Sugar, yeast and ginger 
Ginger and water 
Filtered water and an old tonic bottle
I’m obsessed with fermented food, so I started a new blog. It had to start somewhere so it started with ginger ale:
Obviously, fermentation is essential to alcoholic beverages. But don’t limit the technique to JUST the production of the alcohol. A favorite summer cocktail of mine is a simple Whiskey and Ginger. The ingredients are right there in the name. But don’t use the syrupy ginger ale from a can. Instead, take the “ale” literally and brew it in time for the weekend! This was inspired by the article last year in the Philadelphia City Paper.
(First, buy a 1L bottle of tonic water and drink it with gin and a slice of lime. Wash the bottle.)
Ginger Ale:
- Take a 4 or 5 inch chunk of ginger (buy a ton at an asian grocery store and freeze it) and slice it into pieces.
- Simmer the ginger in 1L of water for about a half hour. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Add about 5 tablespoons of sugar to the bottle along with a pinch of champagne yeast.
- Strain cooled ginger liquid into the bottle, top off with water, and cap tightly.
- Allow to ferment at room temperature for a few days, until the bottle feels firm when you squeeze it.
- Refrigerate and drink over ice with a nice bourbon.
This makes a deliciously spicy ginger ale unlike anything you’ve tasted. Be careful though: the yeast is turning that sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcohol’s not a problem — it’s only a tiny bit and your mixing it with bourbon, so who cares? But the carbon dioxide does a great job of carbon ating the ginger ale. When you open it the first time it WILL bubble all over the place. Do it in the sink and don’t worry.
Variations to try: use brown sugar or honey instead of white sugar. Add malto-dextrin (which the yeast won’t eat as readily to end up with a sweeter product.) Add mint.
And really, this is the general recipe for any homemade soda: sugary liquid plus yeast in a bottle.