I had gotten out of the habit of making ginger ale until recently. It's so fun and easy though. With the cold weather we've been having, it was a something fun to do to keep myself busy while being shut up in the house trying to keep warm. I'm glad I finally started making it again. The method and recipe that I use is based on David B. Fankhauser's from his
website. I've simply modified it so that it is not as sweet as his, plus I have a couple of flavoring variations.
Here is my basic recipe:
4 Tablespoons of Fresh Grated Ginger Root
1.25 cups of sugar
1/2 t yeast
2 Tablespoons of
Herbal Vinegar*1 gallon plastic container
*I like using Lemongrass herbal vinegar, but you can also use another herbal vinegar of your choice or double the amount of fresh lemon juice, fresh orange juice or another herbal vinegar of your choice. The last batch of ginger ale that I made included homemade
Fire Cider. Just now I put together a batch with red hot pepper vinegar. I'm curious to see how that turns out. Variety is fun!
Method:
Add all the ingredients to the plastic container and fill to 1/2 inch from the top with fresh water and cap. The next step is to let is sit at room temperature and wait until the jug starts to bulge out from the carbonation. During the summer when my house is in the 80's this usually takes less than 24 hours. In this cold weather is has been taking more like 48 hours. When it becomes difficult to squeeze a dent in the container, then it is ready. At this point you need to refrigerate it for about 5 hours. Then it is ready to serve after straining out the ginger.
This drink comes out mildly fizzy and is only approximately 0.4% alcohol.
Thanks to my friend Patricia Shaw for taking this great picture from our lunch yesterday.
One of the best parts of visiting my in laws is my father in law's garden. My mother in law calls it Leo's jungle. Over the years I have 'snuck in' plants to his garden in the form of plant gifts for birthdays or holidays including a gardenia bush that is now over 6 feet tall, a komquat tree, medicinal Japanese honeysuckle, medicinal white Chrysanthemums and a Myer's lemon tree. But when I first visited their home, these ginger plants were already there. They predominate the landscape along with colorful Bromeliads. These ginger plants must be about 10 feet tall and make an arch along the pathway along the back side of the house. If he hasn't pruned them back in a while, it is like walking through a ginger tunnel. Let me know if you would like to see more of his garden. The ginger predominates, but there will be Angel Trumpets blooming in September also. 
