Fermented Sodas · Beginner

Homemade Ginger Beer With a Ginger Bug (Non-Alcoholic)

How to make naturally fizzy, non-alcoholic ginger beer with a ginger bug: ginger, sugar and lemon amounts for 2 litres, bottling and timing, how to make it spicier, and how it differs from ginger ale and alcoholic ginger beer.

Read the guide Fermented Sodas hub
Cloudy homemade ginger beer beside fresh ginger and lemon

Updated October 2026 · 8 min read

Real ginger beer is a fermented drink: a strong, sweet ginger tea brought to life with a live starter and sealed in bottles until it fizzes. Made with a ginger bug, it is spicy, bright and only faintly alcoholic, and it takes about ten minutes of work plus a few days of waiting.

Ginger beer recipe

80 g fresh ginger, grated, for 2 litres
140 g sugar (about 2/3 cup)
160 mL active ginger bug liquid
  1. 1
    Make the ginger tea Simmer 80 g of grated ginger and 140 g of sugar in 1 litre of water for 15 minutes. For a fiercer ginger beer, let it steep until cool before straining.
  2. 2
    Cool and flavour Strain into a jug, add 1 litre of cold unchlorinated water and 60 mL of lemon juice (about 2 lemons). Check it is at room temperature; heat kills the bug.
  3. 3
    Add the bug Stir in 160 mL of strained ginger bug liquid, taken a few hours after feeding when it is most active.
  4. 4
    Bottle Funnel into swing-top or plastic soda bottles, leaving 3–4 cm of headspace. Seal.
  5. 5
    Carbonate Leave at room temperature: about 2–3 days at 21–24°C, longer if cooler. Squeeze a plastic bottle or carefully open one each day.
  6. 6
    Chill When it is fizzy, refrigerate all the bottles. Drink within a few weeks.

Variations

Lime and mint swap the lemon for lime juice and add a few mint sprigs to the cooling tea.
Turmeric simmer a thumb of fresh turmeric with the ginger for a golden, earthy ginger beer.
Fruit replace a quarter of the water with pineapple, apple or berry juice; reduce the sugar slightly.
Darker use raw cane sugar or a spoon of molasses for a deeper, caramel note.
Sugar weighed beside ginger bug starter, water and soda ingredients

Related calculator

Ginger Bug Soda Calculator

Sugar, ginger bug, ginger and water for any batch of homemade ginger beer or fruit soda, with ferment and bottling times by temperature.

Open calculator

Soft ginger beer vs alcoholic ginger beer

This page is the soft-drink version: a short ferment chilled as soon as it is fizzy. Alcoholic ginger beer uses more sugar, a wine or champagne yeast and an airlock, and ferments for a week or more to around 4–6% ABV before it is bottled. That method is in alcoholic ginger beer.

Bottling safely

Watch for

  • Use bottles made for carbonation Swing-tops rated for pressure or plastic soda bottles. Never jars or decorative glass.
  • Fill one plastic bottle as a gauge. When it is rock hard, every bottle is ready for the fridge.
  • Do not forget bottles at room temperature. Pressure keeps building and glass can burst.
  • Open chilled bottles slowly over the sink, pointed away from you.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is homemade ginger beer alcoholic?
Barely, if you chill it as soon as it is carbonated: usually under about 1% ABV. It cannot be guaranteed alcohol-free, because the yeast that makes the fizz also makes a little alcohol. Long, warm ferments make more. For a deliberately alcoholic version, see alcoholic ginger beer.
What is the difference between ginger beer and ginger ale?
Traditional ginger beer is fermented and has a strong, spicy ginger bite and some cloudiness. Ginger ale is usually a lighter, sweeter soft drink carbonated with CO₂ and flavoured with ginger. You can make a milder 'ginger ale' with this recipe by halving the ginger.
How do I make ginger beer spicier?
Use more ginger (up to 60 g per litre), leave the grated ginger in while it cools, or add a little fresh ginger juice at bottling. A pinch of cayenne or a few black peppercorns adds heat without more ginger.
How long does homemade ginger beer last?
About 2–4 weeks in the fridge. It slowly keeps fermenting, getting drier and fizzier, so open bottles over the sink and release pressure if they have been stored a while.
Can I make ginger beer without a ginger bug?
Yes, with a small pinch of champagne or ale yeast instead (about 1/8 teaspoon per 2 litres). It is faster and more predictable but carbonates quickly, so check bottles twice a day.
Ads.txt