How to naturally Brew a Hard Ginger Beer like a Pro!

How to naturally Brew a Hard Ginger Beer like a Pro!

Dermott Dowling

Here we share How to naturally Brew a Hard Ginger Beer like a Pro! for a ProBrewer or Craft Brewery or Distillery with an example recipe for 1,000 Litres of naturally brewed Ginger Beer we believe you and the ATO will classify as a beer!

Before we kick off this Learning Blog we need to explain a couple of things about the Hard Ginger Beers sold and consumed in Australia nowadays.  Most of the popular Hard Ginger Beers or Alcoholic Ginger Beers consumed locally are premixed spirits or ready to drink ethanol based RTDs.  Brands such as Brookvale Union Ginger Beer and James Squire Ginger Beer are essentially ethanol based premix drinks or what we in Australia call Ready to Drink or RTDs.

We will dive into how to premix an ethanol based Ginger Beer in a forthcoming learning blog but this blog will focus on how to naturally brew a hard seltzer style beer base and then infuse ginger juice and ginger flavour and extract to create a thirst quenching Brewed Ginger Beer.

We also want to make sure that this naturally brewed Ginger Beer fits within the Australian Tax Office (ATO) guidelines for a Beer for Excise purposes? Why? Well, firstly the excise on a full strength beer over 3.5% ABV is $60.12 per Litre of Alcohol (LAL) for containers under 8 litres and $42.37 per LAL for >8L and connected to a gas dispense system i.e. Draught Beer Kegs. 

Beer excise compares favourably with an ethanol based Ginger Beer which attracts spirits excise of $101.85 per LAL from 5 Feb 2024. If we take a typical carton of 24 x 330mL Cans of 4% ABV Hard Ginger Beer the excise tax alone if naturally brewed is $19.05 and if ethanol based is $32.27 resulting in an excise saving of $13.22 for a naturally brewed Ginger Beer.  This is significant for Craft Brewers who have higher costs of production due to lower economies of scale to large brewers.  Of course, there are overhead savings to be factored into a premix ethanol based Ginger Beer that does not require tank time in the brewery - simply blend, carbonate and can!

So, we progress to key factors for consideration to fall within ATO guidance to be a Beer and not a spirit based RTD when naturally brewing a Ginger Beer. A simple non-exhaustive list is below:

For ATO excise purposes, beer is a beverage that is brewed, and:

  • is the product of the yeast fermentation of an aqueous extract of predominantly malted or unmalted cereals, but may also contain other sources of carbohydrates
  • contains hops, or extracts of hops, or other bitters so that the beverage has no less than 4 international bitterness units (or comparable bitterness if other bitters are used)
  • may have spirit distilled from beer added to it, but only if that spirit does not add more than 0.5% to the total volume of the final product
  • may have other substances (including flavours) added to it, but in the case of other substances that contain alcohol (other than beer spirit), the alcohol does not add more than 0.5% to the total volume of the final product
  • contains no more than 4% by weight of sugars (monosaccharide and disaccharide)
  • does not contain any artificial sweeteners
  • has an alcohol content of more than 1.15% by volume.

Working within the parameters and guidelines suggested by the ATO for the definition of beer for excise purposes we are going to propose a 1,000 Litre recipe for Craft Brewers who want to naturally brew an Alcoholic or Hard Ginger Beer.  Here goes...

