Ginger beer is a great drink for warmer weather. You may have found some ginger beer kits, but they can have an artificial taste and are lacking in spicy ginger bite. Our recipe belowis for aclassic ginger beer at around 4-5% alcohol content, but you can also make an alcohol-free version for the kids, and you can even substitute malt extract for honey or raw sugar to make a gluten free version (read our notes at the bottom of the page first!). Our recipe makes quite a spicy ginger beer and that’s how we like it, but you can reduce the amount of ginger if you prefer.
Equipment needed
Kitchen Basics
Stockpot (around 8L in volume for a 4.5L batch)
Grater or blender
Peeler or zester
Kitchen scales
Thermometer
Funnel
Brewing Supplies
Non-Rinse SanitiserFermenter + Airlock
Empty Bottles, Caps and Capper
Note: for all your brewing equipment you might consider our 5L starter kit or 23L starter kit instead.
Ingredients
Ingredients to make 4.5L
280g Ginger
225g Raw Sugar
280g Light Dry Malt Extract (store any excessmaltextract in an airtight container)
1/2 Sachet Ale Yeast
1 PackCarbonation DropsOptional: Small piece of a cinnamonstick or cassia bark, zest of 1 lemon.
Ingredients to make 20L
1.25kg Ginger
1kg Raw Sugar
1 x 1.5kg Can of Light Liquid Malt Extract
1 Sachet Ale Yeast
1 PackCarbonation Drops
Optional: Acinnamonstick or cassia bark, zest of 4 lemons.
Process
- Before you start brewing, sanitise your fermenter according to the instructions on your sanitiser, set the fermenter aside with the sanitiser solution to soak.
- Wash the ginger under cold water, then use a grater or food processor to finely grateor blend. Zest lemons if using zest.
- Add grated ginger and malt extract to your stockpot andas much water as the pot allows without exceeding the batch size (leaving room so it doesn’t boil over).
- Bring the pot to a simmer, and cookfor at least 5minutes (most people go for 10-20 to be safe). This extracts the flavour from the ginger, and kills bacteria which would spoil the batch. Optionally add the cassia barkand lemon zest to the boil.
- In the last minute or so of the boil, add the raw sugar. We add the sugarlate toreduce the chance of boiling over.
- Once the boiling time is finished, cool the mix down – you can just put a lid on the pot and allow to stand for a few hours, or place the pot into a cold water bath. Remember that as the mix cools we need to avoid contamination of any kind so nothing should come into contact with the liquid once it’s stopped boiling.
- While the mixture is cooling,finish cleaning up the fermenter (pour out excess sanitiser)and anything else that’s going to contact the mixture such as a funnel or syphoning hose.
- Once the mix is below 30°C (ideally around 20°c), transfer it into your fermenter and add the yeast. Seal up the fermenter with some water in the airlock. It’s best to keep the fermenter in a cool dark place (around 18-20°c) for the duration of fermentation.
- Allow the mix to ferment for at least 5 days – this is a minimum and extra time in the fermenter won’t hurt it. You can leave it to ferment for up to 2 weeks without issue.The airlock should have stopped bubbling before bottling.
- Once the fermentation is done, it’s time to bottle up the ginger beer. Sanitise your bottles and bottling equipment as per directions on your sanitiser.Add 1 x carbonation drop per stubby sized bottle or 2 x carbonation drops per longy sized bottle. Cap the bottles and allow to stand at room temperature for 2 weeks.
Serve chilled and enjoy! You may wish tomix up a bottle of simple syrup to add a dash of sweetness to the ginger beer when serving. This isbecause the ginger beer is naturally very dry tasting (almost like champagne!), and adding extra sugar during bottlingmeans more carbonation (andbroken bottles) instead of more sweetness.
Alcohol free version
You can make an “alcohol free” version of this ginger beer (actually a very low alcohol version at less than 0.5%). Just omit the malt extract and raw sugar added to the boil.Once the mixture is cooled, add the yeast and stir and allow to sit for just 30 minutes before bottling with carbonation drops as usual.
Gluten free version
Replace the dry or liquid malt extract with other sugar sources such as honey, additional raw sugar, agave syrup,brown rice syrup etc.
Go to flavour town
We recommend using a little cinnamon and lemon zest but you can try using other spices like some crushed cardomom, coriander seed – some people even add extra heat using chillies! You canget creative but we recommend sticking to the simpler recipe for your first attempt.
If in doubt
We love helping our purchasing customers with their questions in the store, but please read our FAQ’s pageand do a little research online as we’re unable to fieldcalls and emails asking for general brewingadvice. Chances are the information you need already exists online. If you send us an email asking an easilysearched question or one that’s answered in our FAQ’syou willreceive no reply.
