Last week my sous chef and I decided it was time to whip up some homemade ginger beer! I LOVE ginger but I hardly ever drink store bought soda 'cause it's all loaded up with corn syrup and what not. I have to admit I was a little skeptical. I usually leave the beer making (of any kind) up to my brewer husband. But, I have to say, this was so easy to make I can't wait to do it again! It was fun and really simple. Here's a few photos, and our recipe from our little experiment!
Ingredients:
2 1/2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
juice from 1/2 or 1 lemon (depending on how lemony/tart you want it)
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baker's yeast
cold water
clean 2 liter bottle
Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat up 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of the freshly grated ginger. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Keep it simmering until you have a nice gingery syrup. Cover it and let is steep until it reaches room temperature (about an hour).
Pour the syrup through a strainer and discard the ginger. Use a funnel to pour the cooled ginger syrup into the clean 2 liter bottle. Add the rest of the ginger, the yeast and the lemon juice to the bottle and fill with cold water. Be sure to leave about 1 inch of space in the top of the bottle. Put the cap on and shake the bottle gently until the yeast has dissolved.
Leave the bottle at room temp for about 48 hours. At this point you can open it to see if it's carbonated enough. If it's not carbonated enough, cap it, give it a little shake and let it sit for another 24 hours. When it reaches the desired carbonation pop it in the fridge. This will stop the fermentation. Enjoy!
If you want you can strain out the rest of the ginger bits when you serve it, but I think they are yummy.
Step 1...
We got all the ingredients together... freshly grated ginger, lemon , 1 cup sugar, baker's yeast (and water). I made a ginger simple syrup in addition to adding fresh ginger to the bottle.
We stopped to eat some M&M's. Experimenting is hard work!
Then we gave our mixture a good shake and set it on the counter in the kitchen!
Step 2...
After 48 hours we gave it a try.
It was super sweet and not carbonated enough so we put the cap back on, gave it a pop pep talk and left it for another 24 hours.
Step 3...
24 hours later and it was perfect! We strained it, poured it into glasses and sipped away! It was the perfect combo of sweet and hot. For someone that can eat Ginger Chews by the bagful, homemade ginger beer is a wonderful revelation!
(She doesn't have carbonated beverages very often).
I think next time around I'll be making a few adjustments to the recipe so as soon as I've perfected my own take on it I'll be sure to share it with you.
Have any of you ever made Ginger Beer?
t I hardly ever drink store bought soda 'cause it's all loaded up with corn syrup and what not. I have to admit I was a little skeptical. I usually leave the beer making (of any kind) up to my brewer husband. But, I have to say, this was so easy to make I can't wait to do it again! It was fun and really simple. Here's a few photos, and our recipe from our little experiment!
Ingredients:
2 1/2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
juice from 1/2 or 1 lemon (depending on how lemony/tart you want it)
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baker's yeast
cold water
clean 2 liter bottle
Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat up 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of the freshly grated ginger. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Keep it simmering until you have a nice gingery syrup. Cover it and let is steep until it reaches room temperature (about an hour).
Pour the syrup through a strainer and discard the ginger. Use a funnel to pour the cooled ginger syrup into the clean 2 liter bottle. Add the rest of the ginger, the yeast and the lemon juice to the bottle and fill with cold water. Be sure to leave about 1 inch of space in the top of the bottle. Put the cap on and shake the bottle gently until the yeast has dissolved.
Leave the bottle at room temp for about 48 hours. At this point you can open it to see if it's carbonated enough. If it's not carbonated enough, cap it, give it a little shake and let it sit for another 24 hours. When it reaches the desired carbonation pop it in the fridge. This will stop the fermentation. Enjoy!
If you want you can strain out the rest of the ginger bits when you serve it, but I think they are yummy.
Step 1...
We got all the ingredients together... freshly grated ginger, lemon , 1 cup sugar, baker's yeast (and water). I made a ginger simple syrup in addition to adding fresh ginger to the bottle.
We stopped to eat some M&M's. Experimenting is hard work!
Then we gave our mixture a good shake and set it on the counter in the kitchen!
Step 2...
After 48 hours we gave it a try.
It was super sweet and not carbonated enough so we put the cap back on, gave it a pop pep talk and left it for another 24 hours.
Step 3...
24 hours later and it was perfect! We strained it, poured it into glasses and sipped away! It was the perfect combo of sweet and hot. For someone that can eat Ginger Chews by the bagful, homemade ginger beer is a wonderful revelation!
(She doesn't have carbonated beverages very often).
I think next time around I'll be making a few adjustments to the recipe so as soon as I've perfected my own take on it I'll be sure to share it with you.
Have any of you ever made Ginger Beer?
