Preparing the yeast for Ginger Beer/Wine

[Trauts]

I'm aiming to make ginger beer with a high alcohol content. I'm using a packet of Red Star Montrachet yeast, which should be good up to 13% ABV. I have three questions:

1) The ginger beer recipe I'm basing mine off of has you feeding the yeast a little bit of sugar/ginger every day for a week (in a jar) before mixing with everything else.

However, the back of the yeast packet suggests dissolving yeast in 1/4 cup hot water (~40 degrees celsius).

What's the best practice? Or should I try combining the two (adding it to hot water, then feeding it a little bit each day for a week before adding more water and the rest of the ingredients)


2) the recipe implies that it needs to be kept in the refrigerator. I imagine this is because they're expecting you to stall the fermentation while there is still sugar (versus fermentation ending because you hit an ABV threshold). When fermentation is done, will I be OK if I don't put it in the refrigerator? My ingredients list so far: water, pineapple juice, lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon.


3) Should I invest in yeast nutrient? The jury seems to be out on this based on some searching, so I thought I'd ask specifically to ginger beer/wine.

 

[Trauts]

Anyone?

 

[jensmith]

No clue on any answer for you! I have never made beer. Just fruit wine. I have made one ginger wine however. I did a google search for ginger wine and sorta used one of the recipies. So far it is tasty. Not much will make a "real" bottle!! I made it just like any other wine.
This is all done at room temp. Except the simmering! No fridgerator was used.

Without my notes, this is about what I did.
14.8 oz fresh chopped Ginger
5 pounds realy old honey ( it needed to be used!)
1 pound chopped raisons
1 each lemon and orange. Zested and then sliced
1-2 ripe bananas sliced
2 quarts water
I put everything but 2 pounds honey in a pot and simmered 15 minutes or so. Turned off stove and let sit covered untill cool. At this point it was very very tasty just as is!!! Would make a great cold remedy or other healthy tonic.
After it cooled I added 2.5 galleons of water and 3/5 pkt of "cortes de blank" yeast. ( or however you spell it!) I just sprinkled the dry yeast on top. Let ferment in a bucket with a towel on top. Stirr several times a day. Ferment almost dry, decide there really is not enough abv , add another pound honey. Repeat in a few days with remaining honey. That honey was old and lonley in the bottom of its jug! It is much happier in the bucket with everything else.
Rack off into a secondary fermentor after sg is about dry, or bubbles are slow comming up when stirred. Re-rack in a few weeks. It is very drinkable even at the first racking. But I am liking the very fresh slightly active wines, so this may just be me, and several suckers that happened to stop by on racking day!
I have not bottled this wine yet, but it is about ready to be. Still tasty!

Good luck with your ginger beer/wine.

 

[jensmith]

Ops. Forot the additives. Yeast energizer, nurtiant and maybe a tiny bit of Tannin. Acid blend as well. I will check my notes and repost with correct amounts!

 

[novalou]

Your Ginger beer/wine looks similar to Skeeter Pee (lemon wine). Search this forum for Skeeter Pee and follow the recommended yeast starter for that wine.

The trick is to get the yeast to handle the acid from the lemons and pineapple.

 

[Trauts]

Your Ginger beer/wine looks similar to Skeeter Pee (lemon wine). Search this forum for Skeeter Pee and follow the recommended yeast starter for that wine.

The trick is to get the yeast to handle the acid from the lemons and pineapple.

That was actually super helpful! I'd come across skeeter pee when I first started researching homebrewing, but had dismissed it as 'not quite what I'm looking for' without reading the whole thing. I've modified my recipe a fair bit as a result and have a number of new things to try. Thanks for the tip!