Cocktail & Other Recipes Cocktail Type Nonalcoholic

Ginger Beer

By
Kara Newman
Kara Newman
Kara Newman
Kara Newman is an award-winning writer, book author and cocktail expert with more than a decade of experience in the drinks-writing world.
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Updated 06/20/23
Ginger beer with foamy head, in small tumbler glass seated next to knob of fresh ginger

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

There are many different ways to make ginger beer, the bolder and often spicier cousin to the more well-known ginger ale. Some include naturally fermented and lightly alcoholic variations that can take weeks to fully develop, or industrialized versions that are more akin to a strongly flavored soft drink than a brewed beverage. This version from famed bar professional Audrey Saunders splits the difference, providing a ginger beer recipe that can be made and served on demand, while still providing a depth of profile and homemade flavor.

At the now-closed New York cocktail oasis Pegu Club, proprietor Audrey Saunders’ Gin-Gin Mule rightfully earned a place in the modern-day cocktail canon. She described the famously gingery cocktail as a cross between a Moscow Mule (another ginger beer-based drink) and a Mojito (usually a rum drink but here made with gin).

While this refreshing cocktail certainly can be made with store-bought ginger fizz, it is even better when mixed with something homemade. By creating a concentrated ginger beer base and mixing it with soda water to create effervescence, you have a combination that can come together from scratch in about an hour, and will keep refrigerated for up to two weeks.

“Store-bought stuff has a peppery, more than gingery, profile,” says Saunders, interviewed in the book New York Cocktails (Cider Mill Press, $20) by Amanda Schuster. In addition, many brands can be “insipid,” she says.

While Pegu Club made their ginger beer by the gallon, here’s a smaller-scale version to try at home. It takes a little time—note the one-hour wait for the ingredients to fully integrate. But the concentrated recipe yields enough for several cocktails, since only an ounce of this gingery elixir is all that’s needed for one drink.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water

  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated

  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice

  • 1 teaspoon light brown sugar

  • Sparkling water, seltzer or club soda, to taste

Steps

Makes 1 cup.

  1. Add the water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

  2. Stir in the grated ginger. Remove from the heat and cover the saucepan. Allow to sit for 1 hour.

  3. Strain through a fine chinois or cheesecloth. While straining the ginger, use a spoon or ladle to firmly press down on the ginger to extract more flavor. The appearance will be cloudy, but this is natural.

  4. Add the lime juice and brown sugar, and let cool.

  5. Add sparkling water, seltzer or club soda, to taste, if desired.

  6. Funnel into a glass bottle. Cap tightly and store in the refrigerator. This ginger beer keeps for two weeks.

What's the Difference Between Ginger Ale and Ginger Beer?

Both terms, ginger ale and ginger beer, have described a wide variety of ginger-based carbonated drinks throughout history. Many take the simplistic stance that ginger beer should generally be fermented (like beer, alloing it to achieve natural carbonation from yeast), while ginger ales are produced by combining a ginger syrup base with plain seltzer.

However, this differentiation changes throughout history. Early ginger ales, like those produced by the Irish apothecary who pioneered the style, Thomas Joseph Cantrell, were naturally fermented. And many modern ginger beers are force-carbonated sodas that see about as much fermentation time as a can of Coke.

The difference between modern ginger beer and ginger ale, in practice, is one of flavor profile and style. Ginger beer will have a much bolder, stronger, and often spicier profile than ginger ale, which tends to be much more subdued and soft drink-like, owing to years of market growth and industrialization.