I mix my kombucha 50-50 with grape or cranberry juice. I haven’t tried ginger bug, but now I have to try it. I also make water and milk kefir. Water kefir and ginger is really good.
I juiced plums from my Santa Rosa plum tree a few months ago - just straight up juice (no sugar or water added) then hot water bath canned it all. After watching your how to make a ginger bug video about 8 days ago and successfully making it, and after watching this video, I decided to give my home canned juice a try. I used 1 cup purified water, 1 cup strained plum juice, 2 TBSP of cane (white) sugar, and 1/8 cup of ginger bug in a pint sized canning jar. I placed a canning lid on top loosely. This sat overnight and had a nice layer of bubbles on top today. I decided to go ahead and bottle it in empty and thick plastic water bottle this morning and it's carbonating nicely! After about 8 hours carbonating in the water bottle, I tried a taste and it's a nice tart sweet flavor with a kombucha like flavor and very nice effervescent bubbles! Very enjoyable. Will let it go another 6 hours or so either drink up or put in fridge tonight. Thanks for your videos!
😮😮😮 Whoah! Freshly juiced plums? I bet that tasted so good! That sounds amazing to be able to drink something so fresh that you grew yourself. Thanks so much for telling us about it. So happy to have you here! 💕
@@FermentationAdventure Thanks 😊! The tree produced a crazy amount this year and I figured I'd better juice and can it all. Have discovered the juice is amazing when mixed with ginger beer and that's what started me into finding out about ginger bugs. I have a ginger bug ginger beer fermenting now as well. Giving that a try after watching your video on it. Also trying out freshly juiced concord grape one. We have so much fruit varities we grow here!
I love fresh made sodas but I skip the first fermentation as it just makes it more alcoholic and taste worse. Just mix up the room temp fruit juice with the gingerbug and then bottle them. Have one bottle that is plastic so you can tell when pressure has built up and then refrigerate. No burping. You will end up with a carbonated juice that does not taste like booze or cider.
@@justinelourdes6686I read that any plastic bottle that had Perrier water or even just soda would work. It's not a matter of being safe, that's more of a concern when you're stealing a glass bottle. It's a matter of feeling for the bottle getting hard with pressure. Turn like a two liter bottle of 7-Up that you just bought, it has some give. Then, if you shake it a bit the carbonation builds up and the bottle gets harder. That's all you're feeling for.
This is a good tip, I’ll give this a try. I am on a health binge and interested in non-alcoholic beverages. I think I accidentally made alcoholic ginger beer 🥴.
You guys are quickly becoming a fixture in my fermentation kitchen! I absolutely LOVE the content and the sense of wellness and joy that you both exude.
I made a ginger bug a few months ago and have been using it my switchel. After watching this vid and having pineapple juice on hand I decided to try this. I just used it yesterday in a margarita, it was good.
Somebody already mentioned here the ph of the juices. It is well known for home brewers that any yeast has its own ph tollerance and there is way to controll it. Usually the lower the ph the less activity for the yeast to the point that it goes dormant. However as soon as the ph raises it will resume its activity. Lemon juice has the lowest ph which is equivalent to the highest acidity of all juices and that is because lemon juice is basically citric acid. Yeast like the ph around 5 -5.5 while lemon juice could be as low as 2. The remedy? You have to neutralize a bit that acidity and the most available method is to add a bit of baking soda, stirr it, let it react with the acid until calms down, it will be an efervescent reaction but won't take long. When the ph rises the yeast will start working. Another thing worth mentioning is that any yeast fermentation consume sugar and releases alcohol and CO2. The bubbles are the CO2 released and it will come up as long there is still sugar for the yeast to eat and if you bottle it will build preassure. That is how beer is preassurized in the bottles in home brewing, however you need to add a bit of sugar. As sugar being consumed the juice becomes... more sour at taste. About the alcohol content. The hydrometer, an important tool in wine and beer making, measures the sugar content. So when you measured in your drink the 1.020 it means that there is still sugar left in your drink and that 3% ABV is the potential than can be made if all sugar left is consumed, untill the measurement goes down to 1.000. In order to measure the alcohol present in a liquid you have to use the hydrometer to measure sugar content BEFORE and AFTER the fermentation. You subtract the numbers and that will tell you the alcohol percentage. The fruit juices that you used have a sugar content of around 1.050 on the hydrometer scale. You measured after the fermentation 1.020 so the difference is 0.030. That will give you a 3.9 ABV with the potential to go up to 6.5 if the rest of sugar is consumed. www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! We've seen some batches like our lemonade slow down with the lemon juice. We'll have to try some baking soda in there to get it back to fermenting quicker. Awesome comment!
@@FermentationAdventure don't add too much. I don't know how much is enough for that particular quantity, the best way is to add some, stir and check the ph. In a bucket of 5 gallons fermentation I added few table spoons of baking soda, for a jar probably a tip of teaspoon would do it. The back draw of this method is that it may incur a bit of salty/bitter taste as a result of the salts are being created after the acid+soda combination. Remember from school, any acid combined with any base will neutralize resulting is water plus some kind of salt. Nice videos you make, by the way. I made the tepache after your recipe and it had success with my wife and daughter. I am at the second batch now. :o))) Keep the good work!
This is a great note! I’m just getting started with ferments. Trying different flavors for water kefir soda. I’ve had a lemon flavor jar that just will not get fizzy. This explains it all. I will add a bit of baking soda see if that sparks it up. Thank you for taking time to write such great detail. Be well ✨
Just discovered your channel and I love you guys!... Not just the amazing content but the positive uplifting energy your videos are packed with. I've got some catching up to do. Thank you
Wow thank you so much for the love El Tuco! We're so happy you're enjoying our videos! There's a lot in life to be happy about. We hope you get to try some of these amazing ferments! 💓
Wow! I made a ginger bug a few weeks ago, it's been in the fridge (I actually made 2 as I knew I wouldn't be able to not-drink it). Usually I make mead out of honey from my hives, and I decided to use the ginger bug, sugar and organic ground ginger and add champagne yeast. Within 6 hours my mead was looking relatively quiet, while my ginger bug wine was going nuts! The ginger was not just floating, it was careening around inside the jar! Three days have passed and the ginger is still moving, and, after a small taste test, I could tell that it has quite a kick to it already! Thank you for the inspiration and all the information :)
Made a bunch of these this past couple of weeks! Thank you! I also made some with real fruit -- Rhubarb (and pineapple) is awesome! Would never have thought to use Rhubarb but I had some in the freezer. Thanks for all your great ideas!
I made this recently with apple juice, pineapple and mango juice. Mango seems to take longer to ferment but finally seen some champagne bubbles this morning. I’m leaving it to ferment a bit more. The pineapple was overactive while fermenting the first 2 days and suddenly died down on the 3rd day. I added a teaspoon of sugar in each of the bottles (I bottled 24 hrs ago) and opened it to bring some oxygen into the bottle and then shook it a bit. It’s looking really alive now. I’ll wait another 12 hrs before refrigerating. The apple juice taste so much like dry white wine! That fermented 3 days and bottled 12 hrs. I can’t wait to try the finished pineapple and mango! Next time I’m going to try fermenting only 1 day or less before bottling to seriously cut down the alcohol. 😅 PS this is still with using the ginger ground w/brewer’s yeast left over from the first ginger beer batch. I’m going to make big with real ginger this weekend 🎉
Update: I just now tasted the pineapple soda and it’s sooo alcoholic 😂 so instead of waiting another 12 hrs, I put it in the fridge. I was hoping to bring these sodas to work lol I think this is a weekend-to-share-with-special-people kinda drink now. I think I will bottle the mango juice now instead of waiting! There is bubbling. Thanks Fermentation Adventure!
Another update: I threw out one of the bottles of pineapple and added fresh pineapple juice with the left over yeast in that same bottle. It bubbled right away and left it bottled 12 hrs before refrigerating. Let’s see how that goes! It was definitely too alcoholic for my taste 😅
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing! That's interesting about the pineapple juice. They definitely taste a little better with less time fermenting. Did you have a favorite that you settled on? Loved the play by play! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure Hey! Yeah my favourite is the mango soda! Thought it didn’t bubble on top like the pineapple or apple juice, I can definitely taste the fermentation and the fizz. I wonder why the bubbles don’t stay on top! I can see little ones travel up before bottling. Also, when I first opened it after bottling (48 hrs in fridge), the bubbles then showed up but then tapered off. There was definitely fermentation but hardly any alcohol. I will do it again!
I've been saving up my orange and tangerine peels in the freezer. Then I just boil them for half an hour along with sugar, natural vanilla extract, cloves and ginger pieces from the bug. Sometimes I add cinnamon, nutmeg. Back in room temperature, I just strain and bottle in plastic bottles and add the bug. I squeeze them to make room for gas and screw the lids on tight. I keep the bottles at room temperature for 1-2 days until they're very firm and full of gas, then to the fridge they go. They become creamy in taste. Delicious healthy soda!
I’ve just come across your videos and I just love watching y’all. I’ve been making sourdough bread for about 4 months and love working with my starter. I’ve decided to go further with making kombucha and to get some ginger and make some ginger bug then sodas. Thanks so much for all the ideas and keep the videos coming.
Thank you so much for the kind words Lisa! We're so happy to inspire you to discover even more ferments. Sourdough bread is so tasty! We need to get back into that and get some batches going. Thank you for the reminder! Let us know if you find any tasty recipes and happy fermenting! ❤️❤️❤️
I love watching yalls videos! You explain so perfectly! I’ve had my ginger bug going and ready. Thank you so much. So I’m making exact juices in awhile. I love you two! Thanks so much!
Here's some of the top reasons it may not have worked for you: ruclips.net/video/Z0fnIcakwnM/видео.htmlsi=-QTMcbMnGATMXlxY&t=385 This is our ginger bug Q&A video where we answer some of the top ginger bug questions like this one. Hopefully this helps give you some ideas of what you might be able to change for the next batch.
@@FermentationAdventure Well, my ginger bug didn't quite work out... or at least I'm not sure if it did or not. The first 3 days it was bubbling like crazy, and I was very happy. Then, on the 4th day all the bubbles were gone. I kept feeding it, and I'm on day 6 now, but there are still no bubbles. There's a white sediment like substance in the bottom. Someone on reddit said that it sounds like it's probably been overfed, and said that 1tbsp of sugar each day with 1tbsp of ginger is way too much. They said about half that amount of sugar is what you should use. Any thoughts?