GeriPro Hard Ginger Beer (Brewed) 4.5% ABV

Brewfather app recipe link guidance

Vital Stats:

  • Batch Volume: 1,000 Litres
  • Boil Time: 6 mins
  • Pre-Boil Volume: 1,043 Litres
  • Original Gravity: 1.031 Final Gravity: 0.997
  • ABV: 4.5%

Fermentables (90Kg)

Hops:

Yeast:

Adjuncts:

Brewing Aids:

Sweeteners (Optional):

Preservatives (Optional):

Method:

  1. Hydrate your Y1 Seltzer Pure Yeast Add 2 x 500g to 10 Litres of warm water (1:10) at 35°C. Leave to rehydrate for 20mins then stir to fully dissolve just prior to pitching.
  2. Fill your Kettle with 910 Litres of RO or distilled or filtered water.
  3. Add the Dextrose and Rice Syrup and stir until dissolved. Add water as necesasry to top up est. preboil volume of 1,043 L.
  4. Add 500g Pride of Ringwood T90 AU Hops 10.5% AA at boiling for 6 mins boil for 4 IBU.
  5. Cool to below 30°C add 1.5kg pack of N1 Seltzer Pure Yeast Nutrient & Buffering Solution, then add the rehydrated 2 x 500g Y1 Pure Seltzer yeast.
  6. Continue to cool the brew to optimal fermentation temperature 25 °C (77 °F)
  7. Check temperature: Maintain a constant fermentation at 25 °C (77 °F) and leave to ferment for 5-7 days for optimum results.
  8. Once fermentation is complete, cold crash to near freezing to drop out as much yeast you can.  Add 50mL of MagiSol® 300 | Silica Sol to assist with clarification.  Note: the addition of MagiSol® 300 | Silica Sol is routinely used in fermented beer at the transfer process. Stabisol 300 will have greatest effect if the fermentation is complete and the temperature is close to the freezing-point. The bulk of the haze-forming components are already insoluble, and together with other filtration impeding substances; they are absorbed by the silica sol and settle to the tank bottom. With this addition, a fast clarification is achieved, and this also leads to an optimisation of filtration.
  9. Carbon Filter or clarify with any existing filtering aids available to you e.g. centrifuge, membrane filter, etc so you have a clean and clear and neutral base beer.
  10. Transfer the finished Ginger beer into your blending or bright tank.
  11. Add 40 Kg of Buderim Ginger Juice (dose between 3-5%) to the finished fermentation and dose 0.5 Kg Ginger Blavour, and/or 52g Ginger Bextract and 0.5 Kg Citric Acid and 0.5 Kg Malic Acid or more as required to sharpen taste and bring down pH to desired level.
  12. Optional Sweetening: If you would like to sweeten the naturally Brewed Ginger Beer we recommend using non-fermentable natural sweeteners if you do not have a tunnel pasteurizer.  Mix up a blend of Stevia and Erythritol and dose to desired sweetness level.  You can do this on the bench drawing a Litre or 10 Litres of your flavoured base and working the right ration and sweetness levels.
  13. Optional Preservatives:  We recommend if you are optionally sweetening your naturally brewed Hard Ginger Beer that you also dose some GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) preservatives.  Our Recommendation is: 250g Preservative 202 | Potassium Sorbate Potassium Sorbate (250ppm) 0.2-0.3 g/L range. Potassium Sorbate is typically used at a rate of 0.15-0.3% (if used alone) or 0.1-0.2% (if used in combination with other preservatives). Add 150g Preservative 211 | Sodium Benzoate (150 ppm).
  14. This ginger beer will like to be well carbonated. Additions of Preservative 202 | Potassium Sorbate and Preservative 211 | Sodium Benzoate are optional and will also act as a mild preservative and increase shelf life of your Hard Ginger Beer!
  15. Well, what are you waiting for? Its time to Get Your Brewing On! and Brew a Naturally Brewed Hard Ginger Beer!

If you need help with anything or wish to discuss the wide array of adjuncts and aids and fermentables for your next Hard Ginger Beer please do not hesitate to reach out to us at Service@BeerCo.com.au or call us on +61 490 501 392 and have a great Brewing and Selling week!

Please Note: Legal Disclaimer

We are not here to provide legal or tax advice and you need to check with your lawyer and professional advisors and the Australian Tax Office before you classify your naturally brewed Hard Ginger Beer as a beer for tax purposes.

Further Reading, References and Knowledge Sources: