I’m English, and this is a family recipe that is said to date back at least to the Tudor era. It is both conceivable and likely given the components and the process. According to my solid knowledge, it dates back at least five generations.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 14 days |
| Total Time: | 14 days 30 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 1 gallon approximately |
Ingredients
- 1 (0.6 ounce) cake compressed fresh yeast
- 2 teaspoons castor sugar or superfine sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 cups cold water
- 7 teaspoons castor sugar or superfine sugar, divided
- 7 teaspoons ground ginger, divided
- 3 ¾ cups white sugar
- 5 cups boiling water
- 12 ½ cups cold water
- ½ cup strained fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a sterile 2 quart jar, blend together the yeast, 2 teaspoons of castor sugar, and 2 teaspoons of ground ginger. Stir in the cold water until well blended. Cover with a clean cheesecloth, and let sit in a convenient corner at room temperature where it will be out of the way for the next seven days.nn
- Every morning for the next seven days, feed the yeast mixture by stirring in 1 teaspoon of castor sugar, and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger.nn
- On the eighth day, give the mixture a good stir, then strain it through a clean tea towel into a large new plastic bucket, bin, or glass carbuoy. Wring all of the liquid out of the cloth, and set aside. You will be dealing with this later.nn
- Dissolve the white sugar in 5 cups of boiling water by stirring vigorously. Pour the cold water into the bucket with the ginger juice, then stir in the sugar syrup and lemon juice.nn
- Siphon the mixture into sterile screw top bottles, filling to within 2 inches of the top. Old cleaned out soda bottles will do. Screw on the tops tightly. Store the bottles of ginger beer in a cool dark place where they can remain undisturbed for 7 days. Be very careful upon opening as the beer is very fizzy.nn
- Go back to the cloth now. The residue looks disgusting! However, lay the towel out flat with the disgusting side up. Use a knife to scrape the stuff to the center, then divide in half, and place each half into a separate sterile jar. Top each jar with 2 cups of cold water, and you are ready to go again. Twice! Begin with step 2 for subsequent batches. Unless you are very thirsty, I suggest you give one of them away.nn
Reviews
It is good but very strong for my taste. I think the next time I make it I will add an additional 2 1/2 cups of water and another 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Has a unique taste compared to my ginger ale pallette.
I’m only on Day 8, but I just thought I would post a tip suggesting NOT to try to strain it through coffee filters. At this rate it might sit on my counter for another week dripping if I don’t figure something else out. It smells good though 🙂 Edit note: Added a star, final product was delicious. Straining through coffee filter killed some of the carbonation, so we pour it off into a glass careful not to disturb sediment. I used plastic water bottles and didn’t lose a single one. I was sometimes letting air out 2x a day. Watch the bottles very carefully. The kids wouldn’t drink it, they said it smelled alcoholic, and it did taste very mildly so. But I will be making it again.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Although at a first glance the recipe looks complicated, when you get started it all makes sense. Choose plastic bottles that were sold with carbonated drinks in them as my recycled milk bottle exploded. Having made this recipe four times now, I leave the bottles on the side from day 8-14 and carefully unscrew the top to release the pressure every day. It is amazing how fizzy this drink gets. Don’t try and reduce the sugar, it really tastes better with the full amount as stated in the recipe. My guests have loved this and it is a great talking point.
This is the recipe my Mum used to make as I remember it/ Very yummy summer drink. THo my Mum always said when you make a new bug you feed it for two weeks – when you get half of someone elses bug or using half of your last bug you only need feed it for a week.
I have been looking for this recipe for over 6 years! As a child my grandfather used to make it.