Okay, follow up if someone gets stuck on this like I did. I made another batch. I only changed one variable, which was to reduce the sugar by about 1/2. Now I have a very bubbly ginger bug, ready to be used. So I would say that the recommendations in this video are probably *right* on the edge of having too much sugar. It worked perfectly with half as much. You can tell that's the problem when the ginger bug tastes sweet. It shouldn't taste real sweet -- it should taste kind of spicy and yeasty. If it's sweet, add some more ginger, but not more sugar for a day or two and see if it comes out of it. You might also add some more distilled water to dilute the sugar.
Thanks for the notes JR! Once you're getting bubbles it just pretty much be good to go and you know it's active. At that point since it's active you can start making sodas with it. We've had batches where there was a bit too much sugar and it started slowing down like you saw. It usually works out well once you try making soda. We hope it's going well and you're getting some good ginger ale! 🍺
My first bug seems to have failed because I forgot not to use tap water. Watched all 3 of your videos and I cannot wait to try again! Thanks for posting them
Just found your channel searching for homemade soda recipes. Glad I did! The one I was most excited about was the lemon... So glad you hung in there with it. I can't wait to try that one. Thanks again! Grady
@@FermentationAdventure Me too! This seems much more like what I would enjoy relative to the skoby process. I recently started a sourdough that has been fantastic and fun. Look forward to making tasty (and high octane drinks) thanks to you! Take care, Grady
Love the fermentation adventure! Thanks! Question for the better bottles... I noticed the brown bottles, grolsch style with ceramic tops and a rubber seal vs. The newer style grolsch white plastic and red plastic cap... which tends to be better at sealing and reuse with same seal before needing replacement?
Thanks for the love Devin! 💓 We've used a number of bottles and so far it seems the taller ones with the white cap and red silicone seem to work for us. We've also heard though that the flip top Grolsch bottles work well and you basically get free beer when you buy them! We've noticed the shorter brown bottles we bought doesn't always hold pressure. Cheaper ones we've gotten at Marshalls also don't seem to hold pressure. You'll have to experiment to see which ones work for you. Happy fermenting!
Thank you for this really great video! You explain and show everything so clearly. I'm curious: What would happen if I added the ginger bug to a one quart bottle of juice, and let it sit out (for a day or two, with the top lightly covered) Instead of pouring the juice into a mason jar first (along with the ginger bug) and then pouring it back into a different bottle? Maybe you explained this in a different video.
If it was pasteurized juice that doesn't have any other live cultures it should do the same as if you were to put it in a mason jar. We like to transfer it to glass but feel free to use whatever you're comfortable with! Thanks for the question! 😊
I’ve been wanting to make a ginger bug for a while now and I’ve been making kombucha for 5 to 7 years on and off. After flavoring my kombucha a lot I decided to go ahead and look up a video on Ginger bugs process. It seems pretty easy just reading information, but I tend to do better with videos, so I really appreciate you making yours. I subscribe because they appreciate the effort and information that you guys give. I do have some questions on making it bigger batches and maybe doing a continual brew just like kombucha would do a continual brew
You definitely can! We like to ferment in larger batches first to make sure we get a good batch. Otherwise we'd have to clean a lot more bottles. Good question! 😊
Wow Moonwalker. We feel so honored that we're keeping you company and wish you much health with whatever you're going through. 💓 If you happen to really love watching our content, we actually also have an adventure channel! ruclips.net/user/psadventures Not meant to be a commercial but in case you wanted more, we have a lot more videos over on PS Adventures. We hope you make a speedy recovery and that this year brings you back to good health! 🌠🌞🌅
Hey there! I always enjoy your videos. I wanted to share that I have been making ginger ale with my ginger bug for some time now. I wanted to see if I could use honey to make my ginger bug. I made a new ginger bug with honey instead of granulated sugar. I have used honey instead of granulated sugar in the fermentation mix as well as in the ginger bug with great success. I have made several gallons of ginger ale successfully with this recipe modification. I have even flavored it with pomegranate juice from my pomegranate tree. I love the method demonstrated in this video of just using the bug to ferment other juices quickly. I am juicing grapefruits from my tree this week and will be trying the method in the video with that fresh juice soon. I will let you know how it turns out. Thank you for the continued inspiration!
Thank you so much for watching! I believe you've been with us since the beginning, which is just so awesome! For fresh squeezed juices, you may want to remove the pulp or stir often to make sure you don't get a layer of mold on top. Can't wait to hear how it goes!
Hello! It's a Caribbean drink made of the Mauby tree bark. Have you tried it? We don't have access to fresh Mauby bark here in Florida (that we're aware of, anyway!) so maybe we'll have to try ordering it online. Thanks for the suggestion!
Lemonade didn't work because of PH (stressing the fermenta) and lack of tannin (yeast nutrient). Try to put a quarter teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate to compensate PH, and a quarter cup of long steeped tea to add tannin. It should work. Great video, I make the same thing with beer yeast instead of gingerbug. Should try to build up a gingerbug myself. Thank you. You gained my subscription!
Thanks so much for the suggestions Fabio! Those sound like great ideas! It did seem like it was because of the pH from the lemon juice. We've also noticed that if we add too much lemon juice to our ginger ales right from the beginning. We'll try the baking soda idea for sure! Happy fermenting!
@@FermentationAdventure This is where I learned about bicarbonate and tea: this italian guy is my fermentation inspirator ruclips.net/video/Ev3IxSwf9Yg/видео.html
Why haven't I done this sooner? 😡🤣 Just now getting into fermentation and stuff but I was completely obsessed with making fruit sodas over the summer im definitely gonna have to do this
Hello! Yes, you got it. More non-chlorinated water and then you can feed it at that time. Here's a quick video we made about how to use/maintain your ginger bug: ruclips.net/user/shortsDjfHqZisQRs. Happy fermenting!
Sweet! Thanks so much for watching! We've got plenty of recipes on here so far, but we've even got a new recipe brewing on the counter right now. If all goes well, we can't wait to share it with you all soon!
Thanks for the question Gil! You definitely can! We only boil it to break it down some more and also destroy any other bacteria or yeast to let the ginger bug takeover faster. Feel free to try it out. It might even be more active so watch out!
@@FermentationAdventure My bug failed. I live in Toronto, Canada and I have my house at a low temp to save money 65 to 68 deg F. I tried it with brown sugar because that is what I had at the time. I may have put too much in as well. I bought some white sugar and will try again when the temperature goes up. Thank you for answering my post and you make fermentation fun :)
Hi! We're really not familiar with the Keto diet, but if you're trying to reduce your sugar intake, you're welcome to check out this recent video we made where we talk about different options on how to create fermented drinks with much less sugar. Here's the link to that quick video: ruclips.net/video/wTt1hXoAQGU/видео.html
Here's a question I have not seen answered. When making a soda from a ginger bug, to what extent does the ginger flavor persist or comes through the juice flavor? Will everything I make have a ginger flavor regardless of the kind of juice I choose? Your videos are great and very helpful.
Hello! We're happy to hear you're finding our videos helpful! Since we're only using a little bit of ginger bug for our fermented drinks, we haven't noticed a ginger flavor in our end result (from the ginger bug) Like when we made root beer or our orange cream soda (ruclips.net/video/zzBW0MTzA9s/видео.html), there was no residual ginger flavor. And when we make our ginger ale using our ginger bug, we create a whole new batch of ginger wort (ruclips.net/video/KsMUuMmKwps/видео.html) to make sure it tastes plenty like ginger!
Oh boy, so I followed your instructions for the ginger bug... awesome stuff, made ginger ale, really nice. BUUUUT, I started a juice soda with it before watching this. It was a thick juice (and I even dumped in a bit of leftover marijino cherry juice in it. Just one day in, and it was already bubbly (like soap bubbly), and at one point started pressurizing in the large plastic water bottle I was using for fermentation (I didn't use a wide mouthed jar) and the bubbles had pushed some material up against the towel and basically clogged it. And now, two days later, after a couple of taste tests... I think it's gone pretty strong a.l.co.hol.ic (could feel the after effect in my throat), I might have to dump it out. I guess let this be a lesson for others :D Don't use thick juice, don't go too crazy on the sugar, use a wide mouthed jar of some kind for the primary fermentation, and don't let it go too long, lol. Kind of scared to cap it and leave it in the fridge overnight as well.
Oh my goodness! 😂 You apparently have an active ginger bug! That's great news! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the thick juice. It's helpful for us all to learn about how it went! 😅
So one of the problems you where having with the lemonade is that the High ph stresses the yeast out causing it to take quite a bit longer. I make lemon wine and what you do is make a sugar water with just a little bit of lemon juice and some yeast nutrient to start. You slowly add more and more overtime to finally reach that high pH that’s is desired
Thanks so much for that idea Travis! It was puzzling at first about how long it was taking every batch of lemonade but that makes so much sense. We'll have to try it that way from now on if we're making it fresh. Great to hear how you've gotten around those issues. Happy fermenting!
I made a ginger bug and it was bubbly the first three days. Is it still good if you don’t see bubbles and what went wrong if it’s not? I used ginger, distilled water, organic cane sugar.
Hi Dj! Is it warm where you are fermenting? It's definitely possible to have a working ginger bug after only 3 days if it's warm. The fact that you had bubbles early on is a great sign. As long as you don't see any warning signs like a bad odor or slimy consistency, it sounds like you're ready to use your ginger bug to make a fermented drink!
hello friends, i am loving this soda so much, i end up drinking about a quart per day. Would it be too much..? My stomach seems a bit upset..? So can we drink probiotics in big quantities? Thank you guys for your work!
We're so happy you got some tasty ferments going! We can't say how much is too much when it comes to fermented beverages. You have to listen to your own body and that includes alcohol of all types including beer and wine. Everyone is different! 🙂
I can all my own juice: apple, blueberry, elderberry, peach. I have a finger ready to go but am not sure if or how much sugar I should add to my own juice to get it going? Any suggestions as I do not add sugar when steam juice in gathering fruit. Thanks for you wonderful informative videos
Hi! Thanks so much! We'd recommend still adding some sugar to the fresh fruit juice so that there's enough sugar for the yeast and bacteria in your ginger bug to get excited about. You could follow this recipe for our fresh watermelon soda: ruclips.net/video/ldvpyz60O8w/видео.html. If you like your fermented drinks less sweet, you could probably even cut the added sugar in half, and it should still ferment just fine. Thank you!
