Meaning
A fiery homemade drink of fresh grated ginger steeped with sugar, lime, and water — non-alcoholic despite the name, and packing a real peppery kick. A cornerstone of Jamaican Christmas (alongside sorrel), it clears the head and warms the belly. Jamaican ginger is prized worldwide for its strength.
Examples
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Christmas nuh complete widout ginger beer an sorrel.
Christmas isn't complete without ginger beer and sorrel.
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Di ginger beer strong, it bite yuh throat.
The ginger beer is strong, it bites your throat.
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Grate di ginger fresh fi di ginger beer.
Grate the ginger fresh for the ginger beer.
Origin
From 'ginger' plus 'beer' (the old sense of a fermented/steeped soft drink); non-alcoholic. Jamaican ginger is famed for its potency.
How it’s used
A fiery homemade ginger drink (non-alcoholic); a Christmas staple with sorrel. See [[sorrel]], [[roots-drink]].