Homemade Welsh Ginger Beer Food

HOMEMADE GINGER BEER

Steps:

• Place ginger in a food processor, and process until finely chopped.
• Transfer to a large pot, and add boiling water.
• Allow to stand for 1 hour.
• Drain with a fine sieve lined with a double thickness of damp cheesecloth.
• Discard solids.
• Add lime juice and sugar, and stir to dissolve.

HOMEMADE GINGER BEER

Steps:

• Take a 1.5-liter plastic bottle of spring water and empty it into a clean pitcher. Use some of it to make simple syrup by stirring 1/2 pound sugar into 1 cup hot water until fully dissolved.
• In a large measuring cup, mix all ingredients and stir well. Funnel back into the plastic bottle and cap tightly. Store in a warm, dark place for 24 to 48 hours. (I put mine inside a box, to contain it if it should blow.) The top of the bottle will expand and become tight. Check it and very slowly release the pressure if it's looking groaningly tight. Some people ferment it with no top, or with the top on loosely, to allow gas to escape. I suppose if you wanted to get fancy you could spend $1.50 on a fermentation lock and stop worrying about it. If the temperature is quite warm, above 80F, a single day may be sufficient. The longer you let it ferment, the drier the final mix will be.
• After 48 hours, refrigerate it to stop the fermentation. Once chilled, you can strain out the pulp and dead yeast, which will have made a sediment on the bottom. Makes 1 liter and will keep up to a week in the refrigerator.

HOMEBREW GINGER BEER

Steps:

• Take about a half-cup of warm water, and mix with sugar. Then sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit.
• Boil about 2 litres of water.
• Peel the ginger root and cut into smaller pieces.
• When water has been brought to a boil, add the ginger root, cloves, and anise. I like to put the cloves in a small tea ball so i can remove them easily later.
• Boil for 30 minutes. Then remove ginger root and cloves.
• Dissolve 3/4 - 1 cup of sugar in the brew.
• Let the brew cool until it is tepid (ie won't kill the yeast). Then add they yeast mixture to it.
• Now pour the mixture into a 2 litre plastic bottle. Top up with water. Make sure you leave between 5-8cm of air in the top. Play with this amount -- you'll find you get more pressure if you leave the air inches.
• Now leave in a warmish place for about 1 day. Watch it carefully the first time - wait until the pressure has built up, then refrigerate.
• Leave in the fridge for at least 2 days. If you leave it in longer, you'll get more pressure -- I usually leave it at least 2 weeks, but it can stay in there for 2 months. Still, it will continue to gain pressure in the refrigerator.
• When you open the bottle, be very CAREFUL! The pressure should be very high by this time. It's best to do it over the sink or outside, and do NOT aim at anyone! If you cover the cap while you open it, it will muffle the "pop". Instead, don't cover the top of the cap, but only touch the sides of the cap while you open it. In this way, it will fire like a gun.
• If you've got good pressure, it will bubble out like champagne, so have glasses on hand ot pour right away!

QUICK GINGER BEER

Steps:

• Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan.
• Finely chop ginger in a food processor. Transfer to a large glass or ceramic bowl; add boiling water and stir to blend. Cover loosely with foil. Let the ginger mixture stand at cool room temperature 24 hours.
• Strain ginger liquid into large pitcher; discard the solids in a strainer.
• Add brown sugar to liquid and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and pineapple juice.
• Fill glasses with crushed ice and pour ginger beer over ice. If you like, add a little club soda. Serve with lime wedge to squeeze over. Enjoy!

MARCUS' GINGER BEER

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour into a bowl and let cool.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day. Strain before serving!

GINGER BEER

Steps:

• Grate 2 tablespoons each of lemon and orange zest.
• Squeeze 1/3 cup lemon juice from 3 of the lemons. Set aside.
• In a food processor, pulse the ginger, honey, and sugar until just combined. Add the orange and lemon juices and process.
• Transfer to a large lidded container. Add the orange and lemon zests and 2 cups of boiling water and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 5 days.
• To serve, strain the ginger-beer base into a pitcher. Thinly slice the remaining lemon and orange to form circles. Add the slices and mineral water to the pitcher and stir. Serve over ice.

NEW ZEALAND LEMON GINGER BEER

Steps:

• Put first measure of sugar in warm water to dissolve, add yeast and stir.
• Place in warm place to start working.
• Finely grate or slice rind from 2 lemons and place in a heatproof container with the 1 cup of sugar and the dried ginger.
• Pour over 1 cup of boiling water and leave to steep for 10 minutes.
• Strain into 1.5 L plastic bottle in which the ginger beer will be made.
• Top up bottle with cool water to near top so that final temp is approximately body temperature.
• Add yeast to bottle as soon as it shows signs of working, ie. it foams.
• Cap bottle tightly.
• Mix thoroughly and put in a warm place.
• Leave until bottle becomes undentable. Depending on the yeast this can take anything from 12 hours to 3 days, but best to check regularly, as there is a risk of explosion with this!
• Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and open with great care!