Traditional old English ginger beer

24 grams compressed fresh yeast

8 grams ground ginger

8 grams castor sugar or superfine sugar

500ml cold water

25 grams castor sugar or superfine sugar, divided into 7 lots

25-30 grams ground ginger, divided in to 7 lots

750 grams white sugar

1250 ml boiling water

3125 ml cups cold water

125 ml strained fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon = 3.5 grams

Making the "Ginger Juice"

Day 1.

Take a 2 litre jar and sterilize it by washing it with boiling hot water.

Blend together the yeast, 7 grams of castor sugar, and 7 grams of ground ginger. Stir in the cold water until well blended. Cover with a clean cheesecloth.

Days 2 to 7

Let the mix sit in normal room temperature for 7 days. Every morning add 3.5 grams of castor or superfine sugar and 3.5 grams ground ginger to the mixture and stir.

Day 8

Give the mixture a good stir. Take a large new plastic bucket (9 Litre size) and strain the mixture through a clean tea towel in to the plastic bucket. Wring all of the liquid out of the cloth and set the tea towel to the side, you will use it later.

Dissolve the white sugar in 1250 ml of boiling water stir well as you dissolve the sugar. Pour the cold water into the bucket with the ginger juice, then stir in the sugar syrup and lemon juice.

Siphon the mixture into sterile screw top bottles, filling to within 55mm of the top.

Old cleaned out plastic soft drink (fizzy drink) bottles will do You will need 4 1.25 litre bottles per batch . Screw on the tops tightly. Store the bottles of ginger beer in a cool dark place where they can remain undisturbed for 7 days. Be very careful upon opening as the beer is very fizzy.

Go back to the cloth now. The residue looks vile! However, lay the towel out flat with the vile stuff facing up. Use a knife to scrape the stuff to the center, then divide in to two equal lots.

Using 2 x 1 litre sterile jars add 1/2 of the vile stuff to each and add 500ml of cold water. You can now make twice as much Ginger Beer as before. Start with the new jars at day 2 in the steps above. If you don't want that much, just keep half, or throw the entire lot away and wash the tea cloth thoroughly.

Enjoy.

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