I want to make a sessionable summer season beer. I want to make ginger a main part of the flavor. anyone have any ideas on what would go nice with ginger for a crisp drinkable brew.
I seen a Hefweisen recipe in a book that added Ginger. My wife likes Ginger Beer so I was planing on brewing it in May. I believe the book was written by Randy Mosher. Good luck.
When I think summer I think Saison. Saisons have a dry finish because of highly attenuative yeasts. The yeast also creates chemicals which increase the mouthfeel of the beer as a byproduct of natural fermentation I made a Ginger Saison this winter details here http://smallplacebigbrews.blogspot.com/2012/01/ginger-rye-munich-saison.html You could turn that into a summer beer by scaling the recipe to get the gravities you want. 2oz of ginger per gallon yields a strong ginger charicter.
I would say it depends on what kind of ginger. Fresh ginger, you probably want to back that down at least to 1.5oz per gallon and even then, stay on the light side. A little goes a long way. I brewed a Winter Warmer in December and the ginger is finally backing down to an acceptable level.
I used fresh ginger, and used 2 oz, which is why I tossed out that number. I was using a beer I already liked to guess at preportions. The ginger was spot on for me, but I like ginger. If you're not looking for a ginger punch in the face back that down 25% or even 50%.
Great minds think alike. For my next brew day, I am planning to brew a medium-to-low gravity hefeweizen, with fresh minced ginger added to the boil at 30 minutes. I was thinking 6-8 oz for a 5 gallon batch. I am shooting for something that is quick, easy and cheap, yet fun for the warmer weather soon to come.
I made a saison with about an ounce each of fresh ginger root and lemon peel for 2.5 gallons of beer. I added them at flame out and let them steep for about 15 minutes. Very gingery, but it goes really well with the spicy phenolics from the yeast.
