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!
Karen says
A different taste and process than I do for sure. I think by not adding yeast, letting the natural yeasts and bacteria do the ferment is the geek in me and gives me a sense of magic. But, also a labor of love! However, this turned out pretty good and seemed like less room for error. Many thanks!
anonymous says
Hi! I am a huge fan of ginger beer, so with a little time on my hands I got really excited about trying this!
I made my first batch and its has been two days since I started the fermentation process. I am quite happy with how it turned out but it has a quite distinctive alcohol taste. Do you maybe have tips what I could do about it? Thank you!
anonymous says
I let a few other people try it and they said it was probably less of an alcohol taste but rather more a yeast flavour. I used Safale S-33. – I would love to hear some tips! (:
Patrick says
Try using champagne yeast! I used a premier cuvee.
James says
I am currently brewing up 2x 1 Litre bottles of Ginger Beer. I followed your recipe but instead of 1 Cup sugar I did 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of erythitol sweetener.
One bottle has Lalvin E1118 champagne yeast
Other bottle is Safale US-05 ale yeast.
Both yeasts are past their best before date (December 2019) but have been fridge kept and unopened. I have had success with yeasts past their date before.
Will update on flavour/success when its ready.
Cheers
Edziu says
The sugar is there to feed the yeast. Replacing that much of it with erythritol may slow fermentation significantly.
(Erythritol is produced by fermenting glucose with yeast! When you ferment the sugar, you’re actually producing some erythritol. The yeast can’t use the erythritol; it’s a by-product.)
James says
Both worked out excellent! Has been out on counter for about 4 days.
The Lalvin E1118 was much less yeasty and VERY carbonated. Fizz started within 4 hours or so at 20 celcius (house temp)
The Safale US-05 yeast tasted more like a ginger “ale”. Was not quite as carbonated. It was the MUCH older yeast and opened at least a year ago (but fridge kept the entire time). It started fizzing at about 12-20 hours. By the next morning it was just starting to kick off with the happy bubbles.
The alcohol content is very low in these. By my measuring its %0.5 or less using a hydrometer.
I like my ginger beer with more of a ginger “kick”. I will be doubling the ginger in the next recipe. Might increase the sugar a bit. Get it around 2% ABV. I will also be switching to pure sucralose powder (Splenda, without the bulking agent). It does require a milligram scale to use properly though (600x sweeter than sugar).
Will update again upon completion.
ROY Haines says
Very good recipe and quick to make. The British traditional method takes a week or more so yours is a clever alternative.
ROY Haines says
Hi, I’m a fairly old Brit who has made ginger beer by the “plant” method on and off all my life. I’ll rate your clever method in a couple of days. But the reason for this post is to say DON’T throw away the used ginger, we (well my wife) made a delicious ginger and golden syrup sponge which we had hot with custard!
FSB says
Fantastic idea! Would you be willing to share the recipe you used for the ginger and golden syrup sponge?
John Pearson says
So, you should check home brewing methods and information about fermentation. The process stops when the alcohol content gets high enough to kill the bugs, which is different for various types of yeasts. Afterwards, the resulting liquid has a very long shelf life if the bottles have been properly sterilized.
Roger says
Great recipe, could not be simpler. Although I let it work for 3 days or so in the cool weather. Less time is too sweet for me. Now you need to come up with a simple recipe for making an all-grain beer in soda bottles.
Bony says
You recipe was excellent I also tried it and the final product I got was amazing but I’m in a confusion should I drink the beer with yeast in it or should I filter it first if I should then how is that?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Bony, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. You do not need to filter the ginger beer before drinking.
Jas says
Hi, my kids found your recipe and we decided to have a try. Is this kids friendly ? I saw you mentioned that it contains alcohol.
Thomas says
It only technically has alcohol in it. The yeast will eventually create alcohol if you deprive it of oxygen but it will take around two weeks for it to be noticable and you’d need an airlock on the bottle to let the carbon dioxide out without letting the oxygen back in.
If you’re still concerned, just stick to the ginger syrup with soda water method in Step 3. No yeast means no alcohol.
David says
I put a balloon on top of the bottle instead of a cork or cap to keep from over-pressurizing the bottle.
