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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.

This is what I've been drinking tonight.

Stonehead

PS Make sure you use fresh ginger root - making it with powdered ginger is vile.

Sounds great! Is it alcoholic or not?

Yes, it is alcoholic but not that strong if drunk quickly, and less so if you stop the fermentation after two days. If you leave it fermenting for weeks and all the sugar turns to alcohol, then it can definitely be a bit stronger!

Stonehead

I've just been drinking my second bottle of last week's batch of ginger beer and it's the best yet. The only difference to the recipe I gave earlier was that I had an extra half lemon in the fridge and added the juice from that.

As a result, there was a soft ginger taste to start and then a nice lemony finish. No harshness whatsover, just slightly sweet with light effervescence and an absolute delight to drink chilled after a hard day's work in the field.

Yum!

Stonehead

Stonehead wrote: Cover the bowl with muslin and leave in a warm place overnight (two nights if you're brave).

.

I made a batch last night cheers for the recipe! - though what exactly do you mean' if you're brave..'? *worried* what can happen?

Hillbilly wrote:

Stonehead wrote: Cover the bowl with muslin and leave in a warm place overnight (two nights if you're brave).

.

I made a batch last night cheers for the recipe! - though what exactly do you mean' if you're brave..'? *worried* what can happen?

The longer you leave it, the stronger it gets. When you bottle it and store it somewhere cool, the fermentation slows - although it doesn't stop entirely and so it should be drunk reasonably soon.

Leave the ginger beer open and in a warm place and the fermentation will go fast and strong. Bottle it, leave it somewhere warm for a few of weeks and I can guarantee a big mess!

Personally, I think most ginger beer should be only mildly alcoholic and have a sweetness to it. Strong, dry ginger beers are not my thing - strong dry scrumpies on the other hand...

Stonehead

PS Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

ah! - right we'll be bottling tonight then! thanks

This sounds really good. Our local post office has a lot of ginger root half price this week. I am gonna go there this afternoon and give it a whirl.

Thanks Stonehead. 8)

Well we went to friends for chilli last night and took four bottles with us. I have to say Sandy drank all four bottles and is alive and well this morning.

I didn't doubt your recipe for one minute, but I did have doubts about my ability to get it right LOl - now I know I can, we're starting a regular l'il ol' production line here

Cheers

Hillbilly wrote:Well we went to friends for chilli last night and took four bottles with us. I have to say Sandy drank all four bottles and is alive and well this morning.

I didn't doubt your recipe for one minute, but I did have doubts about my ability to get it right LOl - now I know I can, we're starting a regular l'il ol' production line here

Cheers

So what did Sandy make of the flavour?

Stonehead

Said it tasted really lovely but the initial 'bouquet' was akin to sulphur dioxide... [/b]

Hillbilly wrote:Said it tasted really lovely but the initial 'bouquet' was akin to sulphur dioxide... [/b]

That's weird! I've drunk two bottles of ours tonight - smells of ginger with a little yeast in the background. Mind you, the first bottle was a problem - started to lift the cap off (carefully it's best to release the gas slowly) and it blew off, followed by a huge ginger beer fountain. Still, I managed to get most of it into a glass!

Second bottle was approached with great care, but just had the usual amount of gas.

Stonehead

Hi,
Found this recipe in the archives and have given it a go it is DE licious!

What i have heard though is you are able to keep the "plant" and start a new lot
Stupid question alert....what is the "plant and how do I keep it, and how long for?
Thanks

this recipe sounds easy enough for me to try,
thats why i`ve bumped it

Not sure if it's the fresh ginger or the proper ginger plant I've used but I'm shocked over the difference in taste from shop bought stuff. Simply delicious! Looking forward to my 2ltr bottle I'll be putting in the fridge tonight for tomorrow!