Using ginger in primary/secondary.

[OkanaganMike]

Hey folks I brewed a ginger beer last night and the recipe calls for adding an oz into primary then another into secondary. I've never done this before and worry about infection if I don't sanitise it first.

Is this something I need to concern myself with? I've been dry hopping for years without issue of course but ginger isn't hops.

Thinking I may need to peel the ginger then soak in sanitizer (Starsan) for a minute or so? Any past experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Edit - I've read sanitizing is unnecessary so guess I'll just chuck some in but was hoping to hear about others experiences too.

 

[Nosybear]

Hey folks I brewed a ginger beer last night and the recipe calls for adding an oz into primary then another into secondary. I've never done this before and worry about infection if I don't sanitise it first.

Is this something I need to concern myself with? I've been dry hopping for years without issue of course but ginger isn't hops.

Thinking I may need to peel the ginger then soak in sanitizer (Starsan) for a minute or so? Any past experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Yep: Cold steep it and you get a mild ginger flavor. Boil it and you get the heat. But those are flavor considerations and you're asking about sanitation. I'd Pasteurize it before adding to secondary. Heat it in a small amount of water to 160 degrees, hold it there for five to ten minutes, then dump both the water and the ginger into your secondary. I don't know if that's hot enough to convert the ginger to it's "hot" flavor, haven't tried it, but the question was around sanitation. If it's going into secondary, pasteurize it. Period.

 

[OkanaganMike]

Thanks Nosybear. Just throwing something that came out of the ground (and from China probably so who knows what else is on it) into the clean beer makes me nervous. Never thought about pasteurising it but that makes better sense than Starsan I think.

 

[Nosybear]

Thanks Nosybear. Just throwing something that came out of the ground (and from China probably so who knows what else is on it) into the clean beer makes me nervous. Never thought about pasteurising it but that makes better sense than Starsan I think.

Let us know if it goes "hot" in pasteurization. I make a ginger beer as well (lemongrass and ginger in a wheat beer - yum!) and would like to know how the ginger in secondary works.

 

[Mase]

Can't you just soak the ginger in vodka for a couple days?

 

[Nosybear]

Can't you just soak the ginger in vodka for a couple days?

Works well if you want "cool" ginger flavor. And a couple of days aren't enough. A few weeks. This one I've tried....

 

[OkanaganMike]

I love to use ginger in my cooking (mostly Asian and Indian I suppose) and love ginger beer though its hard to find in my neck of the woods. I've never brewed an actual ginger beer but have done a sugar wash which wasn't great. I took Nosybears advice and nuked the 1oz of grated ginger in a bit of water for like 45 secs and it took it to over 175 or so. Let'er cool and tipped it into primary 1 day into ferment. I don't usually use a secondary but will this time for sh!ts and giggles since thats what the recipe calls for.

Here's the link if anyone is curious.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/443444/ginger-whirlwind-golden-ginger-ale