- 1
Ingredients
- gingerroot or turmeric or galangal
- water
- raw sugar or agave
Preparation
Step 1
A ginger bug could not be easier to start: Grate a bit of ginger (with skin) into a small jar, add some water and sugar, and stir.
Stir frequently, and add a little more grated ginger and sugar each day for a few days, until the mixture is vigorously bubbly. Gingerroots are rich in yeasts and lactic acid bacteria, so ginger bugs usually get bubbly quickly. However, many people have reported that their ginger bugs never get bubbly. My theory is that most of the ginger imported into the United States has undergone irradiation, thus destroying its bacteria and yeast. Foods marketed as organic cannot be irradiated (according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organic standards), so for best results make ginger bug with organic ginger, or ginger from a known, non-irradiated source.
Once your bug is vigorously bubbly (or you have one of the other starters), prepare a ginger decoction that will become your ginger beer. I like to make a concentrated decoction that cools to body temperature as it is later diluted with cold water. To make such a concentrate, fill a cooking pot with water measuring about half the volume of ginger beer you wish to make. Add finely sliced or grated ginger, using two to six inches of gingerroot (or more) for each gallon of ginger beer you are making (though only half this volume is in the pot).
Bring to a boil, then gently simmer the ginger, covered, for about 15 minutes. If in doubt about how much ginger to add, experiment. Start with a smaller amount, taste after boiling (and diluting), and if a stronger flavor is desired, add more and boil another 15 minutes.
After boiling the ginger, strain the liquid into an open fermentation vessel (crock, wide-mouth jar, or bucket), discarding the spent ginger pieces (or leave the ginger in and strain later). Add sugar. I usually use two cups of sugar per gallon (of target volume, still requiring more water), but you might like it a little sweeter than I do.
Once sugar is dissolved in hot ginger water, add additional water to reach the target volume. This will cool your sweet ginger decoction. If it feels hot to the touch, leave it a few hours to cool before adding ginger bug or other starter. If it feels no warmer than body temperature, go ahead and add ginger bug or other starter. Add a little lemon juice too, if you like.
Stir well. Cover with a cloth to protect from flies and leave to ferment in the open vessel, stirring periodically, until the ginger beer is visibly bubbly, anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending upon temperature and the potency of the starter.