Homemade Ginger Ale

Mr. Premise

The Living Force
I've got two recipes, one easy one for regular dry ginger ale, and another one for cream ginger ale, Vernors style. For those who aren't from Michigan or nearby states, Vernors is an old brand (now made by Cadbury-Schweppes) that had a distinctive taste. They aged their ginger flavor in oak barrels. I don't know if they still do this, it doesn't seem to taste like it did years ago, but who knows.

Cream Ginger Ale

4 oz. fresh ginger, diced or 2 oz. if you want a milder ginger flavor
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon or 1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 inch vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon approx. toasted oak chips (available at winemaking stores)
2 cups sugar, carmelized
1.5 gallons water

Simmer all ingredients for a half hour. In another pot carmelize the sugar and cool. Strain and pour the liquid over the carmelized sugar and stir. Cover and cool and sprinkle 1 teaspoon Champagne yeast (it has the best flavor of all yeasts. You could use baking yeast but it tastes kind of off). Cover and let sit for 12 hours then stir, bottle and cap. Let bottles stand at room temperature for 24-48 hours and refrigerate.

Dry Ginger Ale

Same as above, but just use Ginger and Lemon juice and zest, no vanilla or oak.
 
I was just browsing this section and found this. I live in Texas, but love Vernor's ginger ale. (A friend from Michigan introduced me to it over 25 years ago). We are lucky to be able to get it here in Texas, but I must drive 40 miles to get to it. Worth the drive as far as I am concerned. But to have a recipe? Wonderful. If I can find all the ingredients, I will give this a try.
 
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