In which I jinx the current batch by blogging about it before it's ready.
I tried to make ginger beer last summer and it was dismal failure. Short version: If you want your ginger beer to be yeasty and terrible, I suggest making it in a plastic bottle with baking yeast. If you come across a recipe calling for either, keep looking for a better one; or rather, substitute good glass bottles and brewer's yeast. I'll write a longer post about brewing ginger beer at some point with recipe recommendations and such (assuming that my current batch doesn't explode or go rancid or develop sentience or something).
The bottles pictured here (yes, from IKEA) are in Day 2 of fermentation at room temperature. The recipe I'm working with says 3-5 days for this stage, during which carbonation occurs. Since I'm working with glass bottles, which I don't want to explode, I'll probably do 3 days before I refrigerate for another week. I'm contemplating releasing the excess carbonation before refrigeration, as some other recipes I've seen indicate.
PS -- If this is the last post I make about ginger beer, you should assume that this batch was terrible and I've given up completely and will forever be satisfied drinking Fentimans instead of brewing my own.
