In our continued experiments with fermentation we have begun a batch of ginger beer. The recipe was taken from the excellent book, “Wild Fermentation” by Sandor Katz.
The starter is called the “ginger bug” and is made by adding a few tablespoons of grated ginger root (skin and all) to a few tablespoons of raw cane sugar in about 1 cup of water. This is left covered with cheesecloth in a warm spot for about a week. Each day we add a similar amount of ginger and sugar, until the bug starts bubbling.
To make the beer, we boil 2 liters of water containing 6 inches of grated ginger root and 1.5 cups of sugar for about 15 minutes. This mixture is then cooled and the solid material strained out. To the remainder we add lemon juice and the ginger bug, and water to one gallon final volume. This is sealed up and allowed to ferment for about 2 weeks.
The resulting “beer” is carbonated but not alcoholic.
Hey Joshmeister,
ReplyDeleteI am quite the ginger beer fan, and have made a similar recipe with lemon rind, sugar and ginger. I used regular old yeast as the starter. When mine was done, it seemed I was the only one that liked it.
~Brian
Looking forward to making this recipe. When you say "this is sealed up", what kind of sealing? Can I make it in a 2-liter soda bottle?
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