Are you looking to home brew ginger beer? If you’re a fan of Moscow Mules and Mexican Mules there’s a strong chance you’re a ginger beer fan.
It can hold its own as a refreshing treat and homemade ginger beer can taste even better than bought versions. But if you’ve never brewed it before, you might not know where to start and it could seem daunting.
That’s where we come in! Keep reading for this guide on how to make ginger beer from the comfort of your own home.
Making Beer: What You’ll Need
The first step to making ginger beer at home for all you cocktail lovers is working out what you’ll need.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 days
Equipment You Need:
- Zester/Peeler
- Blender/grater
- Kitchen scales
- Funnel
- Thermometer
- 2-liter bottle
The recipe we’ll follow in this ginger beer guide will make around 2 liters. It’s also using fresh ginger that’s grated and active yeast.
For the serious brewer, you might want to get barrels or other containers to hold your stock. If you do, make sure you don’t forget a beer fob to go with it. You can click for more info.
Ingredients
Now we’ll look at the ingredients that you’ll need. There are two parts to this recipe, the ginger syrup and the ginger beer itself.
Ingredients For Your Ginger Syrup
2 tbsp of fresh, grated ginger
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of sugar (granulated)
Ingredients For Your Ginger Beer
The ginger syrup you made (see above)
7 cups of water (filtered)
1/8 tsp of active dry yeast or brewer’s yeast
3 tbsp squeezed fresh lemon juice
How to Make Beer: Ginger Beer
Once you have your ingredients and equipment ready, follow these easy steps:
- Wash and peel the ginger (only a small part with the tip of the peeler or teaspoon). Use the fine grater side to grate the thin ginger slices, or blend it. If using the zester, zest your lemons.
- Add your grated/blended ginger and sugar to a pan with as much water as the pan allows but not high enough to boil over.
- Put the pan on your stovetop and set it to medium heat. Stir until you dissolve all the sugar and take care not to overcook it.
- Take it off the heat and cool for 1 hour.
- Once cool, strain your mixture to separate the syrup for later. Discard any solids and allow the syrup to keep cooling.
- You could stop here for instant ginger ale, pouring 3-4 tbsp of syrup onto the ice with 8 ounces of club soda or seltzer. Bottle the rest and store it in your refrigerator.
- To get the full ginger beer you’ll need to go through the fermentation process. Put the funnel in the 2L bottle and pour in the syrup, water, and lemon juice. Then add your yeast, which starts the process.
- Close the lid and give it a good shake so the yeast dissolves in full. Make sure it’s sealed and place in a cool, dark place (a pantry) out of the sun. You want to leave for 2-3 days until it starts to fizz.
- Check on the process to loosen the seal if the bottle expands too much. Pressure can build up and if left, could explode the bottle. For this reason, use a plastic bottle, not a glass one.
- After 2-3 days it should be ready to drink. You should keep it in the refrigerator to slow down and stop further fermentation. You should consume it within 1-2 weeks.
How to Make Ginger Beer: All You Need to Know
So, there you have it! As you can see, how to make ginger beer at home isn’t complicated.
The key is getting the right equipment and ingredients prepared before you start. The more accurate you are and the better you prepare, the better the results will be. And once you’ve mastered ginger beer, the beer world is your oyster.