We're excited to share our best answers to your best ginger bug questions! Now that you're all equipped to make fermented drinks, check out these recipes! ua-cam.com/play/PLKmVI5tdVVafT5WGLaJLN9FdbU6jXUCIg.html
I'd think refrigeration slows but not fully stops fermentation, but I keep mine on the counter, as i thought it needed that bit of warmth, up to room temp. only sometimes over to fully get going. Then I don't keep a lid on it, but instead use cheese cloth & even a nut milk bag, so to keep out fruit flies & to let in other wild native yeasts. ....Hmmm, does that create something different, maybe completely, as Monty Python used as like a mantra :-)
Yes yes! Thanks for the sharing. The fermentation process slows down in cooler temperatures, so it can take longer it colder climates. Our fermentation setup is a fairly consistent 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and sometimes warmer in summer months. Florida is quite warm!
If you REALLY want to, you can put it in the oven with the light on (oven off obviously lol). The light from the bulb and the insulated enclosed nature of the oven is enough to get it going pretty fast! Now my bug is so strong it gets fizzy within a few days even in the fridge 😅
The secret to your appeal is as much your upbeat and likable personalities together as the great information. Love it! I’m new to the whole fermenting thing (and to your channel) but you’re probably my fave so far.
Wow! Thank you SO MUCH for the love Victoryak! 💓 We try to stay positive and have a bit of fun along the way (even if we're a bit goofy sometimes 😂) We hope your ferments are coming along well!
@@FermentationAdventure you guys are just fun and seeing a couple work so well together and enjoy themselves makes it enjoyable to watch and definitely learn. Thx.
they do a good job and with out all that weighing and percentages and all that tech stuff I have seen on other channels ... they just do it and show you the process ... I'm making a bug now ... second try ...
Thanks for all the excellent information. I made a ginger bug and then made your ginger ale recipe. I used the tester bottle to gauge the pressure and put the other bottles in the refrigerator, thinking I had let the pressure build up enough for a good fizz. The tester bottle was very firm when I tried to squeeze it, so I thought the bottles were ready. But to my disappointment, the ginger ale is just OK. It's not as fizzy as I had hoped, and it tastes too sweet (I added some lemon juice to tone down the sweetness). I'd also like to confirm that the ginger bug is an ongoing ferment (from what I've read in the comments). It can be kept in the refrigerator and fed there instead of returning to room temperature to continue fermenting. My initial ginger bug was incredible. I put it in the refrigerator, but I thought I had to bring it back out to activate it again. It's a learning process. Your insights are so helpful, and I appreciate your time. Thanks
We've had that also where our tester bottle was rock solid but there was only a little fizziness. Sometimes those bottles get hard but end up leaking a tiny bit which is why the glass ones are nice. You just have to be careful not to let it build up too much in case of explosions. You have that correct about the ginger bug! You can either leave it at room temperature or just feed it and put it right back in the fridge. It should be good either way! We hope you're getting some tasty ginger ale and wish you the best on your fermentation journey! 🎉🎉🎉
My fermentation production. I make 3 gallons per week. I have 3 Ginger bug cultures, one per gallon. I add 1 cup of ginger bug per gallon. I replenish the ginger bug by adding 1 table spoon of ginger and about 7/8 table spoon white sugar back into the jar and add distilled water. I let the jar sit on the counter for 2 days and put back into the refrigerator. Awaiting next weeks gallon of awesome ferments.
Thanks a lot for the useful informations. I do have 2 questions: 1- what is the shelf time for the ginger bug? I did mine the last year. 2- I noticed that last time I did ginger ale it was slimy, however the ginger bug was bubbly and not slimy. Does that mean I have to start a new ginger bug?
Hello! If the conditions are right, your ginger bug can last for a very long time in the refrigerator. Ours has been going for something like 5 years! In case it's helpful, here's a quick video on how to maintain your ginger bug: ua-cam.com/users/shortsDjfHqZisQRs? As for your second question, if your ginger bug is not slimy, it sounds like there may have been a contaminate with something else in your ginger ale.
Pineapple ferment is one of my favorite. Just leave the peel in water for a few days (dark place). Burp or cloth it. Then sweeten if you want. Will become alcoholic after a long time :-p
@@mgtv5482a ginger bug is made from ginger,water, and sugar. You then take that ferment and use it to make ginger beer/ale, which is a carbonate ginger- based drink. Tempache is a fermented drink based on fermenting pineapple skins and cores with brown sugar and water, and maybe some added whole spices. Kvass is a drink made of fermented rye bread and raisins. Some folks also make fermented drinks out of beets and call that kvass, but strictly speaking it’s not.
I don't measure when I make soda so can't give you a recipe but a good flavor combo you may want to try is strawberry ginger lemonade I made it using using fresh strawberries from the garden It was very yummy Also I don't use a tester bottle and I make it I just burp the bottles every 24 hours and when it gets the reaction I want I throw it in the fridge... sometimes after 24 hours it's enough sometimes it's 3 or 4 days
It’s probably Kahm yeast, and I had the same problem. I fed a TBSP of ginger daily for a week, as well as a TBSP of sugar. House temp 73* No bubbles. Not fizzy after 10 days. 😕
I have the sediment referenced below in my ginger ale, but I also have a small amount of floating film on top (like one piece in each bottle). Is this a type of Kahm yeast or some sediment floating from the bottom?
@rachelcolella2190 Hello! The white sediment that appears at the bottom during the fermentation process will stay at the bottom. If what you're referencing looks like a translucent white film, and it's spreading across the whole top, then it would be kahm yeast and would be fine to scrape off and continue fermenting. But just an eye out for anything that might look like mold, like fuzzy or multi-colored growth. If it's mold, we'd recommend starting over and sanitizing the fermentation equipment well before your next batch. Here's a video on that in case you're interested: ua-cam.com/video/5SgIi2XGIvg/v-deo.html
Hi there...a pleasant morning to you 🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️ I am not sure what I did wrong but my ginger bug went bad on day 4. I will try again. I have a question though, do I have to wait for 7 days of feeding it regularly before keeping the ginger bug in the fridge?
Hello! How do you know it went "bad"? As for the numbers of days, it's more about how it looks. You may have already seen this, but here's our video on how to make a ginger bug: ua-cam.com/video/wtb1BvRUWmI/v-deo.html. In this video, we show what it should look like and behave like at the time it's ready to use (or ready to be stored in the fridge). Once yours is similar to this, you can go ahead and refrigerate it. 😃
May I Ask I have looked at several video's now... Others add Citric acid and Cream of tartar and Tartaric acid in their brews? Why And how much of it? 17:3417:34
Hello! Those ingredients are usually used more in brewing beers or winemaking in order to help with the acid levels and tartness in taste. In contrast, using the wild yeast on the ginger when making ginger bugs and ginger ales is called wild fermentation. These ferments naturally become more acidic, so these other ingredients, in our opinion, just aren't necessary. Although we'll often add a small amount of fresh lemon juice to help balance out the flavors in our ferments, like we do in our ginger ale. Hope that helps!
Wonderful! I just used about 1/4 cup of sweetened liquid, to 1 tablespoon of ginger bug. Also, it actually works ever better if you use a fresh juice with sugar added instead of the milk because then you don't have to worry about it curdling. If you do use juice, make sure it's not pasteurized juice.
Best channel ever on that topic! Do you have any advice on what spices can be added before bottling the ginger beer? Like rosemary, cloves, or other spices? Do they have to be cooked or added after the cooking process?
Thank you so much for the love! That means so much! ❤️ So, there's so many fun herbs and spices to experiment with in your ginger ale/beer! We still really like a sweeter, holiday-like combination with cinnamon and clove (similar to our tepache recipe: ua-cam.com/video/ib4l1nPLWM8/v-deo.html). They can be added either before or after boiling your ginger wort (the sweet liquid). Boiling it would ensure that any additional yeasts and bacteria on fresh herbs, for example, are sterilized, and you would get more stable results when created your ginger ale. However adding fresh herbs can be an interesting experiment too, as you may get an even more active ferment with any natural yeasts on the herbs, spices, etc. If you try a flavor, we'd love to hear about it!
We like to put a solid lid on our ginger bug loosely to make sure no pressure builds up. If we put some kind of cloth on it, we didn't want any bad bacteria to start building up on it. You could also use a fermentation lid if you like. Good luck!
So good!! I've been trying to start a ginger bug for a while now with mixed success; this video answered so many of my questions!! I'm so excited to get going with my new knowledge!! Thanks so much!! 🥰😊🙏
We're so happy it's working out for you DELLBIRD! We get a ton of questions all the time so we figured making a Q&A would help a bit. We hope it's going well for you! Happy fermenting!
Hello! We're not surprised to hear that this mixture has become very active. Adding yeast to an already fermented ginger ale would be introducing yet another active starter culture (you have the ginger bug starter culture in your ginger ale, and then the yeast). As long as it still smells pleasantly yeasty and doesn't have anything growing on the top of the liquid, then it should be like a very active ginger ale. You can let it ferment for a few days without a top on it to let all the excess gases safely escape, before trying to recap it with a closed top. But be sure to use pressure-safe bottles, meaning that they're made strongly to be able to handle extra pressure (unlike simply a mason jar which is not pressure-safe). Hope that helps!
