NATURALLY FERMENTED, SUGAR FREE, ALCOHOL FREE* AND A SUPER LONG SHELF LIFE
Last summer marked the beginning of my obsession with fermentation. Having decided to quit alcohol I was in desperate need of a practical distraction with the added benefit of providing something decent to drink. Forty-two batches and nine months later, here I am, locked down thanks to a global pandemic, and rekindling this neglected blog with some useful content. Even if only for the many friends I've been promising the recipe.
I've tried it all, had the explosions, tried raw vs cooked ginger, every sweetener under the sun, infused it with lemongrass, cardamom, galangal, green peppercorns, juniper and even tamarind. Eventually, being the puritan that I am, I landed in a happy place. A few simple, high quality ingredients and a fail-safe method that guaranties consistency. Ginger, limes, yeast, sugar, sweeteners and water.
* With yeast and sugar, there must be alcohol. This method however, ensures a maximum of 0.5% ABV which in my books is negligible. It would take 10 pints of ginger beer to equal one pint of lager. I got myself a refractometer to measure the specific gravity before and after as I was developing the recipe. The consistency across batches was so close that I now don't bother measuring.
Rather than clogging this up with loads of background, I've saved that for the end, just in case you may be interested.
KIT ESSENTIALS:
- Electronic scales
- Electronic probe thermometer
- Muslin/fine cheesecloth
- Large sieve or strainer
- Large saucepan (5l)
- Large bowl (5l)
- Jug for pouring
- Funnel
- Screw-cap plastic bottles (500mm sparkling water bottles are ideal but any size will work) OR
- glass bottles and caps intended for beer brewing
INGREDIENTS (MAKES 8 LITRES OR 16 500ml BOTTLES)
I buy ginger from the market in 10kg boxes. Using the slicing attachment on my food processor I prepare 1kg batches and freeze them. I also buy limes in bulk and freeze the strained juice in plastic containers.
- 1 kg fresh ginger, washed, unpeeled, finely sliced
- Fresh limes (10-15 depending on size) for 600g of strained lime juice
- 90g granulated sugar
- Sweetener (either 40 'Sweetex' tabs or 120 Stevia tabs)
- 1/3 teaspoon active dried yeast
METHOD
1. Make the ginger infusion
Put the sliced ginger with 3 litres of water in a large saucepan, bring to the boil, simmer for 10-20 minutes and let cool to 30 deg C or lower. If you're in a hurry you could encourage it with ice cubes, or leave it overnight with a lid on.
2. Make the strained lime juice
Place the strainer over a bowl, line the strainer with the muslin and juice the limes with an electric citrus juicer or citrus press. Squeeze all of the juice out of the muslin and discard the pulp.
You are aiming for 600ml of strained lime juice (see video below).
3. Strain the ginger infusion
Place the strainer lined with muslin over a large bowl and strain the ginger infusion, discard the sliced ginger.
4. Add the sugar and sweeteners
Put the sugar and sweeteners in a small jug, add enough boiling water until fully dissolved. Add to the bowl.
5. Add the strained lime juice
If frozen, it will help cool the brew for the next step.
6. Pitch the yeast
Check the temperature, it must be between 20 and 30 deg C. Add the yeast and whisk until cleared
The brew is now ready for bottling.
7. Weigh the brew
Weigh the brew in another large bowl or saucepan. Make it up to 4 litres with water. This will make 16 bottles.
8. Bottling
Using a jug and funnel, fill each 500ml bottle on the scales with 250g of the mix. Top with water and seal (see video below). Make sure there is a reasonable air gap, I fill mine to the bottom of the neck.
9. Fermentation
Store the bottles somewhere dark and at room temperature. Feel a bottle daily and you will notice it getting firmer as the carbon dioxide is produced. They should be ready in just 3 or 4 days at 20-25 deg C.
10. Sediment - Clear or cloudy?
Even though the ginger and lime have been strained through muslin, a small amount of sediment will settle at the bottom of the bottle. If you like a clear drink, first pour the entire bottle into a jug, being careful to leave the sediment behind. This is what I do, then I swig the dregs from the bottle for massive ginger and lime hit. For a cloudy drink, gently turn the bottle (don't shake it!) to mix the sediment before pouring directly into glasses.
11. Storage
Once all of the sugars have been consumed by the yeast, fermentation will stop, hence the cap on the 0.5% alcohol content. This means your nicely carbonated ginger beer can be stored safely in a cool dark place for months. I found a stray from batch 21 in my garage the other day. It had been there for 6 months and was a real treat.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!
FOR THE GEEKS
Recipe development:
As with all good obsessions, I've kept a detailed log of each batch on a spreadsheet. Early batches followed some rather gung-ho recipes I found on line; loads of sugar and erratic fermentation. Desperate to find the best way with the most control, I eventually recalled earlier beer making experiences were brews were partly bottle fermented. I remembered that if 1/2 teaspoon of sugar was added to a 500ml bottle at the bottling stage, the alcohol content would increase by 0.5% and the beer would carbonate. Perfect. So in this recipe, the sugar is measured to be the equivalent, just enough to carbonate the drink whilst limiting the alcohol content.
Ginger type and content:
Earlier batches used 1kg of ginger for 6 litres (12 bottles). It worked for me but my family found it too much. I increased the batch size to 8 litres for 1 kg and now I have to share it.
The best ginger I have found comes from Brazil. It's firm, shiny and dry. I put an order in with our local veg market and he grabs me a box from New Covent Garden when I need one.
Sweeteners:
I started with 'Sweetex', which is readily available and inexpensive. Then I started looking into natural alternatives and came across stevia, a leaf grown in South America. First I tried dried leaf powder but the brew was very cloudy and finished with a hint of cut grass. Stevia also comes in granules and tabs. I prefer the tabs as it is easier to control the finished sweetness. Keep in mind that for the same level of sweetness, 3 time the number of tabs are needed when compared with Sweetex.
Yeast:
I use active dried yeast, but I've done it with bread baking yeast, and some swear by brewers yeast.
Flavourings:
I've tried most things, and all were disappointing. Whilst infusing, the aromas where good, but once brewed very little of it carried through. One thing I've not tried is adding aromatics at the bottling stage, much in the same way that kombucha is flavoured. Please experiment and let me know how it goes.
I prefer limes but lemons or a combination of both can be used in the same quantities.
Bottles:
I started using 500ml screw cap sparkling water bottles, but then as I got more serious found some great ones on line, made for Coopers Brewery in Australia for the home brew market. I haven't worn one out yet, and they come with a few spare caps as they tend to disappear. My son however put one in the dishwasher once and it's never been the same shape since.
Shelf life:
Lime is a natural preservative which helps. I've tried it after 6 months, and I wouldn't say it had improved, but it was still good. Normally it's not around long enough the test this.
Enjoy!
