After our first ever successful Ginger Bug brewing, we made a batch of home-brewed Ginger Ale! We're very happy with the taste, color and fizz, and we're also excited for the possibilities for future batches! Throughout the process, we used the minimum amount of ginger - we plan to a little more in future batches and see if we can increase the ginger's bite. When we first bottled it and tasted it a few hours later (chilled) the aroma was strongly lemon. However after another day of chilling, the lemon aroma was much more subtle and balanced with the ginger. Feel free to use more or less ginger and lemon and see what works for you!
Ingredients:
1" piece of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup raw sugar
3 cups filtered water (no chlorine)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup Ginger Bug
5 cups more filtered water (8 cups in total)
Step 1 - Making The Wort
Put the 3 cups water into a large saucepan and add the ginger, raw sugar and salt. Stir to help sugar dissolve.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5-7 minutes. The sugar should be completely dissolved and you can smell the ginger.
Remove from heat and add the remaining 5 cups of water. Allow the whole thing to cool to room temperature.
Step 2 - Making The Soda
When cool, add the lemon juice and the ginger bug and stir.
Pour into glass jar (2 quart) and put the lid on. The lid should be airtight.
Leave on a counter at room temperature for 2-3 days until the soda is well-carbonated. Our room was a little cool, so it took us a full 3 days before we were satisfied. During this time the fermentation will cause the pressure to increase, so open the lid a couple times a day to release the pressure and stir it once a day.
Strain, pour into bottles and refrigerate.