How to Make Homemade Ginger Beer
Spicy probiotic rich, wild fermented soda. Easy to make, but challenging to perfect. Get starting practicing today! Every less-than-perfect bottle is delicious. You can’t go wrong.
Equipment
- gallon glass jar
- cloth or coffee filter
- rubber band
- swing top glass bottles
- fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
- ginger - an inch or two for a mild taste - a whole hand for a spicier brew
- 3/4 cup - 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup ginger bug strained, liquid only
- 4 quarts water
- Juice of 2 lemons or 4 limes
Instructions
- Boil a half gallon water (64oz).
- Grate the ginger and add to boiling water.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 20-40 minutes.
- Strain through fine mesh strainer into your gallon jar.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Add cold water and lemon juice to almost fill gallon jar, leave a couple inches of headspace.
- Make sure liquid is cooled to room temperature then strain ginger bug, add liquid to gallon jar. Hopefully about 1 cup of ginger bug liquid.
- Add a few slices of fresh ginger. Stir often over the next 24 hours. If it’s not starting to get bubbly you can leave it for longer.
- After things are bubbly, use funnel to fill swing top bottles.
- Leave to ferment again for 1 - 7 days. Use the plastic bottle method to tell when they are carbonated enough, then move them to the fridge.
- Let sit in fridge another day or two before enjoying.
Notes
Getting the carbonation right can be tricky. Don’t give up! Even if it’s not perfectly bubbly, this drink with still be nutritious and full of probiotics.