First Attempt at Homemade Ginger Beer (Ale)

 13th -  Soooo - Mister has decided to take on a new project this month.  I absolutely love Ginger Beer and Moscow Mules.  I don't love the prices associated with either so we are going to attempt our own rendition of Ginger Beer.  Since we are calling this the "first attempt," I'm assuming there will be a second attempt as we work through the kinks.  

At any rate, today we begin.  We have some quart jars cleaned and ready for use.  Mister found his fermentation tops (used when he makes kimchi) and thinks they may be helpful.  From there ---- the Ginger begins to be culled.

Once we have about 500 grams trimmed and ready, a rough chop is made so that we can put it in the processor.

Pulse until finely chopped.

Measure out approximately 350 grams of sugar and 12 cups of water.  Add to the chopped ginger and stir.

Stir until well mixed --- the ginger will float when you stop stirring.

Pour evenly into prepared jars.

Cover and place in dark, cool place.  We chose the hall linen closet and placed paper towels under the jars just in case.  Let it sit for three days.  (We did twist the jars once a day to move the top ginger pieces around.

16th -  It's been three days and we are starting to see a change.  The ginger is dropping and we can see small bubbles up near the top of the jar.  It's not ready yet though.  Three more days coming up.

19th -  Three more days have passed and it's time to bottle it.  When we first set out to do this, we researched bottles online but they want a lot for them.  Mister remembered Grolsch beer from his younger days and we discovered that they still put it in the type of bottles we are looking for.  The price is great considering they come filled with beer.

I have had a to order some new funnels in various sizes for this project (yep, when we commit, we go all the way) and today we are working through the steps to move this forward.  

First we have to strain the ginger out.  We poured it through a fine wire mesh strainer and then pressed the remaining fluid out with a spoon.

Into the bottles it goes.  

Our three quarts of mixture fill the four bottles perfectly.  Stoppers are placed and back into the closet they go.

23rd - Four more days have passed and we are ready to try a bottle.  Moscow Mules coming together.  What have we learned?  Stay tuned for Attempt 2 --- we're going to either add yeast or feed with sugar in the hopes of gaining more fizz.  Our first attempt was very tasty but little carbonation.  All in all --- a success though.

Cheers to all!!!  It appears we need to purchase the correct cups now.  Time to shop.