Naturally Fermented Old-fashioned Ginger Ale

Thoroughly sanitize your 1-gallon jug, funnel, strainer, measuring utensils, swing-top glass bottles, and one plastic tester bottle using brewing sanitizer (such as Star San) according to package directions.

In a large pot, combine 4 oz finely grated unpeeled fresh ginger with 2 quarts of the filtered water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to maintain an active simmer for 15 minutes to extract flavor and heat.

Remove the pot from the heat. Whisk in 1 cup granulated white sugar and 1/8 tsp fine sea salt until completely dissolved, then stir in 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Place a fine-mesh strainer over your sanitized 1-gallon jug using a funnel, and pour the hot ginger syrup through to strain out all ginger pulp. Top up the jug with remaining cold filtered water until it reaches just under 1 gallon total volume.

Check the temperature of the liquid. Once the mixture cools below 80°F (feeling barely lukewarm to the touch), sprinkle 1/8 tsp EC-1118 yeast onto the surface, cap the jug tightly, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to distribute and aerate.

Using the sanitized funnel, divide the ginger tea evenly between 7 swing-top glass bottles and 1 clean plastic soda bottle, leaving 1 to 2 inches of headspace at the top of each. Squeeze the air out of the plastic bottle until liquid reaches the top, then cap securely. Seal all glass bottles.

Store the bottles at room temperature (ideally 70°F to 74°F) away from direct sunlight. Squeeze the plastic test bottle twice daily; once the plastic bottle feels rock-hard (typically between 24 and 48 hours), transfer all bottles to the refrigerator immediately to halt active fermentation.

Chill the bottles for a minimum of 24 hours before uncapping so the carbon dioxide dissolves into the liquid. Open very slowly over a sink to prevent overflowing foam, and serve cold.