Ginger Beer
This recipe makes three 1.25 litre bottles of ginger beer, which is ready to drink in about 4 days from first making - depending on the temperature. As live yeast is used for the brewing, the temperature needs to be at least 20C for the yeast to work.
In a large plastic container, mix together:
• 5 pints of cold water
• 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast
• 1 large heaped teaspoon of powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon of tartaric acid
• Grated rind and juice of one lemon
Leave stand for at least 12 hours. (I have discovered it can be left for longer as there are times when 12 hours later simply isn't convenient!)
Strain through muslin, and bottle in
well sealed, strong bottles. The PET softdrink bottles are quite good, as they are easy to gauge the readiness of the beer in. The plastic bottle will be soft and easy to deform when first filled, but after a day or two of warm weather, the bottle will feel extremely tight. Then it is time to put the beer in the fridge! (Make sure you leave an air gap of at least 2cm below the bottle neck when filling the bottles).
Be sure to open the bottles with care when ready to drink the beer, as it can fizz up to the extent that you get ginger beer everywhere but in your glass. With really fizzy bottles, it is not difficult to undo the screw top just enough to relieve the pressure in the bottle without the fiz rising, and leave it like that for some minutes. The secret to success is patience. After a while you get a feel for whether the fiz is going to be faster than you can pour the beer!
The science behind this recipe
The science is simple. Yeast cells use the sugar as their energy source, in the process converting the sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. (The yeast cells multiply at an ernormous rate during this process, as they reproduce via cell division). When the beer is sealed in the bottles, the carbon dioxide builds up in the air gap above the liquid, and remains dissolved in the liquid. The greater the pressure in the bottle due to gas build up, the more carbon dioxide remains dissolved in the beer. When the bottle is opened and the pressure relieved, the dissolved carbon dioxide starts to come out of solution, hence causing the bubbles and the fizzing of the beer.
Happy drinking
Ginger Beer
Fresh ginger but for ginger beer, powdered is better
Chef: Amanda Conrad
A refreshing drink for any time of the year
You need:
50g fresh bakers yeast
300ml water
2tsp ground ginger
2tsp sugar
Method:
Start a Ginger Beer plant by placing 50g of fresh bakers yeast in a jar with about 300ml of water, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Feed the plant each day for the next 7 days by adding one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of ground ginger.
Strain the mixture through fine muslin (keep the sediment) and reserve the liquid. Dissolve 450g of sugar in 600ml of boiling water. When cool, add the juice of two lemons and the reserved liquid and make up the volume to 4½ litres.
Bottle, keep for one week, then, either drink quickly or keep refrigerated as it tends to become livelier with age.
Restart the plant by dividing the sediment into two parts and placing each half into a jar with 300ml of water. You now have two plants to feed as above. If one plant is enough, give one away
This recipe was featured by Katie Smith
Date published: 23/3/2002
ABC
Hobart | Recipe Index | Recipe
Irish Cream liqueur
Chef: Amanda Conrad
You need:
Vanilla Essence ¼ teaspoonful
3 Eggs
Condensed Milk 1 tin
Whisky 1 cup
Thickened Cream 1 cup
Chocolate Topping 1½ tablespoonfuls
Coconut Essence ¾ teaspoonful
Method:
Put into a blender and mix all together.
This recipe was featured by Trevor Jackson on
Home Brewing Talkback
Date published: 5/8/2002
Home-made ginger beer
Chef: Sally Wise
It always fascinated me as a kid that you could grow a living, breathing ginger beer plant by simply mixing up ground ginger, sugar, yeast and water. Here's Sally Wise's take on the topic.
You need:
Yeast, ground ginger, sugar, water.
Plant:
• ½ teaspoon dried yeast
• 1 rounded teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 rounded teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water
Method:
Mix all together in a jar, cover with a piece of muslin and secure with a rubber band.
Each day for the next week, add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon ground ginger.
