Who would have thought that making your own ginger beer could be so easy… and healthy? Naturally fermented sodas have been around ever since people realised they could make alcohol using fruit. But using something as beneficial to your body as ginger means you can have your own homemade elixir.
This ginger bug is what you need as your starter, not unlike a sourdough starter. It’s very easy to maintain and will give you many, many litres of ginger beer.
Ingredients
2 tbs grated ginger, skin included – ideally use organic
2 tsp sugar – raw will give a better flavour
1 cup of filtered water – do not use chlorinated water
Equipment
1 litre jar with a lid
cheesecloth or other fabric
elastic band
Method
Place all ingredients into the jar and cover with the cheesecloth then use the elastic band to keep it in place. This will allow the bug to breath while keeping out other bugs.
Every day add another 2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger and 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water, stir to combine.
Depending on how warm your environment is, it can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week for the ginger bug to become active with bubbles. Just like any living thing it needs air, warmth, food and water to live.
It is now ready to use.
To extend the life of your bug, keep it in the fridge in a jar with a lid. Feed it once a week with 2 tablespoons of ginger, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Just don’t seal the lid too tight, it still needs to breath.
How To Make Ginger Beer
Use this wild fermented ginger beer recipe as a baseline, try it as written the first time and then you can alter the flavour to your own preferences. Add more or less ginger or more or less sugar. Use a lemon instead of a lime, try a different type of sugar. It really can become your own .
I use plastic bottles to store the final ginger beer as the fermentation process can lead to unexpected explosions. Tip: If you buy a couple of 1 litre bottles and a 500ml bottle of filtered water to start off with then just clean and reuse them as you go.
Ingredients
2 litres filtered water – do not use chlorinated tap water, Chlorine will kill your bug.
1/3 cup ginger, grated or finely chopped. No need to peel it.
1 cup sugar – I used white but you can use any type.
1 lime
1 cup Ginger Bug (recipe here) or see below
Equipment
A large jar that can hold at least 2 litres of liquid (a couple of smaller jars will work)
Cheesecloth with an elastic band
Bottles for your ginger beer. I use plastic as it’s safer than exploding glass bottles.
Method
Add the water, ginger and sugar to a saucepan with a lid and bring to the boil, with the lid on. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 10 mins.
Leave to cool – this is important as you will kill the bug if you add it to hot liquid.
Once completely cool add 1 cup of the ginger bug and the juice of 1 lime, stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into the large jar/s and cover with the cloth. This needs to stand for 2 to 7 days, depending on the ambient temperature, away from direct sunlight.
Stir the ginger mixture twice a day.
Once you see bubbles you can bottle it up. Strain the ginger mixture and pour into your sterilised bottles. Seal the bottles tightly and leave in a warm area for a day or so. During this time the sugars are getting eaten and carbon dioxide is building up inside the bottles (this gives you the fizz).
Place all your bottles of ginger beer in the fridge and this will slow down the fermentation process.
Enjoy!
- 2 tbs grated ginger, skin included – ideally use organic
- 2 tsp sugar – raw will give a better flavour
- 1 cup of filtered water – do not use chlorinated water
- 1 litre jar with a lid
- cheesecloth or other fabric
- elastic band
- Place all ingredients into the jar and cover with the cheesecloth then use the elastic band to keep it in place. This will allow the bug to breath while keeping out other bugs.
- Every day add another 2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger and 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water, stir to combine.
- Depending on how warm your environment is, it can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week for the ginger bug to become active with bubbles. Just like any living thing it needs air, warmth, food and water to live.
- It is now ready to use.
- To extend the life of your bug, keep it in the fridge in a jar with a lid. Feed it once a week with 2 tablespoons of ginger, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Just don’t seal the lid too tight, it still needs to breath.