I just started my ginger bug starter. Once I use it to make soda. How do I keep my ginger bug going? Do I refill it with water and feed it again? In this video, it just shows you guys putting it back in the fridge.
Hi! Thanks for the question! Yes, you can refill with water and feed it again. We made a really short tutorial on how to maintain your ginger bug, so feel free to check it out here: ruclips.net/user/shortsDjfHqZisQRs? Hope that helps!
Use a larger container and put a pressure relief valve on so you don't have to open it all the time and can see when the formatting is complete, and bottle them afterwards with a 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in each bottle to finish formatting in the bottles.
I’ve tried making cherry soda with my ginger bug twice now, but have had problems with mold growing at around day 2. I’ve been covering my mason jars with a towel, leaving it at room temperature, and my ginger bug is very active on its own. Is there anything I can do to prevent this or do you have any tips on keeping mold away?
Hi! A fermentation lid that prevents any oxygen from entering the ferment, but still lets out any excess gases, would help keep mold at bay since mold likes oxygen. Although it could have to do with the juice that you're using. Is the cherry juice all natural without preservatives? Preservatives hinders the fermentation process. Does the juice have enough sugar to kick off the fermentation process? And also is the juice thick? If it's thick, it would create a layer on top that the mold could grow on. If it's a thick juice, you could try giving the jar a light shake a few times a day to prevent the mold from taking root on the top layer. Hope that helps!
@@FermentationAdventure Thank you! I don’t think the juice is the problem, (it is all natural and it isn’t thick) but I will definitely try using a fermentation lid! Thank you for the quick response, and advice! I really appreciate your channel and all of your knowledge.
I had a similar result when I used peach and lime juice mixed with home made syrup into a ginger green tea komboocha. I'm in tx, and in a second floor apt without central air and heat. It gets really hot in summer. I did it as a second ferment komboocha and it took 3× as long to carbonate than other combos I've done. Even pineapple mint/ginger or orange/Berry mint took maybe 48hrs. The peach ginger limeaid took over a week. Lime and lemon juice take forever to ferment. Fyi, I've started a cool recipe you might want to try for fall. It's a apple cider recipe. I make the apple cider out of juice and ferment it with komboocha. It's a nice one to try. I've also got 3 recipes for acv too. I'm gonna maybe try cold pressing apple juice for ferments too. I don't have a juicer, and the magic bullet blender I have isn't up for a big job like that. Also, you guys make komboocha, I've got a recipe for fruit and veggie leathers made out of the mother you might want to try
Wow! Thanks so much for all the info Melissandra! Yeah we had the same experience with lemon taking longer but it did eventually ferment. All those recipe sound good and great idea on the fruit leather out of the kombucha mother. I bet that would be a pretty interesting snack! Happy fermenting!
It's possible that it might work as long as there are no preservatives in it that would kill your ginger bug starter. Let us know how it goes if you try it! 😊
Well, loving your videos! I started a bug but used a different recipe, 2 tbl ginger-2 tbl sugar-2 tbl water, now watching your video on making bug, so much more water is used, will mine be ok?
Thank you so much! 💓 So the other recipe used equal amounts of the ingredients? Seems like the fermentation process would have a more difficult time getting started with that much sugar concentration. You could continue and see if it works! You could also just add some non chlorinated water and continue with the process as we show in our video. It's always a fun experiment! ☺️
Thanks for your reply, good news its bubbling, now my dilemma is, should I do the 2tbl ginger, 1tbl sugar(not 2) then up the water to a 1/4 cup? Becuase there hardly any liquid, wish I would've seen your video first! Thank you for your quick reply!
If it's bubbling, that's a great sign! You could continue to follow that other recipe you found, or you could start to add more water at any time. Since it's already bubbling, any water you add should take on the same good bacteria and yeast that you're looking for in your ginger bug. 😄
Hello! Alcohol is a natural biproduct of the fermentation process, but there are some drinks that create very minimal alcohol or is very slow to produce alcohol. These would be the fermented drinks we recommend: Water Kefir (ruclips.net/video/Ndf-SobBJBg/видео.html), Kombucha (ruclips.net/video/g9n2U9srchE/видео.html) and Tepache (ruclips.net/video/ib4l1nPLWM8/видео.html). Hope that helps!
I think I am going to buy some 1 gal carboys that come with the water traps and start making my own sodas / ciders. Probably save myself a bunch of money over the store bought stuff.
Hi lovelies! I have an important question: I recently learned that if you experience lymphatic swelling then you should not drink kombucha. That made sense to me because it didn’t work well in my system and I am experiencing swelling. Can you tell me if this ferment is lichen to kombucha or if it is very different? Thank you- I can’t wait to make some
That's interesting Oya! We hadn't heard of that but everyone reacts to things differently so you'll have to decide that one for yourself. I wish we could tell you more on that one! 🥤
Hello! It should be, yes, because that bottle is meant to hold the pressure of the original kombucha that was in that bottle. However you would just want to make sure that the bottle was indeed holding a live culture. Hope that helps!
A few years ago we got a Mr Beer kit and made a batch. When we bottled it, we also used the Mr Beer plastic bottles. Is there any reason why we can't use them for the ginger bug sodas? They would all be testers. LoL Thank you for your time and efforts! Be safe.
Hi! I wonder how tasty these drinks would be if done with water kefir instead of the ginger bug. I know that the ginger bug makes them fizzier but i'd still test this if I had some
Yum! We're sure it would taste delicious! If anyone wants to try it though, be careful about harming the kefir grains. They are delicate and I would think could be harmed if there were any preservatives in the juice. These store-bought juices can easily have hidden preservatives in the ingredient list.
Before reading the ingredients on the bottle, I had started a grape soda, only to discover that it had potassium metabisulfite. On the same day I started orange soda, which had no additives. Three days later I discovered that the grape with the PM, has lots of foam on the top and is bubbling. However, the orange juice no fizz at all. But I'll continue to wait to see the final results.
Hi! The orange soda may take a while longer if it is really acidic, so it will be interesting to see how that one progresses. For the grape juice, it may have still worked, if there was very little metabisulfite in the juice. You're looking for that slight yeasty pleasant smell, with no growth on top, and no thickening of the juice (sludgy).
Hello! This is not a wild fermentation, where this could ferment naturally. Store bought juices are usually pasteurized, so there are no more yeasts for the fermentation process. In this recipe, we add some of our ginger bug as the starter culture that will transform the sugars in the juice and jump start the fermentation process. We also have the amounts and process listed on our website, if you'd like to check that out: fermentationadventure.com/making-fermented-sodas-using-a-ginger-bug-easy-way/ In this particular ferment, we've added 1/4 cup of ginger bug starter culture for each 1 quart of juice. After you use some of the ginger bug for this recipe, that would be a good time to feed the bug with more ginger and sugar.
Hi! Were there any preservatives in the juice that was used? Sometimes that could stop the fermentation process from happening. If it doesn't smell bad and there is no mold on top, you could try letting it go a little longer to see if you get results. If there is any citrus in the juice, it can take a while for the fermentation process to get started. Hope that helps!
Ah! Then it's probably taking longer due to the lemon juice. You could try adding some more ginger bug to it now and give it further week just to see if it's gets going. The layer on top could be Kahm Yeast, or if it smells bad it's also possible it's just getting funky
Quick question... after you use your ginger bug a couple of times, do you add more water, ginger, and sugar to keep it going, or do you toss it and start a new one at some point? Thanks!!! Love your videos. 🥰
Thanks so much for the question! We strain off the ginger pieces and keep some of the original ginger bug as its own starter. Then we'll just add more fresh ginger, sugar, and top it up with fresh non-chlorinated water and it should be good to go! The live culture should consume the sugar and it's off the races again! We hope that helps and thanks for the love! 💓💓💓
From what we've researched, beer, wine, and natural fermentations could have traces of methanol which is why when during the distillation process you'd filter this off. You can research it yourself that some people say methanol exists but it's at such a small amount it's comparable when making beer and wine.
Thanks for this! I noticed when I make my water kefir with anything citrus like lemon or orange, it takes forever to fizz… So I think citrus fruits slows down fermentation.
With fermentation weather store-bought juice or natural juice once it's ferments and starts to bubble does that mean it becomes a probiotic automatically like does it have health benefits or is just a fizzy drink
Definitely! Since it's bubbling it's alive. When you add the ginger bug, that culture starts to multiply. Everyone debates whether it's a health superfood but we just like it as a fizzy drink. Thanks for the question!
Hello! I just did it and I have a doubt, I did it with apple juice y read the ingredients and everything ok, also the ginger bug is ok. Buuut I see some white thing at the top of my final mixture (ginger bug and apple juice) it seems like sour milk; not all the surface but mainly in the middle at about 1 week of first fermentation. Could you please tell me if something is wrong, I already teasted and it seems good, like spicy apple juice Thanks in advance
Hi! Is it possible the white thing on top could have been the bubbles from the fermentation process accumulating at the top? Sometimes in our tepache, we have frothy white stuff at the top from all the bubbles. How did this ferment turn out for you?
We hope you love it as much as we do! It's a simple process and creates such a yummy drink. Ours reached 3% after 3 days, so if it seems to be fermenting about the same rate as ours, you may reach 5% between 5-7 days.
Your results are pretty much exactly what I would expect. Level of activity 1-apple 2-cranberry 3-lemon Level of acidity 1-lemon 2-cranberry 3-apple The lower your ph, the more stressed your microorganisms will be which will slow down (or entirely prevent) fermentation. But when a lemonade does ferment its oh so worth it. If you're not fond of the ginger flavor from the bug you can get the colony going and keep a bit from each batch to start your next brew eventually leaving you with a fruity starter instead of a spicy one.
That makes so much sense. Great observation! That's also a good idea about reserving some of the soda for the next batch. Thanks so much for the comments! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure of you haven't tried it yet, my favorite soda (or cider, if you forget about it for a couple of days) to do with ginger bug is orange. The flavors work beautifully together and it's a nice refreshing drink, especially great with brunch. Cream soda can also be incredibly satisfying for those who are interested in doing sodas using refined sugars but I know that's not for everyone.
