In this post I will teach you how to make ginger beer the old fashioned way, no soda machine or brewery required. This drink is nice and refreshing on a warm day; it’s also one of the main ingredients in the popular Moscow Mule cocktail. It’s easy, really, and surprisingly fizzy. I’ve outlined the recipe and process below, including a how-to video and photo tutorial.
Ginger, with its zippy and refreshing taste, is listed among the world’s oldest spices. As far back as 500 BC, this native plant of China and India was used for medicine, food, and flavoring. For most of the Western world, ginger was used to spice up drinks. Up until the Victorian era, beer was the drink of choice in England, especially herbal and spiced low-alcohol “small” beers such as ginger beer.
I would be willing to bet that most us were introduced to the flavor of Zingiber officinale through ginger ale. I don’t know about you, but the zingy soda pop was my mom’s go-to cure for tummy aches. This non-alcoholic ginger ale made its American debut in 1866 when a Detroit, Michigan pharmacist named James Vernor installed a soda fountain in his drugstore. Vernor began playing around with ginger extracts, and in 1870 perfected his recipe, which included mellowing the syrup for four years in wooden casks. It’s not surprising that a pharmacist would chose ginger, as the rhizome was (and still is) known as a stomach soother. In fact, Vernor’s ads often touted “Mothers tell their children to ask for Vernor’s Ginger Ale because it’s wholesome and healthful.” Vernor’s Ginger Ale remains just as popular today.
Ginger ale and ginger beer are both basically the same thing. It’s easy and inexpensive to make old-fashioned ginger beer at home, and you get more of a gingery taste than you do from the store-bought stuff. A bit of fermentation is involved, which produces a very slight alcohol content (not noticeable, but important to point out for those sensitive to alcohol). Some manufacturers ferment the mixture longer and make other adjustments to increase the alcohol content, but for our purposes this ginger beer is more akin to ginger ale. If you’re concerned, make the ginger syrup as noted below, but skip the fermentation process and mix it with seltzer water instead to produce a fermentation-free beverage.
Once you master the process of creating ginger beer, you’ll be hooked. It’s fun to ferment. Enjoy!
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Homemade Ginger Beer
Ingredients
Ginger Syrup Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
Ginger Beer Ingredients
- 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast or brewer's yeast
- Ginger syrup (ingredients above)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 7 cups filtered water
NOTES
Instructions
- Peel a chunk of the ginger with the tip of a teaspoon—the papery skin scrapes right off—and grate it, using the fine side of your grater. Place the ginger, sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to steep for an hour.
- Strain the mixture (discard the ginger solids) and allow to cool.
- You’ve now made ginger syrup (or gingerette, as the Brits call it). Stop right here if you’re looking for a short-cut to ginger ale and you don’t want to mess around with the fermentation process. Pour three or four tablespoons (more or less depending upon how gingery you like it) of your syrup over ice and add 8 ounces of seltzer water or club soda. Bottle the rest of the syrup and store it in the refrigerator.
- For the full ginger beer experience, place a funnel in the top of the bottle. Sprinkle the yeast in, followed by the syrup, lemon juice, and water.
- Put the lid on the bottle and shake the concoction until the yeast is dissolved. Stow it on a shady shelf or in your pantry out of direct sunlight for 2-3 days, or until fizz is achieved. At this point it is ready to drink, and must be stored in the refrigerator to prevent further fermentation. Don't forget about the bottle, or the pressure will build up so much that it may explode!As with any yeast-powered beverage, the fermentation process continues unless you prevent it from happening. Refrigerating will slow the process down but not stop it completely, that's why it’s best to treat ginger beer as a perishable beverage. Consume within 1-2 weeks.
- Serve over ice and savor the spicy taste of your very own homemade ginger beer!
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Amy says
I just released the lid on the second day after brewing it, and its fizzy (I read the comment about opening it every day AFTER it goes in the fridge, after doing it :/) so if its fizzy, is it ready to drink?
Seth Tyrssen says
I would say, probably not. It will continue to fizz for a while, I expect; I’m no expert but I’ve brewed mead a couple times, and without a “vapor lock” of some sort, I’d have to release the excess gases every now and then. I imagine the same would hold true for ginger ale. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable and experienced will weigh in!
Timothy says
Depends on how much of an alco taste you want. If you just want it carbonated it should be great. Open it up and try some if you like it drink it all. After going in the fridge the fermenation process slows down considerably. Just don’t put the lid on super super tight and it will self breath out before the bottle explodes. Ie just put the lid on so that you can hear a very slight hissing sound if you listen real close. that way you know the bottle is self relieving.
Liam H says
Nice photos, this looks a great, cheap and easy project for me to try.
Seth Tyrssen says
Please do, Chris! The raisins sound like a good idea! How “heavy on the ginger” did ya go?
Chris says
Read quite a few Ginger Beer recipes – liked this one the best. So just made it according to recipe …. Oh almost, I was heavy on the ginger. Also read in another recipe about adding raisins to support the fermentation process – so added 20 raisins. Will update in a few days.
Allyson says
I just found some large glass bottles today. I always wanted to make homemade fermented ginger and root beer at home with no club soda! Can’t wait to try this tomorrow! I’m a stay at home mom now, so I’m not worried about the exploding factor.
