Growing up, drinking Ginger beer was a real summer treat. It was just not summertime if there wasn't a cold bottle of ginger beer in your hand after a long, hot day.
I recently had a very serious desire for some ginger beer, but it is not as popular here where I live as it was where I grew up. So I decided to make some for myself!
Ginger Beer Recipe
4 ounces of lemon juice
6 ounces sugar
20 ounces warm water
Fresh Ginger*
Yeast**
Additional materials:
1 empty two liter bottle
1 cup warm water
2 ounces bleach
Funnel
* There are two ways to use the fresh ginger in your Ginger Beer, and either way is completely up to your personal preference.
- Method 1: Using a small piece of ginger root (remember, ginger is VERY strong!), cut pieces small enough to easily fit through the opening of the two liter bottle. I made several bottles using more or less ginger root and found that 6 small pieces was good enough for a taste of ginger, but you may add more if you prefer a stronger ginger flavor.
- Method 2: Using a food processor, grind up ginger (no need to peel) until there are no large pieces. Line a bowl with cheesecloth, and put the ginger pulp into the middle of the cheesecloth. Pick up the cheesecloth and squeeze till you can manage to get 2 ounces of juice from the ginger.
Preparation:
Sanitizing
Mix your bleach and warm water in a bowl, then place your funnel into the empty and rinsed out two liter bottle. Pour all the bleach water mix into the bottle and close the bottle with cap. Swish the bleach water mix around well, getting every inch of the interior of the bottle and cap wet thoroughly.
Place the funnel into the same bowl you used to mix the bleach water mix. After about five minutes, uncap the two liter bottle and place the cap into the same bowl as the funnel. Pour the bleach water mix out of the bottle and into the bowl that now contains the funnel and bottle cap. Swish everything till it's also well covered with the bleach water. Allow everything to air dry. If you like, you may rinse out the two liter bottle with regular water, if you are concerned about the drink having a "bleachy" taste.
Make certain that any utensils you are using are washed thoroughly and, if you like, also run through the bleach water mix.
Mixing
Once everything has been thoroughly washed and sanitized, begin to measure out your ingredients.
**The yeast that is most commonly used to make ginger beer is champagne yeast, which can be purchased either at your local home brewery store or online for less than one dollar. I did not have that on hand and used regular rapid rise yeast that is commonly found in local stores in the baking aisle. It worked well for what I wanted it to do. :)
Using your funnel, pour your sugar, lemon juice, and ginger into your 2 liter bottle. Add your WARM water (should be warm, not HOT, or else it will kill your yeast and the drink will not carbonate). Cap your drink at this point and shake it around to mix all the ingredients well. Uncap your bottle again and add approximately 1/8 of a teaspoon of yeast.
At this point, I capped the bottle, but left it a bit loose in order to prevent the bottle from bursting. Not too loose, but just a tad loose. I also checked it every few hours and loosened the cap to allow the gases to escape, then closed it back up as before. Leave your bottle in a warm, dark place overnight, for about 24 hours. You should begin to see bubbles on the side of your bottle as the yeast carbonates the drink.
By the next day, your drink should be ready. If you taste it and it is carbonated to your satisfaction and the taste is to your liking, you may place it in the refrigerator to stop the yeast from continuing to ferment the drink. If it is not, you may leave it for a day or so more in the dark place, checking it again every so often to loosen the cap and allow gases to escape. Once you feel that the drink has carbonated enough, you may place it in the refrigerator.
While ginger beer is not actually alcoholic, it does contain a small amount of naturally occurring alcohol. Commercially made ginger beer does have a much lower alcohol content than homemade ginger beer, but then again, so do most commercial sodas. However, for the adults out there who do enjoy an adult beverage, here is a nice little recipe to use with your homemade ginger beer!
Dark n' Stormy
2 ounces dark rum
4 ounces Ginger Beer
1/2 ounce of Lime Juice (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a tall glass with ice cubes and stir to mix (don't shake!)
Enjoy!!
(Disclaimer: Please note that I am not responsible for any accidents or additional hazards that may occur as a result of your attempt to recreate anything on this blog, or your usage of any recipes on this blog. I will be more than happy to reply to any questions related to the above recipes, but please contact a doctor or 911 if you feel you are in need of immediate medical attention.)
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