DIY Natural Homemade Ginger Ale

Ginger ale is a natural fermented and frizzy drink that has many beneficial enzymes and probiotics which help to boost up your health.

Ginger is a wonderful spice that has amazing medicinal properties which are widely used to treat many health problems. You can also grab those benefits by taking ginger in the form of ginger ale. Let’s have a look at some of those benefits below.

• Ginger soothes your digestive system and clears the disturbances like stomach ache, upset stomach, nausea, acid reflux, bloating and gas.
• Calm down your cold, cough and other respiratory problems.
• Heals muscle aches and body pains.
• Reduces your fever and strengthen your immunity.
• Enhance proper blood circulatory system.
• Works for lowering your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and also reduces the risk of getting cancer.
• Relieves you from stress and anxiety.

Now let’s have a look on few methods of preparing ginger ale (also called ginger beer) naturally at your home with detailed step by step process.

Method – 1: (Ginger Ale using Ginger Bug)

Ginger bug is a culture of beneficial bacteria that prepared by adding ginger root and sugar in water on the daily basis for a week, which is similar to a kombucha scoby for making kombucha. It is a natural base for making many homemade sodas and tonics. Let’s see how to prepare ginger ale using a ginger bug.

• Pour 3 cups of water, 2-inch minced fresh ginger root, 1/2 cup of organic sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in a saucepan.
• Place it on the heat and bring it to a boil for few minutes.
• Simmer it for another 5 – 7 minutes until sugar dissolves completely and the mix smells like ginger.
• Turn off the heat and add 5 cups of water to cool the mix.
• Then add 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice and 1/2 cup of ginger bug to it.
• Transfer all this mix into 2-quart glass mason jar and stir well.
• Place its air tight lid and keep it aside for 2 – 3 days till carbonated but make sure to mix it well for once daily.
• The final mix should bubble and should hiss like a soda when opened. It should smell like ginger and slightly of fermentation/yeast.
• Strain the ginger ale and store it in a refrigerator.
• Enjoy this frizzy ginger ale drink.

Note: Or use whey instead of ginger bug for quick fermentation.

Method – 2: (Ginger Ale using Chilled Seltzer or Club Soda)

• Pour 1 ½ cups of peeled and chopped ginger in a small saucepan.
• Then add 2 cups of water in it and cook at a low heat by covering partially for 45 minutes.
• Now remove it from heat and let it steep for another 20 minutes.
• Strain the mix and pour this liquid into a saucepan.
• Pour 3/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt to the mix and boil it over a medium heat.
• Stir it till the sugar has dissolved and turn off the heat.
• Let it cool for few minutes and then mix 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice and 1 quart of chilled seltzer or club soda.
• Stir well and drink ginger ale and refrigerate the remaining ale.

Method – 3: (Ginger Ale using Active Yeast)

• Pour 1 ½ ounces of finely grated fresh ginger, 6 ounces of sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan.
• Place it over medium-high heat and stir well till the sugar dissolves completely.
• Then remove the heat and cover it.
• Let it steep for an hour and strain the mix finely and refrigerate it.
• Now pour this syrup in a 2-liter plastic bottle and add 1/8 teaspoon of yeast, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 7 cups of water in it.
• Place its cap and shake it gently to mix all these ingredients.
• Leave the bottle at room temperature for 48 hours and check it once for carbonation.
• Finally, store the ginger ale in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks by opening the bottle for once a day.

Note: Or mix 1 ½ tablespoons of fresh grated ginger, juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast in a 2 little soda bottle. Stir well all these ingredients by adding the rest of the bottle with water. Leave it at room temperature till the bottle is hard to squeeze for 2 – 3 days to make ginger ale.

These are some of the ways of preparing ginger ale in your home. Try them and share your experience with us.