Fermented kiwis, I need some help.
I have tried three times to make a ginger bug to then make ginger bug sodas.
I have ended with this horrid smelling and tasting concoction that barely bubbles (if it bubbles at all). Internet recipes and chatGPT questions aren't very helpful.
I want to try this once more before I just start making kombucha (you can't make a cola flavored kombucha can you?)
I do have experience and gear to brew cider and beer (But I have given up drinking in the last year completely), so I could use that, but ginger bug seemed easy because people made it in a single jar.
I have been super lazy when I have made ginger beer before, I have simply added a bit of bread yeast (quarter teaspoon) from my jar of yeast. Most will tell you that bread yeast makes for a poor but passible beer. But given the strong flavors of ginger beer, and most people are NOT making alcoholic ginger beer, they are just fermenting to get carbonation it tastes perfectly fine.
Now if you are shooting for a natural ginger bug, as other people have noted, your ginger root make have been irradiated.
First off, I would make sure that your jar and food source (sugar mixture) has been boiled.
You can get yeast off of just about any piece of organic fruit. So maybe try inoculating your your sugar syrup food source with peels of peaches, plums, apple, cucumber, whole grapes (or just the skins) or other fruits. Since you are just trying to make your starter culture, don't worry too much about getting the perfect ginger flavor to start. Go ahead and put more fruit peels in that jar than you think you need just to start. Kind of like putting extra active dry yeast in your bread to get a faster rise.
When Russians make Kvass, they throw in 6 raisins not for the flavor, but to inoculate their bread beer with yeast. That might work for you too.
With that said, make sure you are not killing your yeast. Make sure the temperature doesn't exceed 115 F.
What Is The Best Temperature To Activate Yeast?
Blooming dry active yeast should be done in 100-115 degrees F (38-46C) water. Fresh yeast and instant dry yeast don’t need to be bloomed. When the dough is proofing, the best temperature for the yeast is between 77-100F (25-38C), yet there are benefits to using cooler proofing temperatures.
Also, keeping your inoculating yeast at the optimum temperature will help them grow faster. I have kept yeast at temperature for yogurt production through methods such as 1) placing jars in a warm water bath in a cooler, or 2) wrapping the jars in towels to keep the warmth in.
And that is just to give the yeast a good kick start so that they dominate the culture.
OK. I threw a lot at you. Let me try and give you a step by step approach that I would actually take.
1) Boil your mason jar and lid to ensure they are clean.
2) Wash & peel a mix (just to make sure one of them has a good yeast culture on the skin) of organic fruit (apple, peach, plum, grape)
3) Boil your sugar water.
4) Wait until you measure the temperature of your sugar water is 114 F or below.
5) Fill that jar half full of your organic fruit peels and 6 raisins. Then pour in your sugar water.
6) Place a lid off your mason jar tight so you can see the bubbly goodness as an indicator of success.
7) Wrap that jar in a towels to help keep it at temperature for a while to give it a good kick start.
8 ) Keep the jar in a good dark place for 3-5 days checking it daily for bubbles and pressure build up by untwisting the lid to release any pressure.
9) When it is bubbling and building up good pressure, I would say you have a good starter culture. Keep in the refrigerator.
When you are ready to make your ginger beer,
1) Make sure your bottle & lids are clean either through boiling or cleaners used in beer making
2) Boil your ginger beer syrup.
3) Wait until it comes down to 114 degrees F
4) Pour it into your ginger beer container, then add in your starter culture.
5) Let your ginger beer culture ferment the same way you did your starter culture. (Keeping it at temperature longer with a towel isn't really necessary but you can try that to speed it up).
6) Once your ginger beer is bubbling vigorously, place it in the refrigerator to knock down the yeast. Enjoy when cold the next day.
7) Use the dregs of your first ginger beer to inoculate your next batch.
The more cycles of ginger beer will eliminate the previous peach, plum, apple or grape flavors that might have come off your initial starter culture.
Or you can just be a lazy bastard like me and use a quarter teaspoon of bread or beer or wine yeast. You can freeze your active dry yeast powders to make sure it lasts.
And with all that said, what I normally do is make sure I have a clean bottle and lid (cheap clean unscented bleach works, check the label), boil the syrup with ginger, since I use plastic 2-litter bottles I let it come back down to room temperature (I don't want plastic leaching into my beverage anymore than and a soda already does) fill the bottle, add the lemon juice (boiling citric acid destroys citric acid), add the yeast (dry yeast, your fruit starter, or prior bottle's inoculation) , stick the bottle in a dark closet, release the pressure each day or two to see when it is ready and then refrigerate when ready. 4-7 days.
Edit: Just on the off chance you are using bottled lemon juice in your recipe, you should stop and use fresh lemon juice or make 100% sure your bottled lemon juice does not contain preservatives.
Many fruit juices at the store will contain preservatives to extend their shelf life, including apple juice and even frozen concentrate apple juice. Check ingredient the labels for preservatives, or as we know them, yeast killers.
