Figured I would attempt to grow my own Gbp ,
Took some fresh ginger root, peeled it and diced it up real fine...
Used a small ball jar and put the diced ginger in it
Boiled up some tap water , we have alot of chlorine in the water here on long island... Let it sit to cool to room temp and added it to the ball jar... Filled it up bout three quarters of the way
Added a two or three teaspoons of suger...stirred it together...
Put the lid on it and shook it up to get oxygen into the mix
Every day for two weeks I would chop up another tablespoon or so of fresh ginger and add the suger and cover and shake ...
Used a piece of cotton sheeting and a rubberband to keep it covered and breathing .only used the lid to shake it up after each adding of ginger and sugar
It began to ferment on its own... Never smelling rotten or any signs of mold ... Developed a nice citrusy ginger scent...
After about three weeks fermentation seemed to slow.... Did some research and found that when the ferment reaches aprox 9% alcohol it will stop because thats it's high end threshold . Figured that it is now time to try to make some ginger ale with it..
The following was just an experiment to see what would happen
Took a 1 gal clear glass container and filled it up bout half way w water...
Used funnel with fine mesh wine filter screen and poured the Gbp mix fron my ball jar into it, then put the chopped ginger that did not go thru the filter back in the ball jar to continue the Gbp propagation ... Added cooled boiled water to the ball jar, a bit of sugar shook it and added cloth top to keep it going...
Back to the gallon I added:
Added bout half a cup of clover honey
1/2 cup lemon juice
Zest from 1 small orange, cause I had no
Lemon at that time
Few drops of vanilla extract
Bout. A thumbs worth of coarsely diced fresh peeled ginger root
Put all that into the container , put a lid on it and shook it up to mix the honey in well and oxygenate the mix.
Took off lid and added air lock and cork..
Checked next day and it was fermenting away...
Waited 3 days
Was still fermenting away
Used a few grolsh flip top bottles and a funnel w the same fine mesh screen and poured the mixture in... Made sure to shake it to get the sediment evenly distributed thru the liquid.before I filled the bottles
Let that set for three more days
On 4 th day popes a bottle and poured it on ice in a large glass
Was not bad... Carbonated nicely...
Just repeated that process using a ginger ale recipe I found online using a cup of honey to just short of a gallon of water, bottled it today and can't wait to try it.... With a few adjustments I am sure I will have a recipie I am happy with...
15 dollars for a teaspoon of Gbp is a bit steep... I think you can make it yourself... Worked well for me...
Try it ...