Ginger-Bug Sodas

M. Arthur Reed Art Show - Summit House 2011

We do food up right here at the River City Housing Collective! (big picture here)

The rainbow of bottles in the middle of the table are my homebrew-sodas: Black Cherry/Black Pepper, Rosehip-Hibiscus, Spicey Orange, Orange-Tulip, Lavender-Lemonade, Lemon-Limeade, Tulip-Violet (in that order, left to right). The colors are all accurate except for the lemon-limeade, which I put into a green bottle because it was basically the same color as the lavender-lemonade.

On delayed request, here are instructions for making fizzy lifting drinks. I usually make it in 2-liter batches, and that's what these instructions are written for. I learned how to do this from Deborah Prentice's Full Moon Feast, which I recommend both for the recipes and for the essays:

1. Make a ginger bug (3-5 days)

--> Get a pint jar with a lid and put the following things into it:

1 cup water

2 teaspoons grated (fresh) gingerroot

2 teaspoons sugar.

--> Put the jar out someplace at warmish room-temperature

--> Every day for the next ~3 days, add 2 tsp grated ginger and 2 tsp sugar. Shake the jar every time you walk by (three or four times a day is probably sufficient, but ginger bugs are kind of like pets, so it's fun to do it more often).

--> After a few days, the bug will start to get fizzy. This means it's time to make the sodas!

2. Make a flavor syrup (~30 minutes)

--> Basically any kind of juice or tea you would make can be made into a soda, just by adding a ginger bug! Some ideas for flavor combinations are above. I've used herbs from the garden, flowers from the yard, storebought and homegrown fruits and juices, etc. Think about the flavors, mix and match, be creative. But keep these tips in mind:

--> You need to add some real sugar. It can be hippie sugar (sucanat, maple syrup, agave nectar) but it has to be sugar. Think ~1/2 cup for the yeast to eat, plus a bit more to sweeten it to your own palate.

--> Don't put the ginger bug into hot water! It will kill the yeasties and won't carbonate.

--> I've heard that honey can harbor some sort of bacteria that likes to fight with the yeasts. For this reason, I haven't tried using honey as a sweetener much myself.

3. Bottle & wait for carbonation (1-2 days)

--> Mix the ginger bug into your (cool) juice/tea/whatever. I usually do this in a two-quart mason jar.

--> Use cheesecloth and a funnel to strain all of the solid bits out of the mixture and put it into bottles.

--> The bottles have to be airtight.

--> With plastic bottles you can feel the carbonation. I tend to use glass bottles because they look nicer. Sometimes they explode, which is dangerous and messy. SOMETIMES THEY EXPLODE.

-->Carbonation usually happens faster when it is warmer.

--> Usually they are ready to drink in a day or two.

4. Refrigerate until cool. Drink. Preferably out of pretty crystal glasses, perhaps with a sprig of something-or-other. Maybe on the porch with someone you love.