Hi Blake,

If you are using extract you are basically making birch beer anyway, because the primary flavoring in modern root beer extracts is Oil of Wintergreen (methyl salicylate) derived from Black Birch bark. There are differences in the combinations of natural and artificial flavors, but the main ingredient is the same.

Here's an interesting coincidence. I happen to be teaching a chapter in organic chemistry to my class this week, and we did a lab today on esters. One of the esters we made was methyl salicylate. It came out the best and gave a great wintergreen odor. It smelled like Ben Gay. (The other two were supposed to smell like apples and bananas, but the scents were pretty subtle.)

If the lids to your bottles blew off, try laying your bottles on their sides. This moves the open gas away from the lid. You probably either used too much yeast or let it sit too long. Did you use 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 mL)?

I've heard of, but never tried, the extracts made by a brewing company called HopTech. They are supposed to be fairly natural. Go to their web site, open the online catalog, and look for Root Beer Flavoring.
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They have three varieties.

If you have only used dry yeast, you may want to use the liquid stuff once. It's more expensive but goes a long ways. It should taste much better. At least all the beer brewers say it does.

Parsa

Hey parsa! (and anyone else),

I've been experimenting with home brew from all natural goodies for the past two years and I could probably give you some pointers...as well as learn from your trials.

When I first began, the main ingredients I were using were sassafrass root bark (I don't know how much you're throwing caution to the wind with that one---I'm pretty sure it's straight sassafrass root that contains safrole, not the bark), dandelion root, juniper berries, kava kava, pau d'arco, wild cherry tree bark, and wintergreen oil.

After a few mishaps (stories for another time), I started getting some really good batches. Then I, too, wanted to do a native root beer (or, not so much "native" as "exclusively local ingredients") and that's the direction I've been going ever since. However, keep in mind that I live in Wisconsin, not California, so there will be quite a few differences in what we would consider native ingredients.

I have had some excellent results---the most recent being particularily good---but I still have trouble with the carbonation. I seem to now be able to make what I consider to be a perfect root beer flavor, only to have it taste and smell like bread when it's a finished product. I've been using dry champagne yeast and allowing the brew to sit about 12 hours before I toss them in the cold. The amount of carbonation is about right, but it's that taste that bugs me, albeit slightly. Admittedly, I'm getting a bit used to the breadlike taste, but I know that I can improve it much more.

I'd love to be updated as to how things go for your batch and, particularily, how the liquid ale yeast works out. Keep me posted, eh?

Natron,

Ive recently read that although champagne yeast is listed in many recipes, it can often lead to poor results. I'll look for the site I saw it on. I actually prefer a slight hint of yeast flavor, but it sounds like you're getting too much.

Blake

A follow up for Natron. The site is greydragon.org. greydragon.org/library/Beerfaults.ppt gets you a slide show on different problems, but I don't think I saw champagne yeast there. That is at greydragon.org/library/Brewing Root Beer.pdf. Hope it helps.

Blake

I think the information on ale versus champagne yeast for root beer is on the Hoptech web site (same page I gave in the link).

The champagne yeast naturally ferments at colder temperatures, so it will keep fermenting in the fridge to some extent. (The White Labs champagne yeast is listed at 70-75 degrees for optimum temperature however, which is very high.) Also, yeasts are different species or strains and produced different chemicals. Some lager yeasts make sulfur over the short term. This is OK for beer as the sulfur is reduced after a couple weeks, but it would be bad in bottled soft drinks.

I want to try the White Labs English Ale yeast for a few reasons. It supposedly produces sweet biproducts, which should be good for soft drinks. It has a very high flocculation, which means it really clumps together. This will mean that when it goes dormant in the fridge, it will fall to the bottom of the bottle and make the soda clear rather than cloudy. Careful pouring will keep yeast out of your glass. Ale yeast ferements at room temperature, but it does not like the cold fridge much.

