Fermented Ginger Beer (Ginger Bug Method)
HB-18744 · Hand-built original · American
A living ginger bug - grated ginger and honey fed twice a day - ferments a gallon of lemon-ginger wort into naturally carbonated ginger beer, a method entirely unlike a quick stovetop syrup soda.
AmericanDrink21 hr 30 minMakes 16 cups3 kcalVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeDiabeticLow-SodiumLow Fat / Low CholesterolRenal
Main ingredient: ginger
Pairs well with: jerk chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, ginger snaps
Servings:16quantities adjust to match
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 medium fresh ginger roots
- Pure water
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup raw honey, plus more for feeding and to taste
Method
- Start the ginger bug: fill a quart jar two-thirds full of water, grate in 1 tablespoon of unpeeled ginger and stir in 1 tablespoon of honey until it dissolves.
- Cover the jar with cheesecloth held by a rubber band and keep the bug somewhere warm, between 75 and 85°F.
- Stir and taste the bug every 12 hours, feeding it roughly 1 tablespoon each of grated ginger and honey plus 2 tablespoons of water whenever it needs it, for 3 to 7 days, until bubbles sheet the surface and a stir makes it fizz.
- Make the wort in a gallon jar: combine 1 cup of the active ginger bug with 1/3 cup well-packed grated ginger, the lemon juice and 3/4 cup honey, then fill the jar to its shoulder with water and stir until the honey vanishes.
- Cover that jar with cheesecloth and stir the wort every 12 hours for 3 to 7 days, tasting as it ferments, until bubbles gather on top and stirring the Fermented Ginger Beer sets off a fizz.
- Strain the wort through a funnel into swing-top bottles, filling each to within 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the top, and seal them in the same warm spot for 3 to 7 days.
- Test a bottle on day 3; once the ginger beer fizzes on opening, refrigerate every bottle and drink the batch cold.
Prep: 30 minutes · Total: 21 hours 30 minutes
Nutrition (per serving, where published)
3 kcalCalories
0.1 gProtein
0.7 gCarbs
0 gFat
0 gSaturates
0 gFibre
0.1 gSugars
11 mgSodium
0 mgCholesterol
34 mgPotassium
5 mgCalcium
1 servingServing
Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data