Ginger Beer

Honey-Ginger Beer Concentrate — Batch 1

Ingredients

• 425g fresh ginger, washed and trimmed but not peeled
• Ginger processed roughly 1:1 with water
• Ginger pulp squeezed through cheesecloth
• 200g strained ginger liquid recovered
• 350g honey
• 175g lemon juice
• Salt added
• About 2g Red Star yeast

Process

• Ginger was processed with the peel on, then strained before fermentation.
• Honey, lemon juice, salt, and yeast were mixed into the ginger liquid.
• The mixture went into a 2L glass Ball jar with a rubber nipple top.
• The plan was to let it ferment at room temperature for roughly 12–24 hours, with the nipple acting as a pressure vent rather than trying to preserve carbonation.
• Final use: a strong fermented ginger concentrate diluted with sparkling water.

What this batch is likely to be like

This is intentionally much stronger than normal ready-to-drink ginger beer:

• very ginger-forward
• sweet from the honey
• sharply acidic from the lemon
• lightly savory and more rounded from the salt
• mildly fermented, with some yeasty complexity
• likely closer to a spicy honey-lemon ginger cordial than conventional ginger beer

The 2g yeast should give a fast, noticeable fermentation without being unreasonable for a concentrate. It will probably create more foam, sediment, and fermented aroma than a lower-yeast batch, but most of the honey should still remain after only 24 hours.

Variables to watch

• Fermentation time: taste at 12, 18, and 24 hours
• Room temperature
• Foam level and venting
• Final sweetness
• Yeast flavor
• Ginger intensity after dilution
• Best concentrate-to-sparkling-water ratio

Next-batch note

Measure the water added to the food processor more carefully so the ginger extraction yield is easier to reproduce. Change only one major variable next time—likely yeast amount, fermentation time, or honey level.