I'm tasting the results of my labour now and while there are a few things that I would change about it the next time that I make it, it is certainly drinkable and fun to make.
The Recipe:
Homemade Ginger Beer
1 2L bottle of still water (tap water is fine if you have a spare 2L container that you can close tightly with a cap or a cork)
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp fast action yeast
1 lemon, juiced
At least 2-3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
Begin by decanting the water into a large container. Funnel the sugar and yeast into the bottle. Mix the grated ginger and lemon juice together and then add that to the bottle. Add about two-thirds of the water, cap the bottle and shake vigourously until the sugar has dissolved. Once this is done, top up the water leaving a gap at the top, cap the bottle tightly and leave it to ferment in a warm space such as an airing closet for 24-48 hours. You will be able to tell that the fermentation process is working by squeezing the bottle--as the gasses build up in the bottle, it will become more difficult to squeeze. Once the bottle is hard, refrigerate it, let it chill, and serve it.
What is healthy about this recipe: This drink has too much sugar in it to be healthy, but you could probably use raw cane sugar or something along those lines instead. That said, sugar is the only bad thing in it, and unlike store-bought soft drinks, you know exactly what is in it.
What is seasonal about this recipe: I don't know? What are the seasons for lemons and ginger?
What I learned from this recipe: Homebrewing is surprisingly easy. This doesn't mean that I'm going to try making real booze, if only for want of space and equipment.
What I will change next time: The ginger beer wasn't spicy enough for my liking, but I like a really hot and spicy ginger beer. I'd perhaps even double the amount of ginger in it. There was also a bit too much of a lemon flavour in it--I'd reduce the amount of lemon in it, maybe by half. I'm not sure how this would work in terms of the brewing--I don't know if the acidity is integral to the brewing process--but it's an easy and cheap recipe so if it turns out to be a failure, there's not much lost. There are also many different ways of making ginger beer and I'd like to try some of those ways to see how those work out.
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