Our First Attempt at Making Homemade Ginger Ale

Well, we picked up some ginger at the farmers market last Saturday and decided to experiment with making our own Ginger Ale, which is my favorite!  We are also going to be making some caramelized ginger for tummy aches, acidic stomach and motion sickness.

I started by looking up a bunch of recipes to get the general idea and then took pieces of different ones to experiment on my own.

Step 1:  Grating the Ginger.  I read that it was easier to grate when frozen.  It was easy to grate, except for freezing my fingers!

Step 2:  Using a 2:1 ratio (2 parts sugar or Splenda to 1 part water) and 2 Tbsp ginger, simmer until the sugar is melted, then cover and let steep for one hour.

Step 3:  Strain the cooked mixed through a fine mesh strainer to remove all the pulp.

Step 4:  In a 2 liter bottle, combine strained mixture, 1/8 Tsp active dry yeast and 2 Tbsp of Lemon Juice and top with water, leaving an inch and a half or so at the top.  Close tightly and shake.

Step 5:  Store bottle in cupboard for 48 hours at room temperature.  Open cap and check level of carbonation a few times during this period.  Once desired level is reached, immediately place bottle in fridge to halt process.  Will remain fresh in fridge up to 2 weeks.

I put the date on the bottle and marked it "Sugar" because we are experimenting with both sugar (Bottle #1) and Splenda (Bottle #2).

Sometime Saturday evening, we should be having a taste test!  Can't wait!

11/26 Update - straight Splenda doesn't work.  Next step will be a few tablespoons of sugar to feed the yeast, but Splenda for sweetener.

For bottle #3 I increased the yeast to 1/4 tsp and we are trying another method of combining all ingredients in the bottle and then if we don't like "pulp" we'll strain as we pour.  In 2 days we'll know how it turns out.