Ginger ale vs. ginger beer

My mother in law gave us a big bag of ginger, some of it had sprouted, ready for planting, but there was plenty of pieces, so I decided to make ginger ale, no, ginger beer, I couldn't decide, so I made one batch of each to compare.  I can't wait to grow my own ginger so I can make these regularly (have planted the left over ginger in a large pot).

Ginger beer
Following the instructions in Nourishing Traditions, I grated lots of ginger.  In a jar I put 1.5 cups of rainwater, 2 teaspoons of ginger and 2 teaspoons of white sugar, put the lid on and left it on the bench.  I added 2 teaspoons each of ginger and sugar every morning for a week.  After a few days I could see bubbles forming (that was an exciting start to the day!).

Day 1

Day 3 - see the bubbles?

After a week, the bug was ready, and I was supposed to make it up to 8 L, adding sugar and lemon juice, however, I wasn't sure what vessel to use, as ginger has a reputation for explosiveness!  My husband had the bright idea of using one of our beer fermenters, but they are 20 L, so we decided to make it up to 20 L with extra sugar.  After a couple of days the fermenter hadn't started bubbling (so much for the explosion risk!) and we both worried that it wasn't working, so we added a packet of ale yeast that we had in the fridge.  Still no bubbling.  After a week my husband poured it into a keg and "gassed it up" using the CO2 bottle that we have for beer making.  With the keg in the beer fridge, its pretty convenient to pour a jug of ginger beer, however I don't think we really made it properly!  It tastes sweet and gingery, with only a hint of  alcohol or yeasty taste.  I want to try this one again without fiddling with the recipe.....

making the ginger beer in the fermenter

A jug of ginger beer (after I drank some!)

Day 1

Day 3 (after straining)

Do you make ginger beer?  Or ale?