Homemade Ginger Beer
Once the ginger bug is fizzy, pour 2 quarts of water into a large pot. To that, in granulated sugar and grated ginger. Bring up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it sit for 5-8 minutes. Let it cool down naturally until it reaches room temperature, leaving all of the ingredients in there to steep.
Add the juice of a whole lemon to the grated ginger. Strain the liquid from the ginger bug, and add the liquid bug to the cooled tea. Ginger is covered with wild yeasts, much in the same way that grapes and apples are. For this reason, it is sometimes peeled before being put into kraut and other lactic ferments, so as not to contaminate the bacterial action with yeast. This same property can be used to our benefit, when we make a ginger bug.
Leave at room temperature for 2-3 days, loosening the cap occasionally (very slowly and carefully so it doesn’t spray all over) to release the pressure. Don’t boil or simmer the ginger/water mixture for very long. You just want to cook it until the sugars are dissolved. Encourage this by whisking the mixture well.
The simple syrup should last up to 1 month. Several years ago, I got together with a few other food bloggers for lunch at a terrific diner in San Francisco. One menu item that struck my fancy was homemade ginger ale, which they made fresh to order. Begin your journey into homemade soda making with a ginger bug starter.
Hi, I'm Emillie, an island-dwelling fermentation enthusiast. Fermenting For Foodies features healthy recipes designed to feed your microbiome. I’ve been having glitches with the comments section for about a week.
You will notice a white substance forming around the ginger at the bottom of the jug. The ginger beer is ready when the substance becomes bubbly when stirred (similar to when you’re making the ginger starter). You have a few options for adding ingredients for secondary fermentation. You can add fresh fruit juice, a homemade simple syrup infused with any flavor you like, or a fruit/herb sauce . Feed the colony – Once a day for one week, add one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of grated fresh ginger to the jar and stir well. Add the grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and two cups of filtered water or spring water (non-chlorinated) to the jar and stir (a 1-quart jar works great).
You may feel that the lemons are slightly too sour, therefore add a little more sugar; if it's slightly too sweet, add a little more lemon juice. To be honest, these amounts are always a little variable so just follow your own taste. Pass the ginger beer through a coarse sieve into a large jug and add lots of ice and some sprigs of mint. First of all you need to grate your ginger on a coarse cheese grater – you can leave the skin on if you like. Put the ginger with its pulpy juice into a bowl and sprinkle in your muscovado sugar.
If your house stays cool, find the warmest spot in your home to place the ginger starter. This process activates the probiotics and yeast that are in the ginger and allows them to begin reproducing. Whether you choose to make this easy ginger beer recipe laid out in this post or my probiotic ginger beer is a matter of personal preference . It is also an alcoholic ginger beer that has a tiny amount of alcohol but can be fermented in such a way that increases the alcohol content. As with any yeast-powered beverage, the fermentation process continues unless you prevent it from happening. Refrigerating will slow the process down but not stop it completely, that's why it’s best to treat ginger beer as a perishable beverage.
Make individual glasses of ginger ale by mixing ginger plant leaves turning yellow 1/2 cup of ginger water with 1/3 cup of Simple Syrup and 1/2 cup of club soda. Add a few drops of fresh lime juice and a lime wedge to each glass. The syrup in this recipe uses a good amount of fresh ginger along with a little lemon peel, which gives it a nice kick. Many store-bought ginger ales don't use any fresh ginger, making this homemade version more flavorful. Since you are assembling it yourself, you can control how much syrup you want in it—and thus, how sweet it is.
It sounds like you have some pretty good carbonation! One it is carbonated then store it in the fridge to slow down the carbonation. A slice that you can remove before bottling is good. In a large saucepan combine 1 qt water, sugars, ginger, and a pinch of salt.