Hi all,
I'm not a complete fermenting newbie (have done kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut successfully in the past). I have decided to have a go at making ginger bug (to make ginger ale) but not having much success so far.
1st try.
Used store bought ginger, demerara sugar, bottled spring water (2 tbsp of each). After daily feeds for 8 days there was no sign of fermentation. Room temperature is about 66-68 degrees. Figured maybe it was the ginger, since it was not organic maybe it was irradiated and I read somewhere that won't grow anything.
2nd try.
As before, but used organic ginger. Around day 6 there were some small bubbles around the edges and on top - not a huge amount but definite fermentation happening, which I took to mean it was ready to use. I was eager to make ginger ale so followed a recipe to make 2qts, took out some bug (half a cup from memory) and strained it and put in my bottles. I then fed it again with more ginger, sugar and water and kept feeding it daily as before but the bubbles never returned. My jar was going to overflow and mold was starting to form so I tossed it out.
Meanwhile my ginger ale...
I capped the bottles and set to ferment. Since they were glass bottles I thought I would burp them to let off excess CO2 but there was no carbonation happening at all. After a couple of days I didn't burp them at all. I left them for about a week and there was still no sign of any fermentation happening.
I'm kind of reluctant to start another bug. Organic ginger is pretty costly where I am, and no one has an unlimited budget for failed experiments
Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks in advance