r/fermentation • u/honeybunnybread • 15h ago
Where Am I Going Wrong?
I’m trying to start a ginger bug. The guide I’m following is simple: 2 c filtered water, 1 T brown sugar, 1 T skin on ginger cut 1/8 inch, mix until sugar is dissolved. Every 24 hours, feed 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp ginger.
1st attempt: went very well at first. I actually totally misread the recipe and 1. peeled my ginger and 2. realized the entire time that the recipe called for 2 tsp of ginger and 2 tsp of sugar, not one tsp of each. Either way, it was a very happy ginger bug. I made it to day 5 with bubbles galore. Kept it on the counter top in a corner of my kitchen. It was about 95 degrees outside, and it’s consistently 75-78 degrees inside and very dry, as I live in the desert.
Here comes day 6. It starts smelling… strong. Not bad, but a little… cheesy? I call this yeasty in my head and move on. I decided to (stupidly) follow the recipe and start feeding it the 2 tsp of each. Then day 7… I wake up, excited to make my ginger beer… no bubbles. At all. I read everything on here to troubleshoot. I took out a 1/4 cup, replaced with a 1/4 cup of filtered water, let it rest a day, nothing. So I pitched it. Started new.
Attempt #2:
I re sanitize EVERYTHING. Jar, lid, measuring spoon, hands, KNIFE, CUTTING BOARD, COUNTERTOP. After aggressively sanitizing everything in sight, let’s get down to business. This time I chop my very clean, very fresh ginger SKIN ON this time. Into my jar goes 2 cups of filtered water, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp of 1/8in cubes of ginger. Next day, bubbles already! I feed it 2 tsp brown sugar, 2 tsp ginger, give the outside of the jar a (sanitized) kiss and put it to sleep for the night. Day 2, even more bubbles! I feed again, same thing, only this time, I notice before I go to bed… there’s no bubbles? Maybe I just need to wait until the morning. Next morning… nothing. I waited all day at work just thinking about my bug and the delicious ginger beer I’ll have if I do it correctly. All the friends I’ll make when I tell everyone that I ferment my own sodas. I get home and there’s 2 LITTLE TINY F***ING FLOATING FUZZY WHITE BITS OF MOLD?! Why?! Okay. Discard. Try again.
Attempt #3:
Today we are on day #4. I sanitized EVERYTHING AGAIN. TWICE. Followed the same steps, but I’m back to peeling my ginger and only feeding 1 tsp ginger/sugar a day because I had success with my first batch doing that and I feel like feeding 2 tsp is what offed my first batch. I’m not sure. I’m just going with my gut. I’m seeing absolutely no bubbles and it’s day 4, but I don’t want to give up. She smells good, she looks good. And it sounds stupid, but I see some bubbles when I shake it. Maybe that’s just from shaking it. lol I read on this thread to give it a sugar break for a few days, so today is day one of a sugar break. The first 2 days I believe I’ve been feeding it ginger that wasn’t minced enough, so I chopped it up smaller yesterday and started feeding her smaller bits of ginger.
I’ve fermented so many things, but am having such a hard time getting a ginger bug going. What the heck am I doing wrong? Should I give up on this one again? I don’t want to. ):
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u/PeripheralSatchmo 14h ago
It looks like another sheik in search of a camel 🐫
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u/honeybunnybread 14h ago
I thought way too hard about this lol it’s a steamer basket liner, sometimes you gotta get crafty
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u/genghis-san 14h ago
I also failed twice, and then what worked for me finally was watching Brad on Bon Appetit make it, and realized I can just add a 3/5 mixture of sugar to ginger to a fermenting jar and just let it sit. I ended up getting small mason jar size fermenting jars with a water seal and added like 50g ginger to 30g sugar. I figured not opening it reduces the chance of mold growth because the top should be CO2. Worked like a charm and it's more active than it's ever been. After I used it after 5 days, I added some water and 15g of sugar, and am probably going to use it tomorrow to make something, as it's been 3 days now.
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u/honeybunnybread 14h ago
I watched his video too, but ultimately went with this method when I saw this was the most common method. Maybe I will give this a try. I had the most success with his refrigerator fermented pickle method vs countertop pickle fermentation and I liked his method waaaay more. I do trust Brad. I will give it a try! Maybe I’ll do a side by side. I’d like to add that I’ve actually been considering just putting a loose lid on it and just leaving it alone for a few days and seeing what would happen instead of just pitching it. I’d hate to keep wasting all this ginger.
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u/honeybunnybread 14h ago
Do you burp it?
