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Bottling Your Homemade Ginger Beer

IMPORTANT! The residual sugar content in Ginger Beer can create excessive pressure build up during the carbonation step which will result in bottle bombs if left unattended or stored in hot locations. We strongly recommend that you check the pressure build up by squeezing your plastic bottle to gauge how firm it has become. When you can no longer compress the sides of your plastic bottles, store them in the refrigerator at all times to stop the carbonation process.

The carbonation process takes 36 – 40 hours on average. Longer durations could result in Ginger Beer dangerous explosions. Never use glass vessels to store your ginger brew!

Old plastic soda, Seltzer or Soda Stream bottles work well for storing your finished Ginger Beer. You can use the additional no-rinse cleanser to prepare these bottle types before embarking on the bottling process.

Step 1: Mix the remainder of your no-rinse cleanser with 1 gallon of hot water.

Step 2: Soak each, clean plastic bottle in the cleanser for 1 minute or more. Fill the bottles with cleanser, re-attach the caps and shake the bottles vigorously to thoroughly clean the inside.

Step 3: Empty the cleanser from the bottles and sanitize your racking cane and hose. Attach the hose to the curved end of the racking cane.

To help start the suction of liquid, fully submerge the racking cane and hose beneath the cleanser. Before removing the hose from the water, place your thumb over the end of the hose firmly.

Place the fermentation jug on a surface above the plastic bottle filling area and insert the black-tipped end of the racking cane into the jug and slowly release the cleanser from the hose into the sink. Once ginger beer begins to flow, quickly insert the hose into a bottle and fill the vessel roughly 3/4 full. Repeat this process until all of the ginger wort is gone from the jug.

Step 4: Gently squeeze the bottle as you replace the cap to remove excess air. Place the bottles on your kitchen counter until they have resumed their shape. This can take 1-2 days depending on the room temperature. Once you can no longer squeeze the sides of the bottle, pop all the bottles into the refrigerator to stop the carbonation process. Please keep the bottle in the cooler until use to avoid over carbonation and potential explosion.

If your Ginger Beer gets flat, you can re-carbonate the bottle by leaving it on the counter until the brew re-carbonates.