Carbonate Your Own Ginger Ale Recipes

GINGER ALE

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

HOMEMADE GINGER ALE

Steps:

• Into an empty 2-liter soda bottle, put the ginger root, sugar, yeast, and lemon juice. Fill the rest of the way with water. Screw the cap onto the bottle as tight as possible. Shake the bottle well, then leave at room temperature until the bottle is too hard to squeeze, about 2 days. Refrigerate. To serve, pour through a tea strainer.

CARBONATE YOUR OWN GINGER ALE

Steps:

• For equipment, you will need a clean 2-liter plastic soft drink bottle with cap (do not use glass as there is a risk of explosion),
• a grater (preferably with fine "cutting" teeth, and a funnel.
• Put the sugar into the bottle using the funnel. (Leave the funnel in place until you are ready to cap the bottle.).
• Add baker's yeast, also through the funnel.
• Shake to mix the yeast grains with the sugar granules.
• Place grated ginger into a Pyrex measuring cup or similar.
• Juice a whole lemon. Lemon is optional, giving a little tartness to the ginger ale. Try it both ways to see which you prefer.
• Add the juice of a whole lemon to the grated ginger in the measuring cup. Stir to form a slurry.
• Add the slurry to the bottle. It may stick in the funnel. Don't worry, the next step will wash it into the bottle.
• Rinse containers with fresh clean water, and dump the water into the bottle, trying to wash any particles sticking to the funnel into the bottle.
• Fill the bottle to the neck with fresh cool clean water, leaving about an inch of head space, securely screw cap down to seal. Invert repeatedly to thoroughly dissolve sugar.
• Place in a warm location for 24 to 48 hours. (Do not leave at room temperature longer than necessary to feel "hard." The excess pressure may cause an eruption when you open it, or even explode the bottle!).
• Test to see if carbonation is complete by squeezing the bottle forcefully with your thumb. If it dents in as in the picture, it is not ready.
• Once the bottle feels hard to a forceful squeeze, usually only 24-48 hours, place in the refrigerator. Before opening, refrigerate at least overnight to thoroughly chill. Crack the lid of the thoroughly chilled ginger ale just a little to release the pressure slowly. You do not want a ginger ale fountain!
• Do not leave the finished ginger ale in a warm place any longer than the time it takes for the bottle to feel hard. Leaving it at room temperature longer than two days, especially in the summer when the temperature is high, can generate enough pressure to explode the bottle. Once it is thoroughly chilled, there is little danger of explosion.
• Filter the ginger ale through a strainer if you find floating pieces of ginger objectionable. These are found in the first glass or two poured, and, since most of the ginger sinks to the bottom, the last glass or so may require filtering too. Rinse the bottle out immediately after serving the last of the batch.

HOMEMADE GINGER ALE

Steps:

• Fit the top of a clean, dry, empty 2-liter soda bottle with a funnel. Pour the sugar and yeast into the bottle. Swirl gently to distribute the yeast through the sugar. Leave the funnel in the bottle and set aside.
• Combine the citrus juice and the grated gingerroot in a measuring cup and swirl to mix. Pour through the funnel into the bottle. There may be some ginger and citrus pulp left in the funnel and measuring cup. That is okay! To rinse the additional pulp out of the measuring cup and into the bottle add clean drinking water to the measuring cup and swirl. Pour this through the funnel. That should have cleaned out the measuring cup and the funnel. Remove the funnel and screw the cap on tightly. Shake the bottle vigorously to mix. Remove the cap and fill the bottle to within an inch of the top (that should be just about where the bottle starts to narrow at the neck), cap tightly and invert repeatedly to dissolve sugar. Use your thumb to press in the side of the bottle and take note of how far it gives under the pressure.
• Place bottle in a warm (but not hot) place for about 24-48 hours, or until the bottle is very firm. When the bottle does not yield to firm pressure it is time to refrigerate! Do not leave the bottle out for more than 48 hours as you run the risk of it bursting after that point. Chill completely, preferably overnight, slowly open the bottle, and pour over ice. If you find pulp and small bits of ginger objectionable, strain the soda over your ice.
• Rinse the bottle out with water immediately after pouring your last glass if you plan to reuse it for your next batch otherwise it will be impossible to clean out.