It would appear that I have made my first alcoholic batch of ginger beer, which when fermented correctly yields a carbonated soft drink. I was experimenting with ratios and added more of everything except the yeast (just a teaspoon). Effects-wise, I'd say that I might have reached between 4-5% alcohol and that was only after drinking 8 oz of it.
I'm still unsure of how to properly use a hydrometer; as I don't have enough liquid to test for the size of the hydrometer that I have, nor do I have a container with enough slender volume that I can measure the beer in.
Here are the tested ratios:
1/2 c grated ginger (vs 1/4 c)
1.25 c organic granulated sugar (vs 1 cup)
10 c water (vs 9 cups)
As for the fermenting time: 3.5 days instead of 2
Avg room temp for the ferment was 55-60 F
This batch yielded 2 liters plus 1 pint.
After thoughts:
Too much raw ginger flavor. It was potent and felt like a kick to the head.
The extra sugar did nothing to make the beer sweeter before decanting into flip-top bottles, in fact, the yeast ate it all.
Also, the Active Dry Yeast was very fresh (yes, that's bread yeast).
