How to Establish a Ginger Bug

After testing a bunch of different ways to make a ginger bug, I’ve chosen my favorite. We begin with an establishment period. The establishment period is usually 2-3 days, and I’m adamant about measuring precisely. Measuring things using precise amounts gives us the best balance of wild microbes. You’ll also notice that I use a tiny bit of salt in the initial mixture. Salt helps encourage the growth of lactic acid bacteria and a well-mixed population of yeast and bacteria.

First, you’ll combine the following & stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- 25 grams ginger root (chopped)
- 50 grams of water
- 5 grams organic sugar
- 2 grams of salt

Feeding: Ferment for 24 hours, then add the following to the jar & stir well
- 25 grams ginger root (chopped)
- 50 grams of water
- 5 grams organic sugar

Repeat feeding every 24 hours until the mixture is bubbly. Once it’s very bubbly, we call it “established” and either use it all to brew or store it in the fridge, depending on how often you want to brew.

Fresh ginger root finely chopped on a wooden cutting board, next to a spoonful of organic cane sugar.

Deciding How Often to Brew

Once it’s all bubbly, we call it “established”, and we have a choice to make, which depends on how often we plan to brew natural soda.

Option one: Use it all to brew. Start over from step one and make a fresh bug next time you plan to brew soda.
Option two: Use some to brew and store the rest in a closed jar in the fridge as a “base starter.”

I prefer other fermented drinks and don’t make ginger bug sodas that often. If you are like me and only brew wild soda occasionally, for instance, I usually make wild ginger bug soda once or twice a year, you’ll want to go with option one in the recipe.

Now, if option one does not resonate with you, because you’re planning to brew wild soda with your ginger bug regularly, like every week, all the time, because you love ginger bug wild sodas, then you’ll make your ginger bug, and once it is established, stick it in the fridge.

While it is in the fridge, consider it a base ginger bug starter. To brew wild soda with it, you pull some of that base starter from the fridge, feed it fresh ginger, water, and sugar to make more of the bubbly bug to brew with. If you are familiar with sourdough, it’s similar to taking some sourdough discard from the fridge and using it to make an active starter at room temperature to bake with.

An infographic illustrating the first option for ginger bug maintenance. It begins with starting and feeding a ginger bug culture; once fully established, the entire bug is used, and a new culture is created for your next drink batch.

An infographic illustrating option 2 for ginger bug drinks. It starts with making a ginger bug, then using a portion to prepare your drink while the remainder is stored in the fridge for continued feeding and maintenance.

How to Store a Ginger Bug in the Fridge

So, if you plan to brew frequently, your base ginger bug should be stored in the refrigerator.

You occasionally feed it to keep it active, but it remains in the fridge.
- To keep it moderately active, feed it once a week.
- Feed it by pouring off the liquid, then add a 20% sugar solution, and occasionally add fresh ginger.
- Feed, then immediately put it back in the fridge, so it metabolizes sugars more slowly.
- Keep a regular, solid lid on the jar (not a cloth lid).

a close up of bubbles in a ginger bug after 3 days of fermentation and feeding.

How to Activate from the Fridge for Brewing

To use your established ginger bug in the fridge for brewing, determine how much soda you’d like to brew. I suggest using 50 grams of ginger bug per one liter of soda.

In a clean jar, combine these ingredients in the following ratios: 10% bug from the fridge, 20% fresh, chopped ginger, 50% water, and 20% sugar.

So, if I want to brew, say, two liters of wild soda, I need about 100 grams bug in total. So I’ll combine:

10 grams of bug from the fridge
20 grams fresh chopped ginger
50 grams of water
20 grams of sugar

It should bubble soon after feeding, and you use it right away to brew ginger bug soda.

Can I Feed My Ginger Bug Turmeric?

Yes! You can feed it with ginger or turmeric. Switching back and forth and feeding it a mix of ginger and turmeric is also a great option!

You can also incorporate edible flowers into your ginger or turmeric bug. Additionally, it’s enjoyable to experiment with other rhizomes and roots, such as lotus root, carrot, sweet potato, and beets.

How Much Ginger Bug Do I Need?

The amount of ginger bug you need is determined by the amount of soda you intend to brew. You need 50 grams of ginger bug per one liter (1,000 mL) of wild soda. For example, if I want to brew 2 liters (2,000 mL) of soda, I’d need approximately 100 grams of ginger bug in total.

Can I use store bought ginger?

Overall, I don’t recommend it unless you can verify it is organically farmed and from healthy soil. Ask a grocery employee if they can tell you where the ginger is from. I’ve had great success with store-bought, organic ginger and turmeric from Whole Foods Market.

With ginger bugs, we are growing wild microbes in sugar. Which is extremely different from and does not have the same safe guards as wild fermentation with salt (like sauerkraut and pickles). To be blunt, if you cannot source quality ginger from quality, healthy soil then don’t make a ginger bug. Try kombucha or water kefir instead.

Conventional ginger is often grown as a monocrop in poor soil. If your ginger comes from dead soil, and a grocery bin, then your bug will have the same microbiome as dead soil and a grocery bin.

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