Storing 5% abv over time.

[john west]

Have been making a simple Ginger Beer, using granulated sugar, lemon and
ginger, to the strength of 5% abv.
I was hoping that by keeping it for some time the flavour might change
in an interesting way.
But somehow it just turns a bit sour and awful.
Might it keep a lot better over time, if i increased the alcohol content
to say 7% or 9% ? Thanks for any advice.

[Bob F]

Post by john west
Have been making a simple Ginger Beer, using granulated sugar, lemon and
ginger, to the strength of 5% abv.
I was hoping that by keeping it for some time the flavour might change
in an interesting way.
But somehow it just turns a bit sour and awful.
Might it keep a lot better over time, if i increased the alcohol content
to say 7% or 9% ?  Thanks for any advice.

I'm no expert, buy I would think you didn't keep everything properly
sanitized.

[baloonon]

Post by Bob F

Post by john west
Have been making a simple Ginger Beer, using granulated sugar, lemon
and ginger, to the strength of 5% abv.
I was hoping that by keeping it for some time the flavour might
change in an interesting way.
But somehow it just turns a bit sour and awful.
Might it keep a lot better over time, if i increased the alcohol
content to say 7% or 9% ?  Thanks for any advice.

I'm no expert, buy I would think you didn't keep everything properly
sanitized.

That would be my first guess. It could also be that the yeast isn't
settling well and needs a long cold crash. It's also possible the yeast
was so active that it ate almost all of the sugar. It may be worthwhile
looking for a yeast that attenuates less, or artificially shortening the
fermentation process. You can also experiment with adding some
nonfermenting sweeteners. Lactose is a sugar that won't ferment (but is
hard to digest for some people). Some people use artificial sweeteners.

It might be worth looking into how cidermakers handle things to make
sweet or dry alcoholic cider.

[Tom Biasi]

Post by john west
Have been making a simple Ginger Beer, using granulated sugar, lemon and
ginger, to the strength of 5% abv.
I was hoping that by keeping it for some time the flavour might change
in an interesting way.
But somehow it just turns a bit sour and awful.
Might it keep a lot better over time, if i increased the alcohol content
to say 7% or 9% ?  Thanks for any advice.

To answer your question directly, yes higher alcohol brews keep better.

[baloonon]

Post by Tom Biasi

Post by john west
Have been making a simple Ginger Beer, using granulated sugar, lemon
and ginger, to the strength of 5% abv.
I was hoping that by keeping it for some time the flavour might
change in an interesting way.
But somehow it just turns a bit sour and awful.
Might it keep a lot better over time, if i increased the alcohol
content to say 7% or 9% ?  Thanks for any advice.

To answer your question directly, yes higher alcohol brews keep better.

They may not make the flavor change in an interesting way, though. It
may just stablize things, and it's also possible some flavors stabilize
and others fade, which can be either good or bad. Yeast may do some work
in the bottle over time which can help a lot, and some bacteria that
might have snuck in will do good things and others will just produce
vinegar.

Oxidation over time is also often seen as a bad thing, with descriptions
of moldy cardboard, although on the other hand I've had old big beers
that develop sherry like flavors that I like a lot.

Which is a long winded way of saying there's no sure way to know until
you try. I'd probably recommend not just increasing the amount of sugar
but also increasing the lemon and ginger, although maybe not
proportionately. It also might be worth adding a bit of lactose for
body and sweetness that won't be fermented, unless you're lactose
intolerant, of course.

[Ecnerwal]

I think you either have a sanitation issue, or you are used to drinking
the stuff you make before it's "done" and would need to pasteurize it
for it to keep that way.

I had the next to last bottle of ginger mild recently. That's a 1.8% ABV
very dark beer, and is nearly 9 years old at this point. It's still
good. I should make more.