@@FermentationAdventure if I'm able to get fresh oranges straight from the source that's preferable for a soda but if I want something with a tiny bit of alcohol (2%or so) and some sweetness i look for a orange and grape blend because oranges have very little sugar and can seem very acidic after a few days even though the ph is higher than cranberry juice.
Hi Craig, I just started my first fermentation of water kefir grains. I'm going for the more of a soda pop taste. Would you suggest me not using ginger bug? Should I just ferment fruit in second fermentation and bottle it? I guess I don't understand what you mean when you say "if your not fond of ginger flavor from the bug you can get the colony going and keep a bit from each batch to stgart you next brew....." could you explain better what you mean? Thanks
I started a ginger bug,5 days ago and only have minimal bubbles, there is still a lit of ginger floating, it smells fine, no mold growth on top. I feed and stir daily. Any suggestions or thoughts, appreciated. Thank you
Thanks for the question Lisa! You might have some ginger that's a little less active. Make sure it's not too cold and also you're using non-chlorinated water. If all else fails we try to find another source of ginger to make sure it wasn't irradiated. Shine a light into it and see if you have any tiny bubbles that are hard to see. We hope that helps!
I've talked to a friend and my dad about chlorinated tap water. It's a liquid that turns gaseous. If you use a sprayer on your sink into a container (low spray) it will remove the chlorine from your water and than you can use it without issues.
Thanks so much for the comment Brian! Also leaving it on the counter to off-gas the chlorine works for most people but in the areas that add chloramine, the only way to remove that one is with a filter since it contains ammonia in addition to chlorine. Good tip though!
Definitely! As long as there's no preservatives you should be able to use it just the same. Be careful if it has citric acid though. This might slow down the ferment the way lemon juice has for us.
Thanks for the question! Sometimes we stir it but I think it doesn't make too much of a difference since the bacteria and yeast and travel throughout the jar and multiply. We hope you get a tasty batch! 🥤
I love you guys so much!! You have brought the fermentation experience to life with your videos. I am so happy I came across your channel. I’m making mango homemade soda/bee. Using my finger bug! I love finding jars in thrift shops. It’s all just such an adventure. Thank you for being the best.
Hi! That is a bit high for ideal fermentation. We ferment in the low 70's Fahrenheit. Anything higher than that will ferment much more quickly. Do you have access to a refrigerator? If so, you could try fermenting at the high room temperature for a much shorter time period, and then refrigerate it once it is ready or has finished fermenting. We'd recommend watching it closely to see how quickly the bubbles start forming, and also to make sure there is no mold on top since that is also more likely in warmer settings. We hope that helps! We'd love to hear how it goes!
Definitely! We always have a bit of sediment on the bottom of our ferments unless we rack them off. We like to keep the sediment though since there's still some good nutrients in the "lees". Thanks for the question!
Hmm. That's an interesting question. The ginger bug that we use is from a live ginger plant so it has live bacteria and yeast. Some brewer's yeast is alive so if it's healthy and multiplying you should be able to reuse it. If you do let us know how it goes! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure I will let you know once I do that. I have another question, if you don’t mind. I was hoping to make non-alcoholic ginger beer but I’m way past 11 days of fermentation (8 days ginger bug room temp, and 3 days bottled as of today). The fizz is crazy on the evening of day 2 of bottling, and even crazier today. I have to keep burping them. I set an alarm to do it every 2 hrs and then 4 hrs today. I put one bottle in the fridge to experiment if that will stop the fizz and kept the other 3 bottles in room temp with an aggressive burping schedule. Should I have just put airlocks on these instead and then sealed it and refrigerated it after 3 days of bottling? I’m trying for lower to no alcoholic content. Thanks for your time. Love your channel, watched a few more videos too.
Thanks for the question! The faster you move it into cold storage the less alcohol it will have. The only thing to keep in mind since it's so active is that it will keep fermenting in the fridge but at a much slower rate.
Yes it was already pretty sweet since it was store bought lemonade. We're pretty sure it slowed down due to the lemon being so acidic but it eventually worked!
Hello! You may be interested in our ginger bug/ginger ale Q&A video that answers these questions and the other top questions we get on the topic: ruclips.net/video/Z0fnIcakwnM/видео.html We've stored our ginger bug in the fridge for about 5 years now and it's still going strong. You would just have to feed it every so often and to continue to fill it back up with non-chlorinated water. Happy fermenting!
Hey guys you vids are awesome. A question, can I use Ginger bug to make fizzy teas like Hibiscus (Jamaican water)? Also is it possible to make a simple syrup (water and sugar) add Ginger bug to have some sort of carbonated water? I love to just have plain water with a drop of edible mint oil extract. What about adding it and the end of fermentation of the water syrup?
Thanks for the great question Alessandro! Yes, you can use the ginger bug to make fermented flavored tea. And you're right that it really just needs a simple syrup, whether it's flavored or not. You could certainly add the mint extract for flavor after fermenting. If you try the fermented sugar water, let us know how it goes!
Thanks for the question! You probably could use a flavor concentrate along with a sugar water solution but you'll have to watch out to make sure that the concentrate doesn't have preservatives. You can always experiment and give it a try though! Let us know how it goes!
I have already tried some of your recipes and they have turned up great, considering I am just a novice in this world of fermentation. Would it be too much to ask if you could also include measurements in grams, liters, etc.. on top of the cup measurements?. I appreciate you are American but it would be very useful for people like me outside of the USA not familiar with this cup measurement system. Keep up the good work!
That's definitely a great idea! We actually started putting gram measurements in our latest videos for all of our viewers around the world. So sorry they're not in the older videos!
Sure thing! You can use dried fruit. You might have to soak it a bit longer to rehydrate it but I'm sure it would be good too! You'll still have to add a ginger bug or some kind of starter culture to get the fermentation going though. Good luck!
QQ…after I ferment onnthe countertop, once its ready can I just move that jar, closed tightly, to the fridge and then drink it later from the mason jar over ice? Do I really need to get the bottles?
Hi! Thanks for the question! The bottles are not necessary, but if you'd like to store your fermented drink in a mason jar, it is important to use a top that allows the excess gases to escape since those jars are not able to hold pressure. You could try pacing it in the fridge with a loose top or a cloth cover. Hope that helps!
The second I saw this I fermented all the juice in my house. Made it so much better! Didn't even think to use store bought juice
Yay! Might as well, right? Turns it into at least a healthier version. And it also tastes great too!
I mix my kombucha 50-50 with grape or cranberry juice. I haven’t tried ginger bug, but now I have to try it. I also make water and milk kefir. Water kefir and ginger is really good.
This is insane I can't wait for my ginger bug to be ready, first timer😉
That's wonderful!! Well welcome to the Fermentation Adventure! 😄🥰
I juiced plums from my Santa Rosa plum tree a few months ago - just straight up juice (no sugar or water added) then hot water bath canned it all. After watching your how to make a ginger bug video about 8 days ago and successfully making it, and after watching this video, I decided to give my home canned juice a try. I used 1 cup purified water, 1 cup strained plum juice, 2 TBSP of cane (white) sugar, and 1/8 cup of ginger bug in a pint sized canning jar. I placed a canning lid on top loosely. This sat overnight and had a nice layer of bubbles on top today. I decided to go ahead and bottle it in empty and thick plastic water bottle this morning and it's carbonating nicely! After about 8 hours carbonating in the water bottle, I tried a taste and it's a nice tart sweet flavor with a kombucha like flavor and very nice effervescent bubbles! Very enjoyable. Will let it go another 6 hours or so either drink up or put in fridge tonight. Thanks for your videos!
😮😮😮 Whoah! Freshly juiced plums? I bet that tasted so good! That sounds amazing to be able to drink something so fresh that you grew yourself. Thanks so much for telling us about it. So happy to have you here! 💕
@@FermentationAdventure Thanks 😊! The tree produced a crazy amount this year and I figured I'd better juice and can it all. Have discovered the juice is amazing when mixed with ginger beer and that's what started me into finding out about ginger bugs. I have a ginger bug ginger beer fermenting now as well. Giving that a try after watching your video on it. Also trying out freshly juiced concord grape one. We have so much fruit varities we grow here!
I love fresh made sodas but I skip the first fermentation as it just makes it more alcoholic and taste worse. Just mix up the room temp fruit juice with the gingerbug and then bottle them. Have one bottle that is plastic so you can tell when pressure has built up and then refrigerate. No burping. You will end up with a carbonated juice that does not taste like booze or cider.
Thanks for the comments and we love your name! Haha! 😆🥤
What plastic bottle do you use? I don’t have any that are pressure-safe
Thank you! I like apple juice but can't stand cider so was hesitant about fermenting apple juice.
@@justinelourdes6686I read that any plastic bottle that had Perrier water or even just soda would work. It's not a matter of being safe, that's more of a concern when you're stealing a glass bottle. It's a matter of feeling for the bottle getting hard with pressure. Turn like a two liter bottle of 7-Up that you just bought, it has some give. Then, if you shake it a bit the carbonation builds up and the bottle gets harder. That's all you're feeling for.
This is a good tip, I’ll give this a try. I am on a health binge and interested in non-alcoholic beverages. I think I accidentally made alcoholic ginger beer 🥴.
You guys are quickly becoming a fixture in my fermentation kitchen! I absolutely LOVE the content and the sense of wellness and joy that you both exude.
Thank you so very much for your kind words!! 💓 We hope you are having great success with your ferments! 😄
I made a ginger bug a few months ago and have been using it my switchel. After watching this vid and having pineapple juice on hand I decided to try this. I just used it yesterday in a margarita, it was good.
Omg that sounds so good! I bet using fermented pineapple juice in a margarita would give it such an interesting flavor. Thanks for the suggestion!
