Another root beer thread: process.

[olie]

Ok, I confess I didn't thoroughly read every single root beer thread -- there are a gazillion! -- but I did check a few here, and also elsewhere on the web, and can't find this important (seeming to me!) bit of info:

I've got my root beer recipe ready to roll as far as ingredients, but I'm unsure how much it is different from "regular" beer in terms of process. That is, can I just use my typical 2 weeks in the primary (or 1 wk primary, 2 wks secondary) then go to the bottle?

Then: how much sugar per gallon do I add for carbonation? Is root beer carbonated similar to a pale lager? Or more like a porter/stout? Is there anything else particularly different about RB carbonation?

Apologies if I'm making too much fuss over what is widely known to be a simple thing; I claim "noob"

Thanks!

 

[passedpawn]

Ok, I confess I didn't thoroughly read every single root beer thread -- there are a gazillion! -- but I did check a few here, and also elsewhere on the web, and can't find this important (seeming to me!) bit of info:

I've got my root beer recipe ready to roll as far as ingredients, but I'm unsure how much it is different from "regular" beer in terms of process. That is, can I just use my typical 2 weeks in the primary (or 1 wk primary, 2 wks secondary) then go to the bottle?

Then: how much sugar per gallon do I add for carbonation? Is root beer carbonated similar to a pale lager? Or more like a porter/stout? Is there anything else particularly different about RB carbonation?

Apologies if I'm making too much fuss over what is widely known to be a simple thing; I claim "noob"

Thanks!

Root beer isn't fermented, so it's ready to bottle/keg immediately after making it. In fact, if you could carbonate it quickly, you could drink it immediately too.

I keg my rootbeer at 40psi. For set-and-forget method, it can take forever to carbonate. Must shake the hell out of it and it's pretty quick.

I haven't bottled root beer, so I won't comment on that. But it's problematic because you've got un-fermented sugar in there. If you just add yeast and put it on the shelf, it'll likely explode at some point, especially if you use regular beer bottles. I think most people use 2L plastic soda bottles and refrigerate at some point.

 

[olie]

Huh...

Maybe I'm reading this all wrong, but it sure seems to me like 90%+ of the home-brewed root beer recipes I see are alcoholic.

Oh! I wonder if I just assumed that because you put sugar & yeast into a container & wait. Maybe I need to go re-read.

40psi does seem high for glass. That's unfortunate; I was hoping to make it in glass bottles (all I have, and I'm not really interested in filling my brew-space with plastic. Hrmm...)

Much to learn; much to learn...

 

[passedpawn]

I'm sure people do make it as an alcoholic drink, but I think most of the info on this site is root beer soda. If you actually fermented it completely, it won't taste like root beer at all. Root beer is sweet.

 

[olie]

Yeah, I think I just made a bad inference because sugar + yeast.

Thanks!

 

[BigJoeBrew]

This is the extract that I have and the instructions call for yeast. I made 1-2 gallons awhile back and bottled in plastic bottles. it definitely had an alcohol taste to it. Not sure I got it into a fridge within 3 days though.

To create 4 – gallons of soda, combine (1) 2 fluid ounce bottle of Old Fashioned Homebrew Root Beer Soda Pop Base with 4 pounds of sugar and 4 – gallons of water while using the traditional mix and carbonation method.

In every box of soda extract, precise directions are provided on the methods for carbonating the sodas with dry champagne yeast.

IMPORTANT: If carbonating with yeast, only use plastic PET bottles. All manufacturers warn against using glass bottles due to a real risk of over carbonated beverages actually exploding the glass bottle and causing serious personal injuries. Only use plastic PET bottles, like 2 Liter soda bottles or Brew and Grow’s 500 ml P.E.T. bottles.

When making soda with yeast, carbonation levels are difficult to control. Following the instructions provided will allow the yeast to produce carbon dioxide for three days at room temperature. Once the soda is refrigerated, the yeast becomes dormant and CO2 production nearly stops. If the soda is not refrigerated following the 3 – day carbonation period, pressure will naturally continue to build inside the bottles and, upon opening, a serious soda gusher may very well occur.

To repeat the previous warning: DO NOT USE GLASS BOTTLES! Glass may explode, sending shrapnel flying and creating a sticky mess.

Soda is fun, easy and safe to make at home, but please be careful.

 

[olie]

After all of this discussion here and elsewhere and some late night noodling over the various issues, I decided...

1) Brew normally, in a fermenter, like it was beer.
2) Carbonate normally, like a 4 volumes beer.
2a) That is, I put it in glass bottles and added sugar as if I were carbonating 4 volumes of a German wheat, using this nomograph.
2b) I did NOT add sugar to sweeten.
2c) Because of this, I felt comfortable carbonating in-bottle, just like beer.
3) Instead of my initial plan of "try a variety of different kinds and different amounts of artificial sweeteners", I left it unsweetened.
4) I expect that, when it's done carbonating (1/28 will be 2 weeks, what I normally leave for in-bottle carbonation), it will taste similar to before carbonation, and I can set it up as "sweeten to taste before drinking".

