Experimental Beer Grandpa Willies Hard Root Beer

Grandpa Willies Hard Root Beer

---Primary---
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp yeast energizer
4 oz brown sugar
4 oz lactose
1 pound light DME
Nottingham Ale Yeast

Boil DME, brown sugar, and lactose with about 4 cups water. Pour in primary. Add nutrient and energizer. Top off. Let cool and pitch yeast. Ferment for 5-7 days. Stabilize (if kegging). Wait another week.

---Before Kegging---
1 cup sugar boiled in 1 cup water
5 1/2 oz wildflower honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp root beer extract (McCormick)

Boil sugar and add to bottling bucket. Then add honey (warm it so its easier to pour) and the extracts. Let cool and add primary. Pour in Keg or bottles.

If bottling, let carb and put in fridge so the yeast doesn't continue to carb and over carbonate bottles

Hmmm... Subscribed.
Very interesting. How'd you come up with it?

What size batch is this?

I tried a few variation of this before ending up with this recipe. I searched for other peoples experiences with trying to make this and learned from their breakthroughs and mistakes. I love root beer and tried to tie in all my favorite flavor profiles from the non-alcoholic ones ive had. so far made 2 batches of this, I don't think it's lasted more then a few days after its carbed.

This is a 1 gallon batch

I will have to try this one

Just to update since I didn't have a hydrometer when I made the first batch. Just got done with another batch and the OG was 1.045. Will post the FG when its done.

Do you have to stabilize it after a week of you are bottling it or just kegging?

Mark

You would only stabilize it if you were kegging. The tricky thing with bottling is, you have to know when its carbed just right and then put it in the fridge to stop the yeast from overcarbing the bottles.

Thank you. I'm going to try this out

Maybe I missed it here and the other post, but how long did you boil the DME and sugars for?

When you talk about stabilize is that Potassium Sorbate or metabisulfite?

Kingboomer-I boiled for about 30 min. Since there are no hops and its using an extract, you wouldn't need the normal 60+ boil time. If you wanted to make it a true "beer" with hops add you would need to boil longer.

Wombatfarms- I actually just finished stabilizing a 3 gallon batch. I used both potassium sorbate and campden tablets (potassium metabisulfate) The campden tablets are technically not nessessary, since its main job is as an antioxidant, and will only "stun" the yeast, not kill. I've always used them together however with great results.

Would it be possible to pasteurize the bottles after they've reached idea carbonation or would that affect the flavor too much? I'd like to store this indefinitely at room temperature.

Have you put beer in your keg after kegging this, or used your bottling bucket on other beers after this? I had heard that there is something in root beer that you just can't get out of plastic (tubing, buckets, etc.). This was actually how a very well known Grand Rapids brewery got one of their first taps. The bar said they couldn't sell some beer that normally sells very well, and the brewery could have their tap. So the brewer took a glass of it, and asked when they had last pushed root beer through that line. It was over a year before! Anyway, they changed the lines, and the rest is history. Anyways, I'd just like to know, since this sounds awesome, and I just want to be careful.

Budvar- as far as I know, nobody has tried pasteurizing so it might be a good experiment to try, I don't know how the heat would effect the flavor.

Reverendj1- I used all glass for fermenters, and a tube straight from the fermenter to the bottles, (I have a bottling spigot I use) so I haven't had any experience in the way of bottling buckets with this. When it comes to the kegging, this is my first brew I used with the keg, so I'm not sure. I would assume though it would take the root beer sitting in the line for an extended amount of time for any real flavor to stain in the line, but this is purely an assumption. Thank you for bringing that up, it might be a good idea to make this before you want to change lines just to be sure. I used a picnic tap but I'm not sure what you would do with something like a kegorator.

I'm thinking about trying this one. Is there any harm in letting this ferment in the primary for 15 days? Also, how much yeast did you pitch for a 1 gallon batch? The whole packet of Nottingham? Once you bottle, how long do you wait until the flavor is at it's peak? If I refrigerate once the carbonation is where I want it to be, could I store this at room temp or would fermentation start up again? Thanks!

I don't see any harm letting it sit for awhile. I'm actually letting a batch I made on Labor Day sit for about 14-18, depending on when I get to it. I used an entire packet of Nottingham. It took about a week for this to peak after it was carbed. This is definitely a quick drinker. Once its properly carbed, it will have to stay in the fridge. The cold doesn't kill the yeast, just puts it in a dormant state, and taking it out back to room temp will wake them up again, and you'll end up with bottle bombs. I'm working on a specialty grain recipe and different mash temps to get enough unfermentables to where this wont be a problem.

