Ginger Beer: A Bad Rap via Vernacular
Ginger beer is well loved today, but what might not be known is that it was brewed by nearly everyone in home breweries in days past. Though the recipe itself stayed the same, our equipment changed, thus today potentially dangerous. This, along with lack of context in historical recipe language, fed the misconception of brewing this beverage at home being being unsafe among the masses. Below is a historical analysis.
Today’s Terminology
Ginger Bug: A naturally fermented yeast deriving from the skins of the Ginger Rhizome
Ginger Beer: A naturally fermented Ginger beverage (non-alcoholic) , usually made from a Ginger Bug or artificially carbonated.
A Bit of the History and Odd Use Cases
According to sources from all over the internet, Ginger was first found in the southern reaches of what today is known as China, and then traded to the west. It was the Romans who we can thank for bringing Ginger to the British Isles who were penchant for fermenting things. Old and young, rich and poor, developed a taste for what was known as Ginger Beer, which was not actually a beer at all…
