How to Make Australian Ginger Beer

Australian ginger beer was first made in England in the early 1700s. It was originally an alcoholic beverage, but the recipe that is used today is more of a soft drink, and is rarely used to make alcoholic beer. Ginger beer gets its flavor from lemon, ginger and sugar. While it does take a bit of time to make your own Australian ginger beer, it is worth the wait.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 large jar
• 1 large sauce pan
• 1 large spoon
• 1 large rubber band
• 3 large pieces of muslin
• 1 strainer
• 2 tbsp. ground ginger
• 4 cups and 2 tbsp. sugar
• 19 cups warm water
• 1/2 tsp. dried yeast
• 6 cups cold water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 6 (1 liter) glass or plastic bottles with clip-on seals or screw tops

Making the Ginger Mother

1. Put 1/2 tsp. dried yeast and 1/2 tsp. of sugar into the large jar.

2. Add 1 cup of warm water and 1/2 tsp. ground ginger to the large jar.

3. Stir the mixture until it is well blended and cover the jar with the piece of muslin. Then wrap a rubber band around the opening to keep the muslin in place. Keep the jar in a place where it will remain at room temperature.

4. Leave the jar for 8 days, and each day add 1/2 tsp. of sugar and 1/2 tsp. of ground ginger to the jar. Stir the mixture again to blend the ingredients well.

Making the Sugar Syrup

5. Put 4 cups of sugar and 6 cups of cold water into the large sauce pan on the 9th day.

6. Heat the mixture and then stir it until all the sugar has dissolved.

7. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and add 18 cups of warm water, and 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Let it sit until the mixture is comfortably warm to your finger.

8. Line your strainer with the two other pieces of muslin, because you want a double thickness. Strain the mixture from your mother ginger jar through the strainer, and into the pan with the sugar syrup.

9. Stir the syrup mixture so all the ingredients are blended well, then pour it into the 6-liter bottles and cap them. Leave the bottles in a cool place for 5 days, unless it is warm out, then leave them for 3 or 4 days. After that, the Australian ginger beer is good to drink. They will keep well in the refrigerator.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep half the ginger mother sediment and return it to your large jar along with 1 tsp. of ginger, 1 tsp. of sugar and 1 cup of warm water if you want to start a second batch of Australian ginger beer.
• If you decide to begin a second batch of Australian ginger beer, don't add any more yeast to the new ginger mother you're starting, as it will create too much fermentation.

References

• Ginger Beer
• Ginger Beer: All Recipes Australia New Zealand

Resources

• Homemade Ginger Beer

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