<blockquote><b>Styles for English Ale (WLP002) yeast strain</b>
<br>A classic ESB strain from one of England's largest independent breweries. This yeast is best suited for English style ales including milds, bitters, porters, and English style stouts. This yeast will leave a beer very clear, and will leave some residual sweetness.<br>
Attenuation: 63-70; Flocculation: Very High; Optimum Ferm. Temp: 65-68</blockquote>

The flocuulation on champagne yeast is usually quite low, which means it's floating in your drink much more. So you should taste it more. It can also tollerate higher levels of alcohol than ale yeast, but this really isn't an issue for root beer as there won't be much alcohol in any event. However, there should be more alcohol if champagne yeast is used I would think simply because it often continues fermenting in the fridge. I have been recommended to use English cider yeast, but this is one that does produce sulfur.

One web site said the champagne yeast is nice because it makes finer champagne-type bubbles. I guess this could be true, but in root beers I would think the types of roots you use would have more effect.

Parsa

Here's information on one dry champagne yeast called Lalvin:

<blockquote>
Low foam production and very low sulphur production and high alcohol tolerance make it a good all around yeast strain and great for sparkling wines. Also great for carbonating sodas. Will ferment from 45-95 deg. F. Very compact sediment and neutral flavor. Also good for cider wines and stuck fermentations. One pack is good for 5 gallons of must or 4 gallons of soda.</blockquote>

Why it is good for carbonating sodas if it ferments down to 45 deg F is a bit beyond me.

Parsa

Well, I just bottled a first batch of root beer using liquid English Ale yeast.

I'll post the recipe if it tastes any good

It is a simple one. I used sassafras root bark, yucca root, vanilla, and brown sugar. The color was a medium orange brown. No caramel coloring here (except what little was added by the brown sugar). I wouldn't mind a natural ingredient that makes it browner though.

Although I mixed the warm wort with cold water in my jug, it took a while to cool down to room temperature. I had to put the jug into cold water in the sink. My gallon didn't quite fill 11 bottles. I'll fill each bottle a little less next time, and fill the jug a bit fuller. I left about 4 cm of air at the top of each bottle. (I cheated on the last bottle and put a bit of sugar water in to fill the bottle enough. It wasn't much though.)

The whole process took about 3 hours, though a lot of that time was not spent at labor, just simmering, cooling, etc.

I laid the bottles sideways in roasting pans, and covered them with a towel. They should be ready in about three days.

Parsa

Hi,

There is another thread in this folder on home brewing equipment. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

As for yeast, most ale yeasts will work well. You can use dry, which is generally cheaper, or liquid yeast which is supposed to be better. The yeast feeds on the sugar and makes the carbonation. That's about it.

The general procedure is:
Prepare some bottles by sterilizing them.
Have clean equipment ready to go.
Put roots or extract in a pot with sugar and heat it up (longer and warmer for the roots of course).
Pour the liquid from the simmered roots (a "decoction") into a gallon jug.
Fill the rest of the jug with cool water to bring it to room temperature.
Put in the yeast when the brew is at room temperature.
Shake it all up.
Pour into bottles and cap them.
Allow to sit at room temperature for a few days to carbonate.
Place the bottles in the fridge to stop the yeast. It will settle out.
The drinks will be best after a couple days in the fridge.
Serve in a frosty mug. Yum.

I highly recommend the book by Stephen Cresswell advertised in the "Recipes" section.

Look in your yellow pages under "Beer Homebrewing Equipment and Supplies" or "Winemaking Equipment & Supplies."

If you do google searches for "home brewing", etc., you will find a lot of sources for online equipment.

Here's a list of suppliers by area:
http://brewery.org/brewery/infobase/supplierlist/SupplierList.html

Here's Michigan:
http://brewery.org/brewery/infobase/supplierlist/us_MI.html

I personally bought a lot of my equipment online from the Beer Essentials:
http://thebeeressentials.com/beer_wine_catalog.html


Parsa

Well, the root beer sat for about 8 days before I decided to chill it. The bottles are in the fridge now.

