Storage and Alcoholic Strength

[Dave West]

I have been making a simple ginger beer brew to about the strength of about
4 to 5% ABV. I would like to make some ginger beer and put some aside and
keep it for a while. Maybe a few months or longer.

Would it be advisable to increase the alcoholic strength for it to be kept
in storage successfully? Thanks.

[baloonon]

Post by Dave West
I have been making a simple ginger beer brew to about the strength of
about 4 to 5% ABV. I would like to make some ginger beer and put some
aside and keep it for a while. Maybe a few months or longer.
Would it be advisable to increase the alcoholic strength for it to be
kept in storage successfully? Thanks.

Assuming it's in good shape to begin with, it's highly unlikely to be worth
going for a higher % of alcohol to prevent spoilage. Flavors with a
particular recipe may improve or fade with time, or they may just change,
but it's hard to know without just letting it sit to test.

There's an often-repeated story that India Pale Ales were originally made
with higher than typical levels of alcohol to help them keep better for the
long trip to India, but the historical record doesn't support that claim,
as the blog http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com often goes to excruciating
lengths to point out.

[Ecnerwal]

Post by baloonon
There's an often-repeated story that India Pale Ales were originally made
with higher than typical levels of alcohol to help them keep better for the
long trip to India, but the historical record doesn't support that claim,
as the blog http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com often goes to excruciating
lengths to point out.

I've had no trouble with 3% milds stored for years. It's all in the
sanitation, and crummy sanitation won't be phased by even 12% alcohol.

The preservative qualities of hops (and thus the high hopping levels)
were what I've always understood to be the "thing done to IPAs to make
them stand the trip", but given I don't store my beer on a slow boat
through the tropics, low hop levels appropriate to a mild have been no
problem. I can't say I've really looked into IPAs in any great detail,
as I am not a fan, despite the current fad for them.

[baloonon]

Post by Ecnerwal

Post by baloonon
There's an often-repeated story that India Pale Ales were originally
made with higher than typical levels of alcohol to help them keep
better for the long trip to India, but the historical record doesn't
support that claim, as the blog http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com
often goes to excruciating lengths to point out.

I've had no trouble with 3% milds stored for years. It's all in the
sanitation, and crummy sanitation won't be phased by even 12% alcohol.
The preservative qualities of hops (and thus the high hopping levels)
were what I've always understood to be the "thing done to IPAs to make
them stand the trip", but given I don't store my beer on a slow boat
through the tropics, low hop levels appropriate to a mild have been no
problem.

This is an example of the higher alcohol in IPA myth

http://www.stonebrew.com/tasting/ipa/

although as this article points out, the original IPAs weren't
considered strong.

http://www.beerconnoisseur.com/the-origins-of-ipa

More hops were definitely an early feature, though.

Post by Ecnerwal
I can't say I've really looked into IPAs in any great detail,
as I am not a fan, despite the current fad for them.

I like a bunch of modern IPAs, but there's definitely a number that go
way over the top. The high alcohol ones in particular seems like a
dubious way to go, and the hopping sometimes seems just off. At some
point I want to make a historical IPA and do a side by side tasting....

[Dick Adams]

Post by Dave West
I have been making a simple ginger beer brew to about the strength
of about 4 to 5% ABV. I would like to make some ginger beer and put
some aside and keep it for a while. Maybe a few months or longer.
Would it be advisable to increase the alcoholic strength for it to be
kept in storage successfully? Thanks.

If a few months means 3 or 4 months, it should not be a problem.
For longer term storage, my suggestion is to be more concerned
about the storage temperature. An ideal temperature would be
below 60F. However, without refrigeration, that is not realistic.
I know 68F is chilly and attainable because that's the temperature
my wife keeps our house.

Dick

[Ecnerwal]

Post by Dick Adams
about the storage temperature. An ideal temperature would be
below 60F. However, without refrigeration, that is not realistic.

Easy if you dig a hole in the ground, or have one handy already. Can
even be managed quite practically using water coming from a hole in the
ground you may already possess, by running your cold water intake
through an insulated storage box.