Morgans Ginger Beer, how to brew it at home

If somebody asks me what to brew first, ginger beer is usually the answer, because it is forgiving, it is quick compared to a beer, and the people who do not drink still get to have some. Morgans Ginger Beer comes as a kit, so you are not measuring out ginger and hoping, and the whole thing from opening the tin to pouring a cold one takes about a fortnight.

What you need

• A Morgans Ginger Beer kit
• A fermenter with an airlock
• Sugar, with the type and the amount off the kit instructions
• A thermometer
• Sanitiser, which is the thing people skimp on and then wonder why
• Bottles and caps, and a capper

The method

1. Sanitise everything first

Everything that touches the brew gets sanitised, and that includes the spoon, the airlock and your hands. This is not me being fussy about it. Nearly every batch that comes out tasting odd is a sanitation problem rather than a recipe problem, and it is the one step where doing it properly costs you 10 minutes and saves the whole batch.

2. Mix it up

Follow the kit instructions, which generally means dissolving the ginger beer extract and the sugar in hot water in the fermenter, then topping up with cold water to the mark. Stir until there is nothing sitting on the bottom.

3. Pitch the yeast and leave it alone

Get the temperature right before the yeast goes in, seal the airlock, and put it somewhere cool and dark that does not swing much overnight. A cupboard beats a shed. It takes about a week. You can look at it, and do not open it.

4. Bottle it

Once fermentation has finished, siphon carefully into bottles and add a small measured amount of sugar to each one, which is what carbonates it. Cap them and leave them at room temperature for another week.

Measure the priming sugar rather than guessing. Too much and you are making bottle bombs, and that is not an expression, it is a genuine thing that happens in a warm laundry.

5. Chill and pour

Into the fridge, and it is ready. It will keep improving for a couple of weeks after that if any of it survives.

Things worth trying once it is working

• Cloves, cinnamon sticks or star anise during fermentation, added lightly, because ginger will happily bully anything you put next to it.
• A splash of vanilla essence at bottling, which gives it a creamier finish.
• Dark rum, lime and mint over ice, if that is your thing.

When it goes wrong

• No fizz. Not enough priming sugar at bottling, or it was too cold for the second ferment.
• Too sweet. Fermentation stopped early. Check the temperature was in range for the yeast.
• Tastes off. Sanitation, almost every time. Go harder on step one next batch.

Shop related products

• Beer Essentials No Rinse Sanitiser 25g. The cheapest thing in the list and the one that decides whether the batch is drinkable.
• Beer Essentials Brew Sanitise 250ml. The bigger bottle, for when you are brewing regularly.
• Coopers Original Draught 1.7kg. The obvious next one after a ginger beer has gone well.

Did you know we stock the Morgans Ginger Beer 1kg kit in store, along with Morgans Apple Cider and the Old Fashioned Ginger Beer kit, plus the fermenters, hydrometers, airlocks and bottle cappers. None of those are listed on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what is on the shelf.

What is online sits in homebrew.

First time doing this

Brewhilder will walk you through a first brew step by step, which is easier than reading it off a page while your hands are wet.

More on brewing

• Top 5 common homebrewing mistakes and how to fix them
• Why every homebrewer needs a decent fermenter
• Brewing on a budget, essential equipment that will not break the bank

I have absolutely made bottle bombs, and I found out about it from the noise.

Cheers,
Candeece