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Ginger & Piloncillo Ale

Beer Recipe Design
#1

Just wonder if anyone else messes around with ginger beers - I’m crazy about them. Brewed up one today - a classic example of using the last of my ingredients before I have to take a break until fall due to warm weather (no AC here in England…). For a 5+ gallon batch I put in

  • about 6 lbs. of LME
  • half a pound or so of dark crystal
  • a quarter pound or less of chocolate malt
  • a tad of torrefied wheat for head retention.
  • Hopped for medium bitterness and added maybe 3/4 oz. Goldings at 15 minutes for flavor.
  • added a half pound cone of piloncillo that I have been meaning to use for ages but never got around to
  • OG around 1.050
  • Yeast: Windsor dried yeast (Lallemand)

Anyone else have a super duper ginger ale they have brewed recently or have any experience using piloncillo sugar (if you are considering using it, by the way, be sure to add in plenty time for it to dissolve. After five minutes, I couldn’t get the stuff to dissolve and had to remove from the pot and chop it up a bit - a bit of stress towards the end of the boil.)

Will let you know how this one turned out. Looking forward to try this one!

#2

Sounds like a neat idea. I know I’ve talked about ginger on here before – do a search for ginger.

#3

[quote=“JohnHardy”]Just wonder if anyone else messes around with ginger beers - I’m crazy about them. Brewed up one today - a classic example of using the last of my ingredients before I have to take a break until fall due to warm weather (no AC here in England…). For a 5+ gallon batch I put in

  • about 6 lbs. of LME
  • half a pound or so of dark crystal
  • a quarter pound or less of chocolate malt
  • a tad of torrefied wheat for head retention.
  • Hopped for medium bitterness and added maybe 3/4 oz. Goldings at 15 minutes for flavor.
  • added a half pound cone of piloncillo that I have been meaning to use for ages but never got around to
  • OG around 1.050
  • Yeast: Windsor dried yeast (Lallemand)

Anyone else have a super duper ginger ale they have brewed recently or have any experience using piloncillo sugar (if you are considering using it, by the way, be sure to add in plenty time for it to dissolve. After five minutes, I couldn’t get the stuff to dissolve and had to remove from the pot and chop it up a bit - a bit of stress towards the end of the boil.)

Will let you know how this one turned out. Looking forward to try this one![/quote]

Am I blind? I don’t see any ginger in the recipe above?

#4

[quote=“JohnHardy”]…or have any experience using piloncillo sugar (if you are considering using it, by the way, be sure to add in plenty time for it to dissolve.[/quote]I use piloncillo when I can’t get jaggery, and I like the slight caramel flavor that carries over when used in the 10+% range (but I don’t think you’ll notice any flavor contribution with just a half lb). Easiest way to add it, IME, is to put a little wort in a small pot on the stove and add the cones on very low heat, let them slowly melt (and it smells awesome, too!).

#5

Regarding ginger content: I put in about 5 ounces finely chopped with 15 minutes to go. Thanks for the piloncillo suggestion - will have to look up what jaggery is - but if I recall right, it is pretty much the same thing…jut the latter is from India or something?

#6

[quote=“JohnHardy”] but if I recall right, it is pretty much the same thing…jut the latter is from India or something?[/quote]Jaggery is similar, but it’s made from palm syrup and it’s not caramelized like piloncillo, just boiled down and poured into moulds - the kind I get comes in 5-kg chunks which have a thick, hard outer layer and then an almost mousse-like (but dry, sort of sandy) inner core. Adds a subtle “tropical” flavor and not much color.

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