Ginger Lemon Kombucha Recipe: 5 to 31 Gallons
The classic flavoured kombucha: fresh ginger for heat, lemon for lift. Grate the ginger fine (or juice it) so it flavours fast in a 2 to 4 day second ferment.
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Ginger Lemon Kombucha at a glance: The classic flavoured kombucha: fresh ginger for heat, lemon for lift. Grate the ginger fine (or juice it) so it flavours fast in a 2 to 4 day second ferment. Spicy and bright. More ginger, more heat: 60 g per gallon is fiery.
Bräu Supply recipe · Kombucha
Ginger Lemon Kombucha
First ferment · for 5 gal
| 4.27 gal (16.2 L) | Filtered water | |
| 45 g | Half black, half green, loose | 9 g/gal |
| 2.2 lb (1 kg) | White sugar | 200 g/gal |
| 0.6 gal (2.3 L) | Starter liquid: plain kombucha from your last batch | 12% |
| 1 | SCOBY |
Second ferment: flavour and fizz
| 0.62 cups (148 mL) | Lemon juice | |
| 7.5 tbsp | White sugar | |
| 200 g | Fresh ginger, grated or juiced | |
Process
- Steep: 185°F (85°C) for 10–15 minutes, then dissolve the sugar
- Cool: below 85°F (29°C) before the culture goes in
- Culture: starter and SCOBY; pH below 4.6, ideally 4.2 or lower
- First ferment: 78°F (26°C), open under a cloth, 7–10 days, to pH 3.0–3.5
- Second ferment: 75°F (24°C), sealed, spunding valve at 12 psi, 2–5 days
- Cold crash: 36°F (2°C) for 1–2 days
- Carbonate: 2.8 volumes: about 13 psi at 36°F
Make it in
Per US gallon of finished first-ferment kombucha. Water allows for the room the sugar takes up and the water the tea holds back. Sugar in juice and fruit varies: taste, and watch the gauge in the second ferment.
How to make it
- Fill the fermenter with the full batch of filtered water, heat it to 185°F and steep the tea in the basket for 10–15 minutes. Lift the tea out and stir in the sugar.
- Cool the batch below 85°F, through a counterflow chiller or overnight with the lid sealed.
- Add the starter liquid and the SCOBY. Check the pH: below 4.6 right away, ideally 4.2 or lower.
- Ferment open to the air under a tight cloth at 78°F for 7–10 days. Taste from the sample valve from day five; it’s ready when sweet and tart balance, around pH 3.0–3.5.
- Dump the yeast from the cone and save starter liquid and the SCOBY for the next batch.
- Add the second-ferment ingredients through the top, seal the lid and set the spunding valve to 12 psi. Hold 75°F for 2–5 days, tasting as you go.
- Crash to 36°F for a day or two, then set CO₂ to about 13 psi to reach 2.8 volumes, or keg it and carbonate in the keg. Strain out fruit and herbs before kegging.
Making a different amount, or your own flavour? Open this recipe in the kombucha calculator: it scales the tea, sugar and starter, and works out the second-ferment sugar, carbonation pressure and alcohol.
Tips
- Grate the ginger with the skin on, or run it through a juicer. Strain it out before you keg.
- Ginger brings wild yeast of its own, so this flavour carbonates fast. Check the gauge after a day.
- Add the lemon juice at the start of the second ferment, not at kegging: the acid helps keep it clean.
Frequently asked questions
Fresh or dried ginger?
Fresh. Dried and ground ginger tastes dusty and clouds the batch. Use about 40 g of fresh ginger per gallon, more for a fiery version.
Can I make a ginger bug instead?
You can, but you don’t need one here: the kombucha already has plenty of yeast for the second ferment.
Is there alcohol in homemade kombucha?
A little. The first ferment usually leaves 0.2–1% ABV, and every gram of sugar per litre that ferments in the second ferment adds about 0.065%. In the US, 0.5% ABV or more is regulated as alcohol, so if you sell kombucha, crash it cold, keep it cold, and test every batch. The kombucha calculator shows how much your second ferment can add.
Related
How to make kombucha in a stainless fermenter, the kombucha calculator, classic black tea kombucha, half black, half green house blend, raspberry hibiscus kombucha.