This one didn't work out as well. Still, I'll include it for the sake of discussion.
Drink: <font color="orange">Pumpkin Ginger Ale</font>
I found
this description of how to make ginger ale. I'd been waiting for a good IC ingredient to try it out.
2 C roasted pumpkin
.5 C sugar
1.5 T ginger
.25 t instant yeast
bottled water
Strain the pumpkin through cheesecloth.
Pour all the ingredients into a 2L bottle. The juice wasn't too strong, so I decided to add the pulp, too. Plastic is nice because you can squeeze and see how much pressure has built-up.
After a couple days, I couldn't even dent the bottle with my thumb, so I figured it'd fermented long enough. Pour the liquid through a strainer (or coffee filter).
Halfway through, the ginger and pumpkin had clogged the neck. I put it down to clear out the strainer and then the bottle. Unfortunately, a clump of pulp stayed in the neck. As I righted the bottle, the carbonization popped-out the pulp like a champagne cork. I left a little pumpkin on the ceiling.
Eventually I got it all strained.
Pour & drink.
The ale definitely had a pumpkin and ginger taste to it. Unfortunately, it needed much more sugar and the yeasty taste was way too strong. I might try ordering special brewer's yeast to see if that improves the flavor. Still, it was a fun experiment that cost almost nothing in ingredients.