Ginger beer’s popularity soars

The new year has barely started, but beverage trends already are taking shape, and one beverage is exploding on drink menus everywhere: ginger beer. It’s popping up in classic and contemporary cocktails, and in drinks without alcohol too.

The quintessential ginger beer cocktail is the Moscow mule, a combination of vodka, ginger beer and lime juice that’s enjoying a rise in popularity. It’s also integral to the Dark and Stormy, where dark rum replaces the Moscow mule’s vodka.

Ginger beer’s playful combination of fizz, spicy ginger, and a touch of sweetness adds pizzazz to scores of other drinks as well. You don’t have to be a cocktail aficionado to enjoy ginger beer; it doesn’t contain any appreciable amounts of alcohol itself but it adds punch to drinks without alcohol.

It can be a struggle to find ginger beer in the store, but it’s easy to make at home. The EYB Library features several recipes for ginger beer. Many of the recipes use active dry or champagne yeast; these recipes will result in a fizzier beverage than those that don’t use yeast. The ingredients are simple: fresh ginger, lemon or lime juice, sugar, water, and sometimes yeast.

If you go the yeast route, be sure to heed any recipe warnings on bottling your ginger beer. As with any fermented product, there is a risk of the bottles going “poof” if you aren’t careful with the process. But don’t let this scare you away from making ginger beer: if you follow the instructions you’ll be rewarded with a spicy-sweet beverage that you can enjoy on its own or in a drink.

Photo of Homemade ginger beer from indexed blog Girlichef