To make your ginger tea heat up the water. When it’s boiling, add the grated ginger. Reduce the heat a little and let this simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain out the ginger chunks - these don’t go into the beer! Add sugar and lemon juice. I do this when the tea is hot because it helps the sugar dissolve evenly.
When the ginger tea is cooled to room temperature (remember, the ideal temperature for microorganism activity) strain and add your ginger bug. If you add the ginger bug when the ginger tea is too hot it can kill the microorganisms needed for fermentation. If you want to continue a cycle of making ginger beer you can reserve a bit of your ginger bug. Cover the ginger beer mixture with a clean towel (natural fiber is best) and secure it with a rubber band. Let this sit for 24-48 hours to let the ginger bug do its fermentation magic. You can remove the lid and stir it every now and then. Again, bubbles are a sign that it’s ready to be bottled!
My favorite bottles for carbonated or bubbly beverages are swing top bottles. Make sure your bottles are clean and sterilized before filling them. Stir your ginger beer really well and transfer it to your bottles. Leave about 1/2 to 1” of headspace (air) at the top of your bottle. Too much space will prevent the natural effervescence. Too little and you can risk your bottle exploding. It’s rare, but it does happen!
Once bottled, your ginger beer should sit at room temperature for another 24-36 hours. You can pop one to test it, but again, you should see bubbles rising to the top of the bottles. That’s your sign to put the bottles in the fridge. They’re ready to drink immediately or once cooled!