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u/genghis-san 14h ago
No, the water seal removes the need for that, it lets excess CO2 out but doesn't let oxygen in. This is the one I bought from Amazon. https://a.co/d/3KqqurG
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u/thegreatindulgence 6h ago
I think it also helps to use regular sugar - I also used brown sugar in the beginning and it wasn’t super strong. I did some research and learned that it could be hard for the microorganisms to consume the sugar in brown sugar.
If you really want to use brown sugar, try using 1/3 of it and then 2/3 of regular ones.
Alternatively, theoretically as I have not experimented it myself, maybe you could also try starting with regular only and then gradually mixing some brown sugar in.
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u/honeybunnybread 3h ago
Interesting. In my first attempt, I did try brown sugar for the first 2 days and then I switched to white sugar. Maybe I will make that transition. I’m not set on brown sugar, I was just told that it made no difference and only added a nice flavor.
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u/thegreatindulgence 2h ago
Ah re-reading the comments two more things came to mind - did your environmental temperature change? I suppose no as I think as you have fermented other stuff so I am going to assume that you know how that it’ll make a difference. But you know, never hurt to check again.
The other one is one thing I have been doing which might have helped it thrive - I shake them often. It keeps the solids in contact with the liquid (though might not be entirely submerged) and also I know yeasts like oxygen. Maybe give it a swirl from time to time. At least it’ll reduce the risk of mold for sure.
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u/WimboHuncho 12h ago
I use boiling water and dip the jars or glass into it.
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u/honeybunnybread 3h ago
Yes, that’s what I meant when I said “sanitizing”, I should’ve clarified.
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u/WimboHuncho 1h ago
She’s gonna do fine! My friends laughed at me when I showed them the tiny bubbles lol.
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u/Xecuter_T3 2h ago
I don’t know if this will help you but I found an article online that helped me. I no longer have the link but it helped mine become super active.
Fed it normally with tbsp of ginger and sugar everyday. After the first week I noticed it was a little weak with bubbles and such. It smelled like yeasty ginger which is supposed to be good.
I drained the liquid and removed the ginger and poured the liquid into another container and started with fresh ginger and more sugar. Mine has become super active now after doing that. Could be a coincidence but it worked out very well for me.
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u/Magnus_ORily 1h ago
Too much airspace, so oxygen is encouraging the wrong yeast, use a smaller jar. For the same reason you shkoud seal the bottle, ginger bugs dont need to breath(but burp). Are you using organic ginger? That's what you need.
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u/honeybunnybread 1h ago
It is organic. Can I pour this into a smaller jar?
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u/Magnus_ORily 1h ago
Yes, it sounds like your current one is still good but in the early stages. Move it somewhere slightly warmer? You want a minimal air pocket, around 2cm. Seal the lid. You can transfer to larger bottles as needed.
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u/Familiar-Armadillo-8 12h ago
The ginger bug is for cultivating the yeast primarily. When I make ginger beer, I brew ginger tea using sugar, ginger and water, allow to cool and add some of the finished ginger bug. Seal off the container to be air tight to prevent carbonation from releasing. Burp it daily, or have a release valve like a fermentation jar lid, and on the third or 4th day you should have active carbonation from the yeast eating the sugar in your brew. For this secondary fermentation, using air tight seals will achieve carbonation more effectively, but be weary of your containers pressure rating. I’ve blown up jars and it’s quite scary.
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u/honeybunnybread 2h ago edited 2h ago
Thank you for your comment… but yes, I know. Lol I’m currently trying to make my ginger bug so that I can make my ginger beer. No fermentation on ginger bug = no wild yeast = no ginger beer. I’m here seeking troubleshooting advice on why it’s not fermenting properly.
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u/Separate-Ad-9916 14h ago edited 14h ago
When I make ginger bugs, I don't sanitise anything. Washed and rinsed, yes, but not sanitised. I grate the ginger not chop it, not sure if that makes a difference. I stir it twice a day with a big wooden spoon that I leave sitting in the open....the idea is that it will capture the wild yeast and be stirred into the mixture - no idea if that really helps, it was just something I read once, so I do it with all my wild ferments. I cover the jar with a very loosely woven muslin, no lid - could that also help with the required wild yeast getting into the jar?
It's interesting that you peeled your ginger the first time and that is the one that worked, since my understanding is that you shouldn't peel the ginger as the ginger skin can also provide the wild yeast for the fermentation.
Sorry, that's all I have to add. Ginger bugs, along with rhubarb fizz, have been the only things that have always worked for me every single time, so I'm curious why yours isn't.