Somebody already mentioned here the ph of the juices. It is well known for home brewers that any yeast has its own ph tollerance and there is way to controll it. Usually the lower the ph the less activity for the yeast to the point that it goes dormant. However as soon as the ph raises it will resume its activity. Lemon juice has the lowest ph which is equivalent to the highest acidity of all juices and that is because lemon juice is basically citric acid. Yeast like the ph around 5 -5.5 while lemon juice could be as low as 2. The remedy? You have to neutralize a bit that acidity and the most available method is to add a bit of baking soda, stirr it, let it react with the acid until calms down, it will be an efervescent reaction but won't take long. When the ph rises the yeast will start working. Another thing worth mentioning is that any yeast fermentation consume sugar and releases alcohol and CO2. The bubbles are the CO2 released and it will come up as long there is still sugar for the yeast to eat and if you bottle it will build preassure. That is how beer is preassurized in the bottles in home brewing, however you need to add a bit of sugar. As sugar being consumed the juice becomes... more sour at taste. About the alcohol content. The hydrometer, an important tool in wine and beer making, measures the sugar content. So when you measured in your drink the 1.020 it means that there is still sugar left in your drink and that 3% ABV is the potential than can be made if all sugar left is consumed, untill the measurement goes down to 1.000. In order to measure the alcohol present in a liquid you have to use the hydrometer to measure sugar content BEFORE and AFTER the fermentation. You subtract the numbers and that will tell you the alcohol percentage. The fruit juices that you used have a sugar content of around 1.050 on the hydrometer scale. You measured after the fermentation 1.020 so the difference is 0.030. That will give you a 3.9 ABV with the potential to go up to 6.5 if the rest of sugar is consumed. www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! We've seen some batches like our lemonade slow down with the lemon juice. We'll have to try some baking soda in there to get it back to fermenting quicker. Awesome comment!
@@FermentationAdventure don't add too much. I don't know how much is enough for that particular quantity, the best way is to add some, stir and check the ph. In a bucket of 5 gallons fermentation I added few table spoons of baking soda, for a jar probably a tip of teaspoon would do it. The back draw of this method is that it may incur a bit of salty/bitter taste as a result of the salts are being created after the acid+soda combination. Remember from school, any acid combined with any base will neutralize resulting is water plus some kind of salt. Nice videos you make, by the way. I made the tepache after your recipe and it had success with my wife and daughter. I am at the second batch now. :o))) Keep the good work!
This is a great note! I’m just getting started with ferments. Trying different flavors for water kefir soda. I’ve had a lemon flavor jar that just will not get fizzy. This explains it all. I will add a bit of baking soda see if that sparks it up. Thank you for taking time to write such great detail. Be well ✨
Just discovered your channel and I love you guys!... Not just the amazing content but the positive uplifting energy your videos are packed with.
I've got some catching up to do.
Thank you
Wow thank you so much for the love El Tuco! We're so happy you're enjoying our videos! There's a lot in life to be happy about. We hope you get to try some of these amazing ferments! 💓
All the juice in the house are getting fizzy! I quit buying beers anymore! Started making my own flavored beer! Thank you guys! Love lots
Woohoo! That's great! Yum... oh the many flavors!!
Amazing!
Wow! I made a ginger bug a few weeks ago, it's been in the fridge (I actually made 2 as I knew I wouldn't be able to not-drink it). Usually I make mead out of honey from my hives, and I decided to use the ginger bug, sugar and organic ground ginger and add champagne yeast. Within 6 hours my mead was looking relatively quiet, while my ginger bug wine was going nuts! The ginger was not just floating, it was careening around inside the jar! Three days have passed and the ginger is still moving, and, after a small taste test, I could tell that it has quite a kick to it already! Thank you for the inspiration and all the information :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. The instructions are very clear again thank you and have a great day.
Hello! Thanks so much for the sweet comment! We're so happy to hear you liked this video and recipe! Happy fermenting! 😄
Made a bunch of these this past couple of weeks! Thank you! I also made some with real fruit -- Rhubarb (and pineapple) is awesome! Would never have thought to use Rhubarb but I had some in the freezer. Thanks for all your great ideas!
I made this recently with apple juice, pineapple and mango juice. Mango seems to take longer to ferment but finally seen some champagne bubbles this morning. I’m leaving it to ferment a bit more. The pineapple was overactive while fermenting the first 2 days and suddenly died down on the 3rd day. I added a teaspoon of sugar in each of the bottles (I bottled 24 hrs ago) and opened it to bring some oxygen into the bottle and then shook it a bit. It’s looking really alive now. I’ll wait another 12 hrs before refrigerating. The apple juice taste so much like dry white wine! That fermented 3 days and bottled 12 hrs. I can’t wait to try the finished pineapple and mango!
Next time I’m going to try fermenting only 1 day or less before bottling to seriously cut down the alcohol. 😅
PS this is still with using the ginger ground w/brewer’s yeast left over from the first ginger beer batch. I’m going to make big with real ginger this weekend 🎉
Update: I just now tasted the pineapple soda and it’s sooo alcoholic 😂 so instead of waiting another 12 hrs, I put it in the fridge. I was hoping to bring these sodas to work lol I think this is a weekend-to-share-with-special-people kinda drink now.
I think I will bottle the mango juice now instead of waiting! There is bubbling.
Thanks Fermentation Adventure!
Another update: I threw out one of the bottles of pineapple and added fresh pineapple juice with the left over yeast in that same bottle. It bubbled right away and left it bottled 12 hrs before refrigerating. Let’s see how that goes! It was definitely too alcoholic for my taste 😅
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing! That's interesting about the pineapple juice. They definitely taste a little better with less time fermenting. Did you have a favorite that you settled on? Loved the play by play! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure Hey! Yeah my favourite is the mango soda! Thought it didn’t bubble on top like the pineapple or apple juice, I can definitely taste the fermentation and the fizz. I wonder why the bubbles don’t stay on top! I can see little ones travel up before bottling. Also, when I first opened it after bottling (48 hrs in fridge), the bubbles then showed up but then tapered off. There was definitely fermentation but hardly any alcohol. I will do it again!
I've made a ginger bug using your method and it turned out perfect then I made ginger ale also very good. Now I have to try this..thank you.
That's awesome! This one is life changing. 😆
Get Fizzy With It! You two crack me up.
Hahaha! We were wondering when someone was going to comment on that! 😂
I've been saving up my orange and tangerine peels in the freezer. Then I just boil them for half an hour along with sugar, natural vanilla extract, cloves and ginger pieces from the bug. Sometimes I add cinnamon, nutmeg. Back in room temperature, I just strain and bottle in plastic bottles and add the bug. I squeeze them to make room for gas and screw the lids on tight. I keep the bottles at room temperature for 1-2 days until they're very firm and full of gas, then to the fridge they go. They become creamy in taste. Delicious healthy soda!
Wow!! This is a great recipe coffee cat! That's sounds like it would be really delicious. Thank you so much for sharing your suggestion! 😍🥤😋
This sounds awesome! 😊
I used to make grape soda for my kids with Welch’s grape juice and water kefir, they loved it! This is a reminder to start again
Yum! What a great treat! 😄
I’ve just come across your videos and I just love watching y’all. I’ve been making sourdough bread for about 4 months and love working with my starter. I’ve decided to go further with making kombucha and to get some ginger and make some ginger bug then sodas. Thanks so much for all the ideas and keep the videos coming.
Thank you so much for the kind words Lisa! We're so happy to inspire you to discover even more ferments. Sourdough bread is so tasty! We need to get back into that and get some batches going. Thank you for the reminder! Let us know if you find any tasty recipes and happy fermenting! ❤️❤️❤️
I love watching yalls videos! You explain so perfectly! I’ve had my ginger bug going and ready. Thank you so much. So I’m making exact juices in awhile. I love you two! Thanks so much!
Aww, you rock! 😄 Thank you so much for your kind words! 🥰 Happy fermenting!!
I actually do the same with kombucha, it does not have the ginger taste underneath, but also very nice and refreshing!
Oh lovely! Great idea!
Wow amazing healthy and champagne like..
Yes! It's really so cool how easy this is! 😄
Love your show. Thank you for your great, really fun way to learn. My first batch is in 1st fermentation, can't wait.
I want to add tamerin to my drinks.
Thanks so much for watching and we're so happy to hear you're enjoying our content! Happy fermenting! 😃
Followed your recipe for ginger bug. It never had any bubbles !
Here's some of the top reasons it may not have worked for you: ruclips.net/video/Z0fnIcakwnM/видео.htmlsi=-QTMcbMnGATMXlxY&t=385 This is our ginger bug Q&A video where we answer some of the top ginger bug questions like this one. Hopefully this helps give you some ideas of what you might be able to change for the next batch.
I am so excited about it!
I will show it to my grandson! that is so good
Thank you very much 👍
You're so welcome Carmen! We hope you guys have a fun experiment to try! There are many different kinds of soda you can make! 😊
What a fun couple! Going to create a ginger bug this week. Can't wait!
Thank you so much JR! That's awesome! Good luck on your ginger bug and happy fermenting!
@@FermentationAdventure
Well, my ginger bug didn't quite work out... or at least I'm not sure if it did or not. The first 3 days it was bubbling like crazy, and I was very happy. Then, on the 4th day all the bubbles were gone. I kept feeding it, and I'm on day 6 now, but there are still no bubbles. There's a white sediment like substance in the bottom. Someone on reddit said that it sounds like it's probably been overfed, and said that 1tbsp of sugar each day with 1tbsp of ginger is way too much. They said about half that amount of sugar is what you should use. Any thoughts?
Okay, follow up if someone gets stuck on this like I did. I made another batch. I only changed one variable, which was to reduce the sugar by about 1/2. Now I have a very bubbly ginger bug, ready to be used. So I would say that the recommendations in this video are probably *right* on the edge of having too much sugar. It worked perfectly with half as much. You can tell that's the problem when the ginger bug tastes sweet. It shouldn't taste real sweet -- it should taste kind of spicy and yeasty. If it's sweet, add some more ginger, but not more sugar for a day or two and see if it comes out of it. You might also add some more distilled water to dilute the sugar.
Thanks for the notes JR! Once you're getting bubbles it just pretty much be good to go and you know it's active. At that point since it's active you can start making sodas with it. We've had batches where there was a bit too much sugar and it started slowing down like you saw. It usually works out well once you try making soda. We hope it's going well and you're getting some good ginger ale! 🍺
My first bug seems to have failed because I forgot not to use tap water. Watched all 3 of your videos and I cannot wait to try again! Thanks for posting them
You're so welcome Connie! Good luck and happy fermenting!
Just found your channel searching for homemade soda recipes. Glad I did! The one I was most excited about was the lemon... So glad you hung in there with it. I can't wait to try that one. Thanks again! Grady
Yay! So glad you found us! We were so pleasantly surprised about the lemonade and it's so delicious! We'll be making more of that for sure.
