Ginger beer
Encyclopedia
Ginger beer is a carbonated
drink that is flavored primarily with ginger
and sweetened with sugar
or artificial sweeteners.
in the mid-18th century and became popular in Britain, the United States
, and Canada
, reaching a peak of popularity in the early 20th century.
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" by villagers in rural Corfu
. 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.
Other forms of live culture 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%, although ginger beer is usually brewed with much less alcohol.
Brewed ginger beer often includes other flavorings, prominently lemon or lime juice. These juices are not merely ornamental, however, as they establish an acidic ph balance for the solution; this helps in both protecting the ginger beer from other cultures, as well as facilitating sugar inversion to increase the availability of the more readily metabolised fructose and glucose. Other, more strictly flavoring-specific, elements have often included: citrus zests; cayenne pepper and other hot spices; and admixtures from other brews such as nettle or dandelion beers.
, but a composite organism consisting of a fungus, the yeast
Saccharomyces florentinus
(formerly Saccharomyces pyriformis) and the bacterium Lactobacillus
hilgardii (formerly Brevibacterium vermiforme), which form a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY
). 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
.
The GBP was first described by Harry Marshall Ward
in 1892, from samples he received in 1887. 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. Much of the "ginger beer plant" obtainable from commercial sources is not the true GBP as described here, but instead is yeast alone. This is not legally false advertising because there is no regulation defining GBP.
. It does not contain alcohol (although some might contain less than 0.5%) and is sold as a soft drink, sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Commercial ginger beer is similar to ginger ale
except that it has a significantly stronger ginger taste and is sometimes described as ginger ale with a kick. It may be cloudy, is sweet, and has a spicy ginger taste. Cloudy versions tend to still have small pieces of ginger in them, which usually means a heavier ginger taste than the clearer types.
(usually a British ale
of some sort) to make one type of shandy
, and with dark rum
to make a drink, originally from Bermuda
, called a Dark 'N' Stormy
. It is the main ingredient in the Moscow Mule
cocktail (Although in some cases Ginger Ale
is used as an alternative where Ginger Beer is not available).
Carbonation
Carbonation is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in water. The process usually involves carbon dioxide under high pressure. When the pressure is reduced, the carbon dioxide is released from the solution as small bubbles, which cause the solution to "fizz." This effect is seen in carbonated...
drink that is flavored primarily with ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
and sweetened with sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
or artificial sweeteners.
History
Brewed ginger beer originated in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the mid-18th century and became popular in Britain, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, reaching a peak of popularity in the early 20th century.
Brewed ginger beer was brought to the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the 19th century, and is still made as a local specialty known as "tsitsibíra" by villagers in rural Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
. Today ginger beer is almost always produced as a soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
. Ginger beer and ginger ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
as soft drinks have been moderately popular in many parts of the world since they were introduced.
Brewed
The original recipe requires only ginger, sugar, water, lemon juice and a fungal-bacteria symbiote known as a ginger beer plant. Fermentation over a few days turns the mixture into ginger beer.Other forms of live culture than the ginger beer plant can produce a fermented ginger beer. Cultures used include brewers or baker's yeast
Baker's yeast
Baker's yeast is the common name for the strains of yeast commonly used as a leavening agent in baking bread and bakery products, where it converts the fermentable sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide and ethanol...
, lactic acid bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria
The lactic acid bacteria comprise a clade of Gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally non-sporulating, non-respiring rod or cocci that are associated by their common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These bacteria, usually found in decomposing plants and lactic products, produce...
, kefir
Kefir
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated with shepherds of the North Caucasus region, who discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would occasionally ferment into an effervescent beverage...
grains, and tibicos
Tibicos
Tibicos, also known as tibi, water kefir grains, sugar kefir grains, Japanese water crystals and California Bees, and in older literature also known as Bébées, African bees, Ale nuts, Australian bees, Balm of Gilead, Beer seeds, Beer plant, Bees, Ginger Beer plant, Ginger bees, Japanese Beer seeds...
. Brewing ginger beer generates carbon dioxide as in beer. The alcohol content when produced by the traditional process can be high, up to 11%, although ginger beer is usually brewed with much less alcohol.
Brewed ginger beer often includes other flavorings, prominently lemon or lime juice. These juices are not merely ornamental, however, as they establish an acidic ph balance for the solution; this helps in both protecting the ginger beer from other cultures, as well as facilitating sugar inversion to increase the availability of the more readily metabolised fructose and glucose. Other, more strictly flavoring-specific, elements have often included: citrus zests; cayenne pepper and other hot spices; and admixtures from other brews such as nettle or dandelion beers.