Hi! Love your name by the way! You'll want to make sure the white spots are not mold, which turn fuzzy, have some height to it, and spreads. But it's possible the white 'spots' on the top are just bubbles clumped together. It could also be Kahm yeast, which is harmless but you'll want to scrape that off the top. You'll know it's Kahm yeast if it smells strong yeasty like bread and if it spreads a think layer of a white film on top. Hope that helps!
I made ginger beer b4 with your vid came out great but this time I tried it n after 1 day it was smelling great but today 2nd day I was going to feed it n it spelled like vinegar. What could be the cause? I didn't tighten d jar either n kept it at d corner of the cupboard
Since blackstrap molasses has sugar content you could probably use it instead of white sugar. There might not be as much sugar and it will dramatically change the flavor of your ginger ale so you'd have to experiment with the amount you'd like. Good luck and happy fermenting!
Thank you for all this helpful advise! I just started my first bug today. You mention that there's health risk from drinking too much ginger beer, but after searching,I only find risks from drinking too much soda. What are the risks and what is too much?
Thanks for the question John! I'm sure everyone has a different tolerance but we've heard some people if they drink too much of the actual ginger, they could end up with some gas or bloating. Not everyone has those issues but thought we'd might mention it just in case. Hope that helps!
You could definitely use the yeast in other starters if you like! The taste might be different but the bacteria and yeast should still consume the sugars. Thanks for the question!
We add as much water as we need to fill the jar back up. Once you add sugar and ginger, all of the bacteria and yeast will multiply again in the newly added water. Good luck!
Great video! Thanks! I'm going to start my ginger bug tomorrow. And then it's on to ginger ale! Thank you so much for this very helpful and entertaining video.
Hello! Yes, the warmer the temperature of the environment, the more things ferment. Not too hot though (or direct sunlight) because it could kill your ferment! We like to ferment at 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ooo that doesn't sound good. If you're definitely getting mold we always throw it out and start over. It might possibly be kahm yeast so you'll have to Google pictures of white kahm yeast and decide for yourself. You could also try a different source for your ginger just in case. Good luck!
Hello! The length of time it takes to ferment a fruity drink using a ginger bug will depend on the type of fruit (due to how much sugar is in the fruit) and the temperature where you're fermenting (warmer climates ferment more quickly). You may be interested in this video (ua-cam.com/video/6pTF5d0I_qg/v-deo.html) where we make a fermented drink using blueberries. This will help give you an idea of how it will ferment over time. Also, alcohol is a natural biproduct of all fermented drinks that use a ginger bug to kick off the fermentation process. However the less time it is fermenting, the less alcohol it will have. You may also be interested in this video where we measure how much alcohol is created over time in homemade fermented ginger ale (ua-cam.com/video/86SwZyUbtF0/v-deo.html).
Thank you for such detailed info. Love your channel. I already have a Scoby starting in my cupboard👍 for kombucha so now I want to learn how to make some Ginger beer for Christmas😁. Cheers
Thank you so much for the love Wendy! That's fantastic about your Scoby! Woohoo! Ginger beer is so yummy during the holidays. Not only is it delicious, but the ginger helps settle our stomachs after huge meals. 😅
Hi! Great question and thanks for reaching out! It will become less sweet over time, so the taste is freshest within a month or so, but it can be stored in the fridge for something like up to a year in a pressure safe bottle. You'll still need to burp it every so often since it's still a living probiotic drink that will continue to ferment every so slowly in the cool temps of the refrigerator. Enjoy!
What video should I watch to learn how to maintain my gingerbug. You didn't cover that on the gingerbug video. After I use some how much water, ginger and sugar should I add ?? Thanks for the info. Dave K
No problem David! It's pretty simple. We add a bit of sugar and a bit of fresh ginger (maybe 1 tsp or so, doesn't have to be exact). Then top the jar up with fresh non-chlorinated water, give it a stir and stick it in the fridge. That's it!
Hi guys I’ve been trying to do the ginger bug it was really doing well but when I went to feed it the lid burping lid had sucked down really tight did I kill the bug by not giving it enough oxygen thanks for your help
We've had the same thing happen to us before where the lid sucks down into the jar. Sometimes the pressure in your house or a change in air temperature might cause this. Once it settles down a bit we didn't seem to have that problem afterwards. Hope that helps!
Hello! Kahm yeast can sometimes happen if the ginger bug gets too sweet and there's another bacteria present. It's not harmful to consume, so you could just scrape it off and continue to ferment, but it will likely continue coming back so you may want to start over. The kahm yeast makes it taste and smell more bread-like yeasty. But if there's any spotty, fuzzy stuff on top, then it could be mold, and you'd definitely want to clean it out well and to start over. Happy fermenting!
For the fermentation process to work you definitely need some form of sugar whether it's a less processed sugar or refined. The microbes need something to eat to keep them fueled. But the longer you ferment, the less sugar will be left in the end. You'll have to experiment on how long you ferment and the taste that you like. Good luck!
Why do some ferments like sauerkraut need an Anaerobic environment, while others work better With oxygen? Can I use the silicone fermenting lid I use for my sauerkraut when making a ginger bug?
You guys are doing an awesome job. Amazing information! i’m curious if you have any thoughts on those mason jar tops that have those little balloons on them as an alternative indication of pressure to the test bottle?
Thanks so much for sharing Jeremiah! Ginger ale has been our favorite for a while now too! Except in the summertime when pineapples are in season and then we love tepache! Happy fermenting!
I enjoyed your video very much. You both are charming and knowledgeable. I am excited to brew my very first batch of ginge beer! I would like to offer another answer to your last question. My Pop's favorite highball was Rye and ginger. There are some nice craft Rye whiskeys out there and I intend to toast my late Pop with an "artisan" version if my batch turns out well!
You can make a Starter for Fermented Drinks without ginger by using Organic Brown Rice, About 1 or 2 cups of Organic Brown rice and about 1 cup of sugar in a half gallon jar, Fill with chlorine free water. Shake will for about 5 mins and let it set in a warm area. Feed it as you would a Ginger Bug.
Oh wow that's interesting using brown rice! We've tried it with wheat berries and made rejuvelac which sounds like the same thing but with a different grain. It didn't have much of a flavor which might be good for different types of ferments that you might not necessarily like the spiciness of ginger. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hello! If there's not much carbonation being created during secondary fermentation, then it's possible that most of the sugars were eaten up during primary fermentation. If you taste it before bottling it, it will give you a good indication. If it's already very dry before bottling in secondary fermentation, then you could definitely prime the bottles by adding just a little bit of sugar to each bottle. That way it will encourage the bacteria and yeast to eat more sugars which will create more gases (carbonation). But please be careful to test the pressure so that the bottles don't explode!
Ooooh, nice! We love hearing what you all are creating out there with your ginger bugs! The peach orange sounds yummy. Are you going to try making it with fresh fruit or with a store-bought fruit punch?
My ginger bug has frothy bubbles at the top at 3 days and I stirred it but it seems a little thick. There's a sweet layer on the wooden spoon I used to stir it. Do I need to add water, add sugar water, put it in the fridge or throw it out? it smells GREAT and it taste good. Any help or answers would be appreciated. I want to make ginger ale and some sodas. 😍😍
Thank you so much for your question! We've had some of our batches turn out where it's very thick and syrupy. It's possible it might be okay but it's possible a bad bacteria might have gotten in there and thickened it up. We've never actually been able to save those and always had to throw them out and sanitize everything. 😓 If that's what happened, it's easy to just start over with a fresh batch. We hope you got a good ginger ale! 🍺
Thank you for the helpful information. I do have 2 questions, though. 1. I made ginger ale from my 1st bug, following your recipes for both the bug and the ale. The ale bubbled progressively at room temp covered with a coffee filter within 2 days. By day 3, the top was covered in a good froth. I let it relax a bit, and then tasted it on day 4. It was fantastically delicious! As I have no bottles, I just put the whole jar in the fridge then, covered tightly, and burped it every few hours. That was last night. I drank a glass before going to bed, and then rooty-toot-tooted profusely all night! Today, I opened my jar of ale and it smells like toots. I see a lot of info online about this being a common occurrence, but I have not been able to ascertain if it is safe to drink or not. Also, is it possible to get rid of the smell, or do I have to just dump it all? 2. About my ginger bug: After making my ale and some other sodas, I only had about a half cup of bug left. So I added water to the jar and started feeding it again. Day 1 at room temp with coffee filter cover, I did 3 T each of ginger and sugar, just like I had when the bug was originally begun. Day 2, it got 1 T each. By day 3, it was a gross, slimy, thick syrup. So, I added a bunch more water at the next feeding to the it down and fed it 1 T each. It sat over night, and next day is thickening again. So, I just covered loosely and put in fridge. Is this fixable, or do I need to dump it and start over? What did I do wrong? Thank you kindly for any advice you can offer. Much appreciated!
I don't get bubbles, but fizz yes. Does it mean it still ferments? I got 375g sugar per gallon, according to Sandor Katz' recipe. Could it be too much sugar to have the bubbly activity?
Thanks so much for your question! If you're getting fizz then you should be getting bubbles but maybe it's hard to see them. You can probably shine a light on the side of it and see the bubbles coming up. It sounds like you're on the right track! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure Oh yes, I found the bubbles. Not many. But I guess I'll get the hang of it to make it more lively. Thanks for looking after the comments!
Hi, thank you for your videos. I started a ginger bug. But I heard you say on the video that you can make ginger soda/beer and jump right in to that recipe without the ginger bug. I was wondering if you could explain that process.
