ABREWCADABREW

One of the drawbacks to having a fermentation chamber full of lagering beer, especially in the middle of winter, is the inability to make more beer. It was hardly a surprise, though; in fact, I factored it into my brewing schedule. What I didn’t count on, however, was the intense craving to brew that developed. We’re talking serious jonesing here – of the obsessive compulsive kind.

It was bad, and I was suffering: fantasizing about bathing in beer throughout the day; having nightmares of being chased by trub-spewing wort zombies. I read and re-read brewsheets, cleaned and re-cleaned Erlenmeyer flasks. I checked and double-checked inventory, and took refractometer readings of anything with sugar in it.

And then a brew brother told me about the ginger beer he was making, which brought back memories of drinking it in Scotland. Out of curiosity, I searched the internet for quick how-to, and knew I’d found my panacea.

Ginger beer is a refreshing, effervescent soft drink made from lemons, ginger, sugar, and yeast. It’s terribly easy to make, and only takes three or four days to ferment and be ready to serve. If you’ve ever thought about making beer but have been put off by the time and gear required, ginger beer, which is more akin to ginger ale than any beer, could be just for you.

I’m not posting a recipe or instructions this time, but if you’re interested, let me know with a comment and I’ll gladly show you how you can make your own with a standard 1.5L PET bottle and a few simple ingredients.

P.S. After tasting how delicious my first two batches turned out, I decided to make my third a pomegranate cider! That was last Wednesday, bottled this morning!