Beer Style Discovery: Ginger Beer

Beer Style: Ginger Beer

My interest for this apparent Beer style was sparked a few weeks back in Singapore, where i had the opportunity to try a "Fiery Alcoholic Ginger Beer".

The taste took me completely off guard!

4.2%, not that Fiery, but oh well...

Well yes i was expecting ginger (kind of hard not to when its called ginger beer), but i was not expecting to be pretty much drinking a brew which tasted a lot like ginger ale (with alcohol).

At this point you are probably wondering:
"Where does this crazy ginger tasting beer come from?" or "Discovery of Beer, please tell me more!"

Well especially for you dear reader (and a little bit for me too because i was wondering the same thing), i set out and conducted some research - so you don't have to!

Time for a little history lesson:

In the mid 17th century, the British were both expanding their empire into the Caribbean and the oriental spice trade was in full swing. Why is this important you might ask? well these two historical occurrences brought about two of the key ingredients used in creating Ginger Beer: Sugar and Ginger.

An 18th Century Ginger Beer Vendor. Source: Victorianlondon.org

Brewers throughout history have always experimented with a wide range of different ingredients when it came to brewing beer, or just alcohol in general. Some sources claim that things such as acorns, oyster shells and ox feet had been used at some point (creativity seemingly had no bounds, pretty much like craft brewers today :P)

So it didn't take long for experiments to be made with ginger and sugar. Now the invention of Ginger Beer itself is a little disputed, but the most accepted theory is a mention in the 1702 edition of A History of the Royal Society of London which states that its members had experimented adding ginger to the brewing process instead of hop.

Ginger beer, being relatively easy (and cheap) to produce, soon became immensely popular and at a certain point was "the" drink of Britain's lower and middle classes. It was also easy to home-brew, as the process is quite simple (i will share a recipe later on), and as such Ginger Beer brewers popped up everywhere.

Brew your own. Source: Alarmy.com

Sufficient to say, Ginger Beer was hugely popular in Britain (and subsequently also in the United States and the British colonies). There are mentions in old publications which state that in the 18th century, an approximate 300,000 gallons (1,363,827 liters) of Ginger Beer were being sold per year in London alone!

Old Ginger Beer Bottles. Source: whatthevictoriansthrewaway.com

 Ginger Beers also used to be quite a bit stronger than their modern counterparts, there have even been records of Ginger Beer being brewed at a staggering 11% ABV. However, an alcohol excise tax act passed by the British Government in 1855 (sound familiar from a different blogpost?), made all alcoholic beverages with more than 2% heavily taxable (causing the majority of brewers to start brewing ginger beer "light", or cut out the alcohol all together, in order to keep the drink affordable)

This 2% version (or lower)  however proved hugely popular with Britain's school children at the time, and as the years progressed it remained a popular beverage both for children and adults alike. However, with the rise of the carbonated, and over-sugared soft drinks, the Ginger Beer lost a lot of popularity (whilst the Ginger Ale remained). This is well characterized by the fact that Britain was home to 3000 traditional Ginger Beer brewers in 1935, whilst today only one remains.

 Luckily for us however, many brewers have started reviving the old alcoholic ginger beer recipes and as such they are available to the masses once again!

Try it yourself and brew Ginger Beer at home! (I will be giving that recipe a try soon i think!)

Cheers!

My Ratings:

Ginger Beard - Wychwood Brewery: 3.5/5*

Sources: 

Hennessy, J (2016) Ginger Beer History. I love Ginger Beer. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from: http://www.ilovegingerbeer.com

Madden, D (2008) Ginger Beer: A traditional fermented low-alchohol drink. Science in School. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from: http://www.scienceinschool.org/2008/issue8/gingerbeer

Sprat, T (1702) A history of the Royal Society of London, page 196 "of Brewing Beer with Ginger instead of Hops"

Thompson, J. Smith, A. (1877) Street Life in London. Victorian London Publications. Retrieved April 21, 2016, from: http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications/thomson-27.htm