On my before-carbonation tasting, that was about 3 spoonfuls of "raw" sugar for a half a coffee-mug (~5 oz, maybe?) My wife liked it with about half that much.

I'll report back how it fares, in the end but, either way, I take pleasure in having sorted my way through this "problem area".

 

[fissionc]

Your process sounds unconventional, but I'm a fan of experimentation, so bravo!

Am I reading correctly that you only added enough sugar to prime the bottles? Was the goal to have room temperature shelf life without preservatives?

If you're leaning on bottle carbonation for the 'fizz', then adding back sugar or syrup for serving can present a challenge to not lose all your hard earned CO2.

What are the taste test results?

 

[olie]

"Science!"

Yes, I only added enough sugar to prime carbonation (shooting for ~3-4 volumes CO2).

The goal was: I didn't want to have to mess with attempting to halt carbonation at the exact-right moment, then make sure it never starts up again and explodes my bottles. Long-term precise refrigeration for a large quantity of bottles is not something I'm ready to dedicate fridge-space to, yet. Also, I wanted the option to leave a 6-pack on a friend's porch and not have security cameras think I'd left at terrorist attack.

I'm thinking that serving will go best with simple syrup (super-saturated sugar water) "to taste".

It's ready, but I haven't had time to open a bottle, yet. I tasted it before carbonation and found it quite enjoyable. At that time, I found that 3 packets of raw sugar in about 1/2 a large coffee mug (~6oz) gave the closest to "normal" root beer flavor.

Unsweetened was "a different kind of enjoyable" (but a bit heavy on the bark flavors).

 

[passedpawn]

"Science!"

Yes, I only added enough sugar to prime carbonation (shooting for ~3-4 volumes CO2).

The goal was: I didn't want to have to mess with attempting to halt carbonation at the exact-right moment, then make sure it never starts up again and explodes my bottles. Long-term precise refrigeration for a large quantity of bottles is not something I'm ready to dedicate fridge-space to, yet. Also, I wanted the option to leave a 6-pack on a friend's porch and not have security cameras think I'd left at terrorist attack.

I'm thinking that serving will go best with simple syrup (super-saturated sugar water) "to taste".

It's ready, but I haven't had time to open a bottle, yet. I tasted it before carbonation and found it quite enjoyable. At that time, I found that 3 packets of raw sugar in about 1/2 a large coffee mug (~6oz) gave the closest to "normal" root beer flavor.

Unsweetened was "a different kind of enjoyable" (but a bit heavy on the bark flavors).

If you need to add something to make it taste like root beer, maybe consider just making regular root beer and add alcohol after pouring. That way, it tastes good both ways and maybe is available for a wider audience.

 

[olie]

If you need to add something to make it taste like root beer, maybe consider just making regular root beer and add alcohol after pouring. That way, it tastes good both ways and maybe is available for a wider audience.

That would be another way to do it but, for my personal preferences...

a) I like fermenting things.
b) It fails the "can leave it out at room temp and not worry about explosions" test.

Not saying how anyone else should do things, but that's just my bias. Well, and also...

c) This way it tastes good both ways (sweetened and not), depending on your definition of "good" (I like it, but can see how it's not for everyone) and is available to "just the right" audience.

(Yeah, I know what you mean -- just having fun with the word-play <G>)

 

[olie]

Just a quick follow-up with taste-test results.

First, the carbonate-normally[1] then sweeten on the pour trick worked perfectly. Sweeten with simple syrup[2], not powder, as the latter makes for lots of foam.

Tasting: this recipe was a bit "bark"-y. I probably could have filtered it a bit better after the boil. Or used less sassafras (bark). I didn't mind, but it's not really ideal for guests.

It was also the color of a pale-red-ale -- we were all expecting something more brown-black & opaque.

Different people like different amount of sweeteners. I think about 50/50 Root Beer/Simple syrup gives the most "like regular root beer (except 6.2%ABV )" flavor. I'll probably drink most of it a bit more-tart than that (2:1-3:1, maybe?) .

You can make simple syrup out of most artificial sweeteners, too, if you want "diet"

Ignoring the process, the ingredients I used were based off of <this recipe> (scratch; bottom of page). (Double checking, I added 0.5oz of Ginger to that recipe. I'd do it again.)

-----
[1] Like high-carbonation beer -- ~4volumes CO2
[2] 1 unit water + 1 unit sugar. Make as much or as little as you want.