Making your own ginger beer is simple; you just need to be careful when you’re bottling it. Use thick plastic screw-top bottles (not glass) and leave plenty of room for expansion to avoid nasty explosions. This version is non-alcoholic, but you can always add a splash of aromatic dark rum for a refreshing Dark and Stormy. You’ll need to begin this recipe nine days ahead, then, after the ginger beer has fermented, drink it within two weeks.
Ingredients
Lemon and ginger syrup
Method
Main
1.Combine yeast, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp sugar and 125ml room-temperature water in a jar, cover with muslin and secure with kitchen string. Each day for 5 days, add ½ tsp sugar and ½ tsp ground ginger and stir to combine. The mixture will start to foam a little after day 1 and then expand day by day.
2.For lemon and ginger syrup, on day 5, stir sugar and 3 litres water in a large saucepan over medium heat to dissolve sugar, bring to the simmer and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, finely grate ginger into a small sieve and press to extract juice. Add juice to syrup with lemon juice and stir to combine.
3.Strain ground ginger mixture through a muslin-lined sieve into lemon and ginger syrup (discard solids) and stir to combine.
4.Pour into sterile plastic screw-top bottles (see note), leaving a 5cm gap. Seal with lid and store in a cool place until fermented (4 days). Refrigerate until required, then serve over ice with lime wedges and mint.
Note To sterilise plastic bottles, rinse thoroughly with plenty of boiling water.
Notes
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