ginger beer

(using double fermentation

based loosely on la mthode
champenoise)

I messed around a few times to get the proportions and timing to what I
thought was pretty ideal, but obviously preferred amounts ginger, carbonation,
etc. vary from person to person. The easiest way to adjust while youre going is
to start off with less water and sugar than you think and add if the flavour is
too strong or carbonation not strong enough, respectively. And dont use bread
yeast; this actually matters because champagne yeast (as well as other brewers
yeasts) is bred for flavour and alcohol tolerance. I used the Pasteur Champagne
type which ferments a bit quicker and yields alcohol content 13-17%.

YOU WILL NEED:
/ a fist full of ginger root (or like 1/3 the size of a big banana) peeled
/ the juice from a wedge of lemon
/ a packet of champagne yeast (you wont need the whole packet)
/ about half a gallon of water
/ about half a cup of sugar but this is a little give and take feed your yeast!
(ideally they say rock sugar but I used regular granulated stuff and it was fine)
/ a tight sealing jar or bottle large enough to hold everything

THE FIRST FERMENTATION:
/ With the peeled ginger root you can either throw that into a blender/food
processor to mush up or just grate right into a small pot. The point is to infuse
the ginger flavour so you want all the juice in there too.
/ Toss into that pot 2 cups of water, all the lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of sugar
and bring to a simmer while mixing so sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, fill your
container with 6-7 cups of water (room temp or cold).
/ Once everythings all nicely dissolved and still hot, add 1/4 tsp (I used a little
less) yeast and stir to dissolve. Then pour the whole mixture, including ginger
bits into the bottle. Stir to distribute, and you can either allow the carbon
dioxide to escape (as per la mthode champenoise) or seal that sucker because the
bubbles are great and youre not making fancy champagne. Champagne yeast
has a medium to low flocculation, meaning it takes longer for the yeast to
cluster and settle out of liquid. Leave for 20-24 hours.

THE SECOND FERMENTATION:
/ Pour out everything into a bowl large enough and, using a strainer to catch
the chunks, pour liquid back into the bottle or jar, saving 2 cups. Bring those 2
cups, the ginger clumps, and an additional 1/4 cup of sugar to simmer as
before. There will already be some carbonation so you will see bubbles before
boiling; these are the death throes of your yeast babies so shed a quick tear, but
not into the pot.
/ Once again, dissolve 1/4 tsp of yeast into sugar mixture and stir this back
into the jar, then seal that sucker up. Second fermentation for good champagne
generally takes between 4-8 weeks, with ageing on lees taking at least 2 years
(non-vintage) or 6 years (vintage), but that kind of patience is mythic so just
wait 2 days.

REMUAGE / DISGORGEMENT (OPTIONAL):
/ This refers to the removal of the lees (the mixture of dead yeast and other
solid stuff at the bottom), a process that takes 2 months by hand or about a
week with new special machines. Just as some champagnes are left cloudy, you
can leave your ginger beer cloudy too just strain out the ginger chunks before
drinking. This is easier and the way a lot of store bought ginger beer comes
sold (e.g. maine root).
/ If you so desire the removal of all the bits of yeast, transfer strained liquid to
bottle or container with narrow neck and store at 45 degree angle with neck
downwards. Then slowly (day by day so the yeast stays settled without losing
too much liquid) rotate to eventually lower neck to vertically down. Quick-
freeze contents of neck in cold brine. Once the cap is removed, the carbon
dioxide should help push out the yeast plug.