My DIY ginger beer tutorial is my most popular post to date! It’s been viewed by more people than any other post I’ve written. And honestly, I’m not surprised. It is one of the most fun and rewarding homemade kitchen projects you’ll make. For me though, writing the post about ginger beer was almost as fun as making the beer itself. It started a dialogue of questions and answers, updates and encouragement as lots of people started brewing ginger beer at home. The conversations and excitement around this DIY kitchen project have been energizing!
I decided to compile the ginger beer-making questions I’ve received into one post. Give this project a try and keep the questions coming – I will help you along the way! Feel free to send me your updates too – I love to hear about how your project is going!
Bottles and Bottling Equipment
Is it safe to use recycled standard glass beer bottles as long as they’re cleaned and sanitized first?
Yes you can! Just not the twist off cap bottles if you want to use a bottle capper like I showed in my ginger beer video. You’ll need pop top bottles for that!
How do I sanitize recycled bottles?
If you have a sanitize cycle on your dishwasher, that would be the easiest way to prep your bottles. Otherwise, the National Geographic Green Living page suggests a method similar to that used to sanitize canning jars:
To sanitize the bottles, you can place them in the dishwasher and use the sanitize setting. The moist heat will kill pathogens inside and outside. If you don’t have a dishwasher, try boiling the bottles to remove the pathogens. Fill a large pot with enough water to submerge the bottles. Heat the water and the bottles on the stove until they come to a rolling boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Then remove the bottles from the water and dry them with a clean towel.
Where can I purchase the bottles, caps and cappers?
I purchased my supplies locally, at Cellar Homebrew in North Greenwood/Shoreline.
Custom bottle caps?
Yep! You can order them here!
Ginger Bug and Fizz (Natural Carbonation)
No yeast?
Nope! Not in this recipe. The combination of fresh ginger with the skin on, sugar and water create the “bug” that gives this ginger beer its fizz.
What if my bug is ready, but I’m not ready to bottle it?
According to fermentation master, Sandor Katz, once the bug is active, if you’re not ready to use it, you can keep feeding it with fresh ginger and sugar every couple of days. However, if the bubbles are gone and it seems like your bug is no longer active, I’d just start over again.
I’ve heard my bottles could explode from the pressure created by the carbonation. Is that true?
From what I’ve read that seems to be true. I’ve never had a bottle explode, but just to be sure, it might be worth it to store your bottles where it wouldn’t be a messy disaster (or dangerous) if a bottle did explode from the carbonation.
I opened one of my bottles two weeks into the rest period and it had little fizz. What did I do wrong?
It is very possible it just needs a little more time to ferment. One new ginger brewer said about this experience, “…another week later I opened another bottle and WOW. This is the BEST ginger beer I have ever had. It was perfect.”
Ginger Beer Recipe
How many bottles does this recipe typically fill?
About 10 or 11 (beer bottles like the one in the photo above)
How long can I keep the bottled ginger beer before I drink it?
I have kept my bottles of ginger beer for a few months before opening them, I just had to open the cap ridiculously slow to prevent losing half the bottle because of all the carbonation. I wonder now if that length of time changes the alcohol content. (More research needed for this one.)
Can I use other sugars, like brown sugar, to make the bug?
I’d say that organic sugar is the way to go – the less refined, the better.
What can I do to spice it up a bit?
I think the flavor of this ginger beer is divine – I wouldn’t change a thing. However, if you want to make it a bit spicier, you can adjust the amount of ginger you add, during part two.
Do you have to use water to make the bug? Would it work with juice?
I wouldn’t use juice because of the things that get added to juice as it is processed. Stick with water and sugar as specified in the recipe.
Is the beverage supposed to be cloudy? Is that sediment normal?
Yes to both.
What is the alcoholic content for this recipe?
It is nonalcoholic. Sandor Katz says, It’s “a soft drink, fermented just enough to create fermentation but not enough to contribute any appreciable level of alcohol.”
General Fermentation Questions
Is there any serious risk of food borne diseases, like botulism?
I am a big food hypochondriac when it comes to canning and preserving food. Being safe is super important to me. From what I’ve learned about food borne illness, I feel safe using this ginger beer recipe because of the acid present in the recipe via the lemon juice and the way I seal the bottles in air-tight containers (bottles).
Here are a few links about the topic of fermentation and food safety:
The Three Biggest Fermenting Mistakes
