Ginger beer

Not to be confused with Ginger ale.

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Old Jamaica Ginger Beer produced by Cott Beverages in the United Kingdom

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Gosling's Ginger Beer

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

Ginger beer is a carbonated, sweetened beverage produced in two versions: alcoholic brewed ginger beer (which includes home-brewed) or a carbonated soft drink flavored primarily with ginger and sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners.

History

As early as 500 BC, ginger was used as a medicine and for flavouring food in Ancient China and India. In the western hemisphere, ginger was used to spice up drinks. During the Victorian era, it was used to brew an alcoholic beverage termed "ginger beer".

Brewed ginger beer originated in Yorkshire in England in the mid-18th century and became popular throughout Britain, the United States, Ireland, 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 (τσιτσιμπίρα) by villagers in rural Corfu. Today, ginger beer is usually 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 similarities and differences between ginger ale and ginger beer are discussed in the history section of the ginger ale article.

Production

Ginger beer plant

The 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), 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.

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.

Alcoholic ginger beer

Brewed ginger beer originated in the UK, but is sold worldwide. Crabbie's is a popular brand in the UK. 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. Another popular ginger beer is Hollows & Fentimans. Hollows & Fentimans claims its ginger beer to be gluten-free. The UK edition of Crabbie's ginger beer is gluten-free, but not the US version.

Ginger beer soft drink

Non-alcoholic ginger beer is a type of carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. An example is Stoney, a product of The Coca-Cola Company widely sold in southern and eastern Africa.

Mixed drinks

The ginger beer soft drink may be mixed with beer (usually a British ale of some sort) to make one type of shandy, or 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).

See also

• Root beer
• Sockerdricka
• Caribbean cuisine
• Ginger wine
• Canton (liqueur)
• Socată
• List of soft drink flavors
• Donoghue v. Stevenson, legal case involving ginger beer

External links

• Of the Street Sale of Ginger-Beer, Sherbet, Lemonade,&C., from London Labour and the London Poor, Volume 1, Henry Mayhew, 1851; subsequent pages cover the costs and income of street ginger beer sellers.
• http://www.scienceinschool.org/sites/default/files/issuePdf/issue8.pdf