After yet another self-imposed long layoff from brewing (diet and exercise, ugh), I'm planning to brew something for lawnmower season. I want to add fresh ginger (not ground or candied) to an American rye recipe to give me a spicy sharpness that'll make it even more thirst quenching. My idea is to stick to a really simply recipe (5 lbs Rahr pils, 3 or 4 lbs rye, 1 or 2 lbs wheat depending how much rye I use, about 15 IBUs in a single 60 minute addition, American ale yeast, roughly 1.050/1.010), and bring the ginger to the fore. So the question is this: If I'm using fresh ginger root, how much for how long in the boil? My initial thought was about an ounce, sliced or grated, for 60 minutes. I do want a prominent ginger flavor, but I don't want to take the enamel off my teeth with it. Thoughts?
Two ways of thinking about this, in my estimation. You could view the ginger more or less as a hop, but a crazy intense one, so a half ounce or so, probably added near the end of the boil like an aromatic. I'd go no earlier than 15 minutes, but I'm just guessing. Another option, one I've used on some higher gravity beers, is to make a vodka tincture with the ginger (shred an ounce into a pint vodka bottle minus one or two shots, age for a week) and add it upon transfer to secondary. It works really well and ensures that the spice really shows up in the final product, but it adds a couple months to the time required for the beer to be ready. It can be nasty harsh and poorly integrated until then. Not sure how well it would hold up on the body of a session rye, either.
Fresh ginger is very intense. I'd go with no more than a half ounce and no more than 10 minute boil. You'd could always add more in secondary, but you can't reduce it once it's in there.
Hmmm.. true, and this is supposed to be a light-bodied lawnmower beer, so the ginger could easily get out of hand. Probably start with half an ounce late in the boil, with the ability to add more later once the vigorous fermentation is finished. As I've said before, I love the fact that I have brewed for well over a decade now and still have new things to try and learn. Thanks, guys.
go light. very light. i did an oz in 5.25 gallons in a wit beer. too much, way too much ginger. .25-.5oz would have been plenty. my wit beer finished off dry, which i believe enhanced the ginger flavor so lean towards .25oz if you are planning a drier beer, .5oz if you are planning a beer with some sweetness.
I use fresh ginger in my pumpkin ale every year. My recipe calls for 1 tsp (.25 oz?) at 5 mins. For me it's the perfect amount. I can taste the ginger, but it doesn't over power the other flavors.
