Rosemary Ginger Beer

This is a totally simple refreshing non-alcohol beverage. Ginger beer seems to have been first brewed in England in the 1700s and it became a popular drink in all of the British Isles and in numerous (then) British colonies and possessions like Canada, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa. It is my understanding that the original fermentation process produced both an alcohol content, as well as the sparkling fizz of the drink, which was made with yeast; but that later, the process was altered to make an alcohol free brew, and later still, the carbonation process (injecting carbon dioxide under pressure) was used to give the drink its fizz. The brewing process for ginger beer typically includes using real ginger; thus, the soft drink has a bit spicier taste than ginger ale, as ginger ale is typically carbonated water with ginger flavored syrup. For rosemary syrup, here is the link, it's simple:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/03/herbal-syrup-rosemary.html  

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

tall glass (10 to 12 ounces)

ice

5 or 6 ounces ginger beer (according to glass size and amount of ice)

2 teaspoons to 3 teaspoons (that makes 1 tablespoon) rosemary syrup (your preference to taste)

rosemary for garnish

lemon slice for garnish

 

Add a little bit of ice to the glass (a small amount of ice makes it initially easier to mix), add some ginger beer and 2 teaspoons rosemary syrup, stir to mix, add more ice, and more ginger beer (to near the top of the glass), stir and taste; add another teaspoon (or more) of rosemary syrup, to suit your taste preference. Garnish with some fresh rosemary and a slice of lemon.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Beverage-The main part of this word is related to "potable," "potion" and "poison," all Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French, and to "imbibe," another Latin-derived word, either borrowed from Latin, but with French influence, or perhaps the other way around. "Beverage" goes back to Indo European "po/poi," which meant "to drink." This gave Latin "bibere," with the same meaning, and this passed to Latin-based Old French as "boivre/beivre," and it produced the noun "bevrage" (no 'e' between v and r), meaning "a drink," with the suffix "-age," often indicating "the act or process of the main word to which it was attached), tracing back through Latin "aticum/aticus" to Indo European "at." "Old French "bevrage" was "beverage" in the Anglo-Norman dialect that developed among the Norman descendants of England, and this was borrowed by English in the mid 1200s, and meaning "a drink."