Home Made Ginger Beer Recipe

One of the things my Dad shared with me was how to start a "Ginger Beer Plant". This recipe is very easy to follow and has been made many times with great success.

Recently I found a copy of the recipe and thought it would be worth publishing online.

If you like commercial Ginger Beer, then you'll love this brew...

Propagating the plant (Part 1)

In a large jar mix the following items to form the basis of your ginger beer plant;

• 1 Teaspoon of lemon pulp
• 2 Teaspoons of ground ginger
• 4 Teaspoons of sugar
• 2 Cups of cold water
• 8 Sultana's

Once combined, the 'plant' must be left for 3 to 4 days, depending on climate to ferment.

Store the jar in a warm dry place to help this process along.

Feeding the ginger beer plant (Part 2)

Each day your plant must be nourished by adding the following items to the jar, in order to keep it growing;

• 2 Teaspoons of ground ginger
• 4 Teaspoons of sugar

The harvest (Part 3)

After feeding your plant for one week, it now becomes time to harvest the crop. You will now need the following items:

• A CLEAN plastic bucket
• 12 glass bottles with lids
• An old pair of womens stockings

In addition you will need the following additional ingredients:

• 4 Cups of sugar
• 4 Cups of boiling water
• Juice of 4 lemons
• 28 Cups of cold water

In the plastic bucket, dissolve the sugar in the boiling water, add the lemon juice and cold water.

The next step requires you to strain the 'plant mixture' into the bucket through a double layer of stockings, squeeze until the mixture is relatively dry.

Mix the entire buckets contents thoroughly and then bottle.

NOTES:

• When filling up the bottles, remember to fill each bottle to approximately one third up the bottles neck.
• For a little extra Fizzz... add 1 or 2 sultanas to each bottle before capping

Reviving the plant (Part 4)

Once the plant has been harvested, it is possible to revive it by separating teh remainder into halves and cultivating it as detailed in Part 2 (above).

Each half must now be treated as a separate entity and in subsequent harvests a double batch may be made or a half plant may be given away to a friend.

This recipe makes approximately 11 bottles of Home Made Ginger Beer!