Ginger Beer

Name: Ginger Beer
Yield: About 1 quart
Ingredients: 4 cups filtered water; 1/4 cup sugar (white or raw cane); 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated; Juice of 1 lemon; 1/4 cup active ginger bug liquid; Pinch of salt

Sharp, spicy, and refreshing. Real ginger beer — not the syrupy stuff from the store. This has a bite.

About 1 quart

Yield

2-3 days (plus ginger bug time if starting from scratch)

Time

1-2 weeks in the fridge

Keeps

Sharp, spicy, and refreshing. Real ginger beer — not the syrupy stuff from the store. This has a bite.

Ingredients

4 cups filtered water
1/4 cup sugar (white or raw cane)
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup active ginger bug liquid
Pinch of salt

Method

In a saucepan, combine 1 cup of the water with the sugar and grated ginger. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves — don't boil. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Strain the ginger syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean quart jar. Add the remaining 3 cups of water, lemon juice, salt, and ginger bug liquid. Stir well.
Pour into swing-top bottles (or plastic bottles — see note below), leaving 1-2 inches of headspace.
Seal tightly and leave at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Check carbonation daily by carefully opening a bottle over the sink. When it's fizzy, transfer all bottles to the fridge to slow fermentation.

Serving Suggestions

Over ice. With a squeeze of lime. As a base for mocktails. With a sprig of fresh mint.

Notes

**Carbonation safety**: Fermentation produces CO2, and sealed bottles build pressure. Use bottles designed for carbonated beverages (swing-top glass bottles or recycled commercial soda bottles). Check daily. A plastic bottle trick: fill one plastic bottle alongside your glass bottles and squeeze it — when the plastic bottle is rock-hard, everything is carbonated.
For a stronger ginger flavor, increase the fresh ginger to 1/4 cup.
The sugar is food for the bacteria — most of it gets consumed during fermentation. The final drink is far less sweet than what you started with.

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