This past week I finally stopped making excuses and tried a new brewing recipe that I have had for ages now; and because of my colourful facial hair, I have decided to call it Ginger Beer[d].
As a first attempt, this whole process didn’t go quite according to plan, but the final results were great. Plus, I learned a few messy lessons along the way (see below)
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced ginger (peeled)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 limes (juice)
- water
- brewing / wine making yeast
Directions
- Add sugar and ginger to 1L of water in a pot and bring to a boil
- Once boiling, cover and remove from heat – let steep for an hour
- Strain off the ginger and pour the liquid into a 2L bottle (a leftover pop bottle will do just fine)
- Top-up the bottle with cold water, within an inch of the top
- Add 1/4 pack of yeast (about 1-2 grams) to the top of the liquid and let sit
- Attach cap once fermentation begins – leave at room temperature for a couple of days until desired carbonation is achieved
- Refrigerate and enjoy!
Lessons Learned
- Be sure to loosen the cap to vent the bottle a couple times a day if fermentation is very vigorous
- I ended up having a “blower” and lost half by small batch in an Old Faithful-esque eruption all over my kitchen. If you have ever seen the classic video of Mentos being added to a bottle of Diet Coke, you will have an idea of what happened.
- Using brewer’s yeast makes a light brew that can be enjoyed by (almost) all-ages. However, using wine yeast and a bit of extra sugar, you create a deliciously potent ginger brew that will refresh and ruin you at the same time.
- A 2L batch doesn’t last very long…
My next batch will definitely scaled up in volume, and looking around online it seems like people have had some real success by making a few substitutions for the lime. I think I will try orange, lemon, honey and jalapenos too. I can see this is going to go great with my next meal of sushi!
