ginger bug question

[onnaj]

Hi,

Maybe this might be a strange question but i'm wondering what exactly the ginger bug is. Are those only the ginger parts (that have been fed with water and suger) or are thos the ginger parts including (some of) the water?
For kefir it's abvious to me, the grains should be used. With sourdough it's obviously everything, while it can't be splitted of course but for the ginger i'm not sure.

Till now, when making some ginger beer, i've used both ginger parts and water and that worked okay.

[Christopher Weeks]

I think the "bug" is the whole mixture, like with sourdough starter. The skin of the ginger continually innoculates the bug with fresh microbes, the sugar is nutrient, and the water is just an easy-to-navigate medium. I think.

When I'm making soda from a ginger bug, I dump the whole thing in, but I'd guess that you could decant the fluid only and that would work too.