The plant: Divide the plant left in the muslin into two halves. Place one of these in a glass jar with a cup of warm water. Then next day start feeding as before, that is, one teaspoon of ginger and one of sugar each day. The other half of the plant can be discarded, or you can have two plants 'on the go'.
To make up the Ginger Beer:
For the syrup, mix together:
• 4 cups of sugar
• 24 cups of warm water
• ½ cup strained lemon juice
then:
Strain the ginger beer plant through two layers of muslin.
Pour the resulting liquid into the syrup and mix
well.
Bottle and seal. The ginger beer should be ready to drink by the end of a week.
Homemade Ginger Beer
Serving size: unspecified
Cooking time: Quick with advance preparation
Makes 2 litres.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water
3 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon dried ginger
1¼ cups caster sugar
juice of a lemon
ice and lemon slices to serve
METHOD
Combine water, yeast, ginger, and ¼ cup of the sugar in a jug. Stir
well to dissolve the yeast and sugar. Allow to stand in a warm place for 10-15 minutes or until beginning to froth.
Add remaining sugar and lemon juice. Stir
well. Pour into 2 x 1 litre plastic bottles. Add enough tepid water to nearly fill. Stand at room temperature for 4 to 12 hours, or until the bottles become 'un-dentable' when pressed. Refrigerate until desired.
Serve chilled with ice and lemon slices.
HOME BREWED CHRISTMAS
FROM COOPERS
The whole family will be able to enjoy a
home brewed Christmas this year, thanks to Coopers
Brewery.
The world’s largest producer of
home brew concentrates has released a new non-alcoholic ginger
beer for children as
well as its flagship Pale Ale for the adults of the family.
Coopers National Sales and Export Manager of Brewing Products, Mr Scott Harris, said
home
brew kits were traditionally a popular gift at Christmas time.
“The addition of ginger beer to our range of concentrates means that
home brewers can now brew
for the whole family, ” he said.
“
Home made ginger beer for many people used to be about maintaining messy ginger beer plants,
exploding bottles and inconsistent results.
“However the new Coopers
home brew ginger beer concentrate is designed to be brewed in a
Coopers Micro Brew kit, which virtually ensures success every time while eliminating mess. At the
same time, the PET plastic bottles provided in the Coopers Micro Brew kits are ideal for bottling
ginger beer.
“It is the first time we have entered the ginger beer market and we were conscious of the need to
provide a non-alcoholic option for families with younger children.
“Our concentrate produces about 20 litres of traditionally flavoured ginger beer with a hint of spice
and plenty of bite, which will appeal to people who like their ginger beer with tang.”
Mr Harris said adults also had the option of producing an alcoholic ginger beer using the same
concentrate.
Coopers Pale Ale concentrate is part of the International Series range sold through major
supermarket chains and retailers across Australia.
Mr Harris, said that because Coopers Pale Ale had such a strong following,
the brewery had been
careful to ensure that the concentrate produced a beer as close as possible to the bottled product.
“Coopers brewers spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with different yeasts,
concentrates and brewing sugars to get it right,” he said.
“The selected dry yeast blend produces the fruity esters and clean finish that Pale Ale drinker
enjoy. The concentrate has been designed specifically for use with Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 to
achieve the mouthfeel and creamy head associated with our Pale Ale.”
Coopers Micro Brew Kits comprise a fermenter, PET bottles, seals, a can of concentrate and
everything else required to produce 23 litres of high quality beer, including an instruction booklet
and an video. Back up and troubleshooting are available on the special
home brew hotline or via e-
mail.
“At a cost of about 42 cents for a 750 ml bottle,
home brewed beer can certainly provide significant
savings to the family budget,” Mr Harris said.
Normally priced at around $70, the kits are available from most major discount stores and
supermarkets.
Coopers is the world’s largest producer of
home brew concentrates and currently has 17 different
beer styles to choose from.
* * * * *
Grrr!!!