@@FermentationAdventure Me too! This seems much more like what I would enjoy relative to the skoby process. I recently started a sourdough that has been fantastic and fun. Look forward to making tasty (and high octane drinks) thanks to you! Take care, Grady
@@FermentationAdventure l
Love the fermentation adventure! Thanks! Question for the better bottles... I noticed the brown bottles, grolsch style with ceramic tops and a rubber seal vs. The newer style grolsch white plastic and red plastic cap... which tends to be better at sealing and reuse with same seal before needing replacement?
Thanks for the love Devin! 💓 We've used a number of bottles and so far it seems the taller ones with the white cap and red silicone seem to work for us. We've also heard though that the flip top Grolsch bottles work well and you basically get free beer when you buy them! We've noticed the shorter brown bottles we bought doesn't always hold pressure. Cheaper ones we've gotten at Marshalls also don't seem to hold pressure. You'll have to experiment to see which ones work for you. Happy fermenting!
Thank you for this really great video! You explain and show everything so clearly. I'm curious: What would happen if I added the ginger bug to a one quart bottle of juice, and let it sit out (for a day or two, with the top lightly covered) Instead of pouring the juice into a mason jar first (along with the ginger bug) and then pouring it back into a different bottle?
Maybe you explained this in a different video.
If it was pasteurized juice that doesn't have any other live cultures it should do the same as if you were to put it in a mason jar. We like to transfer it to glass but feel free to use whatever you're comfortable with! Thanks for the question! 😊
I'm going to try this with jam
That sounds like it would be good! 😋🥤
I’ve been wanting to make a ginger bug for a while now and I’ve been making kombucha for 5 to 7 years on and off. After flavoring my kombucha a lot I decided to go ahead and look up a video on Ginger bugs process. It seems pretty easy just reading information, but I tend to do better with videos, so I really appreciate you making yours. I subscribe because they appreciate the effort and information that you guys give. I do have some questions on making it bigger batches and maybe doing a continual brew just like kombucha would do a continual brew
Could i skip the bottling and leep it in the mason jar in the fridge and pour from it?
You definitely can! We like to ferment in larger batches first to make sure we get a good batch. Otherwise we'd have to clean a lot more bottles. Good question! 😊
Thank you for those nice recipes. I will try with my new ginger bug. Merci beaucoup pour votre bonne humeur et le partage. Sandrine from france 😃
Thank you so much for the nice comment voi la! We love the name! We're happy you enjoyed! 💓
As l lay here in the hospital, looking at the walls, your videos are liike a lifeline of endless entertainment.
Wow Moonwalker. We feel so honored that we're keeping you company and wish you much health with whatever you're going through. 💓 If you happen to really love watching our content, we actually also have an adventure channel! ruclips.net/user/psadventures Not meant to be a commercial but in case you wanted more, we have a lot more videos over on PS Adventures. We hope you make a speedy recovery and that this year brings you back to good health! 🌠🌞🌅
Ooo Cherry juice would be yummy I bet!
Now you're talking! 😄
Hey there! I always enjoy your videos. I wanted to share that I have been making ginger ale with my ginger bug for some time now. I wanted to see if I could use honey to make my ginger bug. I made a new ginger bug with honey instead of granulated sugar. I have used honey instead of granulated sugar in the fermentation mix as well as in the ginger bug with great success. I have made several gallons of ginger ale successfully with this recipe modification. I have even flavored it with pomegranate juice from my pomegranate tree.
I love the method demonstrated in this video of just using the bug to ferment other juices quickly. I am juicing grapefruits from my tree this week and will be trying the method in the video with that fresh juice soon. I will let you know how it turns out. Thank you for the continued inspiration!
Thank you so much for watching! I believe you've been with us since the beginning, which is just so awesome! For fresh squeezed juices, you may want to remove the pulp or stir often to make sure you don't get a layer of mold on top. Can't wait to hear how it goes!
This was awesome! I've got a batch going now!
Nice! What kind of juice did you use? Did you love it?!
Have you guys ever done or try making Mavi, or mauby drink? I would like to see that! Love you videos!❤
Hello! It's a Caribbean drink made of the Mauby tree bark. Have you tried it? We don't have access to fresh Mauby bark here in Florida (that we're aware of, anyway!) so maybe we'll have to try ordering it online. Thanks for the suggestion!
Lemonade didn't work because of PH (stressing the fermenta) and lack of tannin (yeast nutrient). Try to put a quarter teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate to compensate PH, and a quarter cup of long steeped tea to add tannin. It should work.
Great video, I make the same thing with beer yeast instead of gingerbug. Should try to build up a gingerbug myself.
Thank you.
You gained my subscription!
Thanks so much for the suggestions Fabio! Those sound like great ideas! It did seem like it was because of the pH from the lemon juice. We've also noticed that if we add too much lemon juice to our ginger ales right from the beginning. We'll try the baking soda idea for sure! Happy fermenting!
@@FermentationAdventure This is where I learned about bicarbonate and tea: this italian guy is my fermentation inspirator
ruclips.net/video/Ev3IxSwf9Yg/видео.html
I tried using my kombucha as starter. It tastes great. I love the grapes and pineapple. Ferment your kombucha as usual and use the f1 for f2. Starter.
That's awesome Roy!! I bet that's really tasty. Thanks for sharing!
What ratios do you use of Kombucha to fruit juice?
@BlueGorillaInTheMist in one liter of kombucha I use 1 cup of fruit juice.
@@roybello8944 Thanks
Why haven't I done this sooner? 😡🤣
Just now getting into fermentation and stuff but I was completely obsessed with making fruit sodas over the summer im definitely gonna have to do this
That's awesome sellelpoc! The flavor combinations for these fermented sodas are endless! Good luck and happy fermenting! 🥤🎉😊
After I take a few ginger bug, should I just replace what I took with water then just add ginger and sugar afterwards?
Hello! Yes, you got it. More non-chlorinated water and then you can feed it at that time. Here's a quick video we made about how to use/maintain your ginger bug: ruclips.net/user/shortsDjfHqZisQRs. Happy fermenting!
starting to get addicted to this channel, eheh ;)
Sweet! Thanks so much for watching! We've got plenty of recipes on here so far, but we've even got a new recipe brewing on the counter right now. If all goes well, we can't wait to share it with you all soon!
Blueberry tastes amazing. Can you use raw fruit instead of boiling them?
Thanks for the question Gil! You definitely can! We only boil it to break it down some more and also destroy any other bacteria or yeast to let the ginger bug takeover faster. Feel free to try it out. It might even be more active so watch out!
First time making this and yes, the blueberry is very fizzy, im just doing the second ferment, cranberry isnt very fizzy.
Fermentation is bug magic!
It really is! ❤️❤️❤️
I gotta try that. now Im going to have to make that bug :)
We're glad to hear you'll give it a go! It's definitely the easiest way to make a fermented drink. How's your ginger bug coming along?
@@FermentationAdventure My bug failed. I live in Toronto, Canada and I have my house at a low temp to save money 65 to 68 deg F. I tried it with brown sugar because that is what I had at the time. I may have put too much in as well. I bought some white sugar and will try again when the temperature goes up. Thank you for answering my post and you make fermentation fun :)
this is awesome cant wait to try it for myself
It's a fun drink whichever flavor you decide to go with. Enjoy and happy fermenting!
Hi there， just wondering if these soda drinks are ok to fit in my Keto diet?
Hi! We're really not familiar with the Keto diet, but if you're trying to reduce your sugar intake, you're welcome to check out this recent video we made where we talk about different options on how to create fermented drinks with much less sugar. Here's the link to that quick video: ruclips.net/video/wTt1hXoAQGU/видео.html
Thank you so much for this useful information, I can’t wait to start printing all the juices around my house
Awesome Kylo! If you find any delicious flavors, let us know! Happy fermenting!
your channel is so underrated. I love the content :)
Here's a question I have not seen answered. When making a soda from a ginger bug, to what extent does the ginger flavor persist or comes through the juice flavor? Will everything I make have a ginger flavor regardless of the kind of juice I choose? Your videos are great and very helpful.
Hello! We're happy to hear you're finding our videos helpful! Since we're only using a little bit of ginger bug for our fermented drinks, we haven't noticed a ginger flavor in our end result (from the ginger bug) Like when we made root beer or our orange cream soda (ruclips.net/video/zzBW0MTzA9s/видео.html), there was no residual ginger flavor. And when we make our ginger ale using our ginger bug, we create a whole new batch of ginger wort (ruclips.net/video/KsMUuMmKwps/видео.html) to make sure it tastes plenty like ginger!
@@FermentationAdventure Thank you for your advice. Happy fermenting.
Must learn myself to do this, I love this stuff.
You definitely can! It's a pretty simple process after you make the ginger bug and even that's pretty straightforward. It makes some tasty drinks!
Oh boy, so I followed your instructions for the ginger bug... awesome stuff, made ginger ale, really nice. BUUUUT, I started a juice soda with it before watching this. It was a thick juice (and I even dumped in a bit of leftover marijino cherry juice in it. Just one day in, and it was already bubbly (like soap bubbly), and at one point started pressurizing in the large plastic water bottle I was using for fermentation (I didn't use a wide mouthed jar) and the bubbles had pushed some material up against the towel and basically clogged it. And now, two days later, after a couple of taste tests... I think it's gone pretty strong a.l.co.hol.ic (could feel the after effect in my throat), I might have to dump it out. I guess let this be a lesson for others :D Don't use thick juice, don't go too crazy on the sugar, use a wide mouthed jar of some kind for the primary fermentation, and don't let it go too long, lol. Kind of scared to cap it and leave it in the fridge overnight as well.
Oh my goodness! 😂 You apparently have an active ginger bug! That's great news! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the thick juice. It's helpful for us all to learn about how it went! 😅
So one of the problems you where having with the lemonade is that the High ph stresses the yeast out causing it to take quite a bit longer.
I make lemon wine and what you do is make a sugar water with just a little bit of lemon juice and some yeast nutrient to start. You slowly add more and more overtime to finally reach that high pH that’s is desired
Thanks so much for that idea Travis! It was puzzling at first about how long it was taking every batch of lemonade but that makes so much sense. We'll have to try it that way from now on if we're making it fresh. Great to hear how you've gotten around those issues. Happy fermenting!