Hello! Absolutely! Your ginger bug is essentially ginger beer already, so you could just use the process of creating a ginger bug, and then drink the ginger bug as your ginger beer. Pretty cool, but there is a downside to drinking all of your ginger bug. The point of the ginger bug is to have a starter culture ready to go. Then it's easy to make all your fermented drinks when you have a ginger bug already waiting to be used.
@@FermentationAdventure it’s amazing. I used it to make sparkling apple cider. Low alcohol of course. Taste is sweet even though I used Granny Smith apples.
@MayankSharma-du2xy Hello! We've never tried using jaggery to make a ginger bug, so you may get slightly varied results, but we have made ginger ale with it. Here's actually the video where we tested jaggery and lots of other sugars to see how well they ferment: ua-cam.com/video/TTHom2VY2R4/v-deo.html So basically, we found that it does ferment, but it also gives a much stronger flavor due to the additional minerals found in the less refined jaggery. Hope that helps!
Oh no! We've had batches where it's gotten thick or slimy before. It's annoying but the only thing we've found that helps is throwing everything out, sanitizing everything, using non-chlorinated water, and the freshest batch of ginger from a different source. Once a bad bacteria gets in there it seems to keep happening. We hope that helps!
Darn. What a bummer! I had a ginger bug that was good and normal. I used it, added and refilled it and when I went to make a second batch with it it was slightly thick. 😢
Oh no! Had you put it back in the refrigerator after you used it and filled it back up with water? That helps slow the fermentation process. Also just make sure you always use non-chlorinated water. And lastly, you could try to let it ferment a few days longer on the counter to see if the thickness will go away. It could be that it got too much sugar content.
Great video, very informative....I have question on how to control or even to stop the fermentation process when the ginger ale is ready to drink? I'm asking this question because i'm having bad experience when i leave the ginger ale bottle in room temperature for couple of hours. it was explode like a bom, that makes me worry when ever to leave the bottle out of the fridge. Hope you have solution for this.
What we like to do is just move it to the fridge to slow it down. You could also release the pressure to make sure there's no pressure built up. Some people use a cleanser called star sanz to sanitize and kill the culture, but we'd rather keep all of the probiotics. You definitely don't want any explosions!
@@FermentationAdventure Hi thanks for your reply. However from your explanation it's clear that this home made probiotic beverage is impossible to be away from fridge. too bad...i wonder is there any way to keep it in a bottle like any other soda beverages so we could sell it as a home industry products.
Would you recommend using airlocks on the individual bottles while letting the carbonation build before refrigerating or would that actually defeat the purpose and prevent the carbonation from building?
Hi thank you for sharing! I have a few questions about the smell of the homemade soda. - Is is normal for the soda to smell vinegary? - What is the smell of a normal one? - How do I know this is not going wrong? Appreciate in advance
Thanks so much for the questions! For the smell of homemade sodas, they can be very different according to what ingredients you're adding. For ginger ale it should smell very pleasant and not vinegary at all, whereas we've tried apple juice and it's a little more sour or beer-like. Sometimes pineapple smell very bad depending on the type and some fruits like watermelon are awful if you ferment them too long. To know if it's gone bad is a combination of making sure there's not mold, that it doesn't smell bad, and that it doesn't taste bad but in the end you'll have to decide that since you're working with all the ingredients, methods, and initial sanitation. We hope that helps! Good luck and happy fermenting! 😊
Hello dear ones, and thank you for such organized and easy to find Q and A! it shows all the care and work you have done. I must have watched 30 different ginger beer videos and read recipes on the internet, but I have not found some answers to some of the doubts that I still have with my ginger beer production. I am hoping perhaps you or someone from the community can shed some light over here: 🙂 1.) TIME OF FERMENTATION: The first recipe I had found when I tried my ginger beer, suggested that the ginger beer stayed fermenting for 2-4 weeks. However, every other recipe I am finding people suggest, 2, 3, 4 days and up to a week. I have not found anyone putting 4 weeks for a ginger beer. Because this was my first recipe, I have a ginger beer that is now 6 weeks and it is still burping and actually tastes pretty good. More alcoholic but still sweetish, not spoiled... Is this normal? Should this be happening? do you see any problem in having a ginger beer that is fermenting for this long? 2.) STORING DURING FERMENTATION PROCESS: Every video I saw is either using plastic bottles or glass with flip top. I want to make larger productions because I am hoping to offer people that come stay at our forest (we have a healing permaculture center in brasil). Could I use 5 liter plastic buckets with lids for the fermentation process (like some people use for large quantities of kimchi and saurkraut)? Do you see any problems with this. 3.) MAKING IT CARBONATED WHEN ITS READY TO DRINK: I keep trying to figure out, since we have to burp the bottles every day, when they are ready to drink, how do I then ensure that the drink can have a good amount of bubbles when it is ready to drink? I have seen people suggesting in putting dextrose or sucrose in the bottle right before bottling in a pressure tight container and then leaving it to ferment at room temperature for another 2 days and then adding it to the fridge. However, I have seen no recipe that gives a quantity and proportion of how much sugar per liters of ginger beer (I think this is important because if put too much sugar, it can over ferment - and my concern with leaving the bottle 2 days without burping could explode). I am wondering if you have any tips on this and any recipe that gives the timing for this last carbonation and amount of sugar added? 4.) SHELF LIFE AND STABILITY OF DRINK: My intention is to have people be able to take the ginger beer home. With all the live cultures bubbling and no stability I am wondering if there are any suggestions on how to extend and stabilize the bubbles so that people when they get home, if they forget to put it in the fridge, it doesnt explode. And also wondering for how long would these bottle last on average - in the fridge. I know there are many variables, but I have found no reference. Two of them mentioned pasteurizing to maintain it stable, but I think that would kill the purpose of having a live probiotic drink. Thank you for any clues and orientations on this! I am following your channel! 🙂
Thanks so much for the love Nicole! Here's some of our thoughts: 1) We've fermented some batches of ginger ale and they were still very good after weeks of fermentation but did start tasting a little strong of alcohol like in our alcohol test video. If you want it a bit drier then you can definitely keep it going if it tastes good to you and you don't see any mold. 2) Some people aren't comfortable with fermenting in plastic because it could leech some of the bad chemicals from the plastic. We like to use a plastic tester bottle to ferment one in to test but then transfer it afterwards. Since it's made for acidic soda we're not worried about it. You'll have to judge that one for yourself though! 3) Definitely! Like in the previous, we'll bottle the ginger ale but use a plastic bottle for one of the bottles to see how hard is becoming. It gives a good indication as to how pressurized the bottles are to avoid explosions. It's the same on that one depending how hot or cold your environment is. After it's pretty solid, we'll move the bottles to the fridge and they're usually pretty carbonated! 4) This one is a little tougher since we like to keep ours alive in the fridge and not kill the probiotics. We've seen where you can use some brewing chemicals to stop the fermentation. I definitely would NOT pasteurize a pressurized bottle with heat because it could explode. For something along the lines of that, we've read that Sandor Katz says he'll ferment something all the way out and then add maybe 1/2 tsp of sugar to "prime" the bottle. We hope that helps and hope you're enjoying the world of fermentation! Thank you so much for watching and for the questions Nicole! ❤️❤️❤️
@@FermentationAdventure thank you dear ones for the time and love to share some of your experiences. Will try to work with glass then but look for stronger glass bottles in brasil. I am from there. :-)
Thanks for the question Albert! It's possible it could slow down after a few days. You could always try making a batch of soda to see if it gets active. As long as you don't see any mold and it still smells nice.
@@FermentationAdventure tried ,results were superb ! . I have tried a new batch of gingerbeer yesterday, fermented so fast, checked now after 24hrs,shocked all sugar is almost eaten up and its fizzy already.. i guess because of hot weather and quantity of g.bug i used
Hi guys! Love the video and information, congrats! I have a question. Can I second ferment on glass bottles with a normal metal cap? Or do I need to ferment on the brown glass bottles that you show on the video? Thank you!
Thank you so much for your question! You can definitely ferment with a regular glass bottle and use the metal caps. Make sure not to tighten them though because you don't want to build up pressure. We also stopped fermenting with the metal lids since they kept rusting. We hope that helps! 😊
Hi Norman! The glass bottles can become dangerous and explode if they build too much pressure inside. Since it's impossible to tell how much pressure is building in the glass bottles, the tester bottle should build pressure at the same rate so it will be an indicator for the glass bottles. Each ferment and each time you make it will be different depending on so many factors, so it's important to always have an indicator of pressure.
You could probably try that! Freshly ground rye should probably already have a good amount of starter bacteria and yeast to ferment but a ginger bug would definitely start it off. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
@@FermentationAdventure Thanks for your words ! there is a video in youtube were some womens made Egiptian beer with only wheat sprouted added to cooked wheat grains ! My questian here is it is malt enouf to feed the ginger bug and is the ginger bug enouf to ferment the malt grains into beer ? I will try it and say something The malted grains they break the starch to simple sugars and the yeast used in Egipt and sumeran beers was sourdou bread yeast it is in here that possibli one can use the ginger bug yeast because it is stronger and more transparent ! ( I hope )
That would be delicious! Usually when we've made any fermented drink with a ginger bug it ends up being a little more sour since that's what the ginger bug creates. You can make wines that are crisp and clear with strains of yeast made for wine making that's also delicious!
