Ginger wine and Sugar wash updates.

[fatbloke]

The recipe and picture of the Ginger Wine I posted the other day.

Well it did start fermenting quite quickly after pitching the yeast, right now it's going like an absolute trojan!

If you looked at the picture of the must I posted, you might notice that the settled ginger produced a grey sludge at the bottom of the "bottle". Theres that much activity in it at the moment, that the whole of the bottle is a uniform "grey sludge" colour, the only difference being the bits of ginger that weren't chopped quite so finely by our food processor, and are still floating on the surface.

Then theres my Sugar wash, for my still. Well it's been fermenting for, hell it's nearly 2 weeks now (it should, theoretically, have been ready in 7 days). I dropped the "spirits hydrometer" in it last night to see what it said. It showed that it's probably IRO 10% abv, but it's still fermenting, if considerably slower than it has been. So I'm intending to take Bob's advice and leave it until it's stopped bubbling completely - I'm guessing that next weekend is looking favourite for fining and distillation. We'll see!

regards

fatbloke

[fatbloke]

Sugar Wash/Ginger wine (mainly the ginger in this post) ??

Ho ho! it looks like the sugar was has finished fermenting. Nearly time to distil it and see what strength I get.

Now with the ginger wine.

I keep reading (well more recently in the CJJB Canned fruit wine book) about the differences of fermenting in a bucket as primary, then syphoning off into a fermentation vessel of some sort.

Also mention of "off flavours" etc, plus the oft mentioned pectin problem.

So, when I made the ginger wine, I mixed the must in a bucket (and it was only just big enough) and then put the whole lot into a fermenter bottle, with the result that some of the "not so finely chopped ginger" is floating on the top.

Should I be thinking about syphoning the fermenting mix out into another fermenter so as to remove the debris ? Or as with my mead efforts so far, leave it as is until it stops fermenting ???

As ever, any advice is much appreciated.

regards

fatbloke

[StockeyDAW]

FB - My concern would be that some of the ginger may be forced up to the neck of the fermentation vessel and there by plugging the air lock? Do you see this as a problem? You could syphon some off to lower the level slightly - not to much 3 inches below the neck. Keep a close eye on it for the first two or three days. I am sure you would prefer to use every bit of ginger that you have to get all the flavour possible. Cheers DAW

[fatbloke]

FB - My concern would be that some of the ginger may be forced up to the neck of the fermentation vessel and there by plugging the air lock? Do you see this as a problem? You could syphon some off to lower the level slightly - not to much 3 inches below the neck. Keep a close eye on it for the first two or three days. I am sure you would prefer to use every bit of ginger that you have to get all the flavour possible. Cheers DAW

No, it's well clear of the top i.e. about 2 or 3 inches below the bottom of the bung.

It seems to be fermenting just nicely at the moment so theres no concern there.

It's just that I was wondering about the potential for "off flavours", but it's an odd one, because ginger, being a root shouldn't (I'd have thought) have any pectin problems (it's a bit "wait and see"), so if you thought it best to leave it until it's stopped bubbling and maybe even cleared a bit, then that'd be fine.

There just seems to be very little about ginger as a main ingredient!

regards

fatbloke

[lockwood1956]

It's just that I was wondering about the potential for "off flavours", but it's an odd one, because ginger, being a root shouldn't (I'd have thought) have any pectin problems (it's a bit "wait and see"),

Pectin doesn't cause off flavours.....just clearing problems...

and because its a root it will more likely have starch hazes if any (which are treatable if they occur, with Amylase)

[WVMountaineerJack]

fatbloke, we did a starch test on ginger root and it had starch so we add amylase when we do a ginger wine. We also put the ginger pieces, after boiling, into a bag, makes the whole mess easy to deal with. It does ferment well and the end taste is like squeezing a big piece of ginger right into your glass. Crackedcork

[fatbloke]

Pectin doesn't cause off flavours.....just clearing problems...

and because its a root it will more likely have starch hazes if any (which are treatable if they occur, with Amylase)

No no, you miss my point. Theres the question of off flavours for leaving something fermenting on the pulp for too long, then theres the other question of whether ginger contained any pectin.

fatbloke, we did a starch test on ginger root and it had starch so we add amylase when we do a ginger wine. We also put the ginger pieces, after boiling, into a bag, makes the whole mess easy to deal with. It does ferment well and the end taste is like squeezing a big piece of ginger right into your glass. Crackedcork

With both answers, it looks like I'll be looking for amylase then.

Starch hazes aren't something I recall reading about, but it's very handy to know.

TVM

regards

fatbloke

[lockwood1956]

No no, you miss my point. Theres the question of off flavours for leaving something fermenting on the pulp for too long, then theres the other question of whether ginger contained any pectin.

sorry dude

I see what you meant now

[fatbloke]

Been and bought some amylase thisarvo anyhow - as judging from the current "colour" of the ferment, the ginger will probably have a major starch haze (it's currently the colour of glaziers putty), and given that I used nearly 3 and a half lbs of ginger (erm, yes, that probably is just a little over the top ). I thought it prudent

regards

John the fatbloke.

[StockeyDAW]

great information FB, Bob and Cork. Thank you I will keep that in mind next time I use Ginger. Cheers DAW

[fatbloke]

Well I'll keep this updated anyhow StockleyDAW, because once it's finished fermenting, the recipe calls for the addition of 1/2 pint of brandy and the (optional) raisins.

I should have enough raw spirit to make the brandy myself by then (got 25 litres of "wash" to run tomorrow anyway, but that batch is gonna be bourbon and rum ).

regard

fatbloke