LOL. I'd best go fix that. I forget that your state is an hour behind the rest of us :D

Behind in some ways, ahead in others.

Beautiful one day, perfect the next. :p

Funny I find this post... I just bought an old cookbook from a thrift store that had a Ginger Beer recipe. It is different, doesn't use the sultanas. One thing it does mention is do not use plastic containers to make or store it. Apparently it will take on the taste of the plastic.

Sounds like a fun project to try with my son who loves ginger ale!

Good luck with it 2K2C. It's really yummy and so refreshing on a hot day. BTW.... it's yummy on a cold day too, LOL :D

If you do make your own you need air tight caps when you bottle it, just like those on bottles of lager ... otherwise you'll lose the fizz or worse, the tops will blow off. :rolleyes:

When ready to drink (after about a week) your ginger beer will be fizzy/carbonated just like coca cola and such that you buy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. :)

Dear Koala, Just wondering how the ginger beer is going? Were you able to get it made? I just realized that maybe you were doing some for the 25th?

No Lara, sadly I haven't got a brew ready for Christmas. :(
I've been too busy to make it so far but I hope to have my first bottle chilling soon.

Ale Plant or Ginger Ale Plant
 

I am not certain, but this sounds a bit like what I am looking for - but let me tell you my story of how I know about this.
When I was a nipper our farming household had what they called an ale plant. It was of a semi-gelatinous consistency, somewhat friable, pale in colour and rather wispy around the edges (like cotton wool filaments embedded in a thick gelatinous matrix). It was kept in an old "sweetie jar" (one of those glass jars with 4 sides and a black bakelite-type screw-on cap) and floated in a starter-mixture of sugar and molasses with some flavourings added (such as ginger or lemon, or both). When I say floated, it actually sank to the bottom when first added, at the point where the molasses-sugar mix was replenished, but slowly floated upwards as small bubbles gathered around it. The bubbles would slowly get bigger, eventually coalescing into larger bubbles; when one or more of the bubbles lost their grip on the "blob" they would gurgle up to the top and the "blob" would then sink part way down the jar until, when more bubbles formed, it was floated upwards to the surface again.
The 'ale' was poured off every few days (5 - 10 or more depending on ambient temperatures, summer, winter etc) and the fluid then replenished with fresh starter mixture again.
The gelatinous blob would slowly grow bigger over time (and sometimes small pieces broke off) and parts were also deliberately broken off and either given away to others (neighbours, cousins, aunts etc) or discarded.
The drink was looked on as a health drink. Alcohol content was probably very low and it was judged ready to drink when the sweetness of the liquor was almost non-detectable.
Can you please tell me if you know where I could possibly find this "ale plant" nowadays. The one my family had, was gifted from a friend of the family who lived in Co Fermanagh (NI) many, many years ago
With thanks, Bill Kirk

Welcome snipe816. :Wave-Hello:

Hi Bill,
welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups.

I've no idea where you could get one really, but you could perhaps grow your own.

What exactly did it taste like, do you remember?

Some bakers make their own yeast 'plants'. I came across one who used potatoes, raisins, salt and sugar.

There's also kombucha, but you didn't mention tea as an ingredient.

Only thing I'd be worried about these days is consuming some sort of icky contamination. I didn't think about that as much when I was a child. :)

Your recipe does sound different to the Ginger Ale/Beer I was after Bill, although the concept sounds much the same. Maybe you could start your own plant.