Homemade Ginger Beer

“Listen to your elder’s advice. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.”

This recipe is marc’s great gran, Ouma Carol’s, ginger beer recipe. It might sound complicating but it’s actually quite easy.

Ouma Carol se gemmerbierresep

Makes 10 liters

What you need:

7 cups sugar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground ginger
10 liters clean water (3 liters should be boiled)
1.5 cups clean, warm water
3 teaspoons tartaric acid
3 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 teaspoons lemon essence
Handful of raisons
2 teaspoons powder yeast

Measuring jug
Big container with lid (which will hold a bit more than 10 liters of water)
Cheese cloth (to sieve the liquid through)
Bottles to store liquid in (can be cleaned 2 liter plastic bottles)
Funnel

Method

In the measuring jug:
Add 2 teaspoons yeast to 1.5 cups lukewarm water in a measuring jug and stir. Add 2 teaspoons sugar. Mix and allow this mixture to stand for 15 minutes.

In the big container:
Add 7 cups sugar, 2 heaped tablespoons ground ginger and 3 liters of boiled water to container. Mix till sugar is dissolved.
Add remaining 4 liters of water, 3 teaspoons tartaric acid, 3 teaspoons cream of tartar and lemon essence. Mix mixture.

Add the measuring jug containing the yeast to the large container.

Add a handful of raisons.

Put the cover on your large container and allow to stand at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Then filter through cheese cloth into your bottles.

“Respect the old when you are young, help the weak when you are strong, admit the fault when you are wrong. Because one day in life you will be old, weak and wrong.”