GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
To celebrate the upcoming birth of my first child I'm going to make a "Baby Dragon Root Beer" (My brewery is "Green Dragon Brewery" and most of my beers are named after dragons). Here's the recipe I'll be using:
Approximately 2 oz Sarsaparilla
Approximately 2 oz Sassafras
Approximately ½ oz licorice
2 oz Wintergreen leaves
2 ½ pounds sugar
2 gallons water
I have a few questions:
1) I'll be kegging the root beer to carb it so that it contains absolutely no alcohol, will this affect the taste? (I know in beer the yeast is a good portion of how the beer tastes)
2) Should I sub Dex for the cain sugar? It's probably just a beer thing but I just don't like normal cain sugar. Edit: On second thought I think cain sugar is good for soda. I like Mountain Dew Throwback way better then normal Mt. Dew.
I will be using real Sassafras. That study about Sassafras containing carcinogens is extremely dated and flawed. To reach the levels the mice were given you would have to drink over 25 gallons of root beer per day! Not only that but cinnamon and nutmeg also contain trace amounts of carcinogens and are also used in some recipes but no one bats an eye at those since they are used in soooo many cooking recipes. /end rant
The plan is to drop all the herbs in 2.5 gallons of water and slowly bring the water to a boil. After it reaches a boil I'll remove it from the heat to add the sugar and then return to a boil. I'll be using an old AG bag to make removing the herbs easier. I'll ice bath it down to 100F or lower and then take it directly into the keg. I'll hit it with 25psi to seal it, then purge the excess gas to get rid of any O2, then set it to 7psi and forget about it for a few weeks until it's done.
Any huge flaws with this plan?
Approximately 2 oz Sarsaparilla
Approximately 2 oz Sassafras
Approximately ½ oz licorice
2 oz Wintergreen leaves
2 ½ pounds sugar
2 gallons water
I have a few questions:
1) I'll be kegging the root beer to carb it so that it contains absolutely no alcohol, will this affect the taste? (I know in beer the yeast is a good portion of how the beer tastes)
2) Should I sub Dex for the cain sugar? It's probably just a beer thing but I just don't like normal cain sugar. Edit: On second thought I think cain sugar is good for soda. I like Mountain Dew Throwback way better then normal Mt. Dew.
I will be using real Sassafras. That study about Sassafras containing carcinogens is extremely dated and flawed. To reach the levels the mice were given you would have to drink over 25 gallons of root beer per day! Not only that but cinnamon and nutmeg also contain trace amounts of carcinogens and are also used in some recipes but no one bats an eye at those since they are used in soooo many cooking recipes. /end rant
The plan is to drop all the herbs in 2.5 gallons of water and slowly bring the water to a boil. After it reaches a boil I'll remove it from the heat to add the sugar and then return to a boil. I'll be using an old AG bag to make removing the herbs easier. I'll ice bath it down to 100F or lower and then take it directly into the keg. I'll hit it with 25psi to seal it, then purge the excess gas to get rid of any O2, then set it to 7psi and forget about it for a few weeks until it's done.
Any huge flaws with this plan?