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Ginger beer
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Moscow Herbal, Bundaberg, Aqua Monaco, Thomas Henry, Goldberg and Fever-Tree | |
| Origin | England |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | ginger spice, yeast and sugar |
Modern ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage, a type of soft drink. Historically it was a type of beer brewed by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Modern ginger beers are often manufactured rather than brewed, frequently with flavour and colour additives, with artificial carbonation. The related ginger ales also are not brewed.
Ginger beer is still produced at home using a type of symbiotic colony of yeast and Lactobacillus bacteria (SCOBY) known as a "ginger beer plant", or from a "ginger bug" starter created from fermenting ginger, sugar, and water.[1]
History
[edit]

Brewed ginger beer originated in Yorkshire in England in the mid-18th century[2] and became popular throughout Britain, the United States, Ireland, South Africa, the Caribbean and Canada, reaching a peak of popularity in the early 20th century.[3]
Modern beverage
[edit]Alcoholic ginger beer
[edit]Brewed ginger beer originated in the UK, but is sold worldwide. It is usually labelled "alcoholic ginger beer" to distinguish it from the more established commercial ginger beers, which are often not brewed using fermentation but carbonated with pressurized carbon dioxide, though traditional non-alcoholic ginger beer may also be produced by brewing.[4][better source needed]
Non-alcoholic
[edit]
Non-alcoholic ginger beers are made by brewing, followed by heating to reduce alcohol content to below 0.5% ABV, below which beverages are legally classified as "non-alcoholic" in many jurisdictions. Ginger beer can be served by itself or as part of a cocktail. Ginger beer is more strongly flavoured with ginger and less sweet compared to ginger ale.[5]
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, though ginger ale may be substituted when ginger beer is unavailable.
Production
[edit]Ginger beer plant
[edit]
Ginger beer plant (GBP), a form of fermentation starter, is used to create the fermentation process. Ginger beer was defined by Harry Marshall Ward as “beverage containing a symbiotic mixture of yeast and bacteria, and containing sufficient amounts of nitrogenous organic matter and beet sugar or cane sugar in its aqueous solution”.[6] The GBP was first described by Ward in 1892, from samples he received in 1887.[7][8][9]
Also known as "bees wine", "Palestinian bees", "Californian bees", and "balm of Gilead",[10][11] it is not a plant but a composite organism comprising the yeast Saccharomyces florentinus (formerly S. pyriformis) and the bacterium Lactobacillus hilgardii (formerly Brevibacterium vermiforme),[12][7] which form a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). 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.[13] Original ginger beer is brewed by leaving water, sugar, ginger, optional ingredients such as lemon juice and cream of tartar, and GBP to ferment for several days, converting some of the sugar into alcohol. GBP may be obtained from several commercial sources. Until about 2008 laboratory-grade GBP was available only from the yeast bank Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen in Germany (catalogue number DMS 2484),[11] but the item is no longer listed. The National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC) had an old sample of "Bees wine" as of 2008[update], but current staff have not used it, and NCYC are unable to supply it for safety reasons, as the exact composition of the sample is unknown.[11]
In the UK, the origin of the original ginger beer plant is unknown. When a batch of ginger beer was made using some ginger beer "plant" (GBP), the jelly-like residue was also bottled and became the new GBP. Some of this GBP was kept for making the next batch of ginger beer, and some was given to friends and family, so the plant was passed on through generations. Following Ward's research and experiments, he created his own ginger beer from a new plant that he had made, and he proposed, but did not prove, that the plant was created by contaminants found on the raw materials, with the yeast coming from the raw brown sugar and the bacteria coming from the ginger root.[14]
Yeast starter
[edit]An alternative method of instigating fermentation is using a ginger beer starter, often called a "ginger bug", which can be made by fermenting a mixture of water, brewer's or baker's yeast (not the SCOBY described above), ginger, and sugar. This is kept for a week or longer, with sugar regularly added, e.g., daily, to increase alcohol content. More ginger may also be added. When finished, this concentrated mix is strained, diluted with water and lemon juice, and bottled.[15][16] This is the process used by some commercial ginger beer makers. Ginger beer made from a yeast-based starter is reported to not have the same taste or mouth feel as that made with ginger beer plant. The near-complete loss of the ginger beer plant is likely due to the decrease in home brewing and the increased commercial production of ginger beer in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Large-scale breweries favoured the use of yeast, as used in conventional beer-making, because of ease for scaled production.
