How To Make Ginger Soda Or Ginger Ale

Ginger soda is a well-loved carbonated drink in the world. It may seem like it’s too complicated to brew but it is actually easy to make at home. Learn how to make ginger soda by making a starter colony – the ginger bug! Let go of unhealthy drinks by switching to a healthier alternative with the help of ginger. 

Ginger is one of the most efficient anti-inflammatory and antibacterial foods in the world, along with peppers, fatty fish, and extra virgin olive oil. Using ginger for the wild fermentation of drinks is somewhat similar to the concept of kombucha and sourdough – you’ll need a ginger soda or ale starter culture. 

The ginger bug: The key to homemade soda

A ginger bug is not an insect nor a pest but a term used to describe the wildly fermented ginger soda starter culture. It is a fermented slurry of sugar and grated ginger developed through the help of wild yeast in the air. It is a concentrated form of probiotic that can produce several pitchers of fizzy ginger ale. 

How to make ginger soda or ginger ale

Check out how to make ginger soda and ginger bug from scratch and amaze your family members and friends with your fermentation skills.

#1 Ferment your ginger bug

Making your ginger bug is easy and only takes 5 to 7 days. The concept is to allow the wild yeast in the air and grated ginger to colonize the sugary water. The good bacteria and yeast will feed on the sugar and turn it into acid and alcohol and release carbohydrates throughout the process. 

The healthy microbes in the mixture must be fed regularly with sugar to keep them alive. You’ll know that the ginger bug is ready to use when it starts to get foamy. Bubbles are a good indication of the rich colony of wild yeast and good bacteria. 

How to make a ginger bug

Some people may urge you to use active yeast but we highly recommend using the yeast in the air and trusting the natural process of wild fermentation. Here’s what you’ll need to make your ginger bug:

Materials and ingredients:

• Organic ginger.
• White sugar.
• Filtered water.
• Fermentation or mason jar.
• Coffee filter.
• Grater

Directions:

1. Grate the ginger with its peel to include more yeast. Then, separate 28.3 grams of grated ginger.
2. In the mason jar, pour 400g. of water and mix 28.3 grams of sugar and 28.3 grams of grated ginger. 
3. Mix them well until all the sugar is dissolved. 
4. Cover the jar with a coffee filter and seal it with a rubber band or any clean string.
5. Place the jar in a clean and dark corner of your kitchen. It should be away from the direct sun to avoid killing the good microbes. 
6. On the next day, repeat the process by feeding the microbes with 28.3 grams of sugar and 28.3 grams of freshly grated ginger. 
7. Keep feeding the probiotics with sugar and grated ginger for five days until you see the mixture become foamy, bubbly, and aromatic. 

Note: Only use filtered water in fermenting your ginger bug and soda. Tap water contains chlorine that can kill all the beneficial microbes that do the actual fermentation process.

#2 Make your ginger soda or ginger ale

• Add the ginger bug and squeeze the lemon on the boiled ginger juice.
• Transfer the juice to the bottle using a funnel. Ferment the ginger ale for 5 to 6 days at room temperature. Resist the urge to burp it on the third day. If you want to avoid bottle explosions, you may burp the bottle on the fourth or fifth day. 
• After five days, your ginger ale is ready to drink! Place it in the fridge to stop the fermentation. You may experiment and add other flavors to improve its taste.

#3 Mix it with lemon or vodka

You can use ginger ale as a base soda and mix it with any fruit juice that doesn’t have any ascorbic acid that can kill the probiotic. To give you an idea, here are some of the best addition to ginger ale:

• Passion fruit.
• Cranberry juice.
• Kiwi.
• Mint.

Learning how to make ginger soda at home is easy and sustainable since it only uses a few ingredients. Just make sure to use fermentation-grade jars and bottles to avoid any bottle explosions and accidents due to carbonation buildup.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)