Yeast questions for root beer

[norbyd]

I am wanting to try to make root beer for the first time. I have been brewing beer for about 3 years now so I wasn't thinking brewing root beer would be very difficult. I have been reading other posts and it sounds like the main problem people have is bottle bombs. I keep seeing that recipes list a specific amount of yeast to add, why is that? If the only fermentables you are adding are table sugar or brown sugar shouldn't that attenuate 100%? So why would the number of yeast cells affect the attenuation?

I was thinking of doing a primary fermentation in a carboy before bottling so I can have better control over my CO2 volume. Has anyone done this before? And if so, how did it go?

Also do you need to add any yeast nutrient or do the different ingredients such as sassafras or sarsaparilla provide that?

 

[Yooper]

If you ferment the root beer in a carboy, the co2 will go out of the airlock, and alcohol will be created in the root beer.

Most people don't want 100% of the sugar to ferment out, as a non-sweet soda is probably not very tasty, or they plan to serve it to children.

If you're making a soda, you'll want to avoid fermentation beyond just enough to carb up in the bottle, then put the bottles someplace very cold to stop fermentation so that it remains soda.

 

[norbyd]

Oh ok that makes sense. I assumed it fermented out close to 100% of the sugar in the bottles which is why I was confused. The volumes of co2 that would produce in the bottle would be insane. I was wanting to do them in glass bottles but I better go get some plastic 2L bottles instead. Thanks for your help.

 

[CA_Mouse]

Mine is bottle conditioned. I have never had a bottle bomb and they just sit in a closet until we drink them. Most of them only last about 2 months (we don't usually drink a lot of highly sugary drinks). Our last one is fantastic with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!