Bauerbrewery1989 said:

I don't see any harm letting it sit for awhile. I'm actually letting a batch I made on Labor Day sit for about 14-18, depending on when I get to it. I used an entire packet of Nottingham. It took about a week for this to peak after it was carbed. This is definitely a quick drinker. Once its properly carbed, it will have to stay in the fridge. The cold doesn't kill the yeast, just puts it in a dormant state, and taking it out back to room temp will wake them up again, and you'll end up with bottle bombs. I'm working on a specialty grain recipe and different mash temps to get enough unfermentables to where this wont be a problem.

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Maybe this is a silly question, but wouldn't there be a way to carbonate it properly over the course of a couple of weeks using a calculated amount of priming sugar, or whatever? Why risk the bottle bombs?

It's because the sugar is not only for carbing, but also to give the finished root beer sweetness. Ever had unsweetened root beer? Not very good. It's just the unfermentables don't lend enough sweetness. The problem is the yeast don't know when to stop.

Bauerbrewery1989 said:

It's because the sugar is not only for carbing, but also to give the finished root beer sweetness. Ever had unsweetened root beer? Not very good. It's just the unfermentables don't lend enough sweetness. The problem is the yeast don't know when to stop.

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What about using lactose to sweeten and sugar to prime?

The lactose doesn't really give enough sweetness to contribute a whole lot. It's more for head retention and to give a "root beer float" flavor to it. You could potentially use other non-fermentables, like Splenda, but I don't out of personal preference.

Want to try this... and see your making a one gallon batch the kegging, what are you kegging into?

I actually scaled up and kegged a 3 gallon batch in a 5 gallon corny. Same recipe just everything multiplied by 3. You could use any size corny as long as you purge the O2 though.

Bauerbrewery1989 said:

I actually scaled up and kegged a 3 gallon batch in a 5 gallon corny. Same recipe just everything multiplied by 3. You could use any size corny as long as you purge the O2 though.

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OK cool I just was looking to make a 1 gallon to see if it will work out well. I might give it a try thanks!

If you're feeling ambitious you could also bottle and pasteurize as you would cider. It works but you just have to make sure it doesn't overcarb.

I'm assuming that the sugar during bottling is corn sugar? I would like to make this but I am unsure which sugar to use.

No carbing sugar needed, there is already more then enough sugar when adding the extract/sugar. You will need to keep them in the fridge/pasteurize them when they are carbed or they will explode.

Cool thank you. I plan on making a 5 gallon batch and have multiplied everything by 5. My question is, do I need to multiply the sugar, honey, and root beer extract as well? I'm assuming I do, but 5 cups of sugar plus 25oz of honey seems like it would make a bottle bomb for sure. Also, 10 tbsp of root beer extract seems like a lot as well.

the problem is, you are going to get bottle bombs no matter what. You need the sugar because unsweetened root beer is not very good. The thing is though, the yeast will keep eating and eventually overcarb it. By putting it in the fridge you hibernate the yeast, so they won't blow the bottles. I've tried to find ways around it but the best option I've found is the fridge or pasteurizing,

You could try adding 3 gallons worth of sugars and extract to see what it tastes like. Just keep adding in increments until you get the right taste. You will be suprised how much you will need though, i thought the same thing with a 3G batch but it came out great.

You can use 2 liter bottles or smaller. You bottle as normal and leave at room temp until the bottles get hard, then fridge them all and keep them cold until use or the yeast will continue to eat the sugar and the bottles will explode.

If you use glass you need to pasturize to kill the yeast......or you get a keg set up

I would love to have a keg set up and plan on doing one at some point in time. For now I can only bottle. I'll pasturize and let you know how it turns out. I also won't change anything in the recipe and multiply everything by 5.

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I made my 5 gallon batch today. OG was 1.080. I used a little more lactose and brown sugar by accident since my digital scale has not came yet. That is why OG is so high. It will be interesting that's for sure. I'll keep updating.

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Should I use a blow off?

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I would definetly use a blowoff

Used blow off and love the sound it makes as well as watching the bigger bubbles. Three days in primary fermentation and still getting a lot of bubbles. I think I may be fermenting to how though. I'm getting a slight banana smell from the star san the blow off tube is in. I plan on bottling Sunday if my bottles arrive by then.

What's the fermentation temp? I had one batch that was banana root beer because I fermented too hot. It was....interesting.

Around 72, I wouldn't mind banana root beer, I like both and have been looking fur a banana flavored beer anyway.

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It's still good, you just would have to call it a banana root beer float.

I'll just call it hefe root bier.

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Bottled today, it didn't taste too great. I'm hoping that it will taste better once it cold and carbonated.

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