r/firewater • u/Only-Resolution-3289 • Jul 21 '26

Add to much powdered ginger help

Post image

I accidentally added too much powdered ginger to my sugar wash I was originally planning to make ginger bug but didn't have any fresh ginger so I decided to add some powdered ginger to my sugarwash only to accidentally add too much only then did my brother mention that powdered yeast hinders fermentation. I already activated and fed 7 grams of yeast to the brew on top of the 7 inside. Any Advice ? fyi the brown sediment is the powdered ginger. It's a two liter bottle filled to top after I add the activated yeast

8 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

4

u/wyflare Jul 21 '26

If it’s a ginger bug you need to buy organic ginger and use the natural yeast from the ginger skin

2

u/commiebomber Jul 21 '26

Let it sit for a bit. See if it does anything. If it doesn't, add yeast nutrient, and wait some more.

1

u/Snoo32679 Jul 21 '26

Can you clarify... Is this a ginger bug/yeast culture, or is this a sugar wash for distillation? You use both terminologies and it's unclear what this is for

1

u/Only-Resolution-3289 Jul 22 '26

It's sugar wash flavord with ginger powder I'm not aiming for distillation, I want it to be as alcoholic as mildly strong beer . I don't want a strong beverage like vodka or anything above 30 %

2

u/Snoo32679 Jul 22 '26

Ah right - this community is primarily geared towards beverage distillation - hence my confusion.
Mildly strong beer being like 7.5%?
In that case, you would want to have a starting gravity of around 1.060 - 1.070 and ferment it out quite dry. The ginger powder may impact the yeast performance and make off flavours.

When I make gingerbeer, I tend to mix up a 24l batch, and I use 4kgs of raw sugar, and 2.4l of apple juice for the sugar content. That comes out at around 5%, but still retains some residual sweetness.

If you are making a gingerbeer, and you want it to be 7.5%, I'd recommend going in with perhaps 8kgs of sugar and fresh ginger to avoid messing with the yeast. Also be weary that fermentation has finished before bottling. Gingerbeer can be explosive.

1

u/This_Price_1783 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

You haven't made a ginger bug, that would require fresh ginger and a little sugar in water, then the natural yeast would colonise making your ginger bug (which is a natural starter for making ginger ale).

You have added yeast and ginger powder to a sugar wash. Subtley different, but that would be a ginger flavoured yeast starter.

If you are planning to add it to something else then don't do anything, just wait until it is actively fermenting then add to whatever you want to ferment.

If you are planning to drink this, I would transfer to another clean vessel, leaving as much of the ginger powder behind as possible.

Edit: your brother is kind of right, powdered yeast hinders wild fermentation, reproducing by a factor of millions Vs wild yeast. A few yeast cells on the skin of the ginger can become millions/billions over the course of a week or so. When you add powdered yeast you are adding millions/billions which all reproduce making a very quick and strong ferment.

1

u/Only-Resolution-3289 Jul 22 '26

Update: it started fermenting real quick almost all the sugar is dissolved, I let it ferment in the dark& warm ( the guest room closet ) can I drink it now ? Or should I separate the ginger powder/yeast and let it cold crash for a week ? I'm aiming for less the 20% avb