You definitely can! Most likely once you thaw it back out it will probably still work out great for you since the cold won't necessarily kill it. Let us know how it goes!
Hi! You mentioned something about your ginger bug being as old as one year in the fridge, so did you keep feeding it once a week for one year, even if you weren't planning on making soda? Is it like a sour dough starter you only have to feed once a month, because I remember you saying something about going a month without feeding it?
Thanks so much for your question Mia! You got that right! It's basically like a sourdough where you can feed it every so often in the fridge. We don't feed it every week and probably more like every month or two and it's still been working great for us. We hope that answers your question! 🙂
Hello....I just came across you channel yesterd and new to this...I just now today, Monday, 11/22, made up my first ginger bug. I wont be able to feed it Saturday. But I will Sunday... Will it hurt not to feeding it Saturday and resume Sunday or do I put it in refrigerator friday and take back out Sunday to continue feeding it? Thank you, I'm really excited about this...you both are so precious and I'm learning a lot😊
Hello! We are so glad you found us too! We've found that ginger bugs, and ferments in general, are much more resilient than you would think. Your ginger bug should be just fine if you skip a feeding towards the end of your first week of fermenting it. We'd recommend just leaving it on the counter the whole time, and resume the process on Sunday. We'd love to hear how it goes. Good luck!
I enjoyed this video. You two play well off each other. I have a question regarding the flip top brown glass bottles. If you never burp your soda, will they explode, or do the flip tops reach a point where they will push out and release the pressure?
Thank you! That's a great question! The flip top bottles are built for a limited amount of pressure, but they could definitely still explode if too much pressure builds up. We typically do a short period of 1-3 days of bottling in the secondary fermentation phase, depending on what the tester bottles shows, and then refrigerate where we continue to burp the bottles about once every 1-2 months.
Good question and great observation! You definitely can! Since you're drinking something that's alive it will keep multiplying if you give it more fuel and consume. Good luck and thanks for watching!
Is the fermentation process outside of the refrigerator when you mention the amount of days? Say you fermented for two days outside of the fridge and put it in to cool down, how long does it keep to that amount of alcohol content? Love your vids thank you for the great knowledge
Thanks for the question! Yes, mostly our videos will show what to expect when you're fermenting on the counter (outside of the refrigerator). We usually ferment in approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit, so if you're in cooler temps, it could take a few days longer, and warmer temps could ferment very quickly. Then when the ferment is at a good place (good taste, smell, alcohol level, etc), you could put it in the fridge to slow the fermentation process down to almost a halt. Although since your ferment is a living organism, it will continue to ferment every so slowly, even when it is in the fridge. Hope that helps!
Question! 💜 do you drink the stuff in the tester bottle? Or do you just dump it out? If not, why? If so, then why wouldn’t you always just use plastic bottles? Thanks for the content, I’ve been binging your videos for a couple weeks now and have my new ginger bug almost ready to start making some delicious drinks 😊
Thanks so much for the question Vikki! We usually drink the one in the plastic bottle first. Some people don't like that their ferments come into contact with plastic but if it's a bottle made for acidic sodas then it should be okay. For the short time that we're brewing sodas in the plastic tester bottle we're not worried about it. But a lot of the bottles we'll store in the fridge for months so we don't want the acidic sodas in the plastic for extended periods like that so we use glass for those. Great question! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure thank you! It all makes sense now 💜 I just tried my first one yesterday, it was an Apple/Mango I found at the outlet groceries store near me. I think I left it too long before bottling, cause it was a bit sour and I think I caught a light buzz 😂 I’ll be continuing to dial in my drinks but I couldn’t have done it without your videos. So, thanks again! 💜😊💜
Just discovered ginger growing in my yard. So then found you. Have made BUG. Now on the ginger ale before bottling and have a question. It doesn’t have bubbles, yet, but does have the sediment you mentioned. You said to mix when you bottle. Can I mix before that to get the culture to bubble up?
Thanks so much for the question! And that's awesome that you have ginger growing right in your yard. Very cool. If you stir the ginger bug up before bottling it gets all the yeast and microbes evenly distributed but won't necessarily make it bubble up again. You might have to feed it or make a soda to see how active it is. We stir to make sure we get about the same amount of life and sediment in all our bottles. Also if you get a lot of sediment at once it doesn't taste as good. Happy fermenting!
This is a lovely video, so helpful, but I have a question. You said that it is okay to make a ginger bug in a bottle with alot of space but what about making the actual soda in a bottle that is only half/two thirds full of liquid.
Thanks for the question Byron! It's okay to make your ginger ale with a bottle that still has air left in it. We've made batches where only 2/3 of the jar is full and the rest is air and it still turns out great. Hope that helps and happy fermenting!
We're excited to share our best answers to your best ginger bug questions! Now that you're all equipped to make fermented drinks, check out these recipes! ua-cam.com/play/PLKmVI5tdVVafT5WGLaJLN9FdbU6jXUCIg.html
I'd think refrigeration slows but not fully stops fermentation, but I keep mine on the counter, as i thought it needed that bit of warmth, up to room temp. only sometimes over to fully get going. Then I don't keep a lid on it, but instead use cheese cloth & even a nut milk bag, so to keep out fruit flies & to let in other wild native yeasts. ....Hmmm, does that create something different, maybe completely, as Monty Python used as like a mantra :-)
Ginger bug 2wks old very little and no fizz. I think refrigerating Ginger prior to adding is slow activating?. No longer put Ginger in veg bend.
@@caryonkirkland-nelson1227 Are you stirring and adding more grated ginger & a little sugar too, either daily or almost daily?
@@reforest4fertility yes , it is foaming a little now.
Not sure if you still check, here, but I was wondering how alcoholic the ginger bug gets after a while.
A note for folks in cold areas. I keep my house around 70F during the day or 68F at night, took mine ~6 days to ferment and get bubbles
Yes yes! Thanks for the sharing. The fermentation process slows down in cooler temperatures, so it can take longer it colder climates. Our fermentation setup is a fairly consistent 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and sometimes warmer in summer months. Florida is quite warm!
I have something I bottled 3 days ago and still no action. My ginger bug was very active. It is about 68 degrees. I'll be patient.
If you REALLY want to, you can put it in the oven with the light on (oven off obviously lol). The light from the bulb and the insulated enclosed nature of the oven is enough to get it going pretty fast! Now my bug is so strong it gets fizzy within a few days even in the fridge 😅
@@MarsellaFyngoldgood idea
The secret to your appeal is as much your upbeat and likable personalities together as the great information. Love it! I’m new to the whole fermenting thing (and to your channel) but you’re probably my fave so far.
Wow! Thank you SO MUCH for the love Victoryak! 💓 We try to stay positive and have a bit of fun along the way (even if we're a bit goofy sometimes 😂) We hope your ferments are coming along well!
@@FermentationAdventure you guys are just fun and seeing a couple work so well together and enjoy themselves makes it enjoyable to watch and definitely learn. Thx.
they do a good job and with out all that weighing and percentages and all that tech stuff I have seen on other channels ... they just do it and show you the process ... I'm making a bug now ... second try ...
Can I freeze my ginger once I shred it up and use a cube of it when needed?
Thank you! I just heard someone else asked the same question.
One of the best channels on fermentation. I love the tiny details & actual testing videos. Thank you! 🫶🏼
Thank you so much! 💓😄
Thanks for all the excellent information. I made a ginger bug and then made your ginger ale recipe. I used the tester bottle to gauge the pressure and put the other bottles in the refrigerator, thinking I had let the pressure build up enough for a good fizz. The tester bottle was very firm when I tried to squeeze it, so I thought the bottles were ready. But to my disappointment, the ginger ale is just OK. It's not as fizzy as I had hoped, and it tastes too sweet (I added some lemon juice to tone down the sweetness). I'd also like to confirm that the ginger bug is an ongoing ferment (from what I've read in the comments). It can be kept in the refrigerator and fed there instead of returning to room temperature to continue fermenting. My initial ginger bug was incredible. I put it in the refrigerator, but I thought I had to bring it back out to activate it again. It's a learning process. Your insights are so helpful, and I appreciate your time. Thanks
We've had that also where our tester bottle was rock solid but there was only a little fizziness. Sometimes those bottles get hard but end up leaking a tiny bit which is why the glass ones are nice. You just have to be careful not to let it build up too much in case of explosions. You have that correct about the ginger bug! You can either leave it at room temperature or just feed it and put it right back in the fridge. It should be good either way! We hope you're getting some tasty ginger ale and wish you the best on your fermentation journey! 🎉🎉🎉
This channel is a 1 stop shop for any info on ginger ale you need. Cheers to yall i started my journey into fermention today.
Aww, thanks so much for your sweet words!! Congratulations on starting your fermentation journey! ❤️
My fermentation production. I make 3 gallons per week. I have 3 Ginger bug cultures, one per gallon. I add 1 cup of ginger bug per gallon. I replenish the ginger bug by adding 1 table spoon of ginger and about 7/8 table spoon white sugar back into the jar and add distilled water. I let the jar sit on the counter for 2 days and put back into the refrigerator. Awaiting next weeks gallon of awesome ferments.
Nice! You are quite the fermenter! Love it. 💗🤗
Just made my first ginger bug, I hope one day I'll be making a gallon of ginger ale a week 😂
@@maryannkerr1433 1 gallon is not enough ... its so yummy
Thanks a lot for the useful informations. I do have 2 questions: 1- what is the shelf time for the ginger bug? I did mine the last year. 2- I noticed that last time I did ginger ale it was slimy, however the ginger bug was bubbly and not slimy. Does that mean I have to start a new ginger bug?