See also
[edit]- Crabbie's – Brand of alcoholic ginger beer
- Ginger ale – Soft drink flavoured with ginger
- Root beer – North American carbonated beverage
- Barritt's Ginger Beer – Bermudan beverage brand
- Sockerdricka – Swedish soft drink brand
- Caribbean cuisine – Cuisine of the Caribbean
- Ginger wine – Fortified wine
- Domaine de Canton (liqueur) – Flavored liqueur
- List of soft drink flavors
- Donoghue v Stevenson – 1932 UK leading case on negligence, legal case involving ginger beer
References
[edit]- ^ Ginger Bug - Zero Waste Chef
- ^ Thomas Sprat (1702) A history of the Royal Society of London, page 196 "of Brewing Beer with Ginger instead of Hops"
- ^ Donald Yates (Spring 2003). "Root Beer and Ginger Beer heritage" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Old-Fashioned Homemade Ginger Beer". 26 April 2018.
- ^ Dingwall, Kate (2 January 2025). "Ginger Beer vs. Ginger Ale: What's the Difference?". Food & Wine. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ Ward, Harry Marshall (1 January 1892). "The ginger-beer plant, and the organisms composing it: A contribution to the study of fermentation-yeasts and bacteria". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B. 183 (183): 125–197. doi:10.1098/rstb.1892.0006.
- ^ a b "Lactic Acid Beverages: sour beer, (milk) & soda" (PDF). 22 June 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
- ^ "Harry Marshall Ward : Biography". Retrieved 6 December 2006.
- ^ Vines, Gail (28 September 2002). "Marriage of equals". New Scientist (2362): 50. Alternative source Archived 30 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kebler, Lyman F. (1921). "California Bees, a paper submitted by L.F. Kebler to the American Pharmaceutical Association". Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association. 10 (12): 939–943. doi:10.1002/jps.3080101206.
- ^ a b c "Beeswine". National Collection of Yeast Cultures. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008.
- ^ "Ginger — ginger beer plant". Plant Cultures. 16 June 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ Walter Donald Daker; Maurice Stakey (14 September 1938). "CCLI. Investigation of a Polysaccharide Produced From Sucrose by Betabacterium Vermiformé (Ward-Meyer)". Biochem. J. 32 (11): 1946–8. doi:10.1042/bj0321946. PMC 1264278. PMID 16746831.
- ^ "The Ginger-Beer Plant (Paper presented by Prof. Ward to the Royal Society 1892)" (PDF). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B. 183: 125–197. 31 December 1892. doi:10.1098/rstb.1892.0006.
- ^ Science in School Ginger beer: a traditional fermented low-alcohol drink
- ^ Western Mail, 9 Apr 1953 Ginger Beer Plant
External links
[edit]- 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.
Ginger beer
View on GrokipediaHistory
Origins in the Caribbean and Europe
Ginger beer emerged as a fermented beverage in the Caribbean during the 18th century, where it became a popular household staple brewed from locally available ingredients such as ginger root, sugarcane, citrus fruits, and spices.[2] The production of these key components relied heavily on the labor of enslaved Africans on European-controlled plantations, particularly in Jamaica, where ginger cultivation expanded significantly after England's control of the island in 1655, leading to annual exports exceeding two million pounds by the late 17th century.[2] This early version was a low-alcohol drink, accessible to many as an everyday fermented alternative to stronger spirits, often incorporating cane sugar for sweetness and lime for flavor in regional variations.[6] The beverage's spread to Europe was facilitated by colonial trade routes, with ginger from the Caribbean becoming widely available through exports to Britain and other regions.[2] By the mid-18th century, ginger beer had taken root in England, particularly in Yorkshire, where it was brewed as a spiced, effervescent small beer using ginger, sugar, lemon, and yeast for fermentation—likely influenced by earlier European small beer traditions.[1] Traditional methods employed a symbiotic culture known as the ginger beer plant—a mix of yeasts and bacteria—to create natural carbonation, marking an early form of home and small-scale production that gained traction across the British Isles.[1] In England, ginger beer served as a refreshing, mildly alcoholic option amid the era's growing temperance movements, evolving from Caribbean influences into a distinctly European fermented drink bottled in durable earthenware to withstand pressure from carbonation.[1] Its adoption reflected broader exchanges of tropical ingredients via the spice trade, blending Caribbean ingenuity with British brewing traditions before transitioning toward wider commercialization in the early 19th century.[2]19th- and 20th-century developments
