Ginger Beer – The French Alternative
If you make your ginger beer using a ginger beer plant (a culture made with ginger and yeast) you can carry on ad infinitum! These plants are not really as scary as Jackie’s ginger monster, but they do have to be fed with ginger and sugar every day or they will die. If you don’t want all that hassle, Jackie has a delicious alternative. It’s called cheat’s ginger beer and it can be ready to drink in 24 hours.
Equipment
4-5 large plastic bottles, sterilised (do not use glass bottles – they might explode) 1 large stainless steel or enamel pot, with a lid or very clean tea towel to cover funnel wooden spoon perforated metal spoon
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root
- chopped 2 lemons, washed and thickly sliced
- 500g sugar
- 41/2 litres water
- 1 teaspoon tartaric acid
- g sachet dried yeast
Method
1. Place the lemons, ginger, water, tartaric acid and sugar into a pan. Bring to the boil then simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat and leave until it is warm, not hot.
2. Sprinkle the yeast on top and put the lid on the pot. Leave for a few hours or even overnight.
3. Scoop out the lemon and ginger, then funnel into the clean bottles. (Note: don’t fill the bottles right up – there should be a space at the top of at least 5cm or 2".) Check twice a day to see if you need to release some of the gas in the bottles (gently unscrew the cap to release pressure).
4. You’ll know when the ginger beer is ready to drink, because as the pressure builds up bubbles will form and the bottles will feel tight to touch. This usually happens within 24 hours, but on a warm day it may be ready to drink within 12 hours.
5.When ready, put the bottles into the fridge, and drink the ginger beer as soon as it’s cold.
And remember:
Never keep homemade ginger beer for more than three days after making, and throw it out if it looks or smells odd.
Always store homemade ginger beer in plastic bottles, never glass, in case the bottles explode.
Everything that comes into contact with the brew – your hands, the bottles, the funnel etc., must be scrupulously clean.
All homemade ginger beer is slightly alcoholic, so don’t allow the children to drink too much.