Ginger beer

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Gosling's Ginger Beer
Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer was first crafted back in 1801.

Ginger beer is found[by whom?] in two versions: brewed ginger beer (which includes home-brewed) or a carbonated drink flavored primarily with ginger and sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners.


As early as 500 BC, ginger was used as a medicine to cure sickness, and flavouring food in Ancient China and India. Western civilization used ginger to spice up the drinks. During Victorian era, ginger was used to brew beer. [1]

Brewed ginger beer originated in Yorkshire in England in the mid-18th century[2] and became popular throughout Britain, the United States, and Canada, reaching a peak of popularity in the early 20th century.[3]

Brewed ginger beer was brought to the Ionian Islands by the British Army in the 19th century, and is still made as a local specialty known as tsitsibíra (τσιτσιμπίρα) by villagers in rural Corfu.[4] Today, ginger beer is almost always produced as a soft drink. Ginger beer and ginger ale as soft drinks have been moderately popular in many parts of the world since they were introduced.



The original recipe requires only ginger, sugar, water, lemon juice and a fungal-bacterial symbiote[5] known as a ginger beer plant. Fermentation over a few days turns the mixture into ginger beer.

Forms of live culture other than the ginger beer plant can produce a fermented ginger beer. Cultures used include brewers or baker's yeast, lactic acid bacteria, kefir grains, and tibicos. Brewing ginger beer generates carbon dioxide as in beer. The alcohol content, when produced by the traditional process can be high, up to 11%,[3] although ginger beer is usually brewed with much less alcohol.


Ginger beer plant[edit]

Ginger beer plant (GBP) is not what is usually considered a plant but a composite organism consisting of a fungus, the yeast Saccharomyces florentinus (formerly S. pyriformis), and the bacterium Lactobacillus hilgardii (formerly Brevibacterium vermiforme),[5][6] which form a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. It forms a gelatinous substance that allows it to be easily transferred from one fermenting substrate to the next, much like kefir grains, kombucha, and tibicos.[7]

The GBP was first described by Harry Marshall Ward in 1892, from samples he received in 1887.[6][8][9][10] Original ginger beer is made by leaving water, sugar, ginger, and GBP to ferment. GBP may be obtained from several commercial sources or from yeast banks.[11]

Alcoholic ginger beer[edit]

Brewed ginger beer originated in the UK, but is sold worldwide. Shakemantle Ginger Ale has been around since at least 2001 if not earlier.[12] Crabbie's is a popular brand in the UK.[13] Other popular ginger beers include Stoney's.[14] It is usually labelled "alcoholic ginger beer" to distinguish it from the more established commercial ginger beers, which are not brewed (fermented), but carbonated with pressurized carbon dioxide.[15]

Mixed drinks[edit]


See also[edit]


  1. ^
  10. ^ New Scientist article (alternative source)

External links[edit]