Hello! If the conditions are right, your ginger bug can last for a very long time in the refrigerator. Ours has been going for something like 5 years! In case it's helpful, here's a quick video on how to maintain your ginger bug: ua-cam.com/users/shortsDjfHqZisQRs? As for your second question, if your ginger bug is not slimy, it sounds like there may have been a contaminate with something else in your ginger ale.
Just found your channel researching how to make ginger ale/beer. Great post. It answered a lot of my questions. Making my first batch now. Thank you.
That's wonderful to hear! We're glad you found us! Thank you for reaching out and happy fermenting!
Pineapple ferment is one of my favorite. Just leave the peel in water for a few days (dark place). Burp or cloth it. Then sweeten if you want. Will become alcoholic after a long time :-p
Yes! Tepache is wonderful!
All these different names are confusing. What is the difference between ginger ale, tempache, kvass, etc?@@FermentationAdventure
@@mgtv5482a ginger bug is made from ginger,water, and sugar. You then take that ferment and use it to make ginger beer/ale, which is a carbonate ginger- based drink.
Tempache is a fermented drink based on fermenting pineapple skins and cores with brown sugar and water, and maybe some added whole spices.
Kvass is a drink made of fermented rye bread and raisins. Some folks also make fermented drinks out of beets and call that kvass, but strictly speaking it’s not.
Super 👍👍👍
Am a starter. Your detailing is perfect. Can do it without errors.
Thanks to both of you. Lively.
Thanks so very much! We appreciate your support and are so happy to hear the video was helpful! 😃💓
One of my favorite videos you have done so far. You covered it all and made it very simple to understand.
Thank you! We're so happy it's been helpful!
I don't measure when I make soda so can't give you a recipe but a good flavor combo you may want to try is strawberry ginger lemonade
I made it using using fresh strawberries from the garden
It was very yummy
Also I don't use a tester bottle and I make it I just burp the bottles every 24 hours and when it gets the reaction I want I throw it in the fridge... sometimes after 24 hours it's enough sometimes it's 3 or 4 days
Oh! Strawberry sounds delicious! Do you just use a good amount of lemon juice to make it more of a lemonade?
Oh, you are literally answered all my questions 😂❤good video, I would say the best!
Awesome! We're glad it was helpful! 😄❤️
You both are so nice! I'm just starting my own fermentation adventures and you've got yourself another subscriber :)
Thank you! We're excited to hear you've started your own fermentation adventure and that you've joined our culture!
I have made ginger beer using honey +lemon ,but 3 days has no bubble is it okay ??
@@meitywitedja4780 how did you do that? Did you make ginger bug using honey?
Hi. I made a ginger bug as per your video but mine got a layer of white mould. What did I do wrong? Must I throw it away and start again?
It’s probably Kahm yeast, and I had the same problem. I fed a TBSP of ginger daily for a week, as well as a TBSP of sugar. House temp 73*
No bubbles.
Not fizzy after 10 days. 😕
Could someone pls confirm if it's gone bad!! The one I made is in the same situation!!
I have the sediment referenced below in my ginger ale, but I also have a small amount of floating film on top (like one piece in each bottle). Is this a type of Kahm yeast or some sediment floating from the bottom?
@rachelcolella2190 Hello! The white sediment that appears at the bottom during the fermentation process will stay at the bottom. If what you're referencing looks like a translucent white film, and it's spreading across the whole top, then it would be kahm yeast and would be fine to scrape off and continue fermenting. But just an eye out for anything that might look like mold, like fuzzy or multi-colored growth. If it's mold, we'd recommend starting over and sanitizing the fermentation equipment well before your next batch. Here's a video on that in case you're interested: ua-cam.com/video/5SgIi2XGIvg/v-deo.html
@@FermentationAdventure Thank you!
Hi there...a pleasant morning to you 🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️
I am not sure what I did wrong but my ginger bug went bad on day 4. I will try again.
I have a question though, do I have to wait for 7 days of feeding it regularly before keeping the ginger bug in the fridge?
Hello! How do you know it went "bad"? As for the numbers of days, it's more about how it looks. You may have already seen this, but here's our video on how to make a ginger bug: ua-cam.com/video/wtb1BvRUWmI/v-deo.html. In this video, we show what it should look like and behave like at the time it's ready to use (or ready to be stored in the fridge). Once yours is similar to this, you can go ahead and refrigerate it. 😃
Thank you, you answered all my questions. Bless you.
We're happy to be of help to you Patricia! We hope you're getting some nice ferments! 😊
Thank you for this info. Going to try a berry gingerale for Christmas.
That sounds so berry wonderful! 😅 We're sure it was delicious!
Enjoyed the video as always. I found it a lot easier to get to that right muscle by putting the pillows underneath.
No matter that it has been 4 years for this share to be seeb for me...the questions and answers stopped my concerns. Thank You*♡*
Woohoo! We're so happy it was helpful. 😃❤️
Is it possible to do fermentation with sugar cane juice?
May I Ask
I have looked at several video's now...
Others add
Citric acid and Cream of tartar and Tartaric acid in their brews?
Why
And how much of it? 17:34 17:34
Hello! Those ingredients are usually used more in brewing beers or winemaking in order to help with the acid levels and tartness in taste. In contrast, using the wild yeast on the ginger when making ginger bugs and ginger ales is called wild fermentation. These ferments naturally become more acidic, so these other ingredients, in our opinion, just aren't necessary. Although we'll often add a small amount of fresh lemon juice to help balance out the flavors in our ferments, like we do in our ginger ale. Hope that helps!
Wow
Thank you for your help with the ginger bug. I’ll definitely revisit this video often. 😊
Awesome! We're so happy to hear this video was helpful! 😄
found it at about 4:17 but not sure how much of each to use? milk to bug?
Wonderful! I just used about 1/4 cup of sweetened liquid, to 1 tablespoon of ginger bug. Also, it actually works ever better if you use a fresh juice with sugar added instead of the milk because then you don't have to worry about it curdling. If you do use juice, make sure it's not pasteurized juice.
Best channel ever on that topic! Do you have any advice on what spices can be added before bottling the ginger beer? Like rosemary, cloves, or other spices? Do they have to be cooked or added after the cooking process?
Thank you so much for the love! That means so much! ❤️ So, there's so many fun herbs and spices to experiment with in your ginger ale/beer! We still really like a sweeter, holiday-like combination with cinnamon and clove (similar to our tepache recipe: ua-cam.com/video/ib4l1nPLWM8/v-deo.html). They can be added either before or after boiling your ginger wort (the sweet liquid). Boiling it would ensure that any additional yeasts and bacteria on fresh herbs, for example, are sterilized, and you would get more stable results when created your ginger ale. However adding fresh herbs can be an interesting experiment too, as you may get an even more active ferment with any natural yeasts on the herbs, spices, etc. If you try a flavor, we'd love to hear about it!
Thank you.
When I put my ginger bug in the fridge should I put a solid lid on it or keep the coffee filter and rubber band on it?
We like to put a solid lid on our ginger bug loosely to make sure no pressure builds up. If we put some kind of cloth on it, we didn't want any bad bacteria to start building up on it. You could also use a fermentation lid if you like. Good luck!
Such a good video for beginners like me. Thank you for this!
Our pleasure! So glad you found it helpful!
So good!! I've been trying to start a ginger bug for a while now with mixed success; this video answered so many of my questions!! I'm so excited to get going with my new knowledge!! Thanks so much!! 🥰😊🙏
We're so happy it's working out for you DELLBIRD! We get a ton of questions all the time so we figured making a Q&A would help a bit. We hope it's going well for you! Happy fermenting!
Hey I added some yeast to my ginger beer mixture and now it is fermenting like crazy , I have to brup it every 3-4 hrs, what should I do ?
Hello! We're not surprised to hear that this mixture has become very active. Adding yeast to an already fermented ginger ale would be introducing yet another active starter culture (you have the ginger bug starter culture in your ginger ale, and then the yeast). As long as it still smells pleasantly yeasty and doesn't have anything growing on the top of the liquid, then it should be like a very active ginger ale. You can let it ferment for a few days without a top on it to let all the excess gases safely escape, before trying to recap it with a closed top. But be sure to use pressure-safe bottles, meaning that they're made strongly to be able to handle extra pressure (unlike simply a mason jar which is not pressure-safe). Hope that helps!
You guy’s are so awesome! Thanks so much for this video, soooo helpful in my fermentation journey :D
Thanks so much for the kind words Kylo! We're so happy you're enjoying our videos. Happy fermenting! 😃
One question what measurement does it take to start it like how much water to ginger to sugar ratio
Here you go Biron! We have the recipe posted on our website to make it easier: fermentationadventure.com/how-to-make-a-ginger-bug-for-homemade-soda/
Nice channel guys and lovely chemistry you have going … thumbs up 👍 from Europe
Thank you so much Aron! We have fun making these videos and hearing from so many people all over the world! Thanks for watching!
Are the white spots on the surface natural yeast?
Hi! Love your name by the way! You'll want to make sure the white spots are not mold, which turn fuzzy, have some height to it, and spreads. But it's possible the white 'spots' on the top are just bubbles clumped together. It could also be Kahm yeast, which is harmless but you'll want to scrape that off the top. You'll know it's Kahm yeast if it smells strong yeasty like bread and if it spreads a think layer of a white film on top. Hope that helps!
