Used in a Moscow Mule, Gin Gin (or London) Mule, Dark and Stormy, among other cocktails, ginger beer is a refreshing beverage that works well just by itself. On the rocks, or just chilled, the drink provides a strong ginger flavor, with a bit of a kick, and the invigorating properties that are found in ginger root. Ginger, a rhizome, is an underground stem of a plant which is similar to a small bamboo (Norman 238). Fresh, it provides a nice warming sensation in the mouth, with a tangy, somewhat biting and sharp flavor; quite often it is used in various styles of Asian cuisine, and is paired with flavors such as chili, garlic, lemon grass, limes, mint, tamarind, and tumeric (Ibid 239).
Ginger beer takes the majority of its' flavor from the juice and small particles that remain from freshly grated ginger which has been fortified with a citrus juice, sugar, and then cut with water to make it more palatable. Currently, ginger beer is not very popular, and not readily available in a lot of grocery stores, but there has been a movement towards appreciating ginger beer as of late. This is in contrast to the popularity the beverage enjoyed earlier in the 20th century. It seems that in the 40s and 50s, Schwepps manufactured ginger beer, and it was rather well received (DeGroff 156). During the 60s, the tastes of the public changed, and so ginger beer started disappearing from store shelves, and was no longer produced by Schweppes shortly thereafter (Ibid). By 1985, it was a rarity, only found in a few stores that would carry Jamaican ginger beer, which was currently going strong in the Caribbean (Ibid). When the drink would be revived in the 90s, it would be only be found in Jamaican style, or the original local of production for ginger beer that would dominate the market, and as such, replace the lighter flavored ginger beers made by Schweppes and others (Ibid).
Depending on the cocktail, and the drinker, you may want to emphasize different things. As such, ginger beer is something that varies quite a bit. Having stolen Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recipe, I fiddled with it slightly to appeal more to my taste. Personally, I like strong ginger flavors, giving and, not necessarily dominating, but being one of the foremost things coming into play when working with it. I feel this works especially well in a Dark and Stormy, or with a dark rum, since it gives a strong delicious flavor that contrasts the sweetness of the rum, and in the case of Gosling's, complements the bitterness. In a Gin Gin Mule, I prefer something a bit more sweet, and less ginger like, because I prefer to have the mint and gin still remain on the palate, which is more finicky than that of a strong full bodied rum.
Morgenthaler provides a simple outline: which you can adjust to your preference. While the ginger beer could be fermented, I want to make it a la minute through the use of a soda siphon. If you were making it fermented, you would take the mixture, add warm water instead of cold water, and then add some champagne yeast, and let the ginger beer bottle sit for about two days. After which, you stick the bottles in the fridge (which had been sealed with those pull bottle caps) so that the fermentation process is stopped, and only small remnants of new found fermented alcohol remain. One of the benefits to this method is that the Ginger beer, if you leave it sit longer as well, will develop its own light alcohol content; however, the sugar will be consumed, so you may have to add more, but that is why careful monitoring of the sugar levels is rather important as well as the length of time it will be left fermenting.
Since lime juice goes so well with ginger beer cocktails, I modified the recipe / guidelines that Morgenthaler presents, increasing not only the the ginger juice but also the citrus juice,of which it was comprised of both lemon and lime in a three to two mix. Lastly, I took instead of plain old simple syrup, some demerara or turbinado sugar and created a simple syrup from it, so that I could use it. This gave it a bit more depth of flavor, and blended the lemon and lime juices with the ginger quite well. It might be interesting (to say the least) if you were to use honey syrup, but provided it was from something like tupelo honey or orange blossom honey, ingredients without the light taste of cloves.
-----Ginger "Beer":
3 ounces ginger juice
3 ounces fresh lemon juice
2 ounces fresh lime juice
6 ounces demerara simple syrup
Cold water
To obtain ginger juice, take and peel fresh ginger root, and either place in a juicer, or grate and then squeeze the juice from the remnants while in a cheesecloth. Combine ingredients, and pour into an iSi Soda Siphon. Fill with water as per instructions. Use a CO2 cartridge and carbonate the ginger beer. Enjoy.
DeGroff, Dale. 2008. The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers.
Morgenthaler, Jeffrey. 2008. "How To Make Your Own Ginger Beer." Jeffrey Morgenthaler. http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/2008/how-to-make-your-own-ginger-beer/ (accessed May 1, 2010).
Norman, Jill. 2002. Herbs and Spices: The Cook's Reference. New York: DK Publishing, Inc.
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