If you are a seasoned brewer, feel free to use glass when making home-brewed sodas.  For those of you who are not, it's a wise idea to use plastic as the product sometimes gets too "fizzy" and explodes.  Making home-brewed soda is a great project for kids older than eight as it is a fascinating chemistry experience.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins, coarsely chopped
1 6-inch vanilla bean
4 quarts water, divided use
1 large piece of fresh ginger, peeled and
split into several pieces
1-3/4 cups granulated
1-3/4 cups plantation white sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/8 teaspoon granulated ale yeast

Instructions:
Place raisins, vanilla beans, ginger pieces, brown sugar and 2 quarts of water in a large saucepan.  Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Stir in cream of tartar, blending until dissolved.  Cover, and let cool about 30 minutes. 

Put 2 quarts of cool water in a 1-gallon container.  Add raisin-sugar mixture, straining it as your pour.

Place yeast in a small cup with 1/4 cup of lukewarm water and allow to sit a few minutes.  Make certain that the contents of the gallon container are not hotter than lukewarm, then add the yeast water.

Using a funnel, pour the mixture into two sanitized 2-liter plastic bottles, leaving an inch of space in the neck of the bottle.  (Too much headspace and the drink won't carbonate; too little, and it might gush out upon opening.)  Seal the bottles and store them at room temperature, or cooler.

About 24 hours later - sooner if it's quite warm - give the bottles a squeeze.  If they're squishy, keep checking a few times a day until they feel hard; this shouldn't take more than 4 days.  When they feel very firm, move them to the refrigerator.  Let them refrigerate at least overnight before drinking.  The yeast will settle to the bottom, so decant carefully to avoid pouring it into your glass.

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