In the 19th century, ginger beer underwent significant commercialization in Britain, transitioning from a homemade fermented beverage to a widely produced commercial product. Bottlers established numerous plants across the United Kingdom, particularly in industrial regions like Yorkshire and London, where local manufacturers scaled up production using stoneware bottles designed to withstand the high pressure from natural fermentation.[2] These durable, salt-glazed stone bottles, often hand-thrown by potters, enabled safe storage and distribution, with exports extending to British colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and beyond, fostering its popularity as a staple soft drink.[3] By the mid-1800s, the beverage's commercialization had created a thriving industry, with thousands of independent bottlers operating in the UK and exporting millions of bottles annually.[7] The U.S. Prohibition era from 1920 to 1933 profoundly influenced ginger beer's role in American consumption, as its low-alcohol or non-alcoholic variants became a legal base for masking and mixing illicit spirits. Breweries and soda producers pivoted to manufacturing near-beer and ginger-based drinks, with ginger beer and its close relative ginger ale serving as mixers in speakeasies to disguise the harsh flavors of bootleg whiskey and bathtub gin.[8] High-alcohol extracts like Jamaican ginger, often mislabeled or used as a pretext for smuggling, further blurred lines between medicinal tonics and alcoholic evasion tactics, contributing to health crises such as paralysis from adulterated products.[9] This period boosted demand for non-alcoholic ginger beverages, with sales of ginger ale doubling between 1920 and 1928 as a direct result of Prohibition's restrictions.[10] The early 20th century marked key regulatory shifts that standardized and transformed ginger beer production. The U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 prohibited adulteration and misbranding of foods and beverages in interstate commerce, compelling manufacturers to disclose ingredients accurately and adopt uniform recipes free from harmful additives, which influenced the standardization of ginger beer's composition across commercial producers.[11] By the mid-20th century, safety concerns over bottle explosions from fermentation pressures—exacerbated by variable home and small-scale brewing—prompted a widespread shift to non-alcoholic, artificially carbonated versions using controlled forced carbonation in safer glass bottles.[1] This evolution accelerated post-1950s, leading to the decline of traditional ginger beer plants (symbiotic yeast-bacteria cultures) as commercial soft drink production dominated, rendering home fermentation methods largely obsolete by the late 20th century.[12]Varieties
Alcoholic ginger beer
Alcoholic ginger beer is a naturally fermented beverage produced through the action of yeast on sugars in a wort made primarily from ginger root, resulting in an alcohol by volume (ABV) typically ranging from 2% to 6%. This fermentation process converts the sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide, providing both the alcoholic content and natural effervescence characteristic of the drink. Unlike artificially carbonated alternatives, the traditional method relies on wild or added yeasts to achieve this balance, often over several weeks in a controlled environment.[13][14] The flavor profile of alcoholic ginger beer emphasizes a bold spiciness from fresh ginger, complemented by subtle sweetness from the fermented sugars and a tangy, effervescent bite from the natural carbonation. This results in a complex taste that can include notes of citrus and mild yeastiness, distinguishing it from milder, non-fermented versions.[15] Historically, alcoholic ginger beer emerged in the mid-1700s in England as a fermented tonic, gaining popularity through colonial trade and export via durable earthenware bottles. Its significance endures in the UK and Australia, where home-brewed versions continue to be produced using traditional yeast fermentation, preserving the drink's original potency and cultural role in social gatherings. Commercial examples, like Crabbie's in the UK, maintain this heritage by brewing with real ginger for an authentic alcoholic profile.[16][17] Legally, alcoholic ginger beer is classified as made-wine or other fermented alcoholic products in jurisdictions such as the UK, subject to excise duties for those categories despite the absence of barley or malted grains in its base recipe. This classification stems from its fermented nature and ABV, with taxes differing from those on beer, though production methods vary and may align with other beverage categories in places like Australia.[18]Non-alcoholic ginger beer
Non-alcoholic ginger beer emerged in the mid-19th century as a safer, alcohol-free alternative to the fermented original, driven by advancements in food preservation techniques and shifting public preferences toward family-friendly beverages.[2] This development allowed for mass production without the risks associated with home fermentation, transforming it into a commercial soft drink suitable for all ages.[19] These modern versions typically feature 0% alcohol by volume (ABV) and achieve their signature fizz through forced carbonation, often reaching 3-4 volumes of CO2 for a robust effervescence that distinguishes them from milder sodas.[20] Popular brands such as Bundaberg, Fever-Tree, and Reed's exemplify this category, using natural or artificial ginger extracts combined with sweeteners and carbonation to replicate the spicy, refreshing profile of traditional ginger beer.