Ginger Bug Problem

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Ginger Bug Problem

Postby boschmas on Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:12 pm

I've been trying to get a ginger bug started for weeks. My first one, using ginger that wasn't specifically labeled organic, foamed up fine for about five days, then stopped and never re-started after several more days.

I pitched it, and in a new jar, started a fresh attempt with organic ginger. It's been doing great for a week, but today it's flat. Daily feedings, twice daily stirrings (more if I think about it), filtered water, dark cupboard....

I've seen speculation that the first wave of microbes isn't what you want for ginger beer, so to keep it up for another week or so. I'm going to keep working with it, but I have to say, ginger bugs are a huge pain. Does anyone have any idea why they're so finicky?
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby Emma Klondyke on Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:02 am

Does the speculation you've seen specify why the first wave of microbes would be the unwanted sort? A preference of acetobacteria over yeasts quickly comes to mind; some people really do not like alcohol.

I've started a ginger (or ginger-y) bug a few times, and it does seem to quieten down after the first few days in my experience too. The beverage from a quieter sort of bug initially tasted both vinegary and yeasty, but turned out quite nice, dry, and maybe even balanced after I bottled it, shoved it in the fridge and promptly forgot about it for a few months. At least the vinegary notes are undetectable now, which I find strange, I would have guessed the opposite.
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby khoomeizhi on Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:44 am

i use ginger (and other things) bugs to start alcohol ferments, so maybe this doesn't apply, but i get best results from as active a bug as possible. 3 or 4 days in.
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby boschmas on Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:01 am

Thanks for this input. I've decided to consider that I may have overfed it (I really may have) and so I'll continue stirring vigorously for one or two days, then resume feeding and see what happens.

As for the waves of microbes involved, I honestly don't know what the thinking is and whether there's science or intuition behind it. Maybe the idea is that early on, you have an incomplete microbial community, and that a longer development time frame allows for a more complete fermentation of your ultimate beverage.

Anyway, thanks again. I'll try to remember to post how things go.
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby Emma Klondyke on Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:40 am

I actually had an "other things bug" going on just now, and used it all to start an apple mead/cider/whatever yesterday. I'm aiming for alcohol, but even live vinegar would be fine. I'm trying to figure out the best moment to bottle, so that I'd get all possible flavour out of my apples but avoid the acetobacteria, although some will be around anyway, I suppose.

I don't keep a constant bug pet, maybe there would be some nice taste developments if I did, but honestly i'm too lazy to try it. I'll happily read all updates :)
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby boschmas on Tue Sep 23, 2014 10:02 am

Alright, so sure enough, I checked the bug this morning and there was a bit of a slurry of bubbles at the top. I'm going to let it go one more day with lots of aeration but without feeding, then resume with very small daily meals.

Current hypothesis: It's easy to overfeed a ginger bug.

Emma, one trick that beer brewers use to limit oxygen in their bottles is to place the cap on the bottle loosely for five or ten minutes before securing it. Acetobacter requires oxygen, and by letting the CO2 from the beverage fill the head space and push the oxygen out before the cap gets crimped or locked down, you reduce the chances of vinegar being able to develop.

I'll happily read updates as well.
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby boschmas on Thu Sep 25, 2014 7:31 am

So I brewed up my two quarts of ginger tea yesterday morning, thoroughly cleaned an old one gallon glass jar I use for kraut (this batch of ginger beer may smell a little weird), and added two more quarts of water, some lemon juice, and a cup of my revived ginger bug around 2pm. Before bed, I noticed it had a bit of foam going. This morning, I have this:

Image

Image

It's still bubbling vigorously, like any old primary fermentation would, so I'm going to let that die back a bit before I figure out whether to go pick up some swingtop bottles or just put this into plastic.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'm pretty sure now that a lot of my past failure with ginger bugs is related to overwhelming the ecology with food, which the microbes couldn't keep up with.

By the way, this has ended up being the clearest, easiest-to-follow recipe for ginger beer that I've found online: http://phickle.com/index.php/fermentati ... nger-beer/
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby Emma Klondyke on Sat Sep 27, 2014 6:32 am

Your ginger beer looks beautiful.

boschmas wrote:Emma, one trick that beer brewers use to limit oxygen in their bottles is to place the cap on the bottle loosely for five or ten minutes before securing it. Acetobacter requires oxygen, and by letting the CO2 from the beverage fill the head space and push the oxygen out before the cap gets crimped or locked down, you reduce the chances of vinegar being able to develop.


Thank you for this! I will try this with my mainly-apple-something. My vegetable ferments keep really well under their clamp-top lids for this very same reason, CO2 replacing oxygen, but I had not realised you could play the same trick with bottle caps.

My apples are still foaming and smell like somebody very drunk has just entered the room. Probably best to wait a while before bottling.
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby boschmas on Sat Sep 27, 2014 7:53 pm

Yeah, I bottled this morning, when fermentation had slowed but not stopped. Put the bottles directly into the fridge, and expect they'll all be consumed in the next few days. Still worried about gushers upon opening, but I'm treating some friends to Dark & Stormies tomorrow, so fingers crossed for a fizzy ginger ale mixer.

Good luck with your apple whatnot. ;)
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Re: Ginger Bug Problem

Postby Emma Klondyke on Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:00 am

Thanks :)

As a test post for Christopher, I can tell you that I bottled the apple whatnot a couple of days ago performing the cap trick. I left some in an open jar for acetobacteria to play with, covered with a double cheesecloth.
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