissolved in vodka, added straight to the fermenter.
Fermentation
LalBrew Windsor at 18°C, chosen for its malt-forward fuller body and the residual sweetness that suits a ginger beer. Very fast: at 1.018 by day 3. Raised to 20°C around day 5.
Packaging and tasting
Mixed packaging on day 19, carbonated to 3.0 volumes, higher than usual and appropriate for the style.
Tasted the day before packaging: strong spicy ginger and chilli from the late additions. The artificial sweetener left a less than ideal flavour, and maltodextrin is the better option next time.
The late fermenter spice additions delivered more aroma and bite than boil ginger alone. The sweetener is the main variable to improve.