Drinks

The Cocktail Club’s Ginger Beer

housemade ginger beer
Photo by Jonathan Boncek

recipe heading-plus-icon

yields

25 cups

    Ingredients
  • 21 cups of still water
    (tap water kills the yeast)
  • 4 cups of demerara sugar
  • 3 tablespoons bread yeast
  • 6 limes and 3 lemons juiced and zested
  • ¾ quart of fresh ginger chopped
  • ¼ quart of gulangal root chopped
  • 2 lemongrass stalks chopped
  • 2 serrano peppers
steps
  1. Put water in a large pot and bring a rolling boil, then remove from heat, add demmara sugar and stir to dissolve. Remove a cup of sugar water into a smaller container, add the bread yeast, then sit aside to activate.
  2. In a food processor, combine citrus zest, ginger and gulunga root, lemongrass and peppers. Add the juices of the lemon and lime with a juice squeezer and a bit of the water from the pot, then blend and add mixture back to the sugar water.
  3. Reheat the water and ginger mixture to approximately 200 degrees, then turn off and put yeast into pot and let sit for a half hour. When done take contents and strain through a sieve or china cap, bottle (we use old plastic soda bottles, and let sit for at least 4 hours before enjoying).

Bartender’s note: We add extra fizz with a CO2 charger, available online for around $40.

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