Ginger beer is awesome. It is like ginger ale on steroids. This is a drink I used to make for Diane when she was pregnant and wanted something festive to drink, since she could not consume alcohol. The recipe is super-easy, but the process is made much easier with two tools: an electronic scale that can measure in ounces, and a Microplane grater (other graters take much longer to get through the ginger—although I’ve heard a juicer makes things even easier.) Also useful is a quart-sized mason jar, since this recipe makes exactly a quart and the lid of the mason jar can be tightly re-sealed. You may experiment with slight variations of the ingredient amounts, but once you find a ratio you like, you’ll want to measure it carefully. A little of each ingredient goes a very long way!
This is great on its own, with ice, or as a “Dark and Stormy”–just add 2 ounces of dark rum to 8 ounces of ginger beer over ice.
| Ginger Beer |
- 1 medium-sized piece of fresh, peeled ginger
- 4 ounces lemon juice
- 6 ounces simple syrup
- 20 ounces seltzer water
- Peel and rinse the ginger, then finely grate into a bowl.
- Press grated ginger through a mesh colander into another bowl, and measure out exactly 2 ounces of ginger juice (there will be slight sediment, but you’ll want to keep out the shreds.) Pour the 2 ounces into a mason jar or other beverage container.
- Measure exactly 4 ounces of lemon juice, add to ginger juice.
- Measure exactly 6 ounces of simple syrup, add to ginger/lemon juice.
- Cover jar/container and shake vigorously.
- Add 20 ounces of seltzer water, pouring slowly down the side of the beverage container to avoid losing carbonation.
- Cover jar/container and slowly flip upside-down and back a few times to mix without losing carbonation. Serve over ice.
