>

When one purchases something like a can sealer to can beer, the turnaround time from brewing to drinking leaves a little to be desired from the “opportunities to use your new toy” perspective goes.

Getting the can sealer out every few weeks for a marathon session of canning got old fast and so I looked through Sandor Katz’s masterpiece, The Art of Fermentation, for something easy that I could make more frequently and in smaller batches. Thus began my experimentation with ginger beers.

Ginger beers are stupid easy to make. Some might say that brewing ginger beer requires less effort than driving to the store and buying ginger beer...depending on how far the store is and how much you hate driving. Driving is maybe my least favorite activity, so I am one of those people.

Here is the gist of it -- you boil some ginger in some water for 20 - 30 minutes, add some sugar and maybe some other fruit, let the concoction cool to room temperature, pour in a little bit of ginger bug and watch the magic happen for ~24 hours.

Well that all sounds nice and simple except for knowing wtf a “ginger bug” is. -- have no fear it’s very basic -- add a couple tablespoons of chopped ginger and sugar, to a couple tablespoons of water every day until it starts bubbling and walla you’ve got a ginger bug.

So what opinions have I formed while experimenting with ginger beer?
* Boil a fuckload of ginger. The more ginger, the spicier your ginger beer. I haven’t made one yet that I thought was too spicy.
* It’s hard to get the perfect level of sweetness. I prefer dryer ginger beers...but not as dry as most of the batches I’ve made.
* Let the batch sit for at least 24 hours after you add the ginger bug. Whenever I’ve canned immediately the yeast has produced a sulfury smell that is not fantastic.
* Don't leave your stuff to carbonate for 4 days, otherwise something like the picture below might happen. I also had a growler geyser that went to our kitchen ceiling.

Honestly, making ginger beer is fun and easy. There isn’t really any point in trying to perfect it. It’s more fun to keep experimenting with new ideas and see what happens. Afterall, I’m really only doing it for a reason to get the ole can sealer out more often.