[21] In North America and Europe, non-alcoholic ginger beer dominates the market, accounting for approximately 68% of global ginger beer sales as of 2025, often marketed interchangeably with ginger ale despite its spicier, more pungent ginger-forward taste.[22] This spiciness arises from higher concentrations of real ginger, setting it apart from the subtler, sweeter notes of ginger ale.[23] To appeal to evolving consumer health trends since the 2000s, producers have introduced low-sugar and diet variants, such as Fever-Tree's Refreshingly Light Ginger Beer with only 38 calories per serving or Reed's Zero Sugar, which use alternative sweeteners like stevia or fruit sugars while maintaining the drink's bold flavor.[24][25] These adaptations reflect a broader shift toward reduced-calorie beverages amid rising awareness of sugar's health impacts.[26]Ingredients and Composition
Key components and flavors
Ginger beer is primarily composed of fresh or dried ginger root (Zingiber officinale), which provides the essential pungency and spicy character central to its profile.[4] Other core ingredients include sugar—typically cane sugar or molasses—as a source of sweetness and a base for fermentation in traditional varieties, along with water as the main diluent.[27] In fermented types, yeast facilitates natural carbonation and flavor development, while non-alcoholic commercial versions often incorporate citric acid to mimic tartness and achieve effervescence through forced carbonation.[4] The distinctive flavors of ginger beer arise from bioactive compounds in ginger, notably gingerols and shogaols, which deliver the heat, bite, and aromatic complexity. Gingerols, predominant in fresh ginger rhizomes, impart a sharp, pungent taste, while shogaols—formed through dehydration during drying or heating—contribute a spicier, sweeter edge with enhanced volatility.[28] Supporting these are volatile oils such as zingiberene, β-bisabolene, and citral, which add earthy and citrus-like notes, alongside zingerone for a milder, sweet-spicy undertone.[4] Craft recipes may incorporate secondary elements like lemon zest for acidity, chili for intensified heat, or cardamom for subtle warmth, enhancing the overall sensory balance without overpowering the ginger base. Variations in composition reflect production approaches, with artisanal brews emphasizing higher ginger content—often from fresh root extracts—to amplify authentic spice and bioactive potency, contrasting commercial non-alcoholic products that rely on flavor extracts or syrups for cost efficiency and consistency.[4] This difference can result in artisanal versions offering a more robust, layered pungency, while commercial ones prioritize milder, reproducible profiles. Sourcing plays a key role in quality; organic ginger, grown without synthetic pesticides, tends to yield higher levels of beneficial compounds like gingerols and supports sustainable farming practices by preserving soil health and biodiversity.[29] In contrast, conventional ginger may involve chemical inputs that diminish flavor intensity and raise environmental concerns.Nutritional profile
Ginger beer, particularly non-alcoholic varieties, typically provides 140-200 calories per 12-ounce (355 ml) serving, primarily from added sugars that range from 35-48 grams, equivalent to 9-12 teaspoons.[30][31] This caloric density is higher in versions using high-fructose corn syrup or cane sugar, while lighter formulations with reduced sugar may offer as low as 80-100 calories per serving.[24][32] The beverage derives potential health benefits from its ginger content, including anti-inflammatory effects attributed to compounds like 6-gingerol, which may aid digestion by promoting gastric motility and alleviate nausea, particularly in cases related to motion sickness or pregnancy.[33][34][35] However, these advantages are moderated by the dilution of ginger in commercial products, and excessive consumption poses risks from high sugar levels, such as increased obesity and metabolic syndrome.[33][36] In terms of micronutrients, ginger beer contains trace amounts of vitamins B6 and C derived from the ginger root, contributing minimally to daily requirements—typically less than 5% per serving—along with small quantities of manganese and potassium.[37] Carbonated varieties may include added sodium, ranging from 10-50 mg per serving, to enhance flavor stability.[38] Alcoholic ginger beers, fermented to 4-5% ABV, introduce additional empty calories from ethanol, elevating totals to 190-250 calories per 12-ounce serving while retaining similar sugar profiles.[39][40] Compared to ginger ale, which often has fewer calories (around 125 per serving) and less ginger extract, ginger beer generally offers higher levels of spice-derived antioxidants like gingerols, potentially enhancing its anti-inflammatory potential despite the caloric trade-off.[30][41][42]| Nutrient (per 12 oz serving, approximate averages) | Non-Alcoholic Ginger Beer | Alcoholic Ginger Beer |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 140-200 kcal | 190-250 kcal |
| Total Sugars | 35-48 g | 30-40 g |
| Sodium | 10-50 mg | 10-50 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | Trace (<0.1 mg) | Trace (<0.1 mg) |
| Vitamin C | Trace (<2 mg) | Trace (<2 mg) |