Thank you for putting all answers in one video. This os great 👍
So glad you enjoyed! There's a lot of questions around ginger ale but it's still a very simple process. Happy fermenting!
awesome video! Literally all my questions were answered
Oh awesome! Happy fermenting!!
thank you for the well explain, im new here to make some ginger bug , hopefully it works successfully ! greeting from Taiwan !
Thank you and welcome to the fermentation adventure! Good luck on your ginger bug. Fermented drinks are the best!
Great answers, thanks guys!
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching!
I made ginger beer b4 with your vid came out great but this time I tried it n after 1 day it was smelling great but today 2nd day I was going to feed it n it spelled like vinegar. What could be the cause? I didn't tighten d jar either n kept it at d corner of the cupboard
can you use black strap molasses instead of white sugar
Since blackstrap molasses has sugar content you could probably use it instead of white sugar. There might not be as much sugar and it will dramatically change the flavor of your ginger ale so you'd have to experiment with the amount you'd like. Good luck and happy fermenting!
Thank you for all this helpful advise! I just started my first bug today. You mention that there's health risk from drinking too much ginger beer, but after searching,I only find risks from drinking too much soda. What are the risks and what is too much?
Thanks for the question John! I'm sure everyone has a different tolerance but we've heard some people if they drink too much of the actual ginger, they could end up with some gas or bloating. Not everyone has those issues but thought we'd might mention it just in case. Hope that helps!
@@FermentationAdventure Thanks. That's pretty minor as far as risks go. I'm about a day away from testing our first batch.
That's fantastic! We're actually fermenting a couple gallons of our ginger beer right now so it will be ready to bring in the new year!
For fermentation can the yeast be used in all matters instead of the Ginger bug or any fruit bug ?
You could definitely use the yeast in other starters if you like! The taste might be different but the bacteria and yeast should still consume the sugars. Thanks for the question!
can you use the discard ginger bug pieces for anything else rather than tossing them?
Yes! You could use them in smoothies or baked goods, but note that there may not be much ginger flavor left in the pieces.
How much water do I add when I am topping up the bug ? Is it just the exactly the same as the starter.
We add as much water as we need to fill the jar back up. Once you add sugar and ginger, all of the bacteria and yeast will multiply again in the newly added water. Good luck!
Great video. Thanks for sharing!
We're so glad you enjoyed! Thank you for watching!
Thank you for sharing so much information!
Fermentation is so awesome. 😍 Thanks for being a part of the culture!
Can you use Galangal instead of normal ginger in your bug?
Great video! Thanks! I'm going to start my ginger bug tomorrow. And then it's on to ginger ale! Thank you so much for this very helpful and entertaining video.
Hi there! That's fantastic news. We know you'll love it!
This was super helpful! It covers all I've been wondering 😍 Thank you so much 🙏
Our pleasure! So glad it was helpful.
Why ferment in glass and not just use soda bottles?
This way you could monitor the pressure in all your ferments.
I was wondering if I put the heat up to warmer temperature will my ginger bug bubble faster.?
Hello! Yes, the warmer the temperature of the environment, the more things ferment. Not too hot though (or direct sunlight) because it could kill your ferment! We like to ferment at 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
I made a ginger bug a couple of months ago. I use it in my switchel.
We hope it's tasty! It's amazing how many different kinds of drinks you can make with it.
Thanks for your Q&A section
My ginger bug is having white mold on day four. Is it still good or I should discard it.
Ooo that doesn't sound good. If you're definitely getting mold we always throw it out and start over. It might possibly be kahm yeast so you'll have to Google pictures of white kahm yeast and decide for yourself. You could also try a different source for your ginger just in case. Good luck!
@@FermentationAdventure Ok
Thanks alot
How long do I leave my fruit to ferment with the ginger bug and how do I keep it if I don’t want it to produce alcohol?
Hello! The length of time it takes to ferment a fruity drink using a ginger bug will depend on the type of fruit (due to how much sugar is in the fruit) and the temperature where you're fermenting (warmer climates ferment more quickly). You may be interested in this video (ua-cam.com/video/6pTF5d0I_qg/v-deo.html) where we make a fermented drink using blueberries. This will help give you an idea of how it will ferment over time. Also, alcohol is a natural biproduct of all fermented drinks that use a ginger bug to kick off the fermentation process. However the less time it is fermenting, the less alcohol it will have. You may also be interested in this video where we measure how much alcohol is created over time in homemade fermented ginger ale (ua-cam.com/video/86SwZyUbtF0/v-deo.html).
Thank you for such detailed info. Love your channel. I already have a Scoby starting in my cupboard👍 for kombucha so now I want to learn how to make some Ginger beer for Christmas😁. Cheers
Thank you so much for the love Wendy! That's fantastic about your Scoby! Woohoo! Ginger beer is so yummy during the holidays. Not only is it delicious, but the ginger helps settle our stomachs after huge meals. 😅
How many days days we can store the ginger ale beer
Hi! Great question and thanks for reaching out! It will become less sweet over time, so the taste is freshest within a month or so, but it can be stored in the fridge for something like up to a year in a pressure safe bottle. You'll still need to burp it every so often since it's still a living probiotic drink that will continue to ferment every so slowly in the cool temps of the refrigerator. Enjoy!
What video should I watch to learn how to maintain my gingerbug. You didn't cover that on the gingerbug video. After I use some how much water, ginger and sugar should I add ?? Thanks for the info. Dave K
No problem David! It's pretty simple. We add a bit of sugar and a bit of fresh ginger (maybe 1 tsp or so, doesn't have to be exact). Then top the jar up with fresh non-chlorinated water, give it a stir and stick it in the fridge. That's it!
I learned so much from you guys..thanks for sharing❤
Thank you so much for the sweet comment! We're so happy to hear from you! ❤️
Hi guys I’ve been trying to do the ginger bug it was really doing well but when I went to feed it the lid burping lid had sucked down really tight did I kill the bug by not giving it enough oxygen thanks for your help
We've had the same thing happen to us before where the lid sucks down into the jar. Sometimes the pressure in your house or a change in air temperature might cause this. Once it settles down a bit we didn't seem to have that problem afterwards. Hope that helps!
Hi! Quick question: My Ginger bug got Kahm yeast. Is that alright to keep or do I just discard it?
Hello! Kahm yeast can sometimes happen if the ginger bug gets too sweet and there's another bacteria present. It's not harmful to consume, so you could just scrape it off and continue to ferment, but it will likely continue coming back so you may want to start over. The kahm yeast makes it taste and smell more bread-like yeasty. But if there's any spotty, fuzzy stuff on top, then it could be mold, and you'd definitely want to clean it out well and to start over. Happy fermenting!
@@FermentationAdventure Thank you for confirming! I did try making gingerale from it, but it didn't get fizzy. Still nice taste though.
Is it possible to make a sugar free ginger bug orblower carb
For the fermentation process to work you definitely need some form of sugar whether it's a less processed sugar or refined. The microbes need something to eat to keep them fueled. But the longer you ferment, the less sugar will be left in the end. You'll have to experiment on how long you ferment and the taste that you like. Good luck!
Why do some ferments like sauerkraut need an Anaerobic environment, while others work better With oxygen? Can I use the silicone fermenting lid I use for my sauerkraut when making a ginger bug?
You guys are doing an awesome job. Amazing information! i’m curious if you have any thoughts on those mason jar tops that have those little balloons on them as an alternative indication of pressure to the test bottle?
good video. i’ve learnt a lot. thanks 🙏🏿
Thank you! So glad it has helped! 👍
I really emjoy your channel and i have tried your ferments and Im creating my ginger bug right now, I am so excited, I love ginger ale,Blessings guys
Thanks so much for sharing Jeremiah! Ginger ale has been our favorite for a while now too! Except in the summertime when pineapples are in season and then we love tepache! Happy fermenting!
I enjoyed your video very much. You both are charming and knowledgeable. I am excited to brew my very first batch of ginge beer! I would like to offer another answer to your last question. My Pop's favorite highball was Rye and ginger. There are some nice craft Rye whiskeys out there and I intend to toast my late Pop with an "artisan" version if my batch turns out well!
We're so happy you're loving our videos Barbara! Thanks so much for the love and cheers to your late Pop! 🍻💓
You can make a Starter for Fermented Drinks without ginger by using Organic Brown Rice, About 1 or 2 cups of Organic Brown rice and about 1 cup of sugar in a half gallon jar, Fill with chlorine free water. Shake will for about 5 mins and let it set in a warm area. Feed it as you would a Ginger Bug.
Oh wow that's interesting using brown rice! We've tried it with wheat berries and made rejuvelac which sounds like the same thing but with a different grain. It didn't have much of a flavor which might be good for different types of ferments that you might not necessarily like the spiciness of ginger. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi guys, how to do increase the carbonation? It's not very carbonated for me
Hello! If there's not much carbonation being created during secondary fermentation, then it's possible that most of the sugars were eaten up during primary fermentation. If you taste it before bottling it, it will give you a good indication. If it's already very dry before bottling in secondary fermentation, then you could definitely prime the bottles by adding just a little bit of sugar to each bottle. That way it will encourage the bacteria and yeast to eat more sugars which will create more gases (carbonation). But please be careful to test the pressure so that the bottles don't explode!
