Home made ginger beer

Here is a reciepe both with and without plant (both work great I got it off here ages ago):

Ginger Beer Recipe

Without Bug

You can make your own this way, with ordinary yeasts, brewers or bakers will do. I do 9 litres at a time so this is for nine litres

1. Boil 9 litres water in a big stainless steel or enamel pot Chop up about 4 or 5 oz of ginger - actually I just grab a big piece of Ginger, peel it and slice it.
2. Slice about 3 lemons Throw all of that plus a heaped teaspoon of cream of tartar and a kilo of sugar into the boiling water and then let cool down.
3. If it's just normal ginger beer you want then when it's about 20 degrees C Throw in some yeast - about a teaspoon.
4. Put the lid on and wait for about 36 hours then bottle (actually it's ready when it forms a thin white scum).
5. Stored at about 20 degrees for a week it's ready to transfer to a cool storage place or into the fridge.
6. If it's alcoholic, Add the yeast and let it ferment until it stops bubbling in the water trap - about 4 or 5 days at about 22 degrees.
7. Then bottle with 1 tsp sugar.
8. Let it condition at 22 degrees for about a week or two.

GINGER BEER PLANT

1. Put in container (not metal) 1/2 cup sugar 1 dessertspoon ground ginger juice of 1 lemon 480 ml water Stand 3 days
2. Pour off half water and feed for 10 days 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon sugar
3. BEER Dissolve 4 cups sugar in 3 cups boiling water
4. Strain bug through cloth (I used 2 thicknesses of muslin) and squeeze well.
5. Add juice from plant to sugar mixture.
6. Add juice 2 lemons, 25 cups cold water and bottle
7. RENEW PLANT Keep 1/2 plant left in the cloth (give the other half to a friend) Put it back into the jar and add 1 cup warm water, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons ginger
8. Feed with 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger for 1 week

I am going to start making ginger beer again, something I did many years ago. I used to bottle it in old glass beer bottles with crown seals, but I understand some people now use recycled plastic soft drink bottles. How successful is this! Can you reuse the screw caps and do they seal ok!

I use recycled plastic bottles, its been highly sucessful,yes you can reuse the screw caps, just tighten them as hard as you can

Just make sure they are cleaned/sanitised properly so you do not introduce wild or contaminated yeasts in to your brew.

yesi alwaysusethedrinkbottlesandlidsTheyresealjustasgoodwhenmakingupdrinks

better in some ways, as they have a bit more give and if they do explode, no bits of glass all over the place

The advantage of using plastic bottles is that they feel soft when you fill them, and when they go firm after a couple of days, the ginger beer is ready to go into the fridge. No guesswork!

I give 'em a good squeeze to get all the air out - so you can 'see' how much ferment is in there, when they're round and tight again - helps to avoid explosions too :)

Hi can any one tell me how to get the ginger beer plant to start of with please! cheers.

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I made it once and once only. I kept it in a shed outside. We heard this loud booooom it exploded, never made ginger beer again.

There is a recipe here on how to start it"
http://www.allysongofton.co.nz/recipe/Ginger-Beer/!r=1218

Put " ginger beer " in the search on the left and you should comre up with one you can make directly in the bottle without a bug . I made it last summer from a recipe on here . Tastes really good too .

I don't suppose it was the "Rivercottage" one! With brewers yeast! I would love to know as someone else recommended that recipe and I want to try it. However I'm not sure what brand of Brewers yeast to buy!

http://www.e-ware.co.nz/recipe/gingerbeer.htm

No I didn't use brewers yeast. fisher has some good options there.
Here is the one I got off here ( can't remember who posted )
" In a 1.5 litre plasticfizz bottle place 1 c sugar; 1 tsp grd ginger & juice of half a lemon. Half fill bottle with water and shake well with lid on till sugar is completely dissolved . Fill with water leaving at least a 2.5cm gap at top to allow for fermentation. Add 6 sultanas or raisins and screw lid on. Leave in a warm place till bottle feels hard with pressure. Chill well & drink.
For lemonade leave out the ginger "
I cut down on the sugar a bit and stored it under the bbq on the trolley with the bbq cover over - kept the sun off but was still warm - was a bit worried it might explode but was fine and tasted delicious.