Ginger Beer
"Ginger beer is nature's champagne. this is the recipe my mother and grandmother used to make. It is a delicious refreshing drink on hot summer days. Caution: Bottles must be stored in a cool place and not shaken. Chill thoroughly before opening but be prepared for it to fizz over. While storing it is a good idea to cover with large piece of plastic in case a cap blows or a bottle "
- Ready In:
- 312hrs 5mins
- Ingredients:
- 7
- Yields:
-
6 large beer bottles per bug
ingredients
-
TO MAKE THE GINGER BEER
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons dried yeast
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 600 ml lukewarm water
-
TO MAKE THE BEER
- 3 1⁄2 liters water
- 500 g sugar
- 2 lemons, juice of
directions
- -------TO GET BUG WORKING-------.
- Mix the yeast, ground ginger, 2 tspns of sugar and lukewarm water together in a large glass jar.
- Cover with a cloth (the sort of material that you would use to strain jelly through as the bug needs to breathe).
- Let stand for 24 hours.
- After this feed the bug every day for 10 days with 1 tspn of ground ginger and 1 tspn of sugar.
- ---------TO MAKE THE BEER----------.
- Put 1 litre of the water and the sugar in a saucpan.
- Heat gently while stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Take off the heat and add the rest of the water and the lemon juice.
- Without disturbing the sediment, strain the ginger beer bug liquid through 2 layers of scalded muslin.
- Add this liquid to the sugared water.
- Pour the mixture into clean bottles, cap tightly and leave to stand for 2 days, or until it starts to fizz.
- After this, it must be kept in a cool place or the fridge to prevent the tops blowing.
- I use a sterilizing powder obtained from home brew shops to sterilize my bottles.
- After making the beer divide the sediment in the jar into two.
- You now have 2 bugs to feed and can double the beer recipe.
- As you double the bugs each time you increase the number of bottles you can produce.
- After all available surfaces are covered with bug jars and you are swamped with beer you can give the extra bugs away to get others on the treadmill.
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Reviews
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Thanks for sharing this interesting glimpse of homebrewing history. I hope that anyone who wants to try brewing will vist a homebrew supply co. to buy not only sanitizer but a package of brewer's yeast, yeast nutrient, and a couple of airlocks with stoppers to fit gallon jugs. This should all cost less than 5 dollars if you have your own jugs. I would also use corn sugar, fructose, or honey in this recipe for best results. Table sugar will give your brew a cidery flavor. Sanitized plastic soda bottles and screw caps should work for bottling but be patient. It takes about 2-3 weeks for the "fizz" to develop fully. -
Nice flavour. The end product is seriously sweet though, so this batch I am attempting to cut down the sugar by 25%. Thankyou - I'd forgotten how much fun I had as a child making this :)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Carol Skilton
Melbourne, Victoria
I love to cook and eat. I have two chef sons. I like to grow my own vegetables and fruit. I also keep chooks and compost. Fishing is another interest of mine.
