Making Ginger Beer

Aim: I want to find out how to make Ginger Beer.



Method:

What I need:

Ginger, Lemon juice, Water, Sugar, Yeast(Ginger Bug), A bottle to put the drink in.



What I need to do:

1. Peel and grate the fresh ginger using a box grater. You want about 1/4 cup of grated ginger.
2. Add the cream of tartar (1/2 teaspoon), lemon juice (1/4 cup), and ginger to a large pot.
3. Add 4 cups of water, and bring the mixture to a full boil.
4. Turn the heat down to medium, add the sugar and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.
5. Add the rest of the (cold) water to the pot (5 cups) and allow it to cool to around 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius). Add the yeast (1 teaspoon), stir well.
6. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel and place in a warm, dark part of your house for 3 hours. The mixture should smell gingery and yeasty!
7. Using a fine strainer, strain the liquid into a large pitcher to remove all the bits of ginger.
8. Pour the brew into a clean 2-litre plastic bottle (empty soda water bottles work perfectly, and you can also use 2 one-litre bottles) but do not fill up the bottles all the way because the fermentation will yield carbon dioxide.

Place the ginger beer in a dark, warm room for 2 to 3 days. One to three times a day, carefully loosen the caps to relieve some of the pressure (without opening the bottles all the way). The drink becomes very pressurised and fizzy, so skipping this step could result in a ginger beer bottle explosion. Be very careful in this process and do not point the bottles at anyone’s (or your own face).

After your brew is finished fermenting, you can either add fruit, simple syrup, juice, or liquor to it to create a customised treat, or drink it as is. If you choose to bottle the ginger beer in glass bottles, allow the ginger beer to lose much of its fizz prior to bottling, as it will continue to carbonate in the bottles, which could result in them exploding if there is too much pressure.


Results:

What did it look like?

When I saw my ginger beer, I so sludge at the bottom of the bottle. It was the yeast growing as it eats all of the sugar.

What does it smell like?

When I took  the lid off my ginger beer bottle, there was a really strong smell of ginger, and really strong stale alcohol.

What does it taste like?

When I tasted my ginger beer, it felt refreshing in my mouth. The ginger kinda made it spicy. The yeast has already eaten all of the sugar, so it did not taste sweet.

What happen if you shake it?

When I shook the bottle, it started fizzing up. It was the Carbon Dioxide made by the yeast.


Discussion:

What is yeast?

Yeast is a microscopic fungus, that has the ability to change sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. 

What did the yeast do to the Ginger Beer?

The yeast has eaten all of the sugar that was in the bottle and made it to alcohol and carbon dioxide.

What are some other good uses for yeast?

Making bread, making wine, biofuel, yeast extract