Well, thank goodness for Lady Pilsner- that's all I gotta say! She is out there in central Europe innovating in the kitchen while I toil like a migrant farm hand here on the other side of the pond. Although I, Ms. Chops, have no real intention of actually quitting my beer habit- this time of year it is good to have other alternative refreshments on hand. Especially if you sweat as much as me, and it's before noon.
Anyhow, Lady Pilsner has decided to brew some ginger beer and share her experience. Which is kind of a coincidence, because just the other day our friend/beer brewing guru told me he takes water, mixes it with lime juice and powdered ginger and then puts it into a keg, carbonates it w/ CO2 and has it on tap in his kitchen. How cool is that? Perhaps someone will come up with a way to merge these two similar and refreshing beverages into one?
"Brewing Ginger Beer" by Lady Pilsner
I've been fascinated by non-alcoholic fermented beverages for a while, and finally managed to inspire myself to make a "traditional" ginger beer. Maybe it was my friend (whose grandmother is an herbalist) mentioning that she makes this type of beverage from elder flower each year when they are in season, maybe it was that I finally had the idea at the same time I had the available ingredients. Anyway, I decided to save my dried elder flowers for tea, and dug into my Nourishing Traditions cookbook for the ginger ale recipe:
3 / 4 c. ginger peeled and finely chopped or grated
1 / 2 c. fresh lime juice
1 /4 – 1 / 2 c. sucanat (I used regular sugar)
2 tsp. sea salt
1 / 4 c. whey
2 qts. filtered water
Combine, cover tightly, and leave at room temperature for 2 days. Filter and serve 1:1 with sparkling water.
Combine, cover tightly, and leave at room temperature for 2 days. Filter and serve 1:1 with sparkling water.
I ended up making approx. 2/3 the recipe b/c it fits nicely into our 1.5 L drink bottles, using a little less ginger (reason - husband) and lime juice (reason – no more limes) than recommended. It was ready today and, even though I didn't have the sparkling water, I was surprised that you do get to taste the fizz even 1:1 with tap water.
Czech beverage manufacturers, who have recently introduced "gently carbonated" waters would be jealous of my ginger beer. It definitely had more of a "buzz" or "fizz" than actual harsh bubbles. I might lessen the salt next time, but, even with the weird saltiness, I quite liked it. And just think how utterly healthy it is! As I understand it, the whey and salt change the type of fermentation from the traditional alcohol-producing one to a lactic-acid producing one, so without them, the drink would be slightly alcoholic. Next time, I may try it without the salt.
After leaving it a few more days I think the salt flavor subsided as the drink "aged" - Now, a few days later, the taste is better than it was the first day.
I've also been trying to find a tried and true Czech recipe for the elderflower drink, but had to resort to the internet because my two sources haven't come through yet. I haven't tried this recipe myself, though I may try it with my dried elder flowers or just wait for next year.
Elder Flower "Soda"
4 quarts water
4 elder flower florets
1 lemon
350-400 g sugar
1 / 2 tsp. yeast (this is pressed cake yeast, I think it would be about 1/3 tsp. dry yeast)
Boil the water, pour into a 5 quart container, mix the sugar into the hot water, squeeze the lemon into the container, then cut up the rest of the lemon into rings and add to the mix. When the water is luke warm, add the yeast and flowers and mix well. After 24 hrs, filter into bottles and refrigerate.
And P.S.-
I just have one last question for the illustrious Lady Pilsner. What in tarnation does an elder flower taste like? Hopefully not elders....
4 comments:
Always grate your ginger. Chopping it, even finely, doesn't get anywhere near enough flavor out of that humble rhizome.
I've never liked home-made sodas that use yeast for carbonation. No matter how well you chill them, they still always taste like a big ol' yeast bomb to me. Besides, my idea of Ginger Ale IS alcoholic!
My recipe:
http://reverence.taylor-madeak.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=33
Thanks for the advice and recipe link Bob! I'm still using my training wheels for brewing beer, but when I get a better idea what the heck I am doing, I'll definitely give your suggested recipe a shot. It's a session beer- so perhaps I could drink this before noon..... just kidding!
Actually, I never considered chopping the ginger, I always grate as well, I just forgot to mention that change. Otherwise, I'd say the whey worked fine, and if anyone's interested, I'm still tring to get my other two recipes.
Lastly, for my wisecracking sister, elderflowers are indescribable, but they taste very much like they smell, which could possibly be characterized as a non-traditional, non-sweet but still floral aroma. I'm sure you can find a German or English sirup from them in some sort of specialty store.
Why not? I brewed it to be a refreshing session beer, and I'm certainly not averse to knocking one back before noon after mowing the lawn. Hell, I even let my daughter drink some from time to time (she's three and she LOVES it).
My only advice is that you use some Goldings or Fuggle hops for it, if you can get them. My posted recipe lists Amarillo and Cascade, but that's because it was modified to use up hops that I already had on-hand instead of paying through the nose for a bag of hops this year. Frugality is my watchword during this shortage: throw no hops away!
You know...I can't recall what elder flowers even smell like, it's been so long since I've even seen an elder bush. We used to have one in our side yard when I was very young, and my mom used to make elderberry pie from it all the time, and I vividly recall what that tasted like. In fact, my first pet cat is still buried under that bush, if the bush is still there after 25 years....
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