Selfsufficientish.com

Thought this looks good, might give it a try this weekend!
~ Starter kit ~

*Ingredients*

25 g (approx 1 ounce) of yeast
teaspoon cream of tartar (not essential)
100 g (around 4 oz) root ginger, washed and grated.
500g (around 1 lb) sugar
2 lemons, or equivalent bottled juice.


* You will also need *

A large, lidded jar
A large mixing bowl
A large saucepan
A sieve
Fizzy drink bottles, smaller ones are best, to hold 5 litres (about 1 gallon) of liquid, with plenty of headroom.
Sterilising tablets
Coffee filter papers or similar ( a friend uses a tea-towel folded double)
A funnel
A jug


~ What to do ~

>Sterilise the jar.
>Add about half a litre of cooled boiled water
>Mix in the yeast and add a spoonful of sugar
>Add a teaspoon of cream of tartar (not essential)

>Stir, cover loosely but securely, and put to one side on a worktop or draining board.
The first day or so there may be a fairly violent reaction but it will calm down.

>During the following week continue to add a 5ml teaspoonful of sugar every day.


~ After a week, although you can leave it longer if you want ~

>Filter the yeast liquid through a coffee filter; this may take a couple of hours.


~While waiting~

>Sterilise all glass and plastic equipment, including the bottle lids.
>Coarsely grate the scrubbed ginger, add to about 1½ litres (3 pints) of water in a large saucepan. Bring to boil, cover and simmer until needed.
>Rinse bottles.


~The action~

>Sieve the ginger mixture and put 1 litre (2 pints) of hot liquid into the large mixing bowl.
>Dissolve about 500 g (1 lb) granulated sugar in this liquid.
>Add the juice of 2 lemons.
>Add the sieved fermented liquid
>Top up to make about 5 litres (1 gallon)
>Leave to cool, cover with a clean tea towel.
>Using a jug, pour into the sterilized bottles; make sure you leave plenty of air space and screw the lids on securely.
>Put the bottles to one side and leave for a few days to mature, a week is best. I keep them in a cardboard box on the larder floor.
>Put the yeast back into its jar; add 500 ml (a pint) of the now cooled ginger solution and a teaspoon of sugar.

After making two ‘brews’ halve the ‘plant’, either start two new ones, throw one half away or give it to a friend.

Mite give this a go my self
Swap recipes with ya oneday

I actually didn't get round to this one but tried the quick ginger beer recipe posted by Stonehead, and that really is super duper, be warned though, I gave a bottle to my friend and she hasn't managed to get the top off without getting soaked yet!

I made the quick one from Stoney and bottled it on Tuesday.. It tasted fab going into the bottles so I have high hopes for when it comes out this weekend... although I may open the first one outside if it's quite volatile!

made me smile this as it bought back a great memory from my childhood, my mum used to always make this and use a little of the 'plant ' to start the next batch which she stored on the cupboards. i remember her going balistic as it had exploded all over the kitchen and there was gnger beer running down the walls and cascading in fountains and waterfalls off the top fo the cupboards. to an adult this was a problem, to a child it was like a scene from charlie and the chocolate factory - pure heaven. made me giggle even now to think of it

What's the recipe/method for Stoneys gingerbeer please?

If you do the all ish search at the top its there somewhere however




Quick ginger beer recipe
25g root ginger, bruised (just bash it with a rolling pin but don't crush it)
500g sugar
25g cream of tartar
One lemon (juice it, then grate the rind off it)
4.5l of boiling water
1 sachet quick yeast

Put the ginger, sugar, cream of tartar and lemon rind in a large bowl, and pour the boiling water over them. Leave to infuse until cool.

Add the lemon juice and stir. Rehydrate the yeast in warm water with a little sugar in it, and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl with muslin and leave in a warm place overnight (two nights if you're brave).

Strain off the liquid and bottle. Drink after 48 hours.

If you want to stop the fermentation, leave the ginger beer to ferment in the bowl for two days as described, then stir in half a Campden tablet dissolved in warm water. Leave for a few minutes, then bottle. This results in a flat ginger beer, so pep it up with a dash of soda water when you serve it.

"my mum used to always make this and use a little of the 'plant ' to start the next batch which she stored on the cupboards."


OK so here's a silly question how do I use the starter, I've kept all the gunk and about 200ml of the liquid but what do I do with it. Only ever having started from fresh ingrediants I'm at a bit of a loss
Thanks

ellesherwood wrote: i remember her going balistic as it had exploded all over the kitchen and there was gnger beer running down the walls and cascading in fountains and waterfalls off the top fo the cupboards. to an adult this was a problem, to a child it was like a scene from charlie and the chocolate factory - pure heaven. made me giggle even now to think of it

Well I got home yesterday and the house smelled like a brewery, from outside, so I opened the door and found out why!..... the ginger beer bottles had exploded and smashed all over the kitchen.
Blimey that stuff travels and is soooooo sticky, goes off to kitchen to make some more.