On Saturday I tried my hand at ginger ale. I think it will taste great. I mixed a couple tablespoons of the brew with a couple tablespoons of cool water to see what the final result would taste like. Even luke warm and uncarbonated it tasted pretty good.

I used ginger root, yucca, white and brown sugar and a little vanilla.

Parsa

OK,

After my so-called root beer sat out for 8 days, I decided to chill it.

I let it sit for a couple days in the fridge.

The good news is that it's not disgusting. Nothing really gross about it.
However, there were problems which I guess I should expect.

Problem one was that it was too weak. It is hard to guage a correct amount of root bark that will give a good flavor. Next time I will taste a sample of the final brew by mixing a little of the root decoction with an equal amount of cold water.
Next, the drink could have been a bit sweeter. I will try 2 cups of sugar. It wasn't that bad though.
Finally, and worst, was that the carbonation was basically a failure on this batch. I have some idea why I think. I used an old brown sugar. I didn't shake the brew much before bottling. I should have let it sit for a while instead of immediately bottling. I could have used a little more yeast. Read my log on my Ginger Ale for all this.

The final result was like weakish sassafras iced tea with a very slight smell and flavor of alcohol. At least my nose picked up alcohol. My wife just said it smelled like root beer. There was a bit of a bight that could be alcohol. It didn't seem vinegary like a bacterial infection.

Overall, like I said, it wasn't unpleasant. It was even a little refreshing. However, not refreshing like a creamy sweet root beer. More like some kind of rooty iced tea.

I made my third batch of soda pop today. It was a more complex (but very traditional) root beer.

I used several roots. I added more sassafras as my last batch was weak.
I also used burdock, yellow dock, sarsaparilla, anise seeds, cuculmeca, and a decoction from wintergreen leaves. I used dark brown sugar, a bit of white sugar, and a couple tablespoons of molasses. Lastly I added vanilla extract (and the yeast of course).

After I had 3/4 of a gallon of brew in the glass jug (along with the yeast), I shook it up and there was an inch of foam on top. Hopefully after carbonation it will have a nice head.

I taste tested this batch, and it seemed strong and sweet enough. Because of all the roots, it had a fairly complex taste. You never know what it will be like until it's all done though.

Parsa

Yeah, it does sound like a lot of extract. I never use extract. What brand was it? Was it the one in the brown and yellow package they sell in the brewers stores?

The sugar sounds about right. Yeast can be bad. Did you use bread yeast or brewers dry yeast? I use liquid (live, active) yeast.

As you can read here, my first root beer batch made from scratch was a bit funky. It didn't carbonate well because I used old brown sugar. Sugar is important. Did yours at least carbonate?

My second try (ginger ale) smelled funny because of the yucca root I used. My third batch was pretty good, but it was a very "adult" flavor. My 7 year old thought it wasn't sweet enough. She didn't even like the cherry vanilla soda I recently made because it wasn't super sweet, nor syrupy cherry. I think the yeast does have a bit of flavor also, and you just have to get used to it unless you want to micro filter the stuff. It shouldn't taste nasty however.

All I can say is give it another shot. Make sure everything is really sterile so you don't get bacteria. Use bottles that seal really well like 2 liter soda bottles (or cap glass bottles like I do). Bacteria are a major cause of "off" flavors.

Parsa

My own experience... using a gallon of water, a pound of sugar (granulated) - sometimes I'll add Brown Sugar for taste as well - 2 Tablespoons of RootBeer Extract (McCormick's) ... then poured into 2 2-liter bottles (I try to get equal amounts into both) then I add 1/4 taspoon dry yeast into each bottle. Shake and sit for a couple days (tunring every once in a while). Then into the fridge it goes. Takes about a week from start to finish for me. I get good carbonation, and a decent flavor.

TG

I am so new to this that I don't even know what to ask. I have ordered the equipment that I think I will need (thank you Parsa). Please keep up the great postings, I love to hear about each of your batches and what worked and what didn't. Could someone give me a recipe for a batch that they really liked? Thank you, and I really hope that you will all keep posting on your successes and failures. It reall helps us newbies!!