Basic 1 gallon recipe
Pics are from a two gallon batch, recipe is for 1 gallon...!!!...Equipment
1 gallon container. I like glass but I am sure you can use any food grade plastic container.
A cork and airlock that fits your gallon or go old school and use a piece of sheeting and a rubber band. Buth work fine. This will keep the mix covered and also allow its fermentation gasses to escape.
8 flip top grolsh beer bottles, 16 ounces ... Or something comparable , you can also use plastic screw cap soda bottles, reusing the caps..
Fine wine filter or cheese cloth
Funnel
Ingredients
1 fat thumbs worth of ginger root. Peeled and finely diced.
A little less than 2 cups of honey.
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract.
1/2 cup of lime juice.
1/2 lime zested, then dice up zest.
Home made ginger beer plant culture
1 Gallon of Water,(tap is fine if yours tastes good, bottled if it dosent )
Boil a cup of water and remove from heat and add fresh diced ginger and lime jest.
Add vanilla extract to boiled water and ginger and lime jest and place cover on pot to steep a bit . Allow to cool to room temp.
In gallon jug add:
Honey, lime juice, ginger vanilla water mix ( !!must be cooled to room temp!! ) ,
Using a funnel lined with a fine wine making filter or cheese cloth , strain the water and ginger beer plant yeast from the ginger beer plant slurry. This water and yeast that is strained out is added to the gallon. The strained slurry is put back in its jar and fresh water is added, along w some honey and some more fresh diced ginger root. Cover jar and shake to airate. This will continue to grow it own yeast and be ready in a week or so to ferment another batch.
I also add 2 teaspoons of the fine chopped ginger that is in the ginger beer plant container, just for good measure.
After all ingredients are added it is time to fill with your water. I fill a bit above the bottles shoulder, leave room for fermentation bubbling and gas release. Put a screw top on bottle temporarily and shake the living daylight out of the mix till honey is dissolved and mix is completely aerated . Remove screwcap and replace with airlock and cork or sheeting and rubber band .
Sit mix in a safe spot at room temp...
Within 24 hours it will begin to ferment. Mix will be bubbling and ginger inside gallon will be floating up and down.
Will look something like this after 3 days fermenting in the gallon.
Let ferment for at least three days. 3 days is usally sufficient for a quality carbonation to begin.
Clean the bottles you will be filling w your ginger ale with hot water and make sure they are clean.
Remove airlock or sheeting from fermentation gallon. Put on screw top and gently and quickly swirl mix to evenly distribute yeast as you fill your bottles. Remove cap from gallon and get ready to pour.
Use same type of filter in the funnel. Place funnel in bottle and fill. If using the beer bottle method leave an inch or 2 of space from top of bottle. If using a plastic bottle leave a few inches of space, and squeeze out air as you put the cap on. This will allow the gasses to expand without blowing the bottle up.
Let bottles sit for 48 hours and then refrigerate . Very important. Refrigeration stops/retards big time/ fermentation.
At this point the ginger ale is ready to drink and enjoy....Throw some right on ice and enjoy!!! Refrigerate the rest promptly...!!!...!!!
!!!!!!important!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!important!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!important!!!!!!!!!!!!!These bottles can explode if left at room temp too long. I put them in a covered 5 gal plastic pail for the 48 hours while it is bottled and force carbonating itself . This way if one blows the mess is confined and cleanup is super easy. Ya don't want glass and soda flying all over if one does pop.
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