Ginger Bug (Lacto-Fermented)

This Ginger Bug recipe is a great starting point for several different fantastically flavored drinks.  
Recipe: Ginger Soda
Ingredients:
1/2 Pound Fresh Ginger root (organic)
Cane Sugar
Sucanat/Rapadura
Himalayan Pink Salt
Jar: 1 Liter
Brine: See Step #4 Below
Temperature: 68º-72ºF
Ferment: 7 Days

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Preparation:
1. Clean half of the ginger root (put the rest in the fridge). Trim the dried ends off of the fresh root, since this is where mold starts on ginger.  Wash the root, breaking pieces off where necessary to get in to trim the dried ends.2. Slice the ginger root into thin slices, 1/4” or thinner.
3. Place the sliced ginger root into the Jar.
4. Add filtered water up to the shoulder of the Jar, and add 1/4 cup white/evaporated cane sugar, 1/4 cup Rapadura or Sucanat, and 5 grams Himalayan Pink Salt, and stir with a non-metallic utensil.  If you do not have Rapadura or Sucanat, white cane sugar will work in it’s place.
5. Add more filtered water to just below the neck of the Jar, and float the Brine Bowl.
6. Lock the lid, add water to the Airlock, and twist into place.
7. Place in a dark, 68º-72ºF location for 24 hours.
8. Separate the remaining ginger root into four equal parts, one for each of the next four days.
9. The next day, clean and trim a section of the ginger root, slice it as above, and add it to the Jar.  Remove two tablespoons or so of liquid from the Jar to make room.  Add very slowly a tablespoon of sugar (active ferments can react strongly to the adding of sugar).
10. Repeat Step 9 each day for the next four days.  
11. Keep the Jar wrapped in a towel in the dark for the next two days, and a week after starting, the ginger bug should be happy and healthy, and ready to make ginger soda.  

Ginger Bug Maintenance:
You can feed it a tablespoon of sugar daily and 1/4 pound of ginger root weekly on the counter, or a tablespoon of sugar weekly and 1/4 pound of ginger root monthly in the refrigerator. Add a pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt with each feeding When you remove some bug to make soda, replace the liquid with filtered water.  Keep the liquid level just at the base of the neck.

If you miss a week now and then your ginger bug will be fine, but for optimal results, feed it regularly.  

Occasionally you may remove half the older ginger root when the Jar is over half full of root pieces, making room for new ginger root, and keeping the level of ginger root in the Jar below half.