In the 70's we too had a ginger beer 'plant' one year dad took a dozen
Corona bottles of it with us on holiday to Cornwall, stood in the bottom
of the wardrobe of the caravan ... I'm sure you can all guess how that
went?

I can!

We passed one of our plants on to my grandfather. Making ginger beer
was too be his very first "hobby" (apart from some genteel horse-race
gambling and visiting the casino in Nice.)

He followed all the instructions, stored the bottles for a few weeks to
allow the ginger beer to mature and invited the family found to a grand
tasting. We assembled in the lounge and Grandpa took a bottle from his
elegant cocktail cabinet. He eased up the cork ... and column of liquid
rose a good 12 inches above the bottle before falling onto Grannie's
brand new mushroom-coloured carpet.

Nearly apoplectic, Grannie uttered the oft-remembered and shocking line
"Frank! Get that ... BLOODY thing out of here!" It was the only time I
ever heard Grannie swear.

--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK