RootBeer Float Mead

Been pondering how I could make a RootBeer Float mead.

What do you all think about this?

1 gallon Batch:
2 pounds WildFlower Honey
2 Pounds Lactose Sugar
Top off with Water.
Add Yeast (not sure what kind yet) Want some sweetness left.
Keep in primary until yeast is done and clear.
Transfer to secondary and add a Vanilla Bean and Sassafras extract.
Keep in secondary until you reach the flavor your looking for in the vanilla.

Bottle, age and enjoy

Your thoughts?

I am currently working on the same thing I used 2 lb local honey per gal made 5 g boiled sassafras root to make a strong tea. Pretty much used barks hack mead recipe with sassafras instead of ginger. Added a vanilla bean split about 6 mo ago. All has aged about a year in bulk. Ready to carbonate & bottle soon will let you know how it turns out. It smells great !!

Drinking a glass of 1.5 year old buckwheat honey mead aged on oak now. It's excellent

Wl 002 English ale yeast leaves the most sweetness that I've found so far

Having just bottled a sassafras and vanilla mead, I gotta warn you that while it smells like root beer, it does not taste like root beer. If you really want root beer, use a root beer extract, not sassafras extract.

That being said, sassafras is very good!

using root beer extract, does that have any preservatives in it? I am making some now and it is not very actively fermenting.

PATTYJO8 said:

using root beer extract, does that have any preservatives in it? I am making some now and it is not very actively fermenting.

Click to expand...

I have a vial sitting at home I'll check then, but I can't imagine so since you do need some minor fermentation to make even the soda without a force carbing setup.

Also 2lbs of lactose for 1 gallon sounds like a ton, it won't be fermented by traditional sachharomyces.

PATTYJO8 said:

using root beer extract, does that have any preservatives in it? I am making some now and it is not very actively fermenting.

Click to expand...

I have two gallons of rootbeer extract Bochet that was started in 2014. Along with a gallon of vanilla Bochet to blend into them. They fermented just fine. Nothing different from any other mead I have done.