Seth Tyrssen says
Fascinating! I, too, grew up in the Detroit area with the taste of the ORIGINAL Vernor’s formula. I’d like to re-create that, or come as close as possible! Any tips on that, anyone?
Zameera Latchman says
I tried this the two different ways and i love it. It has me thinking if i use this same recipe but use different types of friuts if the results will be the same and give the amazing taste. Will let u know out things turn out….
Jesse says
Tried to make this and it came out with a fairly strong alcohol taste. Followed the recipe to the letter. Going to try using some brewers yeast instead of active dry and cut back on the time I let the brew ferment. I would assume that once there is significant pressure in the bottle it is probably well enough carbonated to chill and bottle. Are my assumptions correct here or is there something else I should try?
Ray Croskrey says
I just came home with a bottle of Cock & Bull Ginger Beer (which is very tasty) and was wondering if I could make my own and sure enough I found this article. I love ginger beer and can’t wait to try making my own. Thanks for the great article!
FONDA says
I awakend the yeast with water salt then added stevia and all the rest as a diabetic
Dr.J says
What amount of salt and water are you using to awaken the yeast? When do you add the stevia and by what amount.
Hank Pawlowicz says
Salt kills yeast!! Not sure what it does here. Warm water will do the trick by it self but usually with sugar for all recipes. If you need to cut sugar it is not simple. You only need the yeast to carbonate the liquid and they sell tablets at brewing products seller’s that will do that.
David says
This is the easy way, the “Old Fashion” way involves creating a plant.
Robbie says
Hi there, this recipe looks great I can’t wait to give it a try.
I am also interested in making some alcoholic ginger beer, just the strength of regular beer 4-5%.
Is it just a matter of letting it ferment longer, or do I need to adjust the yeast and sugar levels?
Thanks 🙂
Dan says
Hi Robbie
You might consider usig a beer yeast rather than bread yeast, and if you want any sweetness in the final product, you’ll want to add some more sugar to the recipe, but if you’re looking for a dry result, the recipe as is should work all right.
Shailesh Salelkar says
I have tried it and it tastes nice. Thanks.
Max Benson says
Just wondering if the yeast (active dry yeast) is the same as the stuff you use in bread? Also, does it produce alcohol because I didn’t think it did?
Tori Avey says
Yes Max– as the yeast ferments it creates a very small amount of alcohol, it’s really negligible in this recipe however I wanted to mention it in case any readers are concerned about it.
Harley says
Hi Max,
Harley says
Oops, computer glitch!
I was going to say that bread yeast might impart some odd flavours, you probably wont pick them up though. I’m an all grain beer brewer and we use dedicated yeasts designed to ferment clean (i.e. no off flavours).
As for alcohol, if this is a concern you can buy a hydrometer. They are cheap and there is plenty of info on the web on how to use them.
Lisa Hartman says
Brilliant! I have all the ingredients in the house. Will the recipe work with beet sugar?
Timothy says
Of course will work with beet sugar. Beet sugar is sucrose as well, the more sugar the better it works.
Lynda Hill says
I combined a recipe for beet kvass and gingerale (they looked pretty much the same anyway). I sliced up 3 med beets and put in a 1/2 gal mason jar. I boiled 4″ of chopped ginger (wondering if I should grate instead?) w/ as little water as I could for that amount of ginger for 10 mins, took off the stove and added 1/2c of honey and after it got to room temp, I poured on top of beets, then filled the jar w/ whey after making kefir cheese. 7 days on the counter. It’s delicious! Not as fizzy as I thought it would be, but it’s fizzy enough. I wonder, could I add a few kefir grains to it also instead of the ginger root plant?
Kate Pollitt says
Yum! Can’t wait to try this, I’ve been reading Famous Five books to my 7 year old little boy and keep getting cravings for ginger beer.
Karen Lewis says
I made ginger syrup, lots of it, so I could make homemade ginger ale. Now I want to investigate making other syrups so I can make other drinks, like Orange or Lemon, or Lime syrups!
Matt says
Steve, they’ve also got rubber stops that fit a bubbler (basically a one way water valve). I made wine not to long ago and it works perfect. I, also, have to motion to go with glass. Lastly, Karen, let me know how your other syrups turn out! I’d love to do the same!
Mary Ellen says
Plastic is full of carcinogens, you should use glass. It will have a crisper flavor anyway since plastic adds it’s own flavor to the mix. Thanks for the recipe, sounds good. I don’t drink anything with sugar in it but I am sure I can tweek it with Stevia.
wayne says
It won’t work then. The yeast uses the sugar for food.
Steve Taylor says
I agree, use glass.
Brewing supplies stock plastic stoppers for champagne bottles so I’m currently saving some to try that.
cheers.
Steve.
Simon says
i agree about plastic being a carcingogen and imparting negativley on the flavours of whatever is stored within. however plastic would be safer in terms its flexability during expansion. glass would break under pressure. if avoiding both glass and plastic for very different safety reasons. what container would you suggest please?
James says
You can use glass bottles to make this. You need to swap out that vast majority of the sugar for something like Stevia or Xylitol and only use a little bit of sugar to carbonate the drink.
Kari@Loaves n Dishes says
I rarely drink soda pop any more, but if I do, my preference is for ginger ale. Now that you’ve shown how easy it is to make, I may start drinking it more often!
Sharon Roth says
I grow my own ginger root!