Ginger Beer

Syrinx's Note:

I see that there are several different recipes for Ginger Beer here on Recipezaar, but none of them is the same as this one which my late mother-in-law used to make, many years ago, and which I hope you will find interesting. This recipe is taken from the hand-written recipe we found in her papers. I haven't made it myself yet, but my husband remembers it fondly, and the stains and drip marks on the original are testament to the frequency with which my mother-in-law made it!

• Total Time: 24 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 24 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 2 gallons ...

• 1 ounce fresh ginger
• 2 lemons
• 1/2 ounce cream of tartar
• 2 lbs caster sugar (UK measurement, making a total of 32 oz sugar)
• 2 gallons boiling water (UK measurement, making a total of 320 fl.ozs. boiling water)
• 1 egg white, beaten to a froth
• 1/2 ounce fresh yeast

Directions:

1. Bruise the ginger and slice the lemons.
2. Mix the boiling water, cream of tartar and nearly all of the caster sugar with the ginger and lemons.
3. When the mixture has cooled to be luke-warm, add the beaten egg white, then the yeast mixed with the reserved sugar, and stir well.
4. Let it stand for 24 hours, then bottle. CAUTION - Although I haven't made this myself, I suspect that the fermentation will continue in the bottle. This means that gas and pressure will build up. Use bottles with corks instead of a fixed top. That way, if pressure builds up, the cork will shoot out (releasing the gas and some of the ginger beer) and (hopefully) the bottle will not explode. I have been caught out by exploding bottles of elderflower champage before, and it isn't an experience I would recommend to others! UPDATE - A correspondent has confirmed that you should put the ginger beer into bottles with corks, release the pressure a few times, and store them in a cool dark place with doors so that if a bottle explodes the resultant chaos will be confined.