Symbiota

Ginger Beer Kit (using organically grown symbiotic culture)

Price: $60.00
Culture Type (Live or Dried)

Authentically Fermented Ginger Beer

The ginger beer plant (GBP) is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Although a similar concept to water kefir; GBP grains are smaller, slower growing and have a sandy-grain-like appearance, unlike kefir grains which are larger and rapidly growing.

The ginger beer plant dates to the 1800’s and it’s thanks to The German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures Bank which was one of the few places that preserved these grains of antiquity before they became completely extinct.

Unfortunately, some sellers advertise ginger beer plants for sale when in fact these cultures are not genuine and are simply “ginger bugs” or hybrids from kefir grains.

Symbiota is extremely excited to now be offering this genuine ginger beer plant.

How do I make or ferment my own ginger beer?

To ferment ginger beer authentically, you need to have the ginger beer plant, also known as ginger beer culture or ginger beer grains. 

You simply combine the sugar of your choice, water, ginger (slices, juice or dried powder), and ginger beer culture. Leave to ferment for a few days and you will have a fizzy ginger beer drink. 

Drain off your fermented ginger beer (while retaining the culture of the next ferment). You can either drink it as is, or bottle it to get an even more carbonated drink.

With the correct care your GBP will continue to grow overtime, and you can make larger batches of ginger beer.

What is included in my kit?

  • 1L Symbiota Jar
  • 1 Stainless Steel Strainer
  • 1 Tbs Ginger Beer Plant grains (enough to ferment 1L of ginger beer)
  • 1 Elasticated Cotton Top
  • 1 Stainless Steel Lid
  • 1 Portion of sugar mix to get you started
  • Recipe and instructions and aftersales support

 

****Note:

  • Please use an urban address where possible.
  • Live cultures are couriered out on Mondays & Tuesdays to avoid delays. 

 

Here at Symbiota we pride ourselves on customer care and provide ongoing support so that everyone can enjoy their fermenting journey feeling supported and confident. 

 

  • 5 stars: 10 (71%)
  • 4 stars: 3 (21%)
  • 3 stars: 1 (7%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
J
JOHN DAVISON
Taste of my youth

REmindsme of my youth. I used tobrew Ginger Beer when a child,50 years ago. This reminds me of my youth, Very easy and a great taste.

P
PAUL MALONE
I received item quickly

I received item quickly. It was well packed, opened by Canadian Border Security.
I have yet to use the root beer grains, but I am looking forward to it

Hi Paul, thanks for your kind words! I'm glad your order arrived safely. Hope you enjoy making the ginger beer soon! Glad all went well with it crossing the Canadian border:)

O
Olive-Ann
Yum😋

Yum..this took a few batches to get used to its new home. Once I knew that was normal, I stopped worrying and it’s getting better and better each time. Tastes delicious

P
Peter Lowden
Great kit, easy to use, great results

We ordered this kit to try real traditional ginger beer as it doesn't seem to be available anywhere (all commercial ginger beers are based on the yeast starter recipe).
We have already been making ginger beer with the yeast starter recipe so had something to compare this with.
It has taken us a little over a week to get a drinkable product, around 1L per batch, but we get two batches started a week.
The results? This stuff tastes great :). it doesn't have the slight unpleasant bitter taste of the yeast type and just tastes better.
We did try a run with molasses, this wasn't to our taste so we returned to organic sugar. I haven't confirmed this but I believe you shouldn't use supermarket highly refined white sugar as it lacks some of the minerals required for long term success.
It is quicker and easier than the yeast type, but doesn't produce as much (we get 5L from our other batch that takes two weeks minimum to get to drinkable state).
Recomend this, hope the culture keeps going ;)

A
Amanda Wright
Ginger Beer Kit

It’s great - kids luv it too!

B
Bronwyn Collier
Flat gingerbeer

I love the taste and it’s easy to make but it has absolutely no fizz which is a huge disappointment

Hi Bronwyn. Thank you for taking the time to review. Fermenting can take a little tweaking to find the sweet spot. We encourage all customers to reach out for support and we will help tailor their ferments according to their desires. Please feel free to email us at info@symbiota.co.nz or give us a call and we will happily address this so that you have super fizzy ginger beer:)

M
Maree K.
Ginger beer

The instructions are clear and easy to understand. However I actually found the jar to be too small for the quantities of liquid specificed. It's a 1 ltr jar and 4 cups of water are also 1 ltr, without adding the volume of sugar, lemon juice and culture. I used a bigger 1.5 ltr jar.
But the end product was pretty good. And my culture has grown nicely.

N
Nadine Simsar
An experiment

Thanks. I did my first trial and it is ok , it needs to fizz more. So it is a learning experience I guess. Maybe the bottle top is not the best. Will keep on trying. It is always fun to give new thing a go.

M
Mercy Shilpa
Does the job well!

We find the ginger beer produced with this kit has a lovely taste to it. Granted it is not as fizzy but that most likely is because we reduce the amount of sugar we put into the mixture and released the gas from the bottles every day! Only make a litre at a time which is just the right amount of our family. Find it super convenient to just sieve (the ready batch into bottles), squeeze (the ground up ginger into a new batch) and serve (the chilled ginger beer from the fridge!) with little hassle. Since we don't have soft drinks at home, this is nice to have in the fridge to offer visitors (young and old) who like a slightly fizzy sweet-ish drink. Everyone has enjoyed the ginger beer so far!

D
Deb Scobie
Ginger Beer

The ginger beer smells divine and tastes lovely. No fizz though. Followed directions to release the gas each day and ended up with flat ginger beer. Will leave the next brew alone.

E
Ellyn Kepple
Ginger Beer Kit .

Yes thank you all arrived safely... No ginger beer for me YET 😀
I used grated root ginger and nothing has really happened , putting ALL the grated ginger into the jar .... Will need to look at something else .

C
Cristina Yoko Dawson
Ginger beer plant

Great product.

T
Tania Anderson
Ginger beer culture

So worth the wait. On to my 3rd batch.

K
Kirsten Shouler
Kefir Grains Delivered - Ginger Beer Kit still to come

I'm very happy with the Kefir Milk Grains. Thanks for letting me know that the Ginger Beer Kit which was part of the same order has been delayed - no problems, I'll order when it's available. Thanks for refund in the meantime, look forward to ordering again soon.