Since I’m just crazy about making my own ginger beer after trying the basic recipe I posted a few weeks ago, I’ve got a scheme.
It goes like this:
I make some ginger beer. YOU all make some ginger beer. Then we add a bunch of different varietals to see what wonderful new brews we can come up with. Take a photo of your brews-in-progress, and I’ll post them here. If it turns out to be a winner, I’ll add it to the list so others can enjoy it, too. And even if you’re not able to make your own Ginger Beer, help us brainstorm some new varieties!
Tried and True Delicious Add-ins:
- Blueberries – crush 1/2 cup per gallon, simmer with ginger, strain before bottling. Beautiful color is an added bonus!
- Mint – just a few leaves per gallon add wonderful subtle flavor!
- Rhubarb – 4 cups chopped, boil along with the ginger.
*UPDATE!*
In true tournament style, Chelsea is making this challenge into a giveaway. For each varietal entry you submit (photo and recipe!), you’ll get one entry for a drawing for a signed, personalized copy of the cookbook!
Just submit your photos on the Facebook page to enter. Deadline is November 1!
Those variations look delicious. I wish I could participate but I’m in the midst of various RL upsets so I’ll just be a silent supporter. :)
I sympathize. I’m moving apartments in a few days, and can’t WAIT to get everything set back up in the new kitchen!
Ginger and Lemon?
Ginger and Orange?
Ginger and Apple?
Ginger and Sweet Spices?
This website really is wonderful. I have two projects underway, one of which is a ginger beer. The ginger beer project is an experiment using the herbs that are normally used in metheglin (in this case meadowsweet and chamomile), as well as one quite leftfield herb called bog myrtle, which is sometimes used in Scotland as an alternative to hops. I’ll report back soon on how it tastes, but for the moment the recipe that I’ve used is the rather rough ‘2 handfulls of chopped mixed herbs, heated to over 60ºC with 4 tablespoons of runny honey and a bit of water (to kill bacteria) and then mixed to infuse with the racked-off ginger beer in a clean 5 litre demi-john.’ I’m going to leave it for a few weeks to a month before trying it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_myrtle
Every part of this makes me happy.
I recently tried my own Metheglin (from a 1655 original recipe), and at last tasting it is the very best thing I’ve ever brewed. I think those same herbs would definitely compliment the ginger flavors.
The bog myrtle I’ve only used thus far in Gruit, but I’m curious to hear how it turns out in ginger beer! Welcome!
The other project is the Myrish Firewine recipe (I posted on ‘Wine’ a few weeks ago). The infusion looks to be going well, though I can’t tell yet if there’s been a colour change, owing to the dark bottle I’m using to prevent light interference (gewürztraminer is quite a delicate wine for this sort of process). If the green chillis don’t complement well enough, then I’ll take inspiration from the ginger theme in this post and try a ginger infusion instead. The wine should be ready at the end of the week, so I’ll post again in the ‘Wine’ thread with an update.
Well I just opened my strawberry wine and it turned out wonderfully.
Let’s see what I can do with some ginger root!
Oh, yum! A strawberry gingerbeer has some strong potential, I’d think… Welcome to the challenge!
Here’s mine. I made this a while back.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan_h/3725281659/
Rhubarb/ginger soda, full recipe and photo at the link.
That’s a gorgeous color! Consider yourself entered. :D
Hope it’s OK that it’s a soda rather than a true beer; I’ll see about converting to a fermented beverage at some point.
It looks like it would convert to my base recipe very well, though, and mine only ferments enough for a bit of fizz. :)
Unfortunately, it’s illegal to homebrew where I live so can’t test this out but:
I’ve always wondered whether mixing ginger and beetroot together would work. Ideally, you’d want the flavour of the ginger with the sweetness and colour ofthe beetroot.
Shame! I don’t suppose you could just call it a soda? There’s really no significant amount of alcohol in the finished brew!
At any rate, I love the idea of adding beetroot to a batch. We’ll give it a try, and see how it turns out!
I’ve been looking for an excuse to start a couple of batches of ginger beer! I have a few ideas but need to keep them under wraps until I cant take some photos, don’t want anyone stealing them.
But the main reason for my comment was although I am following your recipe using a ginger bug, have you tried using a true ginger beer plant (i.e. a SCOBY symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast)? I’d like to try it myself but have been unable to source the culture at a reasonable price. Is this something you are interested in?
I was actually reading a bit about this earlier today- I’d love to give it a go, but it would hinge on finding some at a good price!
Looking forward to seeing your varietals… :)
My very favorite ginger-combination is chocolate and ginger. I wonder if there’s a way to add chocolate to something like this (I’ve added a homemade chocolate syrup to other alcoholic drinks before, but brewing with it sounds very problematic). Maybe just making a ginger beer (or orange-ginger!) and when it’s done, swirling in some chocolate syrup or something… If I get a chance, I will try a couple variations and let you know the results.
You might try adding cocoa nibs? They’re pretty bitter so that might not work, it’s at least something you could pursue.
Has anyone tried raspberries as an additive? I quite like raspberry-flavored beers, as well as ginger ale with mashed raspberries.
Not that I know of, but I’m a fiend for raspberries, so I heartily approve this idea!