Perfect video explanation, thankyou guys 🙏
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching!
Always Amazing you guys! Thank you! I am so excited for my ginger bug sodas with apple juice, cranberry and peach-orange!
Ooooh, nice! We love hearing what you all are creating out there with your ginger bugs! The peach orange sounds yummy. Are you going to try making it with fresh fruit or with a store-bought fruit punch?
Store bought! It's so good! So Yummy Thank you guys!
My ginger bug has frothy bubbles at the top at 3 days and I stirred it but it seems a little thick. There's a sweet layer on the wooden spoon I used to stir it. Do I need to add water, add sugar water, put it in the fridge or throw it out? it smells GREAT and it taste good. Any help or answers would be appreciated. I want to make ginger ale and some sodas. 😍😍
Thank you so much for your question! We've had some of our batches turn out where it's very thick and syrupy. It's possible it might be okay but it's possible a bad bacteria might have gotten in there and thickened it up. We've never actually been able to save those and always had to throw them out and sanitize everything. 😓 If that's what happened, it's easy to just start over with a fresh batch. We hope you got a good ginger ale! 🍺
Thank you for the helpful information. I do have 2 questions, though.
1. I made ginger ale from my 1st bug, following your recipes for both the bug and the ale. The ale bubbled progressively at room temp covered with a coffee filter within 2 days. By day 3, the top was covered in a good froth. I let it relax a bit, and then tasted it on day 4. It was fantastically delicious! As I have no bottles, I just put the whole jar in the fridge then, covered tightly, and burped it every few hours. That was last night. I drank a glass before going to bed, and then rooty-toot-tooted profusely all night! Today, I opened my jar of ale and it smells like toots. I see a lot of info online about this being a common occurrence, but I have not been able to ascertain if it is safe to drink or not. Also, is it possible to get rid of the smell, or do I have to just dump it all?
2. About my ginger bug: After making my ale and some other sodas, I only had about a half cup of bug left. So I added water to the jar and started feeding it again. Day 1 at room temp with coffee filter cover, I did 3 T each of ginger and sugar, just like I had when the bug was originally begun. Day 2, it got 1 T each. By day 3, it was a gross, slimy, thick syrup. So, I added a bunch more water at the next feeding to the it down and fed it 1 T each. It sat over night, and next day is thickening again. So, I just covered loosely and put in fridge. Is this fixable, or do I need to dump it and start over? What did I do wrong?
Thank you kindly for any advice you can offer. Much appreciated!
I don't get bubbles, but fizz yes. Does it mean it still ferments? I got 375g sugar per gallon, according to Sandor Katz' recipe. Could it be too much sugar to have the bubbly activity?
Thanks so much for your question! If you're getting fizz then you should be getting bubbles but maybe it's hard to see them. You can probably shine a light on the side of it and see the bubbles coming up. It sounds like you're on the right track! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure Oh yes, I found the bubbles. Not many. But I guess I'll get the hang of it to make it more lively.
Thanks for looking after the comments!
We're happy you saw bubbles! 😃
ooooohhhkaaaay....
another subscriber.
excited to share my 3 results with you in the following weeks. 💜
Awesome Amber! We can't wait to hear how it goes! I'm sure you'll get some tasty drinks in no time.
Hi, thank you for your videos. I started a ginger bug. But I heard you say on the video that you can make ginger soda/beer and jump right in to that recipe without the ginger bug. I was wondering if you could explain that process.
Hello! Absolutely! Your ginger bug is essentially ginger beer already, so you could just use the process of creating a ginger bug, and then drink the ginger bug as your ginger beer. Pretty cool, but there is a downside to drinking all of your ginger bug. The point of the ginger bug is to have a starter culture ready to go. Then it's easy to make all your fermented drinks when you have a ginger bug already waiting to be used.
I am making an apple bug. It smells amazing!
That's great! We'd love to hear how your apple bug is working out! 😃
@@FermentationAdventure it’s amazing. I used it to make sparkling apple cider. Low alcohol of course. Taste is sweet even though I used Granny Smith apples.
That's wonderful! 💖
Hey i used jaggery as a sugar ,is it fine?
@MayankSharma-du2xy Hello! We've never tried using jaggery to make a ginger bug, so you may get slightly varied results, but we have made ginger ale with it. Here's actually the video where we tested jaggery and lots of other sugars to see how well they ferment: ua-cam.com/video/TTHom2VY2R4/v-deo.html So basically, we found that it does ferment, but it also gives a much stronger flavor due to the additional minerals found in the less refined jaggery. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for these helpful videos. I was wondering is it normal for the ginger bug to have a slightly slimy consistency?
Oh no! We've had batches where it's gotten thick or slimy before. It's annoying but the only thing we've found that helps is throwing everything out, sanitizing everything, using non-chlorinated water, and the freshest batch of ginger from a different source. Once a bad bacteria gets in there it seems to keep happening. We hope that helps!
Darn. What a bummer! I had a ginger bug that was good and normal. I used it, added and refilled it and when I went to make a second batch with it it was slightly thick. 😢
Oh no! Had you put it back in the refrigerator after you used it and filled it back up with water? That helps slow the fermentation process. Also just make sure you always use non-chlorinated water. And lastly, you could try to let it ferment a few days longer on the counter to see if the thickness will go away. It could be that it got too much sugar content.
@@FermentationAdventure okay, thank you! I'm going to try that. I started to wonder if I put too much sugar and ginger in at once.
Great video, very informative....I have question on how to control or even to stop the fermentation process when the ginger ale is ready to drink? I'm asking this question because i'm having bad experience when i leave the ginger ale bottle in room temperature for couple of hours. it was explode like a bom, that makes me worry when ever to leave the bottle out of the fridge. Hope you have solution for this.
What we like to do is just move it to the fridge to slow it down. You could also release the pressure to make sure there's no pressure built up. Some people use a cleanser called star sanz to sanitize and kill the culture, but we'd rather keep all of the probiotics. You definitely don't want any explosions!
@@FermentationAdventure Hi thanks for your reply. However from your explanation it's clear that this home made probiotic beverage is impossible to be away from fridge. too bad...i wonder is there any way to keep it in a bottle like any other soda beverages so we could sell it as a home industry products.
Would you recommend using airlocks on the individual bottles while letting the carbonation build before refrigerating or would that actually defeat the purpose and prevent the carbonation from building?
Hi thank you for sharing! I have a few questions about the smell of the homemade soda.
- Is is normal for the soda to smell vinegary?
- What is the smell of a normal one?
- How do I know this is not going wrong?
Appreciate in advance
Thanks so much for the questions! For the smell of homemade sodas, they can be very different according to what ingredients you're adding. For ginger ale it should smell very pleasant and not vinegary at all, whereas we've tried apple juice and it's a little more sour or beer-like. Sometimes pineapple smell very bad depending on the type and some fruits like watermelon are awful if you ferment them too long. To know if it's gone bad is a combination of making sure there's not mold, that it doesn't smell bad, and that it doesn't taste bad but in the end you'll have to decide that since you're working with all the ingredients, methods, and initial sanitation. We hope that helps! Good luck and happy fermenting! 😊
You can use Star San for sanitizing.
Thanks so much for the idea! We haven't needed to use star san but it could be one of your tools in the toolbox!
Hello dear ones, and thank you for such organized and easy to find Q and A! it shows all the care and work you have done. I must have watched 30 different ginger beer videos and read recipes on the internet, but I have not found some answers to some of the doubts that I still have with my ginger beer production. I am hoping perhaps you or someone from the community can shed some light over here: 🙂
1.) TIME OF FERMENTATION: The first recipe I had found when I tried my ginger beer, suggested that the ginger beer stayed fermenting for 2-4 weeks. However, every other recipe I am finding people suggest, 2, 3, 4 days and up to a week. I have not found anyone putting 4 weeks for a ginger beer. Because this was my first recipe, I have a ginger beer that is now 6 weeks and it is still burping and actually tastes pretty good. More alcoholic but still sweetish, not spoiled... Is this normal? Should this be happening? do you see any problem in having a ginger beer that is fermenting for this long?
2.) STORING DURING FERMENTATION PROCESS: Every video I saw is either using plastic bottles or glass with flip top. I want to make larger productions because I am hoping to offer people that come stay at our forest (we have a healing permaculture center in brasil). Could I use 5 liter plastic buckets with lids for the fermentation process (like some people use for large quantities of kimchi and saurkraut)? Do you see any problems with this.
3.) MAKING IT CARBONATED WHEN ITS READY TO DRINK: I keep trying to figure out, since we have to burp the bottles every day, when they are ready to drink, how do I then ensure that the drink can have a good amount of bubbles when it is ready to drink? I have seen people suggesting in putting dextrose or sucrose in the bottle right before bottling in a pressure tight container and then leaving it to ferment at room temperature for another 2 days and then adding it to the fridge. However, I have seen no recipe that gives a quantity and proportion of how much sugar per liters of ginger beer (I think this is important because if put too much sugar, it can over ferment - and my concern with leaving the bottle 2 days without burping could explode). I am wondering if you have any tips on this and any recipe that gives the timing for this last carbonation and amount of sugar added?
4.) SHELF LIFE AND STABILITY OF DRINK: My intention is to have people be able to take the ginger beer home. With all the live cultures bubbling and no stability I am wondering if there are any suggestions on how to extend and stabilize the bubbles so that people when they get home, if they forget to put it in the fridge, it doesnt explode. And also wondering for how long would these bottle last on average - in the fridge. I know there are many variables, but I have found no reference. Two of them mentioned pasteurizing to maintain it stable, but I think that would kill the purpose of having a live probiotic drink.
