I am making non-alcoholic ginger beer by the traditional method of feeding a
"plant" with dried ginger and sugar and using that liquid to flavour (and
add yeast to) to the raw liquor of water, sugar and lemonjuice. This is
then bottle fermented. The result is quite a pleasant and refreshing soft
drink but it is not especially gingery.

I would like to increase the ginger flavour as I am aiming for a more adult
drink than just sugar and bubbles tempered with lemon juice. I have tried
using freshly purchased dried ginger. I have tried producing an extract of
fresh and dried ginger simmered for some time and adding that as well as the
liquid from the plant at bottling time. Neither seem to make much
difference.

Any thoughts on gingering up my beer?

A related question: I assume there must be a large amount of ginger extract
produced to make ginger ale and ginger beer commercially, how is such an
extract made?

David