How to Make Ginger Beer
Ginger beer was first introduced in Britain, in the 17th century, as an alcoholic drink. Later on, during the early 19th century it became very popular in England and northern America. Today ginger beer is the most popular soft drink in Eastern African regions like Tanzania and Kenya. Ginger beer, in betimes was made up by a simple fermentation process, over a mixture of ginger, a bit of baker's yeast, sugar and sometimes lemon juice. After some years, the beer was made using several other mixtures of, the cultures of lactic acid bacteria, tibico and kefir grains. Traditional beer, which was alcoholic, contained 11% of alcohol. Today, ginger beer is mixed with various beers and the ale, which is a famous barley beer from England.
The modern-day ginger beer is not produced with the fermentation process but often carbonated by using pressurized CO2.
Ginger Beer Plant Recipe
The ginger beer plant is actually the combination of the fungus named Saccharomyces florentinus and the bacteria Lactobacillus hilgardii, this magical combination actually forms the gelatinous structure of the ginger beer.
Ingredients:
- Water
- Baker's or Brewer's yeast (1 teaspoon full)
- Ground ginger
- Sugar
Take a small glass jar to mix the water and the yeast together. After that, add sugar and ginger and stir really well. Keep this mixture for 24 hours and again add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of ginger, to the mixture and stir well. You have to repeat the same procedure for next 5 days.
Ginger Beer Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg of sugar
- 6 cups of boiling water
- 1 teaspoon of tartar
- 3 liters of cold water
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Ginger beer plant
Take boiling water and add sugar and tartar to it. Stir well until the sugar gets completely dissolved. Once cooled down, add cold water and strained lemon juice to the mixture. Strain the plant through a plane cloth and add it to the mixture. Fill the mixture in a bottle and seal it and leave it for at least a week. Use a sterilized beer bottle to store the beer.
As stated earlier, ginger beer was originally an all - alcoholic drink, it is not so famous today, still here is the recipe of the old-fashioned ginger beer.
Alcoholic Ginger Beer Recipe
Ingredients
- Ginger
- Sugar
- Tartar
- Lemon juice
- Pilsner yeast
- Cold and hot water
Add sugar and tartar to the boiled water and stir until the sugar is dissolved completely. Cool the mixture down and add cold water and lemon juice. Then add ginger and the pilsner yeast to the mixture and seal the bottle. Keep the seal intact for at least a week and your alcoholic ginger beer is as good as ready!
Once you get a hold over the recipe, making this beer is, as easy as drinking it! Many people make the ginger beer without the lemon flavor but my suggestion would be to use adequate amount of lemon for the best taste!
