Best Ginger Beer
Ginger is a powerhouse for health, containing so many healthy properties. To include the many benefits of this root in your every day health regimen, try making ginger beer. This is a super delicious way to get refreshed while easily adding a long list of health benefits to your diet. And it tastes so good, you'll want to drink it every day.
Equipment
- 4 pint size glass bottles or canning jars with well sealing lid - Or 2 quart size glass bottles. Do not use plastic. Used store bought kombucha bottles work really well and so do grolsch type beer bottles with flip tops.
- a - small strainer
- ½ cup measure
- a - bottle funnel
- 3 qt - pot with lid
Ingredients
- 1 pint active ginger bug - get the recipe here
- 6" piece organic fresh ginger root - use dried organic if you can't get fresh.
- ⅓ cup cane sugar or other natural caloric sweetener of choice - natural evaporated cane juice, raw honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup etc. preferably organic
- 8 cups spring water or filtered water - non-chlorinated
- ¼ cup lemon juice or lime juice to taste - optional
- other optional flavorings or juices - see notes below
Instructions
- Make a ginger syrup. Thinly slice the ginger and place it into the pot. Add water and sugar or other sweetener, but do not add honey at this point if that is what you choose. Add any other flavorings that will need to be heated. Bring all to a light boil and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. If you use honey, you can add it now.
- Strain ½ cup of the ginger bug water. Use a strainer and measure out ½ cup of the ginger bug water. Divide the ginger bug water between the bottles somewhat evenly.Feed your ginger bug 2 tsp of ginger, 2 tsp of sugar and refill with ½ cup of water. Put it back on the shelf or into the refrigerator.
- Strain and bottle the ginger syrup. Using a funnel and strainer, pour the ginger syrup into the bottles to fill them to within about an inch or two of the top. You'll need some air space for the fermentation process. Any leftover syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week for the next round of brewing. Tightly cap the bottles or jars and place in a warm darkish place away from sunlight.
- Check on your brew after about 24 hours and carefully burp the bottles. If the brew is very active it might foam or spray out. They should be fermenting for 2-3 days total. When done, and you can taste it to see if you like the taste and amount of carbonation. If it's good, place the bottles into the refrigerator to chill. If you want it less sweet and more bubbly, wait another day before placing it into the refrigerator. Now it's ready to drink. Cheers!
Notes
Troubleshooting:
If your brew is not fizzy, it might be your lid. If it's loose, the carbonation will escape. I find that when I use canning jars, some of the carbonation can leak out as pressure builds. If you didn't add enough sugar to your syrup, the yeasts have not enough food to eat and will stop being active. This too can cause less carbonation. If you feel that there is a lot of sugar used in the recipe, be assured, that you will only consume a small part of this. Most of it will go to feed the microbes, who then turn it into lactic acid and probiotics. So while sugar can be bad, in this case it increases the health benefits. Once your brew is in the refrigerator, the microbes are mostly put to sleep, but they will continue to consume small amounts of sugar, so your brew might be getting just slightly less sweet after a few days.Optional flavorings:
Lemon or Lime juice - is optional but very beneficial. Ginger and lemon or lime work well together and the vitamin C in citrus juice is a great addition to this healthy drink. But besides that, it gives your ginger beer or ginger ale a nicely refreshing note. Other optional flavorings and health-promoting ingredients - You can choose your favorite ginger beer flavor. Experiment for fun, or deliberately add other health-promoting ingredients. Customize your brew to your own health needs and make it easy to get your daily dose: To add to the ginger syrup before simmering:I like to add a few chili peppers to my ginger water when I brew it for an extra spicy kick and more health benefits. You could also add some turmeric and black pepper for joint complaints. Try some reishi or chaga bits and simmer them along with the ginger. These mushrooms are also powerful antioxidants and adaptogens. Whole elderberries and schizandra berries are a great option too. So are other spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and star anise. All these have their own health benefits. Tip: I can usually strain the syrup and reuse the ginger root for another round, I just add the sugar and water and then simmer it a little longer the second time around, but I still get a lot of flavor out of it. After that it goes in the compost. Add to your ginger syrup just after you turn off the heat:
Green tea leaves, macha, or peppermint leaves. Hibiscus flowers and rosehips add a great fruit flavor and vitamins. Experiment with your favorite herbs. Add to your bottles before capping:
Fruit juices like apple, grape or pinapple juice add their own benefits and are a nice natural flavoring. Any natural fruit juice can be used to experiment with. Of especially high value are the juice of other health power houses such as pomegranate, acai, beet, goji or aronia, noted for their antioxidant properties. Other ideas are elderberry juice for immune support, black cherry juice for joint health, arthritis and gout.