"Ecnerwal" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Dave West" > wrote:
>
>> Novice has started making ginger beer using this on-line recipe.
>>
>> http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipe...ngstall/ginger
>> -beer-recipe
>>
>> He suggests adding a little honey. Would there be any purpose to this,
>> other
>> than very slightly changing the taste?
>
> It appears to have an effect on bubble size in carbonation, IME.
>
>> I'm using Allison's dried baking yeast which I know is not as alcohol
>> tolerant as wine yeast. I understand that 100 gm of granulated sugar to
>> one
>> litre of water gives about 5% of alcohol by volume roughly.
>>
>> I would like to increase the alcohol content slightly, so just as a rough
>> guide; what would likely be the most sugar I could add per litre at the
>> onset of the process, without the fermentation process choking up?
>
> Without getting too far into what I think of your process (beer/wine
> yeast is cheap and easy to find, for a start...)
>
> Per some reference, 2.7g sugar in 1 liter increases specific gravity one
> point(0.001)
>
> Water is 1.000 and beers tend to be easy in the 1.030-70 range, not too
> bad 1.070 to 1.100 and starting to get dodgy (but still manageable with
> care, and perhaps some nutrients) from 1.100-1.130.
>
> So, 270 grams per liter should work without difficulty, and you might be
> able to manage a bit more. Most people find that making rocket fuel
> (maximizing alcohol content) is less satisfying than lower alcohol
> content beverages that are pleasant to drink, but do what you like, and
> draw your own conclusions. It may need 4-6 years of aging to get to a
> drinkable stage if you push it too much. Drinking two pints of something
> that's half the % alcohol will get you just as drunk as one high % pint,
> and takes a lot less time to reach pleasant drinkability.
>
> You can also play games with the yeast by adding more sugar gradually as
> the ferment progresses.
>
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Thanks. So 270 gms per litre is about 10% of alcohol by volume? I had no
idea bakers yeast could ferment to such a high level.

Actually in the question i was wondering more what would be the maximum
sugar level bakers yeast could tolerate, when adding all the sugar *at one
go*. (rather than adding it in stages). Any idea on that one please ?

Also since i would only want to go up to say 5% by volume of alcohol at the
most, is there any advantage in paying more for a wine yeast as opposed to a
bakers yeast ? Would there for instance be any difference in the taste of
the final product?