There’s nothing better on a warm day than to sit outside and enjoy a nice fresh glass of homemade gingerbeer! I must admit that gingerale has always been my fizzy drink of choice. It’s always good for what ‘ails’ you….
In Japan I found a department store that sold Canada Dry and if I was feeling homesick I’d by a bottle to take home with me. Seeing the map of Canada on the label was comforting.
When I was pregnant I drank gingerale to try to calm my nausea (I also ate ginger cookies and candied ginger as well).
Manufactured drinks always have artificial additives and preservatives, which of course, we should try to stay away from whenever possible. And it’s always fun to make your own drinks ‘from scratch’!
Over the past few months I’ve been experimenting and tweeking our recipe for cloudy gingerale and this is the version that has come out on top. Dad really enjoyed it’s fireyness and Mom wanted me to get his post up so she could have the recipe as well. In the end, our gingerale has turned out be closer to a ginger beer.
Here is our recipe for Ginger Beer!
- 1 Cups Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1/2 Cup Fresh Ginger
- 1 Lemon
1) Peel the ginger and slice it as thinly as you can. You can grate it, but I find that slicing it is faster, and much easier to strain out later.
2) Zest or thinly peel the lemon. If you peel it, try to remove as much as the white pith as you can. Then squeeze out the lemon juice and put it to the side.
3) Put the sugar and water into a small pot and bring it to a boil, stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved and the water is clear.
4) Remove the syrup from the heat. Add in the ginger and lemon peel.
5) Cover your pot and let it sit for a minimum of one hour. I usually let mine sit for about 3 – 4 hours. (Note: Don’t let it sit overnight as it will all crystalize. You can still use it this way, but it’s much easier to use it in syrup form. Yes, I’m talking from experience here!)
6) Strain the lemon peel and ginger out. I just use a colander, but you could use a muslin cloth if you need to.
7) Add the lemon juice and let your ginger ale cool covered in the fridge.
Add sparkling water or even plain water with a ratio of about 1 part ginger ale syrup to about 5 parts water. Adjust the amounts to your own taste.
Ice cubes and garnish are optional.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
The lemon adds another element of freshness to the drink, in my opinion. If you don’t care for it, you can of course leave it out.
I often double, or even triple this recipe so that it lasts longer!
Tristan, Phil, & I also enjoy nibbling on the pieces of ginger after they have been strained out from the drink. We keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge for a few days.
orana velarde says
Hi! Just wandered over because we are cohosts on the culture bloghop and saw this marvelous bit of gingery goodness! I am diehard ginger beer fan and have always thought that you needed some special kind of ginger culture to actually make it. Like fermented. Your strong as all heck ginger cordial / ginger beer fiery goodness sounds too good to pass up and I´m making it first thing tomorrow!
Crystal McClean says
Thanks for hopping over, Orana! I’ve just posted up today’s link as you were typing 🙂
I haven’t yet dived into the fermentation process, I think the cool weather here could be a deterrent to it, but perhaps in the future I’ll give it a try as I do know of others who have success with it for Elderflower wine. But for now, it’s just too complicated for me…and I’m also a bit impatient at times and this recipe can be used the same day!
I’d love to hear how your ginger beer turns out.
Have a great summer!