Ginger Beer Plant
Ginger beer plant (GBP) is not what is usually considered a plantPlant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
, but a composite organism consisting of a fungus, the yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
Saccharomyces florentinus
Saccharomyces florentinus
Saccharomyces florentinus is a plant pathogen.Previously known as Saccharomyces pyriformist, it is a component of the Ginger Beer Plant used in the making of traditional Ginger beer- External links :* *...
(formerly Saccharomyces pyriformis) and the bacterium Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus is a genus of Gram-positive facultative anaerobic or microaerophilic rod-shaped bacteria. They are a major part of the lactic acid bacteria group, named as such because most of its members convert lactose and other sugars to lactic acid. They are common and usually benign...
hilgardii (formerly Brevibacterium vermiforme), which form a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY
SCOBY
SCOBY is an acronym standing for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast and refers exclusively to the mat formed by living Kombucha cultures during the fermentation process...
). It forms a gelatinous substance that allows it to be easily transferred from one fermenting substrate to the next, much like kefir grains
Kefir
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated with shepherds of the North Caucasus region, who discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would occasionally ferment into an effervescent beverage...
, kombucha
Kombucha
Kombucha is an effervescent tea-based beverage that is often drunk for its anecdotal health benefits or medicinal purposes. Kombucha is available commercially and can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible, solid mass of yeast and bacteria which forms the kombucha culture, often referred...
, and tibicos
Tibicos
Tibicos, also known as tibi, water kefir grains, sugar kefir grains, Japanese water crystals and California Bees, and in older literature also known as Bébées, African bees, Ale nuts, Australian bees, Balm of Gilead, Beer seeds, Beer plant, Bees, Ginger Beer plant, Ginger bees, Japanese Beer seeds...
.
The GBP was first described by Harry Marshall Ward
Harry Marshall Ward
Harry Marshall Ward was a British botanist, mycologist, and plant pathologist.Born in Hereford, Ward was educated at Lincoln Cathedral school. from c. 1864. He went on to scientific studies at the South Kensington Science and Art Department under Thomas Henry Huxley in 1874...
in 1892, from samples he received in 1887. 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. Much of the "ginger beer plant" obtainable from commercial sources is not the true GBP as described here, but instead is yeast alone. This is not legally false advertising because there is no regulation defining GBP.
Soft drink
The beverage produced industrially is not brewed (fermented), but carbonated with pressurized carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
. It does not contain alcohol (although some might contain less than 0.5%) and is sold as a soft drink, sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Commercial ginger beer is similar to ginger ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
except that it has a significantly stronger ginger taste and is sometimes described as ginger ale with a kick. It may be cloudy, is sweet, and has a spicy ginger taste. Cloudy versions tend to still have small pieces of ginger in them, which usually means a heavier ginger taste than the clearer types.
Mixed drinks
The ginger beer soft drink may be mixed with beerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
(usually a British ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
of some sort) to make one type of shandy
Shandy
Shandy, or shandygaff, is normally a beer mixed with citrus-flavored soda, carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, or cider. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste, normally half-and-half. There are also non-alcoholic shandy mixes known as “rock shandies”...
, and with dark rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
to make a drink, originally from Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, called a Dark 'N' Stormy
Dark 'N' Stormy
A Dark and Stormy is an alcoholic highball style cocktail popular in many British Commonwealth countries, such as Bermuda and Australia. It consists of dark rum and ginger beer over ice. It is optionally accompanied by a slice of lime...
. It is the main ingredient in the Moscow Mule
Moscow Mule
A Moscow Mule is a buck or mule cocktail made with vodka, ginger beer, and lime which was popular during the vodka craze in the United States during the 1950s. The name refers to the popular perception of vodka as a Russian product.-History:...
cocktail (Although in some cases Ginger Ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
is used as an alternative where Ginger Beer is not available).
External links
- Of the Street Sale of Ginger-Beer, Sherbet, Lemonade,&C., from London Labour and the London Poor, Volume 1, Henry MayhewHenry MayhewHenry Mayhew was an English social researcher, journalist, playwright and advocate of reform. He was one of the two founders of the satirical and humorous magazine Punch, and the magazine's joint-editor, with Mark Lemon, in its early days...
, 1851; subsequent pages cover the costs and income of street ginger beer sellers. - http://www.scienceinschool.org/repository/docs/issue8_gingerbeer.pdf
- Traditional Ginger Beer Recipe