Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbl. grated ginger

1 lemon

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon yeast

cool water

clean 2-liter bottle or growler jug

Preparation

  1. Juice the lemon and set it aside.

  2. Pour the sugar into the bottle.

  3. Pour the yeast into the bottle. Shake the bottle so that the yeast and sugar are mixed well.

  4. Pour the ginger and the lemon juice into the bottle.

  5. Fill the bottle about one-quarter full of cold water and shake well again, so that everything’s mixed well and the sugar and yeast are dissolved.

  6. Fill up the bottle with water until nearly but not quite full, leaving an inch or two of space from the lid.

  7. Leave out the bottle in a warm spot for 2-3 days, or until it’s carbonated to the degree you want. Then chill the ginger ale in the fridge and enjoy. (You’ll probably want to filter the ginger ale as you pour it into the glass. Otherwise you’ll get little bits of grated ginger stuck on your lips.)

Warning: If you leave the bottle too long in the warmth, you risk the bottle exploding.

Feel free to fiddle around with the amounts of ginger, lemon or sugar, as you like. Personally, I’ve found that 1 cup of sugar seems the perfect amount, for me, at least. Even a scant bit less makes the soda bland; a little bit more gets syrupy sweet.