Like flowering trees and longer days ginger beer is a sure sign that spring has arrived. I love the taste; I love making it, and most of all I enjoy the wide range of cocktails and drinks that ginger beer mingles so well with.
The origin of ginger dates back thousands of years and the health benefits range from healing a sore throat to recently discovered, lowering cholesterol. Between being healthy for you and ginger itself being so readily available it has been a staple of the human diet for as long as we have been keeping track of history.
I have been making ginger beer for years and every time it seems I make it slightly different but always a reflection of a recipe I stumbled across some time ago in a book simply called, “The Home Cook Book.” It was first published in 1877 using home recipes from the Chicago area and features a straight forward recipe for ginger beer typical of its time.
It took a little playing around with because there are no exact measurements of everything used. For example how many ounces are in “one bottle essence of lemon?” Either way it doesn’t take much time to figure everything out and once you do you are flexible to add and tweak, making your own unique version of ginger beer.
Mark Sexauer’s Throwback Ginger Beer Recipe
1 gallon tap water (4 quarts)
3 cups light brown sugar
Zest and Juice of four lemons
Zest and Juice of two limes
70 grams of fresh ginger or to taste chopped finely (if you don’t have one, buy a scale, they’re twenty bucks…)
3/4 teaspoon tartaric acid (aid in a sour flavor profile)
1/4 teaspoon crème of tartar (preservative, mouth feel)
In a large, repeat, large pot, bring the water to a boil. Once at a boil reduce to med-low and add all ingredients into the water. Stir everything together then take off of heat and let cool down for about 4 hours covered to infuse. Strain the mixture into a container and discard all the ingredients.
Add into 16 ounce EZ Cap bottles and than carbonate with yeast.
This will last a couple weeks in a fridge before it dies and is excellent on its own. In the near future I will be posting some drinks using ginger beer but in the mean time enjoy it on the rocks, it’s excellent.
By: Mark Sexauer
Filed under: Sodas, Tonics, and Ales
Hey Mark,.
You didn’t say anything about yeast in your “Throwback” recipe. ??
There is a link under the picture to “carbonate with yeast” in 16 oz EZ Cap bottles. This seems the most practical for use behind the bar and pouring whatever it is you are carbonating.
Here’s the link again if it doesn’t work for you, hope you made some great gingerbeer!