Oh interesting!!!!!!😊
I made a ginger bug and it was bubbly the first three days. Is it still good if you don’t see bubbles and what went wrong if it’s not? I used ginger, distilled water, organic cane sugar.
Hi Dj! Is it warm where you are fermenting? It's definitely possible to have a working ginger bug after only 3 days if it's warm. The fact that you had bubbles early on is a great sign. As long as you don't see any warning signs like a bad odor or slimy consistency, it sounds like you're ready to use your ginger bug to make a fermented drink!
Does it have some ginger hint in the juice once ready?
We don't notice the ginger flavor but it definitely has the sour taste like you would expect with a lacto-fermented drink. We hope you like it!
hello friends, i am loving this soda so much, i end up drinking about a quart per day. Would it be too much..? My stomach seems a bit upset..? So can we drink probiotics in big quantities? Thank you guys for your work!
BTW, i tried with grape juice to see if it will make wine... and yes indeed, after 4 days of fermentation, i started to taste like wine :)
We're so happy you got some tasty ferments going! We can't say how much is too much when it comes to fermented beverages. You have to listen to your own body and that includes alcohol of all types including beer and wine. Everyone is different! 🙂
I can all my own juice: apple, blueberry, elderberry, peach. I have a finger ready to go but am not sure if or how much sugar I should add to my own juice to get it going? Any suggestions as I do not add sugar when steam juice in gathering fruit. Thanks for you wonderful informative videos
Hi! Thanks so much! We'd recommend still adding some sugar to the fresh fruit juice so that there's enough sugar for the yeast and bacteria in your ginger bug to get excited about. You could follow this recipe for our fresh watermelon soda: ruclips.net/video/ldvpyz60O8w/видео.html. If you like your fermented drinks less sweet, you could probably even cut the added sugar in half, and it should still ferment just fine. Thank you!
Thanks. It's easy.
Woohoo! Our pleasure. Happy fermenting!
I just started my ginger bug starter. Once I use it to make soda. How do I keep my ginger bug going? Do I refill it with water and feed it again? In this video, it just shows you guys putting it back in the fridge.
Hi! Thanks for the question! Yes, you can refill with water and feed it again. We made a really short tutorial on how to maintain your ginger bug, so feel free to check it out here: ruclips.net/user/shortsDjfHqZisQRs? Hope that helps!
Use a larger container and put a pressure relief valve on so you don't have to open it all the time and can see when the formatting is complete, and bottle them afterwards with a 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in each bottle to finish formatting in the bottles.
I’ve tried making cherry soda with my ginger bug twice now, but have had problems with mold growing at around day 2. I’ve been covering my mason jars with a towel, leaving it at room temperature, and my ginger bug is very active on its own. Is there anything I can do to prevent this or do you have any tips on keeping mold away?
Hi! A fermentation lid that prevents any oxygen from entering the ferment, but still lets out any excess gases, would help keep mold at bay since mold likes oxygen. Although it could have to do with the juice that you're using. Is the cherry juice all natural without preservatives? Preservatives hinders the fermentation process. Does the juice have enough sugar to kick off the fermentation process? And also is the juice thick? If it's thick, it would create a layer on top that the mold could grow on. If it's a thick juice, you could try giving the jar a light shake a few times a day to prevent the mold from taking root on the top layer. Hope that helps!
@@FermentationAdventure Thank you! I don’t think the juice is the problem, (it is all natural and it isn’t thick) but I will definitely try using a fermentation lid! Thank you for the quick response, and advice! I really appreciate your channel and all of your knowledge.
I had a similar result when I used peach and lime juice mixed with home made syrup into a ginger green tea komboocha. I'm in tx, and in a second floor apt without central air and heat. It gets really hot in summer. I did it as a second ferment komboocha and it took 3× as long to carbonate than other combos I've done. Even pineapple mint/ginger or orange/Berry mint took maybe 48hrs. The peach ginger limeaid took over a week. Lime and lemon juice take forever to ferment. Fyi, I've started a cool recipe you might want to try for fall. It's a apple cider recipe. I make the apple cider out of juice and ferment it with komboocha. It's a nice one to try. I've also got 3 recipes for acv too. I'm gonna maybe try cold pressing apple juice for ferments too. I don't have a juicer, and the magic bullet blender I have isn't up for a big job like that. Also, you guys make komboocha, I've got a recipe for fruit and veggie leathers made out of the mother you might want to try
Wow! Thanks so much for all the info Melissandra! Yeah we had the same experience with lemon taking longer but it did eventually ferment. All those recipe sound good and great idea on the fruit leather out of the kombucha mother. I bet that would be a pretty interesting snack! Happy fermenting!
Hi ...can i use airlock and skip the second fermentation.
hai can I use concentrate juice for making ginger bug soda..
It's possible that it might work as long as there are no preservatives in it that would kill your ginger bug starter. Let us know how it goes if you try it! 😊
Well, loving your videos! I started a bug but used a different recipe, 2 tbl ginger-2 tbl sugar-2 tbl water, now watching your video on making bug, so much more water is used, will mine be ok?
Thank you so much! 💓 So the other recipe used equal amounts of the ingredients? Seems like the fermentation process would have a more difficult time getting started with that much sugar concentration. You could continue and see if it works! You could also just add some non chlorinated water and continue with the process as we show in our video. It's always a fun experiment! ☺️
Thanks for your reply, good news its bubbling, now my dilemma is, should I do the 2tbl ginger, 1tbl sugar(not 2) then up the water to a 1/4 cup? Becuase there hardly any liquid, wish I would've seen your video first! Thank you for your quick reply!
If it's bubbling, that's a great sign! You could continue to follow that other recipe you found, or you could start to add more water at any time. Since it's already bubbling, any water you add should take on the same good bacteria and yeast that you're looking for in your ginger bug. 😄
Ok, done! Fun!
Hai sir nice work there.. Can u make a video to make fermentasion drink with out alcohol..
Hello! Alcohol is a natural biproduct of the fermentation process, but there are some drinks that create very minimal alcohol or is very slow to produce alcohol. These would be the fermented drinks we recommend: Water Kefir (ruclips.net/video/Ndf-SobBJBg/видео.html), Kombucha (ruclips.net/video/g9n2U9srchE/видео.html) and Tepache (ruclips.net/video/ib4l1nPLWM8/видео.html). Hope that helps!
I think I am going to buy some 1 gal carboys that come with the water traps and start making my own sodas / ciders. Probably save myself a bunch of money over the store bought stuff.
Hi lovelies!
I have an important question:
I recently learned that if you experience lymphatic swelling then you should not drink kombucha. That made sense to me because it didn’t work well in my system and I am experiencing swelling. Can you tell me if this ferment is lichen to kombucha or if it is very different? Thank you- I can’t wait to make some
That's interesting Oya! We hadn't heard of that but everyone reacts to things differently so you'll have to decide that one for yourself. I wish we could tell you more on that one! 🥤
Any tips for people looking to use a bottle capper (non burpable bottles)?
Would it be safe to use a store bought kombucha bottle for the second fermantation?
Hello! It should be, yes, because that bottle is meant to hold the pressure of the original kombucha that was in that bottle. However you would just want to make sure that the bottle was indeed holding a live culture. Hope that helps!
A few years ago we got a Mr Beer kit and made a batch. When we bottled it, we also used the Mr Beer plastic bottles. Is there any reason why we can't use them for the ginger bug sodas? They would all be testers. LoL
Thank you for your time and efforts! Be safe.
Definitely! That should work well for you. Good luck!
Hi!
I wonder how tasty these drinks would be if done with water kefir instead of the ginger bug. I know that the ginger bug makes them fizzier but i'd still test this if I had some
Yum! We're sure it would taste delicious! If anyone wants to try it though, be careful about harming the kefir grains. They are delicate and I would think could be harmed if there were any preservatives in the juice. These store-bought juices can easily have hidden preservatives in the ingredient list.
@@FermentationAdventure this is true, thank you
Before reading the ingredients on the bottle, I had started a grape soda, only to discover that it had potassium metabisulfite. On the same day I started orange soda, which had no additives. Three days later I discovered that the grape with the PM, has lots of foam on the top and is bubbling. However, the orange juice no fizz at all. But I'll continue to wait to see the final results.
Hi! The orange soda may take a while longer if it is really acidic, so it will be interesting to see how that one progresses. For the grape juice, it may have still worked, if there was very little metabisulfite in the juice. You're looking for that slight yeasty pleasant smell, with no growth on top, and no thickening of the juice (sludgy).
How much of the starter potion should we put or does this ferment naturally. If it needs the bug then I guess we don’t add ginger to the bug?
Hello! This is not a wild fermentation, where this could ferment naturally. Store bought juices are usually pasteurized, so there are no more yeasts for the fermentation process. In this recipe, we add some of our ginger bug as the starter culture that will transform the sugars in the juice and jump start the fermentation process. We also have the amounts and process listed on our website, if you'd like to check that out: fermentationadventure.com/making-fermented-sodas-using-a-ginger-bug-easy-way/ In this particular ferment, we've added 1/4 cup of ginger bug starter culture for each 1 quart of juice. After you use some of the ginger bug for this recipe, that would be a good time to feed the bug with more ginger and sugar.
Hi looks my brew failed. I used filtered water. After one week no bubbles at all. Do I need to dump it all and restart?
Hi! Were there any preservatives in the juice that was used? Sometimes that could stop the fermentation process from happening. If it doesn't smell bad and there is no mold on top, you could try letting it go a little longer to see if you get results. If there is any citrus in the juice, it can take a while for the fermentation process to get started. Hope that helps!
It had only ginger juice and lemon juice. Also there is a thin layer of scum on the top
Ah! Then it's probably taking longer due to the lemon juice. You could try adding some more ginger bug to it now and give it further week just to see if it's gets going. The layer on top could be Kahm Yeast, or if it smells bad it's also possible it's just getting funky
I’ll add some more ginger bug and keep you posted. Really appreciate your prompt responses.
