Alton Brown's Ginger Ale

Red Hook's Note:

This turned out SOOO good! Though, next time I may add more ginger, since I heart ginger. I also will simmer the ginger/sugar syrup for longer. I am printing the recipe exactly as it is on his site below. Measurements I used differently were: About 5T ginger, 2/3c sugar, and the rest as listed.

• Total Time: 13 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 3 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 1.0 2 liter ...

• 1 1/2 ounces fresh ginger
• 6 ounces sugar
• 7 1/2 cups water, filtered
• 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Place the ginger, sugar, and 1/2 cup of the water into a 2-quart saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to steep for 1 hour.
2. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing down to get all of the juice out of the mixture. Chill quickly by placing over and ice bath and stirring or set in the refrigerator, uncovered, until at least room temperature, 68 to 72 degrees F.
3. Using a funnel, pour the syrup into a clean 2-liter plastic bottle and add the yeast, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups of water. Place the cap on the bottle, gently shake to combine and leave the bottle at room temperature for 48 hours. Open and check for desired amount of carbonation. It is important that once you achieve your desired amount of carbonation that you refrigerate the ginger ale. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, opening the bottle at least once a day to let out excess carbonation.

Reviews

[Garyods]

I made this drink with a lot of changes. First it has a pleasant taste, but only light carbonation. I made 3 2 liter bottles worth to try sugar amounts. The basic changes were that I boiled the thinly sliced ginger in about 2 cups of water and .5 cup sugar (next time I’ll add some citrus to lessen the browning). After a long simmer, I added more water to blend and cool. I thinly sliced more ginger and added it directly to the bottles. I used splenda to bring the sweetness up. I filled the bottles leaving a couple of inches at the top. I activated the yeast and added a little to each bottle. I added 1tsp of sugar to the first bottle, 2tsp sugar to the next, and 3tsp sugar to the last. All 3 took 3 days to start firm up the bottle. After 3 days I added an additional 1tsp of sugar to the second and third bottles. All 3 have a slight carbonation to them. Other than the sweetness I don’t notice much difference between them. I’m tempted to keep feeding the third bottle to see if it will develop an alcohol kick to it. One funny thing is after you pour yourself a glass out of the bottle it loses much of it’s carbonation. Instead of putting it back in the frig, let it sit out on the counter over night and it will recharge itself. I’m going to get a real ginger grater and try it again, hoping to get a stronger ginger flavor.