Introduction: The Best Home Made Ginger Beer
I just show a picture of the 5 liter and 500Ml bottles, for those who work in funny measurements like Pints and Quarts.
Andre's ginger beer.
Some extra info: Before there were shops on the corner, most South African households had Ginger-beer as a soft drink for young and old alike. Five liter of soft drink cost about US$3.00, while 5 liter Ginger-beer cost about US$0,70.....One good reason make it!
There are many stories and preferences. Some people add raisins and all sort of family secrets.
These days you only get ginger-beer at the annual church bazaar and some farm stores on the highway.
Most of them are not nice at all, or I am just spoiled with perfect beer.
In the old days, yes, granny had a plant which were carefully nurtured!
But!...Remember, there were NO SHOPS AROUND!
I developed my "recipie" many years ago, using only basic an common ingredients, but actually it is more about the timing and control over the fementation. When people taste mine, I get large orders for weddings etc., which I only did for my own son.
Here in the South African bushveld with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celcius, (104 Farenheit) in summer, we drink gallons of Ginger-beer, and like Turkeys goes with Thanksgiving, Ginger beer goes with Christmas.
Put 4 liters of clean water in a 5 liter plastic bottle (or class container) With all the bugs around these days, I prefer to boil two liters of water at night and pour the cold water into the bottle two or three mornings in a row.
1) Pour 500 (1/2 liter) of near boiling water into the 4 liters water to raise the temperature to luke warm.
2) Add 600 grams of sugar, put on the lid and shake till dissolved.
3) Add 1 heaped teaspoon of Citric or tartaric acid.
4) Add 3 heaped teaspoons of Ginger powder.
5) Add I packet of dry yeast.(10 gram)
6) Shake and cover the jar with the LOOSE LID!... DO NOT SCREW ON! Leave in a warm shady place for one day and night to ferment. (not in sun) Clean and prepare 10 x 1/2 liter PET cold drink bottles, with a funnel to fit mouth of the bottles.
7) Screw the lid tight and gently mix the fermented beer, taking care to release any pressure buildup.
8) Pour the beer into the 10 bottles, and leave 20% of the volume open on top and screw them tight.
9) Leave them in a row for 24 hours, and watch them ferment. The bottles should become very hard.
10) put them into the fridge to stop fermentation. DONE!
Drink cold, but open slowly as it sometimes foams.
Keeps a month or more in the fridge.
We love the Ginger taste and texture, but one can use ginger essence to prevent the powder.
