Ginger Beer, Second Batch

So, I ended up making a second batch, just because the first batch seemed so strange and such a seeming anomaly.  With this second batch I was a little more controlled; taking the old man's suggestions to heart, I took notes as I was making it.  My math, however, is severely limited as I learned when I tallied up the ounces I had actually bottled versus the recipe; the recipe (which, as I have stated earlier, comes from the book, Wild Fermentation) calls for adding enough water to make a gallon.  I had ended up making about 194 ounces in total, so I feared that it would be a lot weaker.


Overall look of the beer:  As you can see from the photo (which is ridiculously unfocused and fuzzy because I took this out of the refridge) there is a lot less sedimentation than the first batch.  This may be partly from the watering-down of the final mixture.

Taste and consistency:  No fizz!  This may be because I bottled the last bits in these small 6-ounce fruit jars I had in the cupboard and, if I remember correctly, when I bottled some in one of these jars the last time there was no fizz in that one, either.

The taste is a little sweeter -- I put the full sugar amount (1.5 cups) that the recipe calls for -- but is still pretty non-sweet in comparison to some of the commercial ginger beers you can buy.  It is still very gingery, however.

I couldn't believe that the batch was not fizzy, so I just got one of the 12-ounce jars and opened that one.  No "pop" when taking off the lid; when I poured some into an empty jar there was no head formation, but there is definitely some carbonation rising from the bottom and on the sides of the glass.  It also tastes carbonated, but it's hard to discern the carbonation away from the intense ginger taste. 

Conclusion:  I'm going to calls this batch a bitter-sweet success.  Still tastes great and is very refreshing.  I'm getting used to intense flavor.  I'll share some with Dave and his friend but I'll drink up the rest and then make another batch!