This is my idea of the perfect drink for a summer party. This is an excellent, speedy recipe for ginger beer.

The drink is ready after 3 days and at this point it should be drunk as soon as possible before it explodes and the smell of ginger pervades the house! So, make it  only for a special occasion when you need a large amount, like a children’s party or picnic. Look out for recipes using ginger beer in case you have some over –  ginger beer scones are delicious.

Ingredients

1 large unwaxed lemon
450g (1lb) sugar
1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
25g (1oz) dried root ginger or 1 tablespoon
ground ginger
4.5 litres (8 pints) boiling water
25g (1oz) fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon dried yeast

Method

Scrub the lemon well, then pare off the rind thinly with a potato peeler. Remove all the white pith from the lemon and discard. Cut the lemon flesh into thin slices, removing and discarding the pips.

Put the lemon rind and lemon slices into a large heatproof bowl or clean plastic bucket with the sugar and cream of tartar. Bruise the root ginger with a steak mallet or rolling pin and add to the bowl. (If using ground ginger, just sprinkle it into the bowl with the cream of tartar.) Pour over the boiling water, then stir well. Leave until tepid, then add the yeast.

Cover and leave in a warm place for 24 hours to ferment. Skim off the froth with a slotted spoon, then strain through a muslin-lined nylon sieve. Pour into sterilised glass bottles with pop-off plastic caps, or plastic screw-capped bottles in case of explosions!

Leave in a cool, dark place for 2–3 days before drinking, checking every day to make sure that the ginger beer is not too fizzy. If using glass bottles, be sure to release the caps slightly every day to release any gases that may build up during fermentation and cause the bottles to explode.

Drink within the week, well chilled.

Taken from Home Brew (Published by Pavilion, 4th October 2010, £20.00) by Doug Rouxel and Sara Paston-Williams.