Honey Ginger Beer

Classification: spiced ale, ginger beer, extract, honey

Source: Don Veino (Don.Veino@East.Sun.com) Issue #840, 3/10/92

This is from Beer & Wine Hobby's recipe of the Month, May 1991....their comment:
"This makes a most delightful summer beer, with a slight ginger taste, and a wonderful mellow ginger aftertaste. Chill and enjoy!!"
Don's comment:
Taste good/light. Very clear, with a golden brown to red color. Slight "apple" smell upon opening, but no fruity taste... just a clean ginger flavor. Good head and strong carbonation (I think I'll back off a bit on the priming sugar next time). Improved with age, 5+ weeks later it was great, still getting better 4 months later (but only 4 bottles left!). No chill haze. Medium alcohol content. GREAT with asian foods (tasted similar to Tsing Tao, but better).

I think I'm going to experiment a little with some fresh rosemary in the next batch, in place of some/all of the ginger... we'll see how it goes!

Ingredients:

1 can, John Bull light unhopped malt extract
1 ounce, Hallertauer hop plugs
3 pounds, honey
3 ounces, diced ginger
finings
Glenbrew yeast
1 cup, corn sugar (priming)

Procedure:

Started with 1--1/2 gallons cold filtered water in stockpot. Added malt extract and began heating. At steaming, added hops in straining bag. After 15 minutes, added diced ginger (actually, slices about as thick as a nickel---I wanted the surface area increase). Continued simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, added 3 pounds honey to fermenter (using some known weights, a fulcrum and a bit of mechanics, then measuring the results, I figure this is about 40 ounces liquid measure). When simmer completed, removed ginger and hops bag, and poured hot wort into fermenter (7 gallon glass carboy). Added cold filtered water to make 5 gallons. Pitched yeast at about 80 deg F. Forgot to take initial SG reading.