Thank you for any clues and orientations on this! I am following your channel! 🙂
Thanks so much for the love Nicole! Here's some of our thoughts:
1) We've fermented some batches of ginger ale and they were still very good after weeks of fermentation but did start tasting a little strong of alcohol like in our alcohol test video. If you want it a bit drier then you can definitely keep it going if it tastes good to you and you don't see any mold.
2) Some people aren't comfortable with fermenting in plastic because it could leech some of the bad chemicals from the plastic. We like to use a plastic tester bottle to ferment one in to test but then transfer it afterwards. Since it's made for acidic soda we're not worried about it. You'll have to judge that one for yourself though!
3) Definitely! Like in the previous, we'll bottle the ginger ale but use a plastic bottle for one of the bottles to see how hard is becoming. It gives a good indication as to how pressurized the bottles are to avoid explosions. It's the same on that one depending how hot or cold your environment is. After it's pretty solid, we'll move the bottles to the fridge and they're usually pretty carbonated!
4) This one is a little tougher since we like to keep ours alive in the fridge and not kill the probiotics. We've seen where you can use some brewing chemicals to stop the fermentation. I definitely would NOT pasteurize a pressurized bottle with heat because it could explode. For something along the lines of that, we've read that Sandor Katz says he'll ferment something all the way out and then add maybe 1/2 tsp of sugar to "prime" the bottle.
We hope that helps and hope you're enjoying the world of fermentation! Thank you so much for watching and for the questions Nicole! ❤️❤️❤️
@@FermentationAdventure thank you dear ones for the time and love to share some of your experiences. Will try to work with glass then but look for stronger glass bottles in brasil. I am from there. :-)
I am new, bug was active and bubbly on first day, by 3rd day it is flat. Should i continue? There are some kahm yeast too. The weather is hot 29-30°C
Thanks for the question Albert! It's possible it could slow down after a few days. You could always try making a batch of soda to see if it gets active. As long as you don't see any mold and it still smells nice.
@@FermentationAdventure tried ,results were superb ! . I have tried a new batch of gingerbeer yesterday, fermented so fast, checked now after 24hrs,shocked all sugar is almost eaten up and its fizzy already.. i guess because of hot weather and quantity of g.bug i used
Hi guys! Love the video and information, congrats!
I have a question. Can I second ferment on glass bottles with a normal metal cap? Or do I need to ferment on the brown glass bottles that you show on the video?
Thank you!
Thank you so much for your question! You can definitely ferment with a regular glass bottle and use the metal caps. Make sure not to tighten them though because you don't want to build up pressure. We also stopped fermenting with the metal lids since they kept rusting. We hope that helps! 😊
What are you testing for with the tester bottle on do get it, what does it tell you ?
Hi Norman! The glass bottles can become dangerous and explode if they build too much pressure inside. Since it's impossible to tell how much pressure is building in the glass bottles, the tester bottle should build pressure at the same rate so it will be an indicator for the glass bottles. Each ferment and each time you make it will be different depending on so many factors, so it's important to always have an indicator of pressure.
Can one use the ginger bug as a starter to make Rye beer ? Many congrats and best wishes
You could probably try that! Freshly ground rye should probably already have a good amount of starter bacteria and yeast to ferment but a ginger bug would definitely start it off. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
@@FermentationAdventure Thanks for your words ! there is a video in youtube were some womens made Egiptian beer with only wheat sprouted added to cooked wheat grains ! My questian here is it is malt enouf to feed the ginger bug and is the ginger bug enouf to ferment the malt grains into beer ? I will try it and say something The malted grains they break the starch to simple sugars and the yeast used in Egipt and sumeran beers was sourdou bread yeast it is in here that possibli one can use the ginger bug yeast because it is stronger and more transparent ! ( I hope )
What about making a blueberry wine or strawberry wine with the key for a water or ginger bug
That would be delicious! Usually when we've made any fermented drink with a ginger bug it ends up being a little more sour since that's what the ginger bug creates. You can make wines that are crisp and clear with strains of yeast made for wine making that's also delicious!
very organized video
Thank you so much! We appreciate it! 😊
hello may i ask can you freeze ginger bug?
You definitely can! Most likely once you thaw it back out it will probably still work out great for you since the cold won't necessarily kill it. Let us know how it goes!
Hi! You mentioned something about your ginger bug being as old as one year in the fridge, so did you keep feeding it once a week for one year, even if you weren't planning on making soda? Is it like a sour dough starter you only have to feed once a month, because I remember you saying something about going a month without feeding it?
Thanks so much for your question Mia! You got that right! It's basically like a sourdough where you can feed it every so often in the fridge. We don't feed it every week and probably more like every month or two and it's still been working great for us. We hope that answers your question! 🙂
Hello....I just came across you channel yesterd and new to this...I just now today, Monday, 11/22, made up my first ginger bug. I wont be able to feed it Saturday. But I will Sunday...
Will it hurt not to feeding it Saturday and resume Sunday or do I put it in refrigerator friday and take back out Sunday to continue feeding it?
Thank you, I'm really excited about this...you both are so precious and I'm learning a lot😊
Hello! We are so glad you found us too! We've found that ginger bugs, and ferments in general, are much more resilient than you would think. Your ginger bug should be just fine if you skip a feeding towards the end of your first week of fermenting it. We'd recommend just leaving it on the counter the whole time, and resume the process on Sunday. We'd love to hear how it goes. Good luck!
@@FermentationAdventure Thank you both. Have a blessed weekend 😊
Thank you! You too!
I enjoyed this video. You two play well off each other. I have a question regarding the flip top brown glass bottles. If you never burp your soda, will they explode, or do the flip tops reach a point where they will push out and release the pressure?
Thank you! That's a great question! The flip top bottles are built for a limited amount of pressure, but they could definitely still explode if too much pressure builds up. We typically do a short period of 1-3 days of bottling in the secondary fermentation phase, depending on what the tester bottles shows, and then refrigerate where we continue to burp the bottles about once every 1-2 months.
I didn't see this question so I'm asking. Can I use my ginger beer as my ginger bug for gingerale or gingerbeer? Same measurement?
Good question and great observation! You definitely can! Since you're drinking something that's alive it will keep multiplying if you give it more fuel and consume. Good luck and thanks for watching!
Is the fermentation process outside of the refrigerator when you mention the amount of days? Say you fermented for two days outside of the fridge and put it in to cool down, how long does it keep to that amount of alcohol content? Love your vids thank you for the great knowledge
Thanks for the question! Yes, mostly our videos will show what to expect when you're fermenting on the counter (outside of the refrigerator). We usually ferment in approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit, so if you're in cooler temps, it could take a few days longer, and warmer temps could ferment very quickly. Then when the ferment is at a good place (good taste, smell, alcohol level, etc), you could put it in the fridge to slow the fermentation process down to almost a halt. Although since your ferment is a living organism, it will continue to ferment every so slowly, even when it is in the fridge. Hope that helps!
Can you use distilled water
Definitely! That should work great for you if you happen to have chlorine in your water.
what is the least amount of sugar i can add into a ginger ale boil?
Question! 💜 do you drink the stuff in the tester bottle? Or do you just dump it out? If not, why? If so, then why wouldn’t you always just use plastic bottles? Thanks for the content, I’ve been binging your videos for a couple weeks now and have my new ginger bug almost ready to start making some delicious drinks 😊
Thanks so much for the question Vikki! We usually drink the one in the plastic bottle first. Some people don't like that their ferments come into contact with plastic but if it's a bottle made for acidic sodas then it should be okay. For the short time that we're brewing sodas in the plastic tester bottle we're not worried about it. But a lot of the bottles we'll store in the fridge for months so we don't want the acidic sodas in the plastic for extended periods like that so we use glass for those. Great question! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure thank you! It all makes sense now 💜 I just tried my first one yesterday, it was an Apple/Mango I found at the outlet groceries store near me. I think I left it too long before bottling, cause it was a bit sour and I think I caught a light buzz 😂 I’ll be continuing to dial in my drinks but I couldn’t have done it without your videos. So, thanks again! 💜😊💜
You're so welcome Vikki! We're happy that you found us!! ❤️❤️❤️
Just discovered ginger growing in my yard. So then found you. Have made BUG. Now on the ginger ale before bottling and have a question. It doesn’t have bubbles, yet, but does have the sediment you mentioned. You said to mix when you bottle. Can I mix before that to get the culture to bubble up?
Thanks so much for the question! And that's awesome that you have ginger growing right in your yard. Very cool. If you stir the ginger bug up before bottling it gets all the yeast and microbes evenly distributed but won't necessarily make it bubble up again. You might have to feed it or make a soda to see how active it is. We stir to make sure we get about the same amount of life and sediment in all our bottles. Also if you get a lot of sediment at once it doesn't taste as good. Happy fermenting!
This is a lovely video, so helpful, but I have a question. You said that it is okay to make a ginger bug in a bottle with alot of space but what about making the actual soda in a bottle that is only half/two thirds full of liquid.
Thanks for the question Byron! It's okay to make your ginger ale with a bottle that still has air left in it. We've made batches where only 2/3 of the jar is full and the rest is air and it still turns out great. Hope that helps and happy fermenting!