Short answer yes.
Depending on how much you add, you're either going to make it with a hint of ginger or turn it in to a ginger beer, both OK depends on what you want. Using a lager kit is probably a good choice as you don't want toooo much bitterness if any at all.
You would want to grate it and boil it gently, just bringing it to the boil is enough to kill most nasties.