The BEST travel deals this summer!
Sponsored by Best Western This is a
recipe for making ginger beer from
scratch (that is, with natural
yeast), so of course we can't
guarantee that it is going to work,
because the yeast needs to do its
job to start the bug, or culture.
We got it to work quite a few
times, though, so with some
patience and persistence you have
good odds. Special equipment: You
can buy a special ginger grater,
but unless you are going to be
using it on an almost daily basis,
we think it is more practical to
get the affordable and multipurpose
zester from Microplane. You can
find cheesecloth at most grocery
stores and kitchen supply shops. A
fine-mesh strainer is a useful
kitchen tool. Use an instant-read
digital thermometer for this
recipe. Look for bottling equipment
at a craft-brewing supply store.
You can also buy the equipment
online from San Francisco
Brewcraft. 4 large (22-ounce) dark
glass crown-cap or bail-top bottles
4 bail tops (if using bail-top
bottles) 4 new metal crown caps (if
using plain bottles and caps), plus
more for mistakes 1 wing bottle
capper (if using plain bottles and
caps) 1 small plastic water bottle
(around 16 ounces) 1 small funnel 1
large funnel 1 (5-gallon) bucket A
bottle brush A clean dishtowel Game
plan: Be sure to have your bottling
equipment already in the
sterilizing solution before you
begin making your ginger beer.
Naturally fermented sodas like this
one produce light carbonation, so
there's little risk of your bottles
exploding. However this can occur,
so we encourage you to store the
bottles somewhere where it would be
OK if that happened, such as an
unused bathtub. This recipe was
featured as part of our Make Your
Own Soda Pop project. SERVINGS: 4
(22-ounce) bottles plus 1 test
bottle (about 3 quarts)
