Do you want to know how to make ginger beer at home in the old fashion way? In this post, we go over a few different kinds of DIY ginger soda recipes.
Imagine every time you were thirsty and instead of getting a glass of water to drink, you drank beer.
I know, sounds like heaven. Well, this is what people did on a daily living basis not long ago. From the time at the end of the Roman Empire through the early 19th century, beer nearly replace water.
The water was ironically life-threatening and the beer was also, ironically healthier than it would have been to drink water.
In this post, you’ll learn how to make different kinds of ginger beer recipes along with how to brew ginger beer at home.
History of Ginger Beer
There is actually a lot of history behind ginger beer.
When did we switch from beer to other alcoholic drinks? Well as you would imagine, drinking beer every day wasn’t ideal for a long-term nutrition plan, but at the time it was safer to drink than water.
So we started to experiment with alternatives. This was when using the fermentation process in beer-making was discovered.
The process allowed the creation of other drinks, leading us into the creation of ginger beer.
As long as it’s been around, it’s always raised some eyebrows when bringing it up in conversation. Many still don’t know what it is or what it tastes like.
Ginger beer is simply a mixture of three essential ingredients:
- Ginger
- Water
- Sugar
You get those three ingredients and you put them through the fermenting process, you got some ginger beer.
Ginger beer is perfect for when you don’t want to drink coca-cola but just want something a little more exciting than water.
Homemade Ginger Beer Recipes
Now that we know what it is and a fun fact or two about its long history. Let’s get to brewing.
There are a few different kinds of this recipe, we’ll go through a few of them so you can decide what you want to try.
Here’s how to make the old-fashioned ginger beer from home.
Ingredients
The ingredients are nice and simple. You’ll need:
- Water
- Sugar
- Lemon juice
- Yeast
- Ginger
On how much sugar you need is entirely up to you. It’s a preference. The recipe calls for 1 lb of sugar, but you may add more or less depending on your sweet tooth.
BREWMASTER TIP: If you want an extra “kick” to your ginger beer, go for fresh ginger. Add up to 10 oz of grated ginger to surprise your friends.
Brownie points and better flavor goes to you if you grow your own ginger. If you do grow it. Remember to bring it inside when Winter comes around.
Instructions
Making it is as simple as reading the ingredients.
Step 1) Ginger Scrub
Get your ginger. Give it a Good scrub before peeling it.
Step 2) Crush It
After it’s scrubbed and peeled, crush it into a mortar.
Step 3) Ginger
Mix it with grated lemon in a bowl. Put the mixture into a pot of boiling water.
Step 4) Sugar
Now put in the sugar and then stir it until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then let it cool.
Afterward add in The yeast, lemon juice, and enough water to make the quantity you want up to a gallon.
Cover with a dish towel and leave it in room temperature or slightly warm environment. This is where the fermentation process will start.
Step 5) Wait
Transfer to a demijohn. Wait two days.
Step 6) 48 Hours Later
After two days, bottle it, cork it, drink it within a week for optimal tasting.
That just about covers it for everything you need for making a traditional ginger beer.
Basically, just boil water, put sugar in it to dissolve while stirring ginger, yeast, and lemon juice in it. Then just let it ferment for a few days.
Jamaican Ginger Beer Recipe
Ya making me crazy with this next one. The Jamaican version of ginger beer has been popular.
Ginger Beer Recipe Cocktail
Ginger makes for a great cocktail on the weekends. Here are some different ginger cocktails you could make.
Ginger Beer Moscow Mule Recipe
For you Moscow mule lovers, here’s a mule recipe for ginger beer.
Ginger still remains as the main ingredient in the Moscow Mule Cocktail. And you get to feel fancy while you drink it at a cafe.
Non-Alcoholic Ginger Beer Mocktail Recipe
If you’re looking for a Non-Alcoholic ginger beer version, there’s no difference between the recipes. Just remove the alcohol part and you’ll have non-alcoholic ginger soda.
Guyanese Ginger Beer Recipe
Rum and Ginger Beer Recipe
Fan of rum? Ginger beer goes well with rum if you want to try that combination.
The perfect rum to mix with ginger is Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum.
What a combination. So much spice.
Here’s how you make ginger beer with rum.
Step 1: Take your glass and fill it up with ice.
Step 2: Measure out 50ml of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and 120ml of ginger beer. Then pour your ginger beer and Captain Morgan Spiced Rum in the glass.
Step 3: Slap a wedge of lime on the edge and enjoy some spice.
Gin and Ginger Beer Recipe
This is an easy ginger beer recipe — alls you have to do is add the gin, right?
Ginger beer goes well with most other hard liquors. It goes well with rum as we mentioned earlier. Why not try it with a little gin?
Here’s how you make ginger beer with gin.
Ingredients:
- 5-8 mint leaves
- 2 oz gin
- 1 oz of lime juice
- 2 oz ginger beer
Step 1: Having a taller glass is ideal. Take your mint leaves and muddle them with the ginger syrup.
Step 2: Then add the gin, ginger beer, and lime juice. Stir generously. Add your ice and lime wedge.
You got yourself a gin and ginger cocktail.
Conclusion
Now you have a few Ginger Beer Recipes to try out.
We hope this article helped you learn how to make home-brewed ginger beer recipes. If you want more information on beer brewing, check out this post on the best home brewing books. They are packed with different recipes and tips.
You may also want to see our recipe on how to make 1875 cottage cheese.
Have you brewed Ginger Beer at home before?