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...