Emerging Story: Fermentation Gone Wild

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This story is in progress as of August 2, 2008.  I will be finishing th story this week.

Do you ever yearn for that crisp taste of a cold refreshing summer drink but don’t want it filled with preservatives, corn syrup and other not very nice ingredients?  I had pretty much given up on any foods with corn syrup.  Rather, I’m using more natural sweetners such as Agave nectar, Stevia, cane juice, brown sugars or honey.  This I found out meant that most sodas were off limits except for the very expensive ones found in niche markets or the ‘health food’ section of the local mega-mart.

So when I found this recipe for Ginger Beer naturally carbondated with wild fermentation, I thought I’d give it a try. The way I make this, there is very little, if any, noticeable alcohol content.

There are 3 main processes to creating this deliciously crisp Ginger Beer.

1. Set up your sugar jar to capture wild yeast.
2. Make your soda base and fill your soda bottles
3. Let your bottles ferment (4 days to 2 weeks depending on air temperature)

So let’s take a close look at each step.

Set Up Your Sugar Jar to Capture Wild Yeast

Get a mason jar and fill it with a cup of water and sugar will is the food for the wild yeast you’re trying to attract.  Then cut a piece of cheesecloth, and put that on top of the jar to keep the flies out.  Using the Mason jar ring, screw it onto the jar so it holds the cheesecloth in place. 

Now wait a few days to a week or two for sold wild yeast to find your jar and make their home there. You will know the fermentation has started when you see bubbles coming from the bottom of the jar.

Maintaining your yeast: Now every couple of days, add a tablespoon of yeast food (sugar) to your water. This will keep them happy until you’re ready to use them.

Variations: For sugar, I have successfully used evaporated cane juice, brown sugar and Moscavato sugar.  Traditionally processed white sugar is used.

Make your soda base and fill your soda bottles

Bottles
The first thing you need to have is a bottle designed to take the pressure that’s going to build up in your bottle during the fermentation process.  In these bottles over the next few days or weeks, the fermentation process will create natural carbonation and pressure in the bottle as the yeast eat the sugar and belch out gas into the soda.

Ginger Beer Base

I am going to create a very sweet Ginger Beer base with enough sweetness to power the fermentation process for 4 liters of final product.  After fermenting for a few days or 2 weeks (depending on the ambiant temperature) the resulting Ginger Beer have been converted from a sweet flat syrup to a dry and refreshing carbonated drink.  The yeast will turn most of the sugar into gas and this transformation from sweetness to gas is why the Ginger Beer will not be as sweet as your starting solution.

http://www.boomercoffeehouse.com/i/cookingorganic/gingerbottles.jpg

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