Ginger Beer - HR Version

approx 1/2 c grated fresh ginger

Dec 21st, 2014
I purchased a big chunk of fresh ginger root a week or so ago with the thought of making some homemade ginger beer.  I hadn't really thought much beyond that.....meaning that I hadn't really looked up a recipe or checked to be sure I had the ingredients.  Today I decided it was the day to make up a batch.  I had all the ingredients, however I found the recipe was for a large batch with more ginger root than I had.  I made adjustments.  Additionally, I didn't have brown sugar or molasses so I used white sugar instead.

Cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, bay leaf

I used a fellow cruiser's recipe.  Ann off sv Receta wrote two fabulous books about cruising the Caribbean and specifically exploring the foods.  Both books "An Embarrasment of the Mangos" and "The Spice Necklace" have island recipes in them. I used the ginger beer recipe from the last book.

Two c boiling water - steep 30 mins

I peeled and grated the ginger.  I only lost one finger nail in the process and I caught it so it didn't go into the pot!  Whew.  I ended up reading the instructions incorrectly.  Oops.  I should have had two pots going - one for the spice water and another for the ginger water  Oh well.

Color after steeping 30 mins

I tossed the spices and grated ginger into one pot and added 2 cups of boiling water.  I let it steep for 30 mins.  Then I added approximately 4 more cups of water and let it steep an additional 30 mins.

Squeezing all the ginger juice out

Then I strained out the spices and grated ginger, squeezing the ginger to get all the spicy liquid out.  I added 1/2 cup of sugar and heated to dissolve it completely.

1/2 c sugar added, stir until dissolved

I let the strained mixture cool.  Finally I added the juice from two small limes and bottled.  It made approximately 1 liter.  It was cloudy at first but the mixture settled.

It is very spicy with a hint of sweet.  Much more so than ginger beer you might buy.

We did a taste test last night for "sundowners".   1/2 ginger beer, 1/2 club soda (Jesus Juice), rum and squeeze of lime.  Freshing.

My recipe ended up being -based on Ann'e recipe in "The Spice Necklace"
1/2 c grated fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 c sugar
6 c water