Ginger Beer

[binley100]

Ginger Beer

The plant: - combine in a large screw top jar.
12g yeast
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp sugar
2 cups water.

Everyday add to plant 1 tsp ginger and 1 tsp sugar for seven days.
Strain this through double thickness muslin. Leave to drip do NOT squeeze.
Add to this 3 cups sugar, 4 cups boiling water and the juice of 2 large lemons.
Put into a large basin and add 14 cups of cold water. The liquid is then ready for bottling. Fill bottles to 2� from top and screw on caps tight.
Leave for seven days before drinking.
Scrape the remaining sludge off the muslin into your screw top jar and add to it 1 cup of cold water. Shake well and divide mixture into 2. To each half add 1 cup of cold water and 2tsp each of ginger and sugar. You now have two plants to feed as before.

NB. 1 cup sugar = 225g 1 cup water = 250ml

[Jeanied]

Fab recipe Binley - what a star to put this on. Just a word of advice from you - what kind of yeast, bearing in mind it is hard to get fresh these days?

[Glutton4...]

Fab - thanks binley - this is a very fond childhood memory of mine!

[crazywitch]

Fab recipe Binley - what a star to put this on. Just a word of advice from you - what kind of yeast, bearing in mind it is hard to get fresh these days?

dont know if u have a morrisons supermarket near u but they sell fresh yeast

[Jeanied]

dont know if u have a morrisons supermarket near u but they sell fresh yeast

I didn't know that!!! Thanks for the tip off Crazywitch - it is my nearest supermarket (only a small one though) but I have never seen it on sale. Presumably I just ask at the bread counter?

[binley100]

We're pretty sure its dried yeast that we used . I think you can use fresh but you would use a little bit less. Morrisons sell fresh yeast.

[Hilary B]

I used to use the 'ordinary' dried bread yeast (before they started selling this stuff you mix with the flour). Works fine.
This is a fermented beverage, and it can ferment more than intended. My last batch was bottled in the sort of beer bottles that hace 'clip-down' attached tops. None burst, but last one we opened, it frothed up so hard the cap flew away (founf it eventually) and there was about a teaspoonful left in the bottom of the bottle. Now we have 7 more pints that we dare not open........ (and that was a year or more ago)

[binley100]

Gowan be brave I dare you

[smallfrog]

Lol this went round our village when i was a kid. Everyone brewing splitting the plant and passing it on. In the end everyone was sick to death with the stuff!!!!
Think i might have ago at it with DS live in a town now i wonder weather it would take over the whole town or at least the school.
There was a cake as well think it was called the friendship cake where you used part of the "plant" and then past it on. If anyones heard of it or has a recipe can i have it for me Mum.

[zazen999]

I made some of this a couple of weeks ago and am cracking open the first bottle tonight.

[smallfrog]

I made some of this a couple of weeks ago and am cracking open the first bottle tonight.

let us know what its like! Did you use fresh yeast or dried in the end?

[Scottishnewbie]

oh how exciting - gonna start this right now!

[zazen999]

let us know what its like! Did you use fresh yeast or dried in the end?

Dried allinson's bread yeast.

Ok - I'm gonna open it now! Just for you.

[ginger ninger]

O, binley as if I haven't enough things to make *Ginger goes off in search for old Grolsch bottles*...

...I wonder if I can make an Alcoholic version ?

[zazen999]

Smallfrog now owes me a clean kitchen.

It opened fine; but after a split second frothed up and fizzed up - the clip down top was still sort of over the top and the froth hit that and sprayed everywhere.

Slightly annoying as I have ALL [minus 1] my teatowels in a hot wash which hasn't finished yet.

So, all my kitcheney stuff is now soaking in the sink. Doh! And I HAD put my one remaining tea towel over the top in case it went bananas - but it fell off once opened.

Tastes lovely though. Not sure whether this is slightly alcoholic or not...