Ginger beer may be made in either of the following ways. (1) Boil 2 oz. of bruised (not powdered) ginger with 2gal. of water for half an hour, add 21b. of white sugar and loz. of lemon juice, or one sliced lemon, and strain the liquid, which may be allowed to remain in an open bowl for four days and should then be bottled, the corks being wired in. Place the bottles on their side and leave the beer to ferment. It will be brisk in about three weeks. (2) Over lib. of lump sugar, 1 oz. of ginger, 1/4oz. of cream of tartar, and two or three sliced lemons, contained in a large bowl, pour 1 gal. of boiling water, and when cold, stir in a tea cupful of brewers' yeast, and cover the bowl with a cloth. Allow the fermentation to go on for twelve or fourteen hours, strain off the yeast, and again strain, this time through two or three thicknesses of fine muslin; bottle it, and wire down the corks. The ginger beer is ready in two or three days. Herb beers are made from herbs possessing medicinal properties; among these are dandelion, nettle, and sarsaparilla, which may be used alone, mixed, or with other herbs; porter, Spanish juice, or liquorice may be added to give the dark colour.

The herb may be extracted by filling a large pan either with freshly gathered dandelion or nettle plants, or with the dried sarsaparilla; in place of the latter loz. or 2 oz. of sarsaparilla extract may be used; 5 pt. of water should then be poured over the herbs and the mixture boiled gently until reduced to about 3 pt. Strain off the liquid, add 1 lb. of brown sugar and 5 pt. of water, and when it is sufficiently cooled, stir in a cupful of yeast. After fermenting for twelve hours, the beer may be again strained and run into stoneware jars, the corks of which should be tied down. The beer will be ready in two or three days. Herb beer may be kept on draught by storing it in a stoneware jar having a tap at the side. Bottles containing fermented drinks should be kept in a warm place for the first two or three days, and afterwards removed to a cool place to prevent the fermentation proceeding too rapidly. If a cold drink is required, the bottles may be placed in a box and packed with ice and sawdust shortly before being used; or they may be put into a shallow dish of water and wrapped round with a piece of damp muslin kept constantly wet and cool by contact with the water.

The evaporation of the water from the muslin causes a considerable fall of temperature. " Still " drinks, that is, those having but little effervescence, such as lemonade and lime juice, may be cooled in a similar way.