Add to Cookbook

Ginger Beer

  • 5 minutes: production time: 8 days, settling time: 5 days
  • Makes 6½ litres
Ginger Beer

Home made ginger beer is made by fermenting a simple syrup with yeast, and adding lemons and ginger.

Ingredients

Ginger Beer Plant

  • 1 cup water
  • ½ teaspoon dried yeast granules
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 4 teaspoons powdered ginger

Syrup

  • 4 cups sugar
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • 6 litres water

Method

Plant

  1. Into small jug, put the water with the yeast and ½ teaspoon each of powdered ginger and sugar. Cover with a piece of muslin or a clean Chux cloth and tie securely. Set aside for 24 hours. On the following day, add ½ teaspoon each of ginger and sugar and cover again for a further 24 hours. Repeat this process for a further 6 days.

Syrup

  1. Stir together the sugar, lemon juice and half the water over a moderate heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the remaining water. Pour the ginger liqud off the ginger beer plant into the syrup. Bottle into sterlised dry jars and seal. Stand in a cool place for 5 days before serving over crushed ice. If the ginger beer is being stored in a summer pantry where it is warm, use after 3 days.

Cooks Tips

- Make ginger beer in small batches and ensure it is used soon after making, lest the fermentation continues too long and the bottle do the unthinkable and explode! - To make further batches of ginger beef from the sediment or ginger beer plant, halve the remaining mixture and place in a jar with 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon sugar. Then, on every day for the next 7 days, add ½ teaspoon ginger and ½ teaspoon sugar to each jar. There is no need to add yeast again.

Comments (0)

Please login to submit a comment.