Quick question... after you use your ginger bug a couple of times, do you add more water, ginger, and sugar to keep it going, or do you toss it and start a new one at some point? Thanks!!! Love your videos. 🥰
Thanks so much for the question! We strain off the ginger pieces and keep some of the original ginger bug as its own starter. Then we'll just add more fresh ginger, sugar, and top it up with fresh non-chlorinated water and it should be good to go! The live culture should consume the sugar and it's off the races again! We hope that helps and thanks for the love! 💓💓💓
Is there any possibility that this fermentation will produce Methanol?
From what we've researched, beer, wine, and natural fermentations could have traces of methanol which is why when during the distillation process you'd filter this off. You can research it yourself that some people say methanol exists but it's at such a small amount it's comparable when making beer and wine.
Thanks for this! I noticed when I make my water kefir with anything citrus like lemon or orange, it takes forever to fizz… So I think citrus fruits slows down fermentation.
Makes sense. At least it still works, just a bit slower of a process!
With fermentation weather store-bought juice or natural juice once it's ferments and starts to bubble does that mean it becomes a probiotic automatically like does it have health benefits or is just a fizzy drink
Definitely! Since it's bubbling it's alive. When you add the ginger bug, that culture starts to multiply. Everyone debates whether it's a health superfood but we just like it as a fizzy drink. Thanks for the question!
Hello! I just did it and I have a doubt, I did it with apple juice y read the ingredients and everything ok, also the ginger bug is ok. Buuut I see some white thing at the top of my final mixture (ginger bug and apple juice) it seems like sour milk; not all the surface but mainly in the middle at about 1 week of first fermentation.
Could you please tell me if something is wrong, I already teasted and it seems good, like spicy apple juice
Thanks in advance
Hi! Is it possible the white thing on top could have been the bubbles from the fermentation process accumulating at the top? Sometimes in our tepache, we have frothy white stuff at the top from all the bubbles. How did this ferment turn out for you?
Excited to try it! 😁How long do we have to ferment it to get it atleast above 5%?
We hope you love it as much as we do! It's a simple process and creates such a yummy drink. Ours reached 3% after 3 days, so if it seems to be fermenting about the same rate as ours, you may reach 5% between 5-7 days.
Your results are pretty much exactly what I would expect.
Level of activity
1-apple
2-cranberry
3-lemon
Level of acidity
1-lemon
2-cranberry
3-apple
The lower your ph, the more stressed your microorganisms will be which will slow down (or entirely prevent) fermentation. But when a lemonade does ferment its oh so worth it.
If you're not fond of the ginger flavor from the bug you can get the colony going and keep a bit from each batch to start your next brew eventually leaving you with a fruity starter instead of a spicy one.
That makes so much sense. Great observation! That's also a good idea about reserving some of the soda for the next batch. Thanks so much for the comments! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure of you haven't tried it yet, my favorite soda (or cider, if you forget about it for a couple of days) to do with ginger bug is orange. The flavors work beautifully together and it's a nice refreshing drink, especially great with brunch. Cream soda can also be incredibly satisfying for those who are interested in doing sodas using refined sugars but I know that's not for everyone.
Oh nice! So what kind of orange flavored juice are you using? Fresh orange juice or something else?
@@FermentationAdventure if I'm able to get fresh oranges straight from the source that's preferable for a soda but if I want something with a tiny bit of alcohol (2%or so) and some sweetness i look for a orange and grape blend because oranges have very little sugar and can seem very acidic after a few days even though the ph is higher than cranberry juice.
Hi Craig, I just started my first fermentation of water kefir grains. I'm going for the more of a soda pop taste. Would you suggest me not using ginger bug? Should I just ferment fruit in second fermentation and bottle it? I guess I don't understand what you mean when you say "if your not fond of ginger flavor from the bug you can get the colony going and keep a bit from each batch to stgart you next brew....." could you explain better what you mean? Thanks
I would like to know how you made the Blueberry rhubarb one???
Here you go! ruclips.net/video/6pTF5d0I_qg/видео.html We made a whole video on that one. It was so tasty!! 🫐🥤😊
I started a ginger bug,5 days ago and only have minimal bubbles, there is still a lit of ginger floating, it smells fine, no mold growth on top. I feed and stir daily. Any suggestions or thoughts, appreciated. Thank you
Thanks for the question Lisa! You might have some ginger that's a little less active. Make sure it's not too cold and also you're using non-chlorinated water. If all else fails we try to find another source of ginger to make sure it wasn't irradiated. Shine a light into it and see if you have any tiny bubbles that are hard to see. We hope that helps!
I've talked to a friend and my dad about chlorinated tap water. It's a liquid that turns gaseous. If you use a sprayer on your sink into a container (low spray) it will remove the chlorine from your water and than you can use it without issues.
Thanks so much for the comment Brian! Also leaving it on the counter to off-gas the chlorine works for most people but in the areas that add chloramine, the only way to remove that one is with a filter since it contains ammonia in addition to chlorine. Good tip though!
Can you use a juice from concentrate??
Definitely! As long as there's no preservatives you should be able to use it just the same. Be careful if it has citric acid though. This might slow down the ferment the way lemon juice has for us.
Do you stir those daily or just let them sit?
Thanks for the question! Sometimes we stir it but I think it doesn't make too much of a difference since the bacteria and yeast and travel throughout the jar and multiply. We hope you get a tasty batch! 🥤
I love you guys so much!! You have brought the fermentation experience to life with your videos. I am so happy I came across your channel. I’m making mango homemade soda/bee. Using my finger bug! I love finding jars in thrift shops. It’s all just such an adventure. Thank you for being the best.
Wow, you're the best! We love your sweet message and we're so happy you found us too! 💓 It is so much fun to find unique jars isn't it? 😄
I like ur drinks a lot . But I have a small doubt . Here my temperature is around 88 fahrenheit so which drink can I FERMANT in this high temperature
Hi! That is a bit high for ideal fermentation. We ferment in the low 70's Fahrenheit. Anything higher than that will ferment much more quickly. Do you have access to a refrigerator? If so, you could try fermenting at the high room temperature for a much shorter time period, and then refrigerate it once it is ready or has finished fermenting. We'd recommend watching it closely to see how quickly the bubbles start forming, and also to make sure there is no mold on top since that is also more likely in warmer settings. We hope that helps! We'd love to hear how it goes!
Hi, is it normal to have sediment on the bottom during carbonation?
Definitely! We always have a bit of sediment on the bottom of our ferments unless we rack them off. We like to keep the sediment though since there's still some good nutrients in the "lees". Thanks for the question!
Can you re-use the ginger bug made with brewer’s yeast and ground ginger?
Hmm. That's an interesting question. The ginger bug that we use is from a live ginger plant so it has live bacteria and yeast. Some brewer's yeast is alive so if it's healthy and multiplying you should be able to reuse it. If you do let us know how it goes! 😊
@@FermentationAdventure I will let you know once I do that. I have another question, if you don’t mind. I was hoping to make non-alcoholic ginger beer but I’m way past 11 days of fermentation (8 days ginger bug room temp, and 3 days bottled as of today). The fizz is crazy on the evening of day 2 of bottling, and even crazier today. I have to keep burping them. I set an alarm to do it every 2 hrs and then 4 hrs today. I put one bottle in the fridge to experiment if that will stop the fizz and kept the other 3 bottles in room temp with an aggressive burping schedule. Should I have just put airlocks on these instead and then sealed it and refrigerated it after 3 days of bottling? I’m trying for lower to no alcoholic content. Thanks for your time. Love your channel, watched a few more videos too.
Thanks for the question! The faster you move it into cold storage the less alcohol it will have. The only thing to keep in mind since it's so active is that it will keep fermenting in the fridge but at a much slower rate.
@@FermentationAdventure Thank you for the tips! 😊
Hi. Is the lemonade sweet initially? Adding sugar could trigger the fermentation earlier!
Yes it was already pretty sweet since it was store bought lemonade. We're pretty sure it slowed down due to the lemon being so acidic but it eventually worked!
How many dyas Ginger bug can stay ok and how to perzerve?
Hello! You may be interested in our ginger bug/ginger ale Q&A video that answers these questions and the other top questions we get on the topic: ruclips.net/video/Z0fnIcakwnM/видео.html We've stored our ginger bug in the fridge for about 5 years now and it's still going strong. You would just have to feed it every so often and to continue to fill it back up with non-chlorinated water. Happy fermenting!
Hey guys you vids are awesome. A question, can I use Ginger bug to make fizzy teas like Hibiscus (Jamaican water)? Also is it possible to make a simple syrup (water and sugar) add Ginger bug to have some sort of carbonated water? I love to just have plain water with a drop of edible mint oil extract. What about adding it and the end of fermentation of the water syrup?
Thanks for the great question Alessandro! Yes, you can use the ginger bug to make fermented flavored tea. And you're right that it really just needs a simple syrup, whether it's flavored or not. You could certainly add the mint extract for flavor after fermenting. If you try the fermented sugar water, let us know how it goes!
Okay you talked me into it. Would it be possible to use a flavor concentrate to make soda like cola?
Thanks for the question! You probably could use a flavor concentrate along with a sugar water solution but you'll have to watch out to make sure that the concentrate doesn't have preservatives. You can always experiment and give it a try though! Let us know how it goes!
I have already tried some of your recipes and they have turned up great, considering I am just a novice in this world of fermentation. Would it be too much to ask if you could also include measurements in grams, liters, etc.. on top of the cup measurements?. I appreciate you are American but it would be very useful for people like me outside of the USA not familiar with this cup measurement system. Keep up the good work!
That's definitely a great idea! We actually started putting gram measurements in our latest videos for all of our viewers around the world. So sorry they're not in the older videos!
@@FermentationAdventure thanks, much appreciated
Hi can I use dry fruit
Sure thing! You can use dried fruit. You might have to soak it a bit longer to rehydrate it but I'm sure it would be good too! You'll still have to add a ginger bug or some kind of starter culture to get the fermentation going though. Good luck!
I'm truly in heaven 🥰
Woohoo!! So glad you're enjoying Sunshine Bell! 💓
QQ…after I ferment onnthe countertop, once its ready can I just move that jar, closed tightly, to the fridge and then drink it later from the mason jar over ice? Do I really need to get the bottles?
Hi! Thanks for the question! The bottles are not necessary, but if you'd like to store your fermented drink in a mason jar, it is important to use a top that allows the excess gases to escape since those jars are not able to hold pressure. You could try pacing it in the fridge with a loose top or a cloth cover. Hope that helps!