Ginger Beer Plant Starter Culture

Genuine ginger beer plant (GBP) is a rare culture of antiquity. Centuries ago it was popular among the British Isles in making a carbonated alcohol beverage with ginger for flavor. The culture is not really a plant, but a group of tiny grains, like semi-transparent rice granules. This 'plant' was used to ferment this sugar-water-ginger solution until popularity died out and ease of using conveniently dried baker's and brewer's yeast replaced it. These substitutes produce a gingery beer, but are not the same, just as bread and sourdough bread are not the same. The symbiotic qualities of bacteria and yeast of GBP, as with all of our cultures, make for a unique live and self-propagating culture that produces a truly rich flavor. Most genuine ginger beer plant today has its origins from the German Culture Bank (including ours), one of the few places that preserved this symbiotic culture before it became completely extinct. Be cautious in buying GBP on the web, as many sources are simply sustained cultures developed from dried yeast or water kefir hybrids and are not the 'plant'. We are so excited to add this to our collection of cultures. Our passion is to sustain and share these truly remarkable and oft unknown live cultures such as GBP- passing them along to others who also have a passion and appreciation for keeping such gems from nature alive for each generation and enjoying their many benefits.