Tori Avey says
That’s a cool idea. 🙂
Raymond Patnoe says
I love the taste of Ginger Beer, but not the price. I was at Costco today and got my hands on the last container of Ginger root, which I learned isn’t actually the root, but is more of an extension of the stem.
Anyhow, I just finished with the syrup solution and have to wait until tomorrow to get my yeast.
I’m so excited. The aroma is breathtaking.
Thank you for sharing this awesome delight.
Nancy Cairns says
So I made some giner syrup already..not your recipe…no offense your is great…just made my own before seeing this. So if I already have giner syrup how much do I put in for the beer? How much syrup did your recipe make I guess is the question. I have made your g.b. before it is great. Thanks in advance for answer.
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Nancy, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Our recipe makes about 1/2 cup of ginger syrup.
Nasani says
Thanks for the recipe, it’s very helpful. I tried 2 liters and it worked out fine. However, I am thinking of increasing the alcohol percentage. Would you kindly help me?
Marco says
You can adjust the amount of alcohol by adjusting the amount of sugar and the time you let it ferment.
You can fine tune by letting it ferment totally outside the bottle. Then bottle it and add a bit of sugar for the fizziness.
Annette Bailey says
Do you use all of the ginger syrup or what amount do you use for the second step?
Richard Tunner says
Made this 3 or 4 times, it is the best. I use 1 ice cube to a glass of hot water, then add a small cut of lime and drink. It always makes my throat and tummy feel better. Also good to just drink.
Lucy says
Hi,
I followed this recipe exactly with the exception that I used tap water instead of filtered water. The ginger beer came out perfectly except that it had quite a weird smell, is that normal? Also, how would you recommend making it more fiery?
Larry Shirkey says
What is the alcohol level in the finished brew?
Pulmonary Miguelito says
It all depends on how long you let it ferment. Assuming the amount of sugar at the beginning is constant, the sweeter it tastes, the less alcohol it has. If it’s very dry, it’s more alcoholic than if it’s sweeter. The yeast consumes the sugar and metabolizes it into the CO2 and the alcohol. That said, I’m making a 1 gal batch of this now. I used 1.5 cups cane sugar in one gal of spring water. When I checked the specific gravity, it indicated a potential alcohol content of 4% ABV if let to ferment dry. If you use more sugar and let it go dry, it would exceed 4%. Depending on the yeast strain and the temperature of your fermentation you could be up to 2-3% ABV within the 3-6 day range.
Homebrew fan says
No no no!!!! NEVER ferment in ceramic containers!!!! Ceramic contains small amounts of lead that WILL leach out into your brew. This is tragic. Lead posing is real and irreversible. It causes problems with the brain and children are at highest risk. Please for the love of god through it out and use glass. One love.
Tori Avey says
Umm… there was no ceramic used in this post. Maybe you’re referring to the comments below from readers?
KB Mogatosi (South Africa) says
Just did a 20litre for the first time. This is how my mother used to prepare it. Thank you for all the advise from the comments and the base recipe. I have already circulated it amongst friends.
Vijaya Vignesh says
Can you share the recipe plz
Shanen says
Hi KB..
Please share you recipe for a 20litre please..appreciate it
Neil Adams says
I am a Brit, have been for over 70 years, a chef for most of my working life with a lifelong passion for anything ginger. Never heard of Gingerette in my life. Ginger syrup is the normal description.
Your Ginger Beer recipe is excellent !
Nom says
hi, is it completely necessary to use filtered water?
J says
Tap water can contain chlorine which will inhibit fermentation. I generally use distilled water for ferments.
Matt says
Hi, it’s not necessary to use filtered water at all. I’ve been brewing at home for many years (beer, fruit wines, ginger beer) and have only ever used untreated tap water.
Matt
Pulmonary Miguelito says
It depends on your water source. Well or municipal? Keep in mind that every city will be different. Some chlorinate heavily, some cities don’t chlorinate at all, and most fall somewhere in between. My city chlorinates heavily and I don’t care for the flavor imparted by the high metal content, so I prefer spring water for stuff like this. It’s inexpensive, tastes better, and you’re generally taking less of a gamble with additives that could impact your fermentation.