With the weather getting warmer, I like to find new healthy recipes for cold drinks to keep us refreshed this summer. While I’m a big water drinker, it can get boring and I can only have so much iced coffee before I’m bouncing off the walls.
I’ve never been a habitual soda drinker but my husband used to be. He broke his soda habit a couple years ago but he still craves the carbonation from those beverages. In the past we would occasionally get the naturally flavored soda waters but you have to read the labels carefully and the empty cans can’t be reused (by us at least).
So I started reading more about fermented homemade drinks. I go into more detail about fermentation and why it’s good to consume fermented foods in this post. As far as drinks went, I knew about kombucha but the taste has never been something I love. I’ve also used milk kefir grains before and while it’s tasty I wouldn’t call it refreshing.
Luckily I came across the Living Homegrown Podcast and listened to the episode “Fermenting Soda with a Ginger Bug” all about the process of making homemade ginger ale or ginger beer. So far the only difference I can find between the two is one uses ginger syrup and one uses real ginger, so I will refer to this as ginger beer. However it’s not to be confused with alcoholic beer. There is a minuscule amount of alcohol if any in this ferment.
Getting to the ginger beer is a two step ferment much the same as adding flavor to a batch of kombucha. You first need to culture a ginger bug.
Making a Ginger Bug
Here I followed Theresa Loe’s recipe from the Living Homegrown Podcast. Her entire website and podcast are great resources for learning about canning, fermenting, and growing food. She gives a lot of information about the fermentation process and troubleshoots.
What You Will Need:
- a quart size canning jar
- 2 cups of filtered water (I use tap water and leave it out for 24 hours or boil it for 20 minutes to evaporate any added chlorine)
- 1 tbsp organic ginger, plus additional ginger to feed the bug (it needs to be organic to ensure it isn’t treated with irradiation which will kill the wild yeast and bacteria you need to create the bug)
- 1 tbsp sugar, plus additional sugar to feed the bug (I started with regular white sugar because that’s what I had at the time. It works but other people suggest using organic cane sugar and Living Homegrown suggests organic sucanat)
I chose to thinly slice my ginger but you can also grate it. After some experimenting, I think grating it gives a stronger ginger flavor. Combine the water, ginger, and sugar in the mason jar and stir.
Cover the jar with a coffee filter. I held mine in place with a canning ring. You can also use a paper towel and rubber band. Leave the jar out on the counter but out of the direct sun.
Feed the bug daily by stirring in another tbsp of thinly sliced ginger and a tbsp of sugar.
After 3 days I started to see signs of fermentation. There was a little foam around the top edges and heard a fizz when I stirred in the sugar. It can take between 3 to 7 days to see signs of fermentation. How warm or cold the room is will affect the fermentation process – warmer will be a faster ferment and colder will take longer.
Once you see signs of fermentation, you can move onto the next step. I recommend being patient and waiting 5 days or until the ginger bug is really bubbling when you feed it. I saw signs of fermentation on day 3 and moved onto step 2 but it was too soon and my ginger beer didn’t carbonate.
Homemade Ginger Beer
The first time I made ginger beer, I used Theresa Loe’s Homemade Ginger Ale Recipe. Over time though and consulting The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz, I started adjusting the measurements to explore different flavors and strengths. The recipe below is the go to that I have settled on for my tastes. I recommend trying a basic recipe once or twice and then experimenting to find what’s best for you taste buds.
What You Will Need:
- 3 16 ounce swing top glass bottles
- 5 1/2 cups of filtered water (again I use tap and leave it out on the counter for 24 hours or boil it for 20 minutes to remove the chlorine)
- 2″ ginger, thinly sliced or grated (grated will give stronger flavor)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 small lemons
- 2/3 cup strained ginger bug
To start I measure out 1 1/2 cups of my filtered water into a small pot. I add my grated ginger to it and simmer for for about 20 minutes.
When it’s done, I pour the ginger mix through a small filter above a medium sized bowl to remove the grated ginger. I add my sugar to the hot ginger water and stir until it is dissolved.
Then I pour in the rest of the cool filtered water and squeeze my lemon juice in.
Once I’m sure the ginger beer liquid has cooled down to room temperature, I add my strained ginger bug and stir again.
Next I pour it into my 16 ounce bottles, leaving at least 1 inch of head space.
I leave these bottles out for 1 to 3 days to carbonate before moving them to the fridge to stop the processing.
Notes:
I’m very nervous about glass bottles exploding particularly since the temperature in our kitchen can be really warm without air conditioning. If we’ve had hot days, I carefully pop the tops on the bottles to see how much pressure has built up. I keep my thumb over the top plug to prevent it from opening all the way, losing carbonation. I usually do this over the sink to avoid any accidental messes in case the pressures has really built up.
Nothing has to be very exact in this recipe. I recommend playing around with different amounts of ginger until you find your sweet spot. The lemon juice can be adjusted too. On Living Homegrown, she recommends adding a cinnamon stick. I’ve seen other people add other fruit juice like raspberry.
Continuing Your Ginger Bug:
You will want to keep your ginger bug going for future batches! Replace the water volume you removed for your strained liquid and continue feeding it a tbsp of sugar and a tbsp of ginger daily.
If you find you’d like to take a break or perhaps just make the ginger beer once a week, you can store your ginger bug in the fridge. Leave it as is with the breathable coffee filter or paper towel over it. Take the ginger bug out once a week and let it get to room temperature. Then feed it the tbsp of sugar and ginger before making a batch or moving it back to the fridge.
Resources I find helpful:
The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz
The Living Homegrown Podcast and Homemade Ginger Ale article
How to Ferment Water Kefir – another refreshing and healthy alternative to soda!
What cold beverages to do you look forward to in the summer? Share your favorites in the comments below.
