Making your own root beer

[Brewman_Jax]

tired of seeing the crap that passes itself as soda and sticker shock for the good stuff, I researched how to make your own soda. My mom said that her mom made her own root beer. Being a homebrewer, I knew where to go. A small bottle of root beer extract, sugar (I use cane sugar), water, and yeast--only about 15 mins to prepare a gallon of root beer. 2 weeks later, good root beer; 3 weeks for better root beer. :9 The small bottle of extract makes 4 gallons of root beer and is far cheaper than the expensive stuff and better than the cheap stuff. I'll try ginger ale/beer next.

[kestrel91316]

1. I love those homemade soda extracts! Sarsaparilla!!!!

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I used to make it from sassafras tea, but...

it turns out that safrole, the essential oil in sassafras, is toxic. Liver damage, cancer...

http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/UnconventionalTherapies/SassafrasTea.htm

This is too bad, because sassafras trees grow like weeds around here.

Now, it could be suspected that the research is tainted because safrole is also an essential ingredient in making Ectasy, but it does go back to the 60s.

(What's in that extract you're using.)

[Brewman_Jax]

3. Ingredients:

Natural and imitation flavors, caramel color, gum acacia, water, citric and ascorbic acid, natural quillaia extract, sorbic and sodium benzoate as preservatives.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Quillaia''s a new one on me, but...

apparently it's safe, or at least not known to be unsafe, and used to make the foam. Seems the Chileans use the bark to make soap, hence the foaminess.

("Natural and imitation flavors" could mean anything, but it ain't completely natural, just probably tastes better than most canned root beer.)

[Brewman_Jax]

5. So many styles of root beer extracts

I couldn't find a root beer extract recipe on-line, but that was a fast survey. You probably need to be a good chemist to make your own.

[Warpy]

6. Careful about that sugar

Yeast likes simple sugar, glucose. When it tries to eat a complex sugar like sucrose--table sugar--it tends to get a cidery taste, unpleasantly so.

I made beer, too. Malt sugar is two glucose molecules hooked together, and the yeast can handle it. It just can't handle the fructose part of the sucrose molecule.

I've gotten into the Soda Club thing and they have quite a respectable root beer syrup. The sodas aren't quite as gassy as commercial soda, but that's a good thing. It's not A&W into a frozen mug, but it's better than the Brand X stuff I usually drink.

It would work just fine for a float.

[shireen]

7. i've been wanting to make my own ginger beer

There's actually a yahoo group for people who have ginger beer plants! Those who have it often share with those who want it. I've not asked for any yet since I have to get my microscopic kitchen organized before embarking on such an ambitious project. (I hate apartments!) And I want to get my technique down, using wine yeasts, before I go begging for some of that precious and magical plant.

[mntleo2]

8. Where do you find the capable bottles?

...and the caps as well? I used to make my own root beer but have lost all my old capable bottles and do not know where to go to find more. We used to get people to give us their used beer bottles when I was a kid. But I don't drink beer and even if I did, most of those are twist on caps. I do have a mechanical hand bottle capper from my mom I have carried around with me from my mom. Also I used to be able to get the root beer extract and caps at about any grocery store, now not at any around my area (Seattle) I just don't have a clue as to where to find all the stuff. I would make it regularly if I had the stuff. it is worth it because it is better root beer to me.

Just a hint from, what I remember. Lay your bottles on their side and they ferment better. Also a little yeast goes a long way ~ I remember once some of Mom's bottles exploded and she said it was because she used too much yeast. It did not break the bottles but it sure was a sticky mess!

PM me if you want with the info.

Cat in Seattle

[grasswire]

9. yeah, my Aunt Ruth used to keep her homemade root beer in a shed...

...because the bottles occasionally exploded. We would be out on the lawn playing and POW!! from the shed.

[Brewman_Jax]

10. Used quart-sized club soda bottles

with the twist caps is what I use. You can feel the bottles getting firm over time and you can "burp" the bottles, i.e. untwist the caps to release the pressure, as needed. Specialized bottles aren't required. When I bottle my homebrew, I clean and use the past beer bottles.

A little yeast goes a long way. The root beer instructions say not to use more than a 1/4 teaspoon to a gallon of root beer.

Your local homebrew shop will have root beer extract. I haven't seen any root beer extract in the grocery stores, but I have seen rennet there. (Rennet is the main component in making cheese.)