Over the last couple of months we've been exploring the world of home-brewed Ginger Ale. Our first recipe, found here, is very simple and a great success. If you've never tried making a fermented soda, we highly recommend starting with Ginger Ale. But we like to experiment, just for fun, and we wanted to see if we could increase the ginger and get a little more zing in our soda. We also went with lime juice this time, instead of lemon. So enjoy this recipe, feel free to change it up and see what gives you the best home-brewed Ginger Ale!
Ginger Bug note : The Ginger Bug is the starter needed to make this soda, and in our case we use a Ginger Bug that we've been growing for a while now. To start a Ginger Bug from scratch, go here. To wake up a Ginger Bug that you already have, go here. When you're ready, try the recipe below!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup ginger bug
8 cups filtered water
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced (3.5-4 Tablespoons)
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
In a large pot, add 3 cups of water, the fresh ginger, the raw sugar, the brown sugar and the salt. Stir to dissolve, and heat on medium to a simmer. Simmer for 5-7 minutes and make sure all sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Add 5 cups of water, the lime juice and the ginger bug to the mixture and let cool until it reaches room temperature.
Stir well and pour into a 2 quart glass jar with an airtight lid. Leave on a counter at room temperature for 2-3 days to allow carbonation to occur. Open the lid and stir once a day to relieve the pressure building up in the jar. When you're satisfied with the carbonation, strain into glass bottles (we use flip-top bottles). We also squeezed the ginger through a sieve to get the last bits of ginger flavor, and it was worth it! Leave the bottles (closed) at room temperature for a couple hours and then refrigerate. We usually let our bottles chill in the fridge for 24 hours before we open one up. Enjoy!
