Alcoholic or non-alcoholic — your choice
This is the part most people don’t realise. The same kit makes both. Ginger beer gets its alcohol from how much sugar you add and how long you let it ferment. Stop it early and bottle it, and you have a lightly carbonated soft drink. Let it ferment out, and you land somewhere between 4% and 8% ABV.
Our Alcoholic Ginger Beer 5L Kit ($125.00) makes this explicit: use 300–400g of dextrose for a 4–5% brew, or 800–1,000g for 7–8%. It’s also the only kit here made with fresh ginger root rather than an extract pouch, which gives a noticeably hotter, brighter result.
The Mad Millie Old Fashioned Ginger Beer Kit ($66.88) is the traditional method and the cheapest way in — good if you want to try ginger beer before committing to a full setup, or if non-alcoholic is your goal.
The four-tier kits
For 20-litre batches, our kits follow the same structure as our beer and cider ranges:
| Tier |
Price |
What it adds |
| Basic |
$174.00 |
Fermenter, airlock, hydrometer, sanitiser, ingredient pouch, instructions |
| Deluxe |
$191.00 |
Upgraded bottling gear |
| Premium |
$214.00 |
30L fermenter, bench capper, 30w heat belt, hydrometer, Morgans ginger beer pouch |
| Ultra |
$314.00 |
Full temperature control for year-round brewing |
Premium is the one most people land on, and for good reason — the heat belt matters more with ginger beer than most brews. Ginger beer ferments best in a stable 20–24°C range, and a cold garage will stall it halfway.
How long it takes
Around 7–10 days fermenting, then one to two weeks in the bottle to carbonate. Faster than beer, much faster than mead. If you’re brewing for a specific occasion, three weeks out is the safe window.
One warning worth taking seriously: ginger beer builds carbonation aggressively. Use proper crown-seal or flip-top bottles rated for pressure, and never bottle before fermentation has finished — check with the hydrometer, don’t guess.
Recipes and next steps
Our alcoholic ginger beer recipe covers a full 20-litre batch, and the non-alcoholic guide walks through stopping fermentation early. Once you’ve got the equipment, refills are just an ingredient pouch and sugar — see our ginger beer kits and pouches.