For generations, a jar of ginger beer plant, a bubbling yeast culture fed daily with sugar and ground ginger, sat on New Zealand kitchen benches, and every so often the family bottled a batch. Homemade ginger beer still turns up at school fairs and summer barbecues, and the plant itself was often passed from neighbor to neighbor like a family heirloom with a temper. The drink is cloudy, spicy and gently fizzy, and children were brought up on it long before anyone sold craft sodas.

Our version skips the week long plant. Fresh ginger and a pinch of yeast ferment in a plastic bottle for just a day or two, which gives the bubbles while keeping the alcohol to a trace. Start it on Friday and it is ready for Sunday's race.

The ginger base

Ingredients

• 5 oz (140 g) fresh ginger
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
• 4 cups (950 ml) water
• 3 lemons

Method

1. Put the grated ginger, sugar and water in the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to steep for 30 minutes.
2. Pour through the sieve lined with the cloth into the pitcher, pressing hard on the ginger with the back of the spoon to squeeze out every drop. Stir in the lemon juice.

Fermenting

Ingredients

• 8 cups (1.9 liters) cold water
• 1/8 teaspoon dried baker's yeast

Method

1. Add the cold water to the ginger syrup and stir. Check the temperature with a clean finger.
2. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface and stir well. Using the funnel, pour into the two plastic bottles, leaving about 2 inches (5 cm) of space at the top. Screw the caps on tightly.
3. Leave at room temperature, out of direct sun, for 24 to 48 hours. Squeeze the bottles twice a day.
4. Move the bottles straight to the fridge for at least 4 hours. The cold slows the yeast almost to a stop. Open slowly over the sink, releasing the pressure gradually.

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