FAQs
Make the Ginger Beer:
Add 1 cup of the ginger starter, sugar, lemon juice, grated ginger, and the ginger starter. Stir very well. Cover the jug with a cheesecloth or towel bound by a rubber band and put it in a dark place at room temperature for 8 to 10 days.
How is ginger beer brewed? ›
Original ginger beer is brewed by leaving water, sugar, ginger, optional ingredients such as lemon juice and cream of tartar, and GBP to ferment for several days, converting some of the sugar into alcohol. GBP may be obtained from several commercial sources.
Why won t my ginger beer ferment? ›
YOU MUST LET IT COOL BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE NEXT STEP. Heat will kill your microbes and your ginger beer won't ferment.
How long do you leave ginger beer to ferment? ›
Bottle in sealable bottles: Recycle plastic soda bottles with screw tops; rubber gasket “bail-top” bottles that Grolsch and some other premium beers use; sealable juice jugs; or capped beer bottles, as described in chapter 11. Leave bottles to ferment in a warm spot for about 2 weeks. Cool before opening.
What happens if you let ginger beer ferment too long? ›
When you have a brew that has succumbed to Autolysis it will have this burnt rubber taste and smell to it and will most likely be undrinkable. At that point, you would want to toss it. Now I do want to note that you can keep beer in the fermenter for longer.
Can you home brew ginger beer? ›
By making your own, you can make it healthier without needing the additives, and you can make it taste more authentic by using real ginger. By home brewing, you'll also get to determine the balance of flavours for yourself.
How do you know when ginger beer is done fermenting? ›
Allow the mix to ferment for at least 5 days – this is a minimum and extra time in the fermenter won't hurt it. You can leave it to ferment for up to 2 weeks without issue. The airlock should have stopped bubbling before bottling. Once the fermentation is done, it's time to bottle up the ginger beer.
What yeast to use for ginger beer? ›
I always go with organic fresh ginger root because it contains plenty of natural bacteria and natural yeasts for the best ginger beer. Some people add brewer's yeast (beer yeast) or champagne yeast to this recipe to boost the activity and alcohol content.
What are the 7 steps of the beer brewing process? ›
Here are seven steps that make up the brewing process:
- Milling. Beer making starts with the milling of brewing grains. ...
- Mashing. Mashing looks like porridge making. ...
- Lautering. ...
- Boiling. ...
- Fermentation. ...
- Filtration and Conditioning. ...
- Packaging.
Steps in the brewing process include malting, milling, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermenting, conditioning, filtering, and packaging.
The short answer is that, on average, it takes about four hours to brew beer, one to two weeks to ferment and condition, two hours to package in bottles, and one to two weeks to naturally carbonate in bottles. So, trom start to finish, on average, it takes anywhere from two to four weeks to make beer.
Why is my homemade ginger beer flat? ›
After using this bug for the ginger beer, it is possible to seal it and put it in the refrigerator, where it will lie dormant — and alive — for a few days. But beware, if left long enough, it will go flat because the yeasts will die.
Why is ginger beer no longer alcoholic? ›
Modern ginger beer is not fermented, but is instead carbonated, making it a soft drink. This ginger beer typically contains less than . 5 percent alcohol, and is not classified as an alcoholic beverage.
How do you increase alcohol in home brewed ginger beer? ›
If you like your Ginger Beer more alcoholic, say 6%, then just add an additional 1kg of Dextrose or raw sugar at the start – easy! It is easy – follow the directions as above but do not add the Dextrose or raw sugar and do not ferment for 5-7 days.
Is homemade fermented ginger beer alcoholic? ›
If you like the fiery taste of ginger, you'll love this homemade fermented drink. Its alcohol content is similar to that of a beer, which is usually between 3 and 5%.
How much ginger do I need for 5 gallons of ginger beer? ›
Ingredients: • 2 lbs peeled, diced ginger root • 5 lbs organic cane sugar • 5 limes (zest and juice) • Water to make 5 gallons • Yeast nutrient (dose per manufacturer instructions) • 1 packet S-04 yeast Boil 2.5 gallons of water, then remove from heat. Stir in sugar and yeast nutrient until well dissolved.
Does ginger beer ferment in fridge? ›
At this stage, you'll want to bottle it and transfer it to the fridge, where it will continue to ferment, but at a much slower rate.It will keep indefinitely in the fridge, although pressure from CO2 will continue to slowly build up in the bottle if you don't release the cap from time to time.
Is fermented ginger beer good for you? ›
Drinking ginger beer can help reduce inflammation, promote digestion, relieve nausea, and even help in the prevention of cancer. Ginger beer is a less-sweet alternative to ginger ale, and